Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for pick-your-own farms.
Strawberries weighed at the field, apples in the fall, school buses full of kids on a Tuesday, and a farm stand selling jam on the side. 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
June came in at $16,600. The new hanging scale for the strawberry rows went in as equipment, not field supplies.
- Square field standField picking sales
- Lincoln Elementary POGroup field trips
- Strawberry plug orderPlants and nursery stock
- Local radio spotAdvertising
- Portable toilet rentalField day expenses
Why your books are different
Pick-your-own books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees cash deposits from a farm stand. Your business is a field priced by the pound, a stand selling what did not get picked, and a school bus full of kids who paid weeks before they showed up. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell whether the field or the stand is carrying the season.
-
1
Field sales and stand sales get rung up together
A family that picks two flats of strawberries and buys a jar of jam from the stand pays for both at the same register. Lumped into one number, you cannot tell if the picking side or the pre-picked side is what actually pulls people in.
What we doKeeps field picking sales and pre-picked stand sales in their own categories, so you can see which one carries the day. -
2
School group bookings land before the trip happens
A school pays by purchase order in April for a field trip that does not happen until June, and the check often arrives even later than that. Booked the day it clears, a slow spring can look better than it is while the actual trip income lags behind.
What we doFlags group booking payments against the visit date they were paid for, so a prepaid trip does not read as a month you have not earned yet. -
3
A rained-out weekend gets no clean record
When a Saturday gets rained out and pickers reschedule for free the following week, there is no sale to record that day, but the field still had to be watered, weeded, and staffed. Without a note, a bad-weather week just looks like the farm did nothing.
What we doNotes weather-related slow weeks against payroll and field costs, so a rained-out weekend reads as weather, not a business problem. -
4
The hanging scale gets filed as a supply
A certified hanging scale for weighing berries at the row, or a new set of field wagons, costs real money and lasts for years, but on a bank statement it looks like just another farm supply purchase.
What we doFlags scale, wagon, and field equipment purchases the month they show up and logs them as equipment, not supplies. -
5
Weekend picking help pays like cash, not payroll
Extra hands who check people in, weigh flats, and watch the parking field on a busy Saturday are often paid in cash at the end of the day, which leaves no clean trail of what the picking season actually cost in labor.
What we doKeeps weekend field help as its own labor line, so you can see what a picking Saturday costs against what it brings in.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a pick-your-own farm.
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
- Field picking salesStrawberries, blueberries, or apples weighed and paid for at the row.
- Pre-picked stand salesFlats, jam, and cider sold to visitors who did not want to pick themselves.
- Group and school field tripsPurchase orders and checks from schools and camps, tracked to the visit date.
- Wagon ride and activity feesHayrides, a corn box, or a small petting area added onto the picking visit.
- Farmers market salesOff-site sales at a local market on days the field is not open.
Money out
- Plants and nursery stockStrawberry plugs, blueberry bushes, or fruit tree stock ordered each season.
- Field suppliesPints, flats, buckets, and the pick-your-own bags handed out at the gate.
- Field equipmentScales, wagons, and row markers, logged so they get written off right.
- Seasonal field laborWeekend and picking-day help, kept apart from year-round payroll.
- AdvertisingRadio spots, local paper ads, and social posts that bring visitors out.
- Field day expensesPortable toilets, parking field mowing, and signage for busy weekends.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for visitors walking the rows, usually higher than a farm with no public access.
What we watch for you
- Yield per acre
What each acre of the field actually produces in sales, tracked from the books, not a guess.
- Field vs. stand mix
How much comes from picking versus the pre-picked stand, so you know which side draws people.
- Picking-day labor share
What weekend help costs against what a busy Saturday brings in.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things pick-your-own farm 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.
Usually it can. I logged it as field equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
I keep it tied to June, the month the trip actually happens, so April does not look stronger than it really was.
If any one of them is paid $2,000 or more this year and is not on payroll, they get a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a pick-your-own farm.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. A scale filed as a supply, group trip income counted early, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
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 what you grow generally lands on Schedule F instead of the Schedule C a typical small business files, which changes how income and certain costs are handled.
- Equipment and field structuresScales, wagons, and hoop houses can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for weekend helpAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for gate, parking, or field help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, and it comes out right when the books stay right all season.
Deductions pick-your-own farms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Strawberry plugs and plant stock
- Picking pints and flats
- Field scale calibration
- Portable toilet rental
- Radio and local paper ads
- Parking field mowing
- Farm stand signage
- Wagon and trailer repair
- Liability insurance
- Irrigation line repair
- Farmers market stall fees
- Uniforms with your farm's name
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 pick-your-own year, kept every month.
Strawberries come in the spring, apples in the fall, and your taxes come on a 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 seasonal help 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before the first strawberry rows open, no scrambling once picking season starts.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand after berry season, what you will owe, and whether the group bookings came in as planned.
- October
Before the fall rush
Apple season and school trips peak here. Gus looks at any equipment worth buying before December and what the fall numbers say.
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 pick-your-own farms. 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 pick-your-own farm owners ask first.
Can Gus tell field sales apart from farm stand sales?
Yes. He keeps picking sales priced by the pound separate from pre-picked stand sales, so you can see which side of the operation is actually bringing people out.
We get paid by school purchase order weeks after the trip is booked. Is that a problem?
No. Gus ties the payment to the month the visit actually happens, so a prepaid spring trip does not make a slow month look stronger than it was.
Do I have to change how I run the field or the register?
No. Weigh and ring up field sales the way you always have. Gus reads it off your bank statement, and if a deposit from the stand or a school account is not clear, he asks once and remembers your answer.
A rainy weekend killed our sales. Does that mess up the books?
It shouldn't. Gus notes weather-related slow stretches against your field and payroll costs, so a rained-out weekend reads as weather, not a warning sign.
My picking season help is paid in cash at the end of the day. Can Gus still track it?
Yes, as long as you send what you paid out. Keeping it visible as its own labor line is what lets you see what a picking weekend really costs.
Is a new hanging scale or field wagon written off all at once?
Often, yes. A scale or a wagon bought for the field usually qualifies for a full write-off the year you buy it, though a big-ticket item sometimes gets spread out instead. Gus logs the purchase and leaves the call to the accountant.
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.
More in farms, ranches & agritourism
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Agricultural drone spraying services
- Alpaca & llama farms
- Aquaculture & fish farms
- Berry farms
- Cattle ranches
- Christmas tree farms
- Corn mazes & fall festivals
- Custom harvesting & farm service contractors
- Custom meat processors
- Farm equipment dealers & repair shops
- Farm stands & CSAs
- Farm-to-table dinner hosts
- Goat yoga & animal experience farms
- Hay & feed producers
- Hydroponic & vertical farms
- Lavender farms
- Microgreens growers
- Mushroom farms
- Orchards & cider apple growers
- Pecan & nut growers
- Poultry & egg farms
- Pumpkin patches
- Small dairy & creamery farms
- Sod farms
- Sunflower fields & photo farms
- Tobacco & specialty crop growers
- U-pick flower farms
- Wholesale plant nurseries
- Retail garden centers & greenhouses
- Equestrian event venues & arenas
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