Tutoring, test prep & alternative schools
Books and taxes for Montessori schools.
Full-day tuition across mixed-age classrooms, before and after-care billed separately, a set of hand-crafted Montessori materials that cost far more than ordinary classroom supplies, and lead guides who each hold their own certification. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September made $12,300. A new elementary classroom needed its full material set this month, so I logged that as equipment rather than letting it blend into routine supplies.
- Monthly tuition draftsTuition
- Extended care feesExtended care
- Lead guide payrollGuide and staff wages
- Elementary material setMontessori materials
- School building leaseFacility and grounds
Why your books are different
Montessori school books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees tuition and a rent check. Your school runs mixed-age classrooms with materials that cost far more than ordinary supplies, guides who hold specific certifications, and extended care billed on its own schedule. When the books do not know that, a materials purchase can wreck the monthly number for no real reason.
-
1
A classroom material set gets filed as an ordinary supply cost
A full set of Montessori materials for one classroom level can cost as much as a used car, and if it gets filed the same as a box of pencils, both the monthly number and the year's real spending get distorted.
What we doFlags a materials purchase of that size as equipment, not routine supplies, so the accountant can treat it as the investment it is. -
2
Extended care fees blend into regular tuition
Before and after-care is often billed separately from core tuition and can have very different enrollment patterns, and if the two are lumped together, the school cannot see whether extended care is actually covering its own cost.
What we doKeeps extended care fees in their own category, separate from core tuition. -
3
Guide certification and training costs look routine
Montessori certification training for a lead guide is a substantial, recurring investment specific to this model of education, and filing it like an ordinary staff training expense understates how significant it is to the school's budget.
What we doFlags guide certification and training costs as they happen so the accountant can place them correctly. -
4
Mixed-age classroom staffing ratios get lost in one payroll line
A Montessori classroom typically staffs a lead guide and one or more assistants across a wide age range, and if payroll is not tracked by classroom or role, the school cannot see whether staffing costs match enrollment in each room.
What we doTracks guide and assistant pay in a way that keeps classroom staffing costs visible against enrollment.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a Montessori school.
Set up once around mixed-age classrooms and specialized materials. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- TuitionFull-day or half-day tuition across primary, elementary, and other classroom levels.
- Extended careBefore and after-care fees billed apart from core tuition.
- Registration and depositsA seat-holding deposit and paperwork fee due before a family's spot is confirmed.
- Summer program feesSummer sessions billed apart from the regular school-year schedule.
Money out
- Guide and staff wagesPayroll for lead guides, assistants, and administrative staff.
- Montessori materialsClassroom-specific hand-crafted materials, tracked as equipment when substantial.
- Guide certification and trainingMontessori certification programs and continuing education.
- Facility and groundsRent or mortgage, utilities, and maintenance for the school building and outdoor space.
- Liability and property insuranceCoverage for the classrooms, outdoor space, and the materials inside them.
- Background check feesScreening for guides and staff working with children.
What we watch for you
- Enrolled students by classroom
The base your tuition rests on, tracked by classroom level since materials and staffing differ by room.
- Extended care coverage
Whether extended care fees are covering the staffing cost of running it.
- Guide and assistant staffing ratio
Payroll per classroom against enrollment in that room, since materials cost scales with room count too.
- The set-aside
What the school will owe in taxes, tracked every month so it is never a surprise at filing time.
Ask Gus
Things Montessori school leaders ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
I flagged it as equipment rather than a routine supply purchase, since materials at that cost are usually treated differently on the return than everyday classroom items.
Yes, from day one. That way you can see whether extended care fees actually cover the staffing it takes to run, rather than guessing.
Usually, yes. I logged it as a training cost and flagged it so the accountant places it correctly, since certification costs can be significant.
The tax side
The tax side of a Montessori school.
Most of what goes wrong here is materials filed as routine supplies and extended care blended with tuition. Fix the labels and the rest follows.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Materials as equipmentA substantial classroom material set can usually be written off in the year it is bought, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Guide certification and trainingMontessori certification and continuing education are generally deductible business costs, tracked as they happen so the accountant can place them on the right year's return.
- Nonprofit status and exempt filingsA large share of Montessori schools, especially those affiliated with a Montessori accrediting body, operate as nonprofits. Form 990 and any accreditation-related financial review sit with the accountant, outside what monthly bookkeeping covers on its own.
- Staff classificationGuides and assistants working a set classroom schedule under the school's direction are employees, and misclassifying any of them as contractors is one of the more expensive mistakes a school can make.
Deductions Montessori schools miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Classroom material sets
- Guide certification and training
- Building and grounds upkeep
- Liability and property insurance
- Background check fees for staff
- Outdoor classroom and playground equipment
- Enrollment tracking software
- Professional development for staff
- Open house and admissions events
- Payment processing fees
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A Montessori school year, kept every month.
Classroom levels and enrollment shift each year, but the tax calendar stays fixed. Gus keeps both organized together. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Spring semester underway
Enrollment planning for next year often begins. Last year's return gets started and the monthly set-aside gets planned.
- April
Filed. Done.
The school's return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Between school years
Facility costs continue through summer programming. Gus gives a halfway check on where the year stands.
- October
After the fall enrollment push
The new school year is underway. Gus looks at any classroom material purchases or staffing decisions worth making before December.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for Montessori schools. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions Montessori school leaders ask first.
Montessori materials cost a lot more than typical classroom supplies. Does Gus handle that differently?
Yes. A materials purchase substantial enough to matter gets flagged as equipment rather than filed as a routine supply cost, so the accountant can treat it the way it deserves.
How does extended care get tracked against regular tuition?
Extended care fees get their own category from the start, so you can see whether that program is actually covering the cost of staffing it.
We run as a nonprofit. Does that change how the monthly books look?
The day-to-day categories stay the same as any school's. Where nonprofit status changes things is Form 990 and any audited financial statement a lender or accreditor wants, and those questions go to the accountant rather than the monthly bookkeeping.
Our guides each hold their own Montessori certification and renew it periodically. Is that cost tracked well?
Yes. Certification and training costs are flagged as they happen so the accountant can place them correctly, since they represent a real investment specific to this model of school.
Our books have mixed tuition, extended care, and materials spending together for years. Can Gus separate all of that?
Yes. Send what you have and he sorts it into clean, separate categories going forward. Most schools know exactly where they stand within a week.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever