Gyms & fitness studios
Books and taxes for outdoor bootcamps.
Monthly dues with no building to rent, a park permit renewed every season, portable kettlebells and sandbags that live in your trunk, and a rained-out week nobody paid for. Gus sorts all of it, and an accountant checks every transaction.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
April came in at $5,700. Two sessions got rained out this month, and I noted the makeup credits owed so next month's attendance doesn't look inflated when members use them.
- Mindbody EFT draftMembership dues
- Drop-in session paymentDrop-ins
- Parks department permit feePark permits
- Kettlebell and sandbag orderEquipment
- Coach pay batchCoach pay
Why your books are different
An outdoor bootcamp's books go wrong in ways a gym never sees.
A generalist sees dues and a coach's pay. Your business runs with no facility to rent, pays a city or county for the right to use a park, carries gear light enough to load into a trunk, and loses sessions to weather nobody can control. When the books miss that, cancellations and permits get lost in the noise.
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1
Weather cancellations get treated like normal attendance
A rained-out session usually earns members a makeup credit instead of a refund, and if that credit isn't tracked, a month with several rainouts can look like it delivered more sessions than it actually did.
What we doTracks makeup credits owed from weather cancellations so future months don't look inflated when members redeem them. -
2
Park permit fees look like a random annual bill
A permit renewed with the parks department once or twice a year is a real, required cost of operating in that space, but without its own category, it can look like a surprise expense instead of the predictable cost it is.
What we doKeeps park permit fees in their own line so the renewal reads as the expected cost it is. -
3
No facility means overhead looks unusually low, and owners underprice
Without rent or utilities, a bootcamp's costs look much smaller than a typical gym's, which can lead an owner to underprice sessions without accounting for their own time, gear replacement, and insurance.
What we doKeeps every real cost visible, including gear wear and coach pay, so pricing decisions are based on the business's true costs, not just the absence of rent. -
4
Portable gear gets treated as a one-off buy instead of routine replacement
Kettlebells, sandbags, and cones take a beating outdoors and get replaced more often than gym equipment inside a climate-controlled building, and each replacement order can look like an unplanned expense.
What we doKeeps portable gear in one steady category so a replacement order reads as the routine outdoor cost it is.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an outdoor bootcamp.
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
- Membership duesMonthly EFT drafts through Mindbody or a similar app.
- Drop-insSingle-session payments from walk-ups and visitors.
- Class packsBlocks of sessions sold up front for those who don't want monthly dues.
- Corporate group bookingsA one-time flat fee for a company team-building session.
Money out
- Coach payPer-session or flat pay for whoever leads the workouts.
- Park permitsFees paid to the parks department or city for using the space.
- EquipmentKettlebells, sandbags, cones, and other portable gear.
- SoftwareScheduling and payment tools for sign-ups and dues.
- InsuranceGeneral liability, since sessions happen in public space.
- MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives for new members.
What we watch for you
- Makeup credits owed
How many sessions members are owed from weather cancellations.
- True cost per session
Coach pay and gear wear against what's actually charged, since low overhead can mask underpricing.
- Active member count
The base the dues number rests on, since one coach can only run so many sessions.
- The set-aside
What you'll owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things outdoor bootcamp 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.
No. I track the makeup credits members are owed, so when they use them next month, it doesn't look like attendance suddenly jumped for no reason.
I keep coach pay and gear replacement visible against what you charge, so you can see your true cost per session instead of assuming low overhead means healthy margins.
If he's not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, yes, by January 31. I keep that list running so it's ready.
The tax side
The tax side of running an outdoor bootcamp.
Most of what trips up a bootcamp is what's easy to miss without a building. Permits, gear, and true costs need their own visibility.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Portable equipmentKettlebells, sandbags, and other gear can usually be written off the year they're bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Coach or employeeA coach who leads your session schedule with your gear usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, no matter what the pay arrangement is called. Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
- Vehicle mileageDriving between park locations for sessions can often be deducted using the standard mileage rate, 72.5 cents a mile for the first half of 2026 and 76 cents for the second half.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when dues, permits, and gear are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions outdoor bootcamps miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Kettlebells and sandbags
- Cones and agility equipment
- Park permit fees
- Vehicle mileage between locations
- Liability insurance
- Coach certifications
- Scheduling software fees
- Business phone line
- Marketing and referral incentives
- Storage for gear between sessions
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 outdoor bootcamp's year, kept every month.
Weather runs the schedule as much as the calendar does. Your taxes come on a fixed 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so the New Year's sign-up wave doesn't turn into an April surprise.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you'll owe, and whether summer heat is changing attendance patterns.
- October
Before the permit renews
Before the park permit renews for the next season, Gus looks at gear worth replacing 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 outdoor bootcamps. 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 outdoor bootcamp owners ask first.
Can Gus track sessions we have to cancel for weather?
Yes. He tracks the makeup credits members are owed from a rainout, so when they redeem those credits later, it doesn't look like attendance jumped for no reason.
I don't pay rent. Does that mean my books are simple?
Simpler than a gym's, yes, but not nothing. Gus still tracks coach pay, gear replacement, and permits so you can see your true cost per session instead of assuming no rent means no real costs.
Are park permit fees worth their own category?
Yes. They're a real, required cost of using the space, and keeping them separate means a renewal reads as the expected cost it is, not a surprise bill.
Can I deduct mileage for driving between park locations?
Often, yes. Business mileage can usually be deducted using the standard rate, and Gus tracks it as a real cost of running sessions in multiple spots.
My books are behind from when I started the bootcamp. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever statements you have since starting. Gus catches the books up, the accountant checks the work, and you'll have a clear picture 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