Sporting goods & sports services
Books and taxes for racquet stringing services.
Same-day string jobs, a flat fee for stringing a tournament's field of racquets, string sets bought by the reel, and a subscription plan for regulars all move through one account. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
April came in at $4,600. The weekend tournament gig paid as one flat fee for stringing 30 racquets, so I logged it as event income, separate from your regular counter jobs.
- Tournament stringing feeTournament event income
- Luxilon string reel orderString inventory
- Subscription plan paymentsMembership subscriptions
- Babolat string orderString inventory
- Stringing machine tuningEquipment maintenance
Why your books are different
A racquet stringing service's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a bench and a spool of string. Your business runs on same-day jobs, flat-fee tournament work, and often a subscription plan for regular players. When the books do not track those differently, it is hard to know which kind of work is actually paying.
-
1
Tournament gigs get mixed into regular counter income
A weekend tournament contract to string a whole field of racquets for one flat fee is a very different job than a single walk-in string job, but lumped together, neither shows its own real value.
What we doKeeps tournament and event income in its own line, separate from regular counter work, so each shows its true worth. -
2
String cost per job gets buried in a bulk reel purchase
String comes off a reel bought in bulk, so a single job's real material cost is easy to lose track of, making it hard to know if pricing per racquet actually covers the string used.
What we doKeeps string inventory purchases visible against jobs done, so pricing per racquet can be checked against real material cost over time. -
3
Subscription plan payments get counted as regular job income
A player who pays a flat monthly fee for unlimited stringing is paying ahead for jobs not yet done. Booked as income the day it lands, a strong sign-up month can hide work still owed.
What we doKeeps subscription payments tracked against jobs actually performed, so prepaid money does not read as earned before the work happens. -
4
Turnaround fees disappear into the base stringing price
A same-day rush job costs more than a standard two-day turnaround, but that premium often gets folded into one number with no way to see what fast service is really worth.
What we doKeeps rush and turnaround fees in their own line, separate from standard job pricing. -
5
Equipment maintenance gets treated like a one-time expense
A stringing machine needs regular calibration and part replacement to keep tension accurate, and that upkeep cost is easy to skip tracking until a big repair bill shows up out of nowhere.
What we doKeeps equipment maintenance in its own category, so the real ongoing cost of running the machine is visible, not a surprise.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a racquet stringing service.
Set up once for how you take jobs and where you work. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Standard stringing jobsIndividual walk-in and drop-off work.
- Tournament event incomeFlat-fee contracts to string a tournament's field of racquets.
- Membership subscriptionsMonthly plans, tracked against jobs actually performed.
- Turnaround feesSame-day and rush service premiums, billed on their own.
Money out
- String inventoryLuxilon, Babolat, and similar string reels bought by the spool.
- Grommets and gripsSmall parts stock used alongside string jobs.
- Equipment maintenanceCalibration and part replacement for the stringing machine.
- Booth or bench space feesRent paid to a club or facility for a stringing setup.
- Travel to tournamentsMileage or transport for event stringing gigs.
- Card processing feesWhat the processor kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Tournament income share
How much of the month's total came from event gigs versus regular counter jobs.
- String cost per job
What a reel actually costs per racquet strung, checked against your pricing.
- Subscription job backlog
How many prepaid jobs are still owed to members who have not come in yet.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked through slow weeks and tournament weekends alike, so filing day is never a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things stringers 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.
It came out to about $9 a racquet across 30 racquets, once I weighed it against your string cost. Kept in its own line, so you can compare it to your regular per-job rate next time.
Four are still open against what they have prepaid. I track those separately so a strong sign-up month never looks like more income than it really is.
That is worth a real answer, not a guess. I keep any outside work you get paid for separate, and the accountant can look at how it should be classified.
The tax side
The tax side of a racquet stringing service.
Most of what trips up a stringer is timing on subscriptions and knowing the real string cost behind each job.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Self-employment tax for solo stringersA stringer operating as a sole proprietor pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, on the Social Security wage base up to $184,500.
- Equipment for the benchA stringing machine and related tools can usually be written off in the year bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 to help with tournament work gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionA solo stringing business run as a pass-through can usually take up to 20 percent of profit off taxable income, and that figure is only right when every job and reel of string is tracked all year.
Deductions racquet stringing services miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Stringing machine calibration
- String and grommet stock
- Grip replacement supplies
- Travel to tournament gigs
- Booth or bench space rent
- Liability insurance
- Card processing fees
- Booking or scheduling software
- Trade certifications
- Business cards and local signage
- Website fees
- Club membership tied to bench access
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 stringing service's year, kept every month.
Tournament season and club league play both bring rushes of work. Your team keeps you ahead of the calendar and the tax deadlines 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 contractor 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned before tournament season starts.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed heading into spring tournament season, with the set-aside already covering what you owe.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether tournament gigs are pulling their weight against regular jobs.
- October
Before the slow season
Ahead of quieter months, Gus looks at equipment maintenance worth doing and anything worth handling 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 racquet stringing services. 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 stringers ask first.
Can Gus tell me if a tournament gig was actually worth it?
Yes. Event income is tracked separately from your regular job pricing, so you can compare a flat-fee tournament rate to your normal per-racquet price.
How does Gus handle my subscription stringing plan?
Payments are tracked against jobs actually performed, so a strong sign-up month does not get counted as fully earned before the work is done.
Do I need to change how I schedule or take jobs?
No. Keep taking jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement and asks once about anything unclear, then remembers the answer.
Tournament season kept me too busy to track anything. Can Gus catch up?
Usually within a week. Send whatever bank statements you have from the months that fell behind, and Gus works through the backlog before the accountant checks it.
How does Gus track what a reel of string actually costs per job?
String purchases are kept visible against jobs done, so you can check your per-racquet pricing against real material cost over time, not a guess.
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