Arts & music education
Books and taxes for recording and audio engineering schools.
Cohort tuition, weekend studio bookings for outside artists, a mic locker worth thousands, and contract engineers who teach one day a week. 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
March came in at $9,000 once the new mic locker and license renewals were counted. I kept last weekend's outside session booking separate from tuition, so you can see what the studio earns when it isn't teaching.
- Cohort tuition draftCourse tuition
- Outside session bookingStudio time rental
- Sweetwater mic orderRecording gear
- Contract engineer payInstructor pay
- Pro Tools license renewalSoftware licenses
Why your books are different
Recording school books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist sees tuition and a rent payment. Your school runs on twelve-week cohorts, rents its studio to outside artists between classes, and depends on gear and software licenses that cost more than most businesses' whole setup. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell what teaching actually earns.
-
1
Outside session bookings blend into tuition
A weekend booking from an outside artist paying to use your studio and engineer brings in real money on top of tuition, and if it lands in the same deposit, you cannot tell whether the studio's off-hours bookings are worth keeping up.
What we doKeeps outside session income in its own line, separate from tuition, so you can see what the studio earns on its own time. -
2
A full mic locker looks like one expense
Replacing microphones, preamps, and a console can run into tens of thousands of dollars, and if it is booked as one flat purchase, it is harder to track what each piece cost and whether it qualifies for a full write-off.
What we doLogs gear purchases individually as equipment, so each piece is tracked and ready for the accountant's call on how to write it off. -
3
Software licenses get treated as one annual cost
Pro Tools, Ableton, and plugin bundles renew on different schedules and different seat counts, and lumped into one software line, the school loses track of which licenses are actually being used by which cohort.
What we doKeeps software licenses in their own line so renewals are tracked and nothing gets paid for twice or forgotten. -
4
A cohort's tuition gets counted the day it's paid
Students pay for a full twelve-week certificate up front, and counted all at once, the week a new cohort starts looks huge while the weeks of actual teaching that follow look thin.
What we doRecognizes cohort tuition across the weeks the course runs, so the monthly number reflects the teaching actually delivered. -
5
Contract engineers who also mix outside work get paid from one pot
A lead instructor who teaches one day a week and also mixes records for clients booked through the school has two different kinds of income and pay mixed into one relationship, which makes it hard to see what teaching costs versus what the studio's outside work brings in.
What we doKeeps instructor teaching pay separate from any outside mixing or session work billed through the school.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a recording school.
Set up once for how your school gets paid and what it spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Course tuitionTwelve-week cohort payments, recognized across the weeks the course runs.
- Studio time rentalWeekend and off-hours bookings from outside artists and engineers.
- Mixing and mastering feesPaid session work the school takes on for local artists alongside teaching.
- Equipment rental incomeGear rented out to alumni or outside engineers between cohorts.
Money out
- Instructor payContract pay for working engineers teaching part-time, kept apart from any mixing work they bill separately.
- Studio rentLease and build-out costs for the recording space.
- Recording gearMicrophones, preamps, monitors, and console purchases from Sweetwater or a local dealer.
- Software licensesPro Tools, Ableton, and plugin bundle renewals, tracked by seat.
- Acoustic treatment and maintenanceRoom treatment, cable replacement, and equipment servicing.
- MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives before each new cohort.
- Equipment insuranceCoverage for gear worth well more than most small businesses carry.
What we watch for you
- Enrolled cohort size
The base each term's tuition rests on. A steady cohort matters more than one strong term.
- Outside session revenue
What the studio earns from bookings and mixing work outside of teaching hours.
- Gear cost per cohort
What recording gear and software cost against tuition brought in, so pricing stays realistic.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things recording school 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.
It is still taxable income, but I keep it in its own line so you can see what the studio earns on its own time, apart from what teaching brings in.
Usually most of it can be written off the year you bought it. I log each piece as equipment and flag the total so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
I keep his teaching pay and his mixing work in separate lines, so you can see what each side of his work actually costs and brings in.
The tax side
The tax side of a recording school.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and tracking: cohort tuition counted too fast, gear filed as one lump purchase, and a contract engineer's two kinds of pay blurred together.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Employee or contractorAn engineer who teaches a set weekly schedule using your studio and curriculum usually counts as an employee. One brought in for a single course or workshop, paid a flat rate, usually counts as a contractor.
- Contractor 1099sAny contract instructor or engineer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Recording gear and equipmentMicrophones, monitors, and console gear can usually be written off the year you buy them, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- The pass-through deductionMost school owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions recording and audio engineering schools miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Microphones and preamps
- Studio monitors
- Acoustic treatment
- Pro Tools and Ableton licenses
- Console maintenance
- Marketing and local ads
- Equipment insurance
- Continuing education and certifications
- Business phone line
- Website hosting
- Payment processing fees
- Cable and stand replacement
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 recording school year, kept every month.
Your cohorts run on a twelve-week cycle, and the studio stays busy with outside bookings between them. Your taxes come on a schedule either way. 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 winter cohort begins, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed while the spring cohort is mid-term. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer session bookings and cohort enrollment changed the number.
- October
Before the winter cohort
Before winter enrollment opens, Gus looks at gear or license upgrades worth buying and anything worth doing 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 recording and audio engineering schools. 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 recording school owners ask first.
We rent our studio to outside artists on weekends. How is that treated differently from tuition?
It is still taxable business income, but Gus keeps it in its own line so you can see what the studio earns on its own time, separate from what teaching brings in.
We just bought a full mic locker and a new console. Can it all be written off this year?
Usually, in the year you bought it. Gus logs each piece of gear as equipment and the accountant confirms how to write off the total.
Our lead instructor also mixes records for outside clients booked through the school. Is that separate from teaching pay?
Yes. Gus keeps his teaching pay and his mixing work in separate lines, so each side of his work shows what it actually earns and costs.
Cohort tuition is paid up front for a twelve-week course. Is it all counted the day it's paid?
No. Gus spreads tuition across the weeks the course runs, so the week a cohort starts does not look inflated and the following weeks do not look thin.
Our contract engineers only teach one day a week. Are they employees or contractors?
Often contractors, if they set their own material and are paid a flat rate for a single course. Gus flags the arrangement and the accountant makes the final call.
Our books are a semester behind. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have, and Gus works through a semester of tuition, gear purchases, and outside bookings in about a week, so nothing stays a mystery for long.
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 arts & music education
We keep books for the business next door too.
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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