Youth & adult sports training
Books and taxes for pickleball clubs and facilities.
Membership dues, per-visit drop-in fees, a round robin league that runs six weeks, and a pro shop selling paddles that cost more than the first ones did. 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
November came in at $9,500. Winter drop-in traffic picked up as outdoor courts closed elsewhere, so I kept that apart from your membership renewals.
- CourtReserve payoutCourt reservations
- Membership renewalsMembership dues
- Paddle order, pro shopPro shop sales
- Court resurfacing, court 4Facility upkeep
- Instructor pay, NovemberCoach and instructor pay
Why your books are different
A pickleball club's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your club layers membership dues, per-visit drop-in fees, and reserved court time on top of each other, then sells paddles at a markup on the side. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell which one is actually filling the courts.
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1
Membership dues and per-visit fees blend into one number
A member pays $600 a year plus a small drop-in fee every visit, while a non-member pays a higher fee with no membership at all. Deposited together, you cannot tell whether membership or open play is driving traffic.
What we doKeeps membership dues and drop-in fees in separate lines, so you can see what each is actually contributing. -
2
A six-week league gets booked as one lump sum
A round robin league charges $120 upfront for a season that runs six weeks. Booked entirely the week it's paid, that week looks inflated and the following weeks look like the league brought in nothing.
What we doSpreads league fees across the weeks the league actually runs, so income matches the play that's happening. -
3
Paddle and gear sales get mixed with court and membership income
A single paddle from the pro shop can sell for $250 or more, a very different transaction than a $10 drop-in fee, and the two often land in the same deposit without being told apart.
What we doKeeps pro shop sales in their own category, separate from membership and court income. -
4
Court construction and conversion costs get filed as ordinary repairs
Converting a bay of racquetball or tennis courts into pickleball courts, or building new ones, is a large one-time cost, very different from a net repair or a bag of balls.
What we doFlags court construction and conversion as a facility investment, not routine upkeep, and gets the accountant's call on writing it off. -
5
Clinic instructors paid per session look like a stock check
An instructor who runs beginner clinics for a flat rate per session looks like plain payroll once it hits the bank feed, hiding whether clinic pricing actually covers what you pay instructors.
What we doKeeps instructor pay on its own line against clinic and lesson revenue, so you can see the margin on every session sold.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a pickleball club.
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 duesAnnual or monthly access fees, tracked apart from per-visit play.
- Court reservationsBooked court time from members and drop-in players.
- League and clinic feesRound robin leagues and skill clinics, tracked to the weeks they run.
- Pro shop salesPaddles, balls, and apparel sold at the counter.
Money out
- Coach and instructor payClinic and lesson staff, kept apart from your own draw.
- Facility upkeepCourt surface repair, net systems, and lighting.
- Pro shop inventoryPaddles and gear bought for resale.
- Court reservation softwareCourtReserve or similar scheduling and booking fees.
- InsuranceGeneral liability coverage for the facility and its players.
- MarketingLocal ads, your website, and league listing fees.
What we watch for you
- Membership versus drop-in mix
Whether growth is coming from memberships or one-off visits.
- League fill rate
How many league spots are actually booked against capacity.
- Pro shop margin
What paddle and gear sales net once inventory cost is pulled out.
- The set-aside
What membership and league income actually owe, updated monthly so April is already accounted for.
Ask Gus
Things pickleball club 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.
Not really, no. I spread that money across the six weeks the league actually plays, so a strong signup week doesn't make the rest of the season look empty.
I flagged it as a facility investment rather than a repair, so it doesn't wreck this month's number. Whether to write it off now or over time is a call for the accountant.
It shouldn't change how she's paid, but I do keep her clinic hours and desk hours on separate lines so you can see what each actually costs.
The tax side
The tax side of a pickleball club.
Most of what trips up a club is timing and mixing revenue streams that look similar but behave differently.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Instructor worker classificationAn instructor who runs clinics on your courts on a schedule you set is usually an employee, not a contractor, even part time.
- Court construction and equipmentNew or converted courts, resurfacing, and lighting systems can usually be written off, sometimes in the year you pay for them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent, permanent, for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Sales tax on pro shop merchandisePaddles, balls, and apparel sold at the counter are usually taxable, even where membership and court fees are not. Rules vary by state, so Gus keeps that income separate.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when membership, league, and pro shop income are booked correctly.
Deductions pickleball clubs and facilities miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Paddles and balls for club use
- Net systems and windscreens
- Court surface repair
- Court reservation software fees
- Liability insurance
- Instructor certification fees
- First aid supplies
- Website and booking tools
- League and tournament listing fees
- Signage and court numbering
- Storage for pro shop inventory
- Uniforms with your logo
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 pickleball club's year, kept every month.
Play stays busy most of the year, but your taxes still come on a fixed schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of it. 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 instructor and clinic 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is already running.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right as spring league sign-ups pick up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer drop-in traffic changed the number.
- October
Before winter surge
Before winter drop-in traffic picks up, Gus looks at court upgrades and pro shop stock worth planning 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 pickleball clubs and facilities. 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 pickleball club owners ask first.
Can Gus tell membership dues apart from drop-in fees?
Yes. He keeps them in separate lines, so you can see whether growth is coming from new members or from one-off players walking in.
We run reservations through a scheduling app. Do I have to change anything?
No, your reservation app doesn't need to change. Gus reads your bank statement directly, and any time a deposit needs context, he asks once and won't ask again.
We're planning to add four more courts next year. How should we plan for that?
Send Gus a rough budget when you have one, and he'll flag the spend as a facility investment when it happens, so the accountant can help you time the write-off.
Do we owe sales tax on paddles we sell?
Usually yes, even where court and membership fees are not taxed. Rules vary by state, so Gus keeps pro shop sales separate to make that easy to hand off.
We opened without any real bookkeeping in place. Can that be fixed now?
Yes. Send whatever bank statements and receipts you have from opening day forward, and Gus sorts through them until you have a real number to build on.
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 youth & adult sports training
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Adult recreational leagues
- Baseball & softball training facilities
- Basketball skills trainers
- Batting cages
- Fencing clubs
- Golf academies for juniors
- Hockey training centers
- Lacrosse clubs
- Private pitching & hitting coaches
- Quarterback & position coaches
- Referee & sports official assignors
- Soccer training academies
- Sports camps
- Sports complexes & turf facilities
- Sports photography companies
- Travel sports clubs
- Volleyball clubs
- Wrestling clubs
- Youth sports leagues
- Sports performance, speed & agility training
- Tennis clubs & teaching pros
- Adult & ballroom dance studios
- Aerial silks & circus arts studios
- All-star cheerleading gyms
- EMS training studios
- Gunsmiths
- Parkour gyms
- Pole fitness studios
- Powerlifting & strongman gyms
- Prenatal & postnatal fitness
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