Sporting goods & sports services
Books and taxes for running specialty stores.
Shoe sales, a fitting session that turns into a sale, an expo booth at the local marathon, and a shoe subscription program all move through the same 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
September came in at $10,700. The marathon expo booth fee got logged against that weekend's sales instead of general marketing, so you can see if the booth actually paid off.
- Heartland POS depositRetail sales
- Fall marathon expo feeEvent and expo costs
- Brooks dealer invoiceWholesale footwear
- Shoe subscription payoutsMembership subscriptions
- Superfeet wholesale orderInsoles and accessories
Why your books are different
A running store's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees shoe sales and a rent bill. Your store runs gait fittings that drive purchases, sponsors local races, and often sells a shoe subscription. When the books do not track that, you cannot tell what is actually growing the store.
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1
Fitting sessions disappear into shoe sales
A $30 gait analysis that leads to a $140 shoe sale rings through as one transaction. You never see whether the fitting bay is what is actually driving sales, or just something customers skip.
What we doKeeps fitting fees visible as their own line so you can see how much of your business the fitting bay is really bringing in. -
2
Expo booth costs get lost in general marketing
A weekend booth at the local marathon or a 5K expo costs a table fee, staff time, and sample inventory, but it usually gets logged as one vague marketing line with no way to tell if it paid off.
What we doKeeps event and expo costs in their own category against the sales from that weekend, so you know which events are worth doing again. -
3
A shoe subscription program blurs prepaid and earned revenue
A customer who pays $20 a month for a shoe rotation program is paying ahead for pairs they have not picked up yet. Booked as income the day it lands, a strong sign-up month can hide what has not actually been delivered.
What we doKeeps subscription payments tracked against what has shipped, so prepaid membership money does not read as earned income too early. -
4
Wear-test returns and clearance blend into regular sales
Shoes returned after a trial run or discounted at season's end sell for less than they cost, and mixed into normal sales, they quietly drag your margin down without you seeing why.
What we doKeeps clearance and wear-test returns in their own line, so the drop in margin has a clear reason attached to it. -
5
A seasonal shoe order wrecks the monthly picture
New shoe models release on a schedule, and a store often places one large order to stock up before a big race season. That single invoice can make one month look like a loss.
What we doKeeps wholesale footwear purchases visible against what actually sold, so a big model-release order does not read as a bad month.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a running specialty store.
Set up once for how you sell and what you sponsor. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail salesShoes, apparel, and gear rung up in store.
- Fitting feesGait analysis and fitting sessions billed on their own.
- Membership subscriptionsShoe rotation or club membership programs, tracked against what ships.
- Event and expo salesBooth sales at local races and running expos.
Money out
- Wholesale footwearBrooks, Hoka, Saucony, and similar dealer orders.
- Insoles and accessoriesSuperfeet and similar accessory distributor orders.
- Event and expo costsBooth fees, table rentals, and staff time at local races.
- Fitting bay equipmentTreadmills, cameras, and gait analysis tools.
- Race sponsorshipsLocal 5K and marathon sponsorship fees.
- Rent and utilitiesThe retail floor and fitting bay space.
What we watch for you
- Fitting-to-sale rate
How often a fitting session turns into a shoe purchase, tracked from the numbers you already have.
- Clearance drag
How much wear-test returns and season-end markdowns are pulling your margin down.
- Subscription backlog
Prepaid membership money not yet shipped as a pair of shoes.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked through every race season, so filing time is never a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things running store 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.
Close. The booth cost $420 in table fees and staff time and brought in $510 in sales that weekend. I kept both in their own line so you can see it clearly next time.
The subscription payments are sitting as prepaid until those pairs actually ship. Once they go out, they count as earned.
That is above my pay grade to settle on its own. I keep her pay in its own line either way, and the accountant will look at how the work actually runs.
The tax side
The tax side of running a running specialty store.
Most of what goes sideways here is timing: subscription money counted too early, and inventory bought once a season that never gets a real year-end count.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goodsWhat the store actually paid for the shoes it sold, counted accurately at year end, is what determines the profit the return shows.
- Equipment for the fitting bayTreadmills, cameras, and gait analysis tools can usually be written off in the year bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA fitting specialist or event staffer not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionOwners of a pass-through business can usually take up to 20 percent of profit off taxable income, and that number holds up only when fitting fees and subscription income are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions running specialty stores miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fitting bay equipment
- Expo booth and table fees
- Race sponsorship costs
- Shop signage
- Freight on wholesale orders
- POS and inventory software
- Staff running gear
- Local run club supplies
- Website and online store fees
- Card processing fees
- Liability insurance
- Trade show travel
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 running store year, kept every month.
Race season builds all year and peaks in the fall. 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 event staff 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned before spring shoe orders go out.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before spring race season, with the set-aside already covering what you owe.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's expo and sponsorship spending is paying off.
- October
Before the fall rush
Ahead of peak marathon season, Gus looks at fitting bay equipment 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 running specialty stores. 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 running store owners ask first.
Can Gus track whether my fitting sessions lead to sales?
Yes. Fitting fees are kept in their own category, so you can see how much of your revenue the fitting bay is actually driving over time.
How does Gus handle my shoe subscription program?
Subscription payments are tracked against what has actually shipped, so a strong sign-up month does not get counted as earned income before the shoes go out.
I sponsor a few local races. Where does that show up?
Sponsorship costs are kept in their own line, separate from your regular marketing, so you can see what each event costs against what it brings in.
Do I need to change how I use my POS system?
No. Ring up shoes and fittings the way you always have. Gus reads the deposits off your bank statement and only reaches out if a batch total does not add up.
My books are behind since last race season. Can Gus catch up?
Usually within a week. Send whatever statements you have going back to when things got behind, and Gus sorts through the backlog while the accountant checks the result.
What happens to wear-test returns in the books?
They are kept in their own line rather than mixed into regular sales, so the effect on your margin is visible instead of hidden.
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