Gyms & fitness studios

Books and taxes for rock climbing and bouldering gyms.

Day passes, membership dues, rope and harness rentals, and route setters paid by the route they build. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
MarchExample month
$11,100
what you made

March came in at $11,100. The wall build-out financing payment split into what's paying down the structure and what's interest, so the climbing wall's real cost stays clear on its own.

  • Rock Gym Pro day passDay passes
  • Membership dues draftMembership dues
  • Wall structure financingEquipment
  • Route setting crew payRoute setter pay
  • Rental harness restockRental gear
Money in$44,300
Money out$33,200
Set aside for taxes$2,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A climbing gym's books go wrong around walls and route setters.

A generalist sees day passes and a rent bill. Your gym carries a financed climbing wall structure, pays route setters by the route or the day, rents out harnesses and shoes, and often runs a retail wall of chalk and gear. When the books miss that, you can't tell what a full session actually earns you.

  1. 1

    The wall structure financing reads as one flat cost

    A climbing wall build-out can run into six figures financed over years, but part of the monthly payment is interest and part is paying down structure you'll eventually own outright. Booked as one expense, it overstates what the wall actually costs.

    What we doSplits the financing payment into principal and interest, so the wall's real cost stays separate from the cost of financing it.
  2. 2

    Route setters paid by the route look like flat contractor pay

    A setting crew paid per route or per day of setting looks like straightforward contractor pay, but setters who work your schedule with your gym's equipment and follow your safety protocols may actually count as employees.

    What we doKeeps route setter pay in its own line and flags a setting arrangement that looks like an employee's, so you get ahead of it before it's a habit.
  3. 3

    Rental gear and retail get mixed with day passes

    Harness, shoe, and chalk bag rentals bring in real money alongside day passes, and retail chalk and gear sold at the desk brings in more, but blended together you can't tell what rentals or retail actually earn.

    What we doKeeps rental income and retail sales in their own categories, separate from day passes, so each one's real contribution is visible.
  4. 4

    Day passes and memberships get counted the same way

    A day pass is one-time income while a membership is recurring dues, and mixing the two together makes it hard to tell how much of the gym's income is dependable month to month.

    What we doKeeps day passes and membership dues in separate lines so you can see how much of the month is steady versus one-time.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a climbing gym.

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

  • Day passesSingle-visit admission for climbers and visitors.
  • Membership duesMonthly recurring plans for regular climbers.
  • Gear rentalsHarnesses, shoes, and chalk bags rented at the desk.
  • RetailChalk, tape, and gear sold outright.
  • Classes and coursesBelay certification and lead climbing courses.

Money out

  • Route setter payPer-route or per-day pay for the setting crew, kept apart from wages.
  • EquipmentWall structure, holds, and rope, including financing payments.
  • Rent and utilitiesThe building and the ceiling height it needs.
  • SoftwareRock Gym Pro or a similar gym management system.
  • Rental inventoryHarnesses and shoes restocked for the rental fleet.
  • InsuranceGeneral liability, higher here given the height and fall risk.
  • MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives for new climbers.

What we watch for you

  • Day pass vs dues

    How much of the month is one-time visits versus recurring membership income.

  • Route setter cost

    What setting new routes actually costs against how often climbers return for them.

  • Wall financing cost

    What's interest versus what's paying down structure you'll eventually own.

  • The set-aside

    What you'll owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things climbing gym 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.

The wall financing payment looks huge on the statement. Is that normal?

Part of it is, since it covers both what you owe on the structure and the interest on carrying that balance. I split the two so the wall's real cost stays clear.

Should my route setters be on payroll instead of getting paid per route?

That depends on whether they set their own schedule, or work your hours with your gear and safety rules. That one's above my pay grade, so I flagged it for the accountant.

Do rental harnesses actually make money once you account for replacing them?

I keep rental income and rental inventory costs in their own lines, so you can see that margin clearly instead of guessing.

The tax side

The tax side of running a climbing gym.

Most of what trips up a climbing gym is a financed structure and a setting crew that needs a second look on classification.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • The climbing wall and holdsA wall structure, holds, and rope systems can usually be written off in the year they're bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Route setter or employeeA route setter who works your schedule with your gym's equipment and safety protocols usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, no matter what the pay arrangement is called. Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
  • Contractor 1099sA freelance setter brought in for a special event, if not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list all year.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when day passes, dues, and setter pay are tracked correctly all year.

Deductions rock climbing and bouldering gyms miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Holds and route setting hardware
  • Rope and safety gear replacement
  • Rock Gym Pro or gym software fees
  • Liability insurance
  • Route setter certifications
  • Rental harness and shoe replacement
  • Business phone and booking line
  • Cleaning service
  • Marketing and referral incentives
  • Website and booking widget

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 climbing gym's year, kept every month.

New routes go up every few weeks. Your taxes come on a fixed 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside so the New Year's membership rush doesn't turn into an April surprise.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you'll owe, and whether summer day-pass traffic changed the number.

  4. October

    Before year-end

    Before the calendar closes, Gus looks at holds or equipment worth buying before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 rock climbing and bouldering gyms. 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 climbing gym owners ask first.

Can Gus split day passes from membership dues?

Yes. Day passes are one-time income and dues are recurring, and keeping them separate shows you how much of the month is dependable versus how much came from walk-in traffic.

How does Gus handle our route setting crew's pay?

It goes in its own line, kept apart from wages, and if a setter's schedule and duties look like an employee's rather than a contractor's, Gus flags it for the accountant to weigh in on.

Is rental gear worth tracking separately from retail?

Yes. Rentals and outright retail sales behave differently and carry different costs to replace, so keeping them apart shows you what each one actually earns.

Do I write off the wall structure all at once?

Often you can. Wall structures and holds can usually be deducted in the year they're bought, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.

Our books are a mess from when the gym first opened. Is that fixable?

Not a problem. Send the statements from since the gym opened. Gus works through the gap, the accountant checks it, and you'll have a clear number sooner than you'd expect.

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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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