Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for retail garden centers and greenhouses.
A spring weekend that outsells the rest of the year combined, flats you grew yourself sitting next to pottery and gift items you bought wholesale, and a landscaping crew buying mulch by the truckload. 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
May came in at $43,600. The landscaper's mulch order got booked as a wholesale sale, kept apart from retail counter sales.
- Retail plant and gift salesRetail sales
- Landscaper mulch orderWholesale and bulk sales
- Wholesale plant delivery, resale stockPurchased inventory
- Greenhouse seed and plug orderGrown stock inputs
- Seasonal cashier and floor staffSeasonal labor
Why your books are different
Garden center and greenhouse books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a retail shop with a busy spring. Your business grows some of what it sells, buys the rest wholesale to resell, and mixes plants with pottery, tools, and gift items, all inside a few make-or-break weeks each spring. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what actually drives your margin.
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1
Grown stock and purchased stock get treated the same way
A flat of annuals started from seed in your own greenhouse costs very differently than a tree bought wholesale from a nursery and marked up for resale, but rung up at the same register, both just look like plant sales.
What we doKeeps grown stock and purchased resale inventory in separate categories, so you can see the real margin on each. -
2
The whole year rides on a few spring weekends
Almost all the year's revenue can land in a six to eight week spring rush, and looked at month by month without context, the slow months look like trouble and the spring rush looks unreal.
What we doKeeps the spring season's numbers in view against the whole year, so a quiet fall or winter reads as expected, not alarming. -
3
Landscaper bulk orders get lumped with retail counter sales
A landscaping crew buying pallets of mulch or a truckload of trees pays differently, and often on different terms, than a homeowner buying a few pots of flowers, but both can land in one general sales line.
What we doKeeps wholesale and bulk landscaper sales separate from retail counter sales, so you can see which side of the business drives volume. -
4
Gift and hardgoods items disappear into plant sales
Pottery, tools, birdseed, and gift items sold at the register have very different margins than the plants themselves, but if everything rings up under one general sales category, you cannot tell which part of the store earns its keep.
What we doKeeps gift and hardgoods sales in their own category, separate from live plant sales, so each part of the store stays visible. -
5
Unsold spring stock becomes a write-off nobody tracks
Plants that do not sell before they decline in quality get marked down or tossed at the end of the season, and without a clear record, that loss just disappears instead of showing up as what it actually cost.
What we doNotes markdowns and unsold stock losses the owner flags, so end-of-season losses show up honestly instead of vanishing.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a garden center and greenhouse.
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
- Retail salesCounter sales of plants, gift items, and hardgoods to walk-in customers.
- Wholesale and bulk salesLandscaper and contractor orders for mulch, trees, or bulk plant material.
- Design and installation servicesLandscape design or planting installation billed alongside plant sales.
- Delivery feesFees charged to deliver larger orders to a home or job site.
- Workshop and event feesContainer gardening classes or seasonal events hosted at the center.
Money out
- Grown stock inputsSeed, plugs, and greenhouse supplies for plants grown on site.
- Purchased inventoryWholesale plants, trees, and shrubs bought for resale.
- Gift and hardgoods inventoryPottery, tools, birdseed, and other non-plant retail stock.
- Greenhouse utilitiesHeating, cooling, and irrigation costs to keep the greenhouse running.
- Seasonal laborSpring rush cashier, floor, and loading staff.
- AdvertisingSpring promotion ads that drive the season's biggest weeks.
- Delivery and equipmentTrucks, forklifts, and carts used to move bulk orders and inventory.
What we watch for you
- Grown vs. purchased mix
How much of what you sell you grow yourself versus buy wholesale, since the margins differ a lot.
- Retail vs. wholesale mix
How much comes from walk-in customers versus landscaper and contractor bulk orders.
- Spring rush share of the year
How much of the year's income lands in the spring rush, so slower months read as expected.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things garden center and greenhouse 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.
Yes, and I already keep them separate. Grown stock and purchased resale inventory stay in their own categories, so you can see the real margin on each.
No. I keep the spring season in view against the whole year, so a quiet fall or winter reads as expected, not a warning sign.
I keep wholesale and bulk orders separate from retail counter sales, so you can see which side of the business is driving volume.
The tax side
The tax side of a garden center and greenhouse.
Most of what goes wrong here is separating what you grow from what you buy to resell. Grown and purchased stock mixed together, unsold inventory losses left untracked, and a set-aside nobody started until after the spring rush.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Schedule F or business incomeWhether this lands on Schedule F or as regular business income often depends on how much of what you sell you grow versus buy wholesale to resell, so Gus flags the mix for the accountant.
- Inventory and cost of goods soldPlants and gift items bought for resale get tracked as inventory, and their cost is deducted when they sell, not when you buy them. Gus keeps purchases and sales in separate lines so this comes out right.
- Contractor 1099s for seasonal helpAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for spring rush or delivery help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Greenhouse and equipment depreciationGreenhouse structures, heating systems, and delivery equipment can usually be written off, sometimes the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Deductions retail garden centers and greenhouses miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Seed and plug stock
- Greenhouse heating fuel
- Pots and growing trays
- Delivery truck fuel
- Spring promotion advertising
- Pottery and gift inventory
- Irrigation repair
- Seasonal staff wages
- Forklift and cart maintenance
- Shade cloth and greenhouse film
- Business liability insurance
- Signage and price tags
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 garden center and greenhouse year, kept every month.
Spring carries most of the year, and the rest slows way down. Your taxes come on a schedule of their own. 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 staff 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so spring income funds the rest of the year evenly.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed right before the spring rush hits full speed.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand after the spring rush, and how grown versus purchased stock each performed.
- October
Season wrap
Gus looks at how the year performed against last year and flags equipment or greenhouse upgrades worth doing before next spring.
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 retail garden centers and greenhouses. 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 garden center and greenhouse owners ask first.
Can Gus tell what we grow ourselves apart from what we buy wholesale to resell?
Yes. He keeps grown stock and purchased resale inventory in separate categories, so you can see the real margin on each.
Almost all our income lands in a short spring rush. Will the books make the rest of the year look bad?
No. Gus keeps the spring season in view against your whole year, so a quiet fall or winter reads as expected, not a warning sign.
Do I have to change how I sell to landscapers or walk-in customers?
No. Sell to landscapers and walk-in customers the way you always have. Gus sorts deposits from your bank statement, and a bulk order he cannot place gets one question instead of a guess.
What happens to unsold spring stock that gets marked down or tossed?
Flag it for Gus when it happens, and he notes it, so end-of-season losses show up honestly instead of just disappearing from the numbers.
Is a new greenhouse structure or heating system written off all at once?
Often, yes. A greenhouse or heating system built for the business usually qualifies to be deducted, sometimes fully the year it is finished, sometimes spread across a few years. Gus tags the project for the accountant to review.
We sell plants alongside pottery and gift items. Does that need separate tracking?
Yes, and Gus does it automatically. Live plant sales and gift or hardgoods sales stay in their own categories, so you can see what each part of the store actually earns.
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