Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for orchards and cider apple growers.
A bin of apples sold wholesale to a packer, a batch pressed into cider that will not sell for months, and a young block of trees that will not bear real fruit for years. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
October came in at $34,800. This fall's fresh-eating apple crop got booked separate from cider that has been fermenting since August.
- Regional packer wholesale orderWholesale fruit sales
- Farm store cider salesCider sales
- Orchard block spraying, custom applicatorOrchard maintenance
- Press house cleaning suppliesCider production
- Apple picking crew payrollSeasonal labor
Why your books are different
Orchard and cider books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a farm that sells apples in the fall. Your business sells some fruit fresh and wholesale, presses the rest into cider that ages before it ever sells, and grows trees that take years to bear a real crop after they are planted. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what a block or a batch actually costs against what it earns.
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1
Fresh fruit sales and cider sales get rung up together
A wholesale bin sold to a packer this week and a bottle of cider that finished fermenting months ago both look like orchard income, but they come from very different products with very different timelines.
What we doKeeps wholesale fruit sales and cider sales in their own lines, so you can see what each side of the operation actually earns. -
2
A fermenting cider batch's cost gets lost before it sells
Apples pressed in August might not become bottled cider ready to sell until the following spring, and if the fruit, pressing, and aging costs are not tracked against that batch, the eventual sale looks like pure profit with no cost behind it.
What we doTracks a cider batch's costs from pressing to bottling, so the accountant can match months of production cost against the sale. -
3
Young trees get treated like this year's crop
A newly planted block of trees costs real money in stock, planting labor, and years of care before it bears a marketable crop, but if that multi-year investment is not tracked separately, it can look like a normal expense against fruit that has not been sold yet.
What we doTracks young block planting and establishment costs by the year, so the accountant can apply the right treatment once the trees start bearing. -
4
Press house equipment gets filed like farm supplies
A cider press, a bottling line, or fermentation tanks can cost tens of thousands of dollars and last for decades, but on a bank statement they can look like just another orchard supply purchase.
What we doFlags press house and production equipment the month it shows up and logs it as its own category, not general orchard supplies. -
5
A frost or hail event gets no clean record
A late spring frost or a hailstorm can damage a whole block's crop, and without a note, that loss just reads as a slow harvest instead of the specific event and block that were actually affected.
What we doNotes weather losses the owner flags, so a damaged block reads as what happened, not a mystery in the numbers.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an orchard and cider operation.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Wholesale fruit salesBins of fresh apples sold to a regional packer or distributor.
- Cider salesBottled or bagged cider sold at the farm store, market, or wholesale.
- Retail and u-pick salesFresh apples sold directly to visitors at the orchard or a farm stand.
- Tasting room or event feesCider tastings or events hosted at the press house or orchard.
- Custom pressing servicesFees earned pressing another grower's apples into cider.
Money out
- Orchard maintenanceSpraying, pruning, and irrigation across bearing and young blocks.
- Tree stock and plantingNew trees and planting labor for establishing young blocks.
- Cider productionYeast, cleaning supplies, and consumables for pressing and fermenting.
- Production equipmentPresses, fermentation tanks, and bottling lines, logged so they get written off right.
- PackagingBottles, growlers, and labels for finished cider.
- Seasonal laborHarvest crews and press house staff during peak season.
- Cold storageControlled atmosphere storage costs for holding fresh fruit longer.
What we watch for you
- Fresh vs. cider mix
How much comes from wholesale fresh fruit versus cider sales, so you know which side to grow.
- Cost per cider batch
What a specific batch cost in fruit, pressing, and aging, tracked against what it sold for.
- Young block investment
What is going into blocks not yet bearing a full crop, tracked by year until they mature.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things orchard and cider owners 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.
Yes. I track that batch's cost from pressing to bottling, so the accountant can match months of production cost against the sale.
I track the planting and establishment costs by year, so the accountant can apply the right treatment once those trees start bearing.
Flag it for me and I'll note it, so that block reads as a frost loss, not just a mysteriously thin harvest.
The tax side
The tax side of an orchard and cider operation.
Most of what goes wrong here is matching years of tree cost and months of aging cost to the year a crop or batch finally sells. Young blocks treated like this year's expense, cider costs lost before the sale, and a set-aside nobody started until harvest.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Schedule F farm incomeGrowing and selling apples, and producing cider from your own fruit, generally lands on Schedule F instead of the Schedule C a typical small business files.
- Young orchard establishment costsCosts to plant and establish a new block often need to be tracked over several years rather than expensed immediately, until the trees begin bearing a marketable crop.
- Production equipment depreciationPresses, fermentation tanks, and bottling lines can usually be written off, sometimes the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for harvest and press crewsAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for harvest or press house help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions orchards and cider apple growers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Young tree stock
- Orchard spraying and fertilizer
- Cider yeast and cultures
- Bottles and labels
- Press house cleaning supplies
- Cold storage costs
- Harvest crew wages
- Irrigation repair
- Bin and crate purchases
- Liability insurance
- State alcohol licensing fees
- Delivery vehicle fuel
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
An orchard and cider year, kept every month.
Fall harvest brings the fruit in, but cider keeps its own aging schedule long after. Your taxes come on their own schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the harvest and press crew 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so fall income funds it evenly.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before spring pruning and bloom season begin.
- July
Halfway check
A look at how the current season's blocks are developing and whether last year's cider batches are ready to sell.
- October
Harvest season
Gus checks how this year's fruit and cider are pricing against last year and flags equipment or block investments worth making.
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 orchards and cider apple growers. 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 orchard and cider owners ask first.
Can Gus tell wholesale fruit sales apart from cider sales?
Yes. He keeps wholesale fruit sales and cider sales in their own categories, so you can see what each side of the operation actually earns.
Cider we pressed months ago just started selling. Does the timing matter for the books?
Yes, and Gus handles it. He tracks a batch's cost from pressing to bottling, so the accountant can match months of production cost against the eventual sale.
Do I have to change how I sell to a packer or run the tasting room?
No. Sell to a packer and run the tasting room the way you always have. Gus reads deposits from your bank statement, and a fruit or cider sale he cannot place gets one quick question.
A late frost damaged one of our blocks. Does that get tracked?
Flag it for Gus when it happens, and he notes it, so that block reads as a frost loss rather than a mystery in the numbers.
Is a new cider press or bottling line written off all at once?
Often, yes. A press or bottling line bought for the operation typically qualifies for a full write-off the year you buy it, though a big installation sometimes gets spread out instead. Gus flags the purchase for the accountant to review.
We planted a new block that won't bear real fruit for years. Does that cost get tracked differently?
Yes. Gus tracks young block planting and establishment costs by year, so the accountant can apply the right treatment once those trees start bearing.
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