Home, hobby & lifestyle retail
Books and taxes for outdoor gear stores.
A used tent traded in for store credit, a guided river trip with a permit fee, a kayak rented out for the weekend, and a floor that swaps from ski gear to camping gear by season. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
July came in at $10,500. Kayak and canoe rentals were the biggest driver of the summer season, so I kept rental income apart from straight gear sales.
- Register batch, gear counterIn-store sales
- Osprey wholesale invoiceWholesale inventory
- Kayak and tent rentalsRental income
- Guided river trip, permit feeGuided trip costs
- Used gear trade-in creditTrade-in credit
Why your books are different
An outdoor gear store's books go wrong the same handful of ways.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a sale and a supplier bill. Your shop takes trade-ins on used gear for store credit, rents out kayaks and tents by the weekend, runs guided trips that carry their own permit and guide costs, and swaps the whole floor from ski gear to camping gear by season. When the books miss that, your real margin stays a guess.
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1
Trade-in credit is not the same as a cash sale
A customer trades in a used tent or pair of skis toward new gear, and the trade-in value looks like an expense if it is not tied to the sale it is part of.
What we doBooks the trade-in credit against the new sale it is tied to, so both the sale price and the trade-in value are accurate. -
2
Rental income gets mixed into retail sales
A weekend kayak or tent rental brings in real money, but blended into register totals, you cannot tell whether the rental fleet is actually worth the upkeep it takes.
What we doKeeps rental income in its own line, separate from retail gear sales. -
3
Guided trip costs get lost in general expenses
Permit fees, guide pay, and trip supplies are real costs tied to a specific guided trip, but lumped into overhead, you cannot tell whether trips are actually profitable once those costs are counted.
What we doKeeps guided trip costs matched against trip revenue, so real trip margin is visible. -
4
A seasonal gear swap looks like a bad month
Selling off ski gear at a discount to make room for camping and paddling gear can look like a loss if the season and the swap are not accounted for together.
What we doTracks seasonal category sales against the season they belong to, so a normal swap does not read as a bad month.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an outdoor gear store.
Set up once for how you sell, rent, and guide. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- In-store salesNew gear sales at the register, by season.
- Used gear salesTrade-in gear resold, tracked apart from new inventory.
- Rental incomeKayaks, tents, and other gear rented out by the day or weekend.
- Guided trip incomeTrip fees, tracked against permit and guide costs.
Money out
- Wholesale inventoryNew gear orders from manufacturers like Osprey and regional distributors.
- Trade-in creditStore credit issued for used gear taken in trade.
- Guided trip costsPermit fees, guide pay, and trip supplies.
- Rental fleet upkeepRepair and maintenance on rental kayaks, tents, and gear.
- Store rent and utilitiesThe lease, power, and water for the shop.
- Card processing feesWhat your card processor keeps on every sale.
What we watch for you
- Trade-in volume
How much of new sales are offset by trade-in credit, so pricing on used gear stays sensible.
- Rental utilization
How often rental gear actually goes out, so the fleet earns its keep.
- Guided trip margin
What trips bring in after permits, guide pay, and supplies.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across rentals, trips, and gear sales together, tracked every month.
Ask Gus
Things outdoor gear store 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.
I book the trade-in credit against that sale, so both the new gear's price and the trade-in value stay accurate instead of looking like a separate cost.
I match those costs against trip revenue, so I can tell you the real margin on trips instead of a guess from a blended number.
That is normal for this business. I track seasonal category sales against the season they belong to, so a normal swap does not read as a bad month.
The tax side
The tax side of running an outdoor gear store.
Most of what trips up an outdoor gear store is mixed money: trade-in credit, rental income, and guided trip costs that should not blend into plain retail sales.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Cost of goods soldWhat you paid for the gear you actually sold this year, new or used, reduces your taxable income, not what is still on the shelf between seasons.
- Rental equipment depreciationGear used for rental rather than resale is often depreciated as equipment rather than expensed as inventory. The accountant confirms which applies to your rental fleet.
- Sales tax collectedSales tax on a sale belongs to the state the moment it is collected, whether it is a retail sale, a used gear sale, or a rental fee.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated outdoor gear stores can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. It comes out right when trade-ins, rentals, and trips are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions outdoor gear stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Rental fleet repair and maintenance
- Guide pay and permit fees
- Card processing fees
- Storefront signage
- Local advertising
- Business insurance
- Storage for seasonal gear
- POS software subscription
- Trip supplies and safety gear
- Vehicle costs for trip transport
- Cleaning and maintenance
- Trade show travel
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 gear store's year, kept every month.
Ski season and paddling season trade off through the year, and the books stay open every month between them. 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 April is already handled, right in the middle of winter gear sales.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since ski season inventory was still moving in January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer rentals and guided trips changed the picture.
- October
Before winter gear season
Ski and winter inventory, trade-in stock, and any equipment worth buying before the floor swaps for the season.
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 gear stores. 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 gear store owners ask first.
Can Gus track trade-ins on used gear without confusing my sales?
Yes. He books the trade-in credit against the sale it is tied to, so the new gear's real price and the trade-in value both stay accurate instead of looking like a separate cost.
I rent out kayaks and tents alongside retail sales. Does that get tracked separately?
Yes. Rental income stays in its own line so you can see whether the rental fleet is actually earning its keep, separate from gear sales at the register.
How do guided trip permit fees and guide pay get handled?
Gus keeps those costs matched against trip revenue, so you can see the real margin on guided trips instead of a guess from blended expenses.
My inventory basically flips from ski gear to camping gear each year. Is that a problem for the books?
No. Gus tracks seasonal category sales against the season they belong to, so a normal swap between ski and summer gear reads as expected, not as a red flag.
My books are behind after a busy season. Can you catch up?
Send what you have. Gus sorts through retail sales, rentals, and trip income, and most owners know 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