Campgrounds, RV parks & glamping
Books and taxes for RV parks.
One-night stopovers, pull-through pads, a laundry room that never stops running, and a propane tank at the pump. Gus sorts every payout, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August came in at $18,800. Laundry and the propane pump alone covered the water bill this month, so I kept those apart to show you.
- RoverPass payoutOvernight site fees
- Laundry room coin boxLaundry income
- Ferrellgas deliveryPropane inventory
- Pilot Flying J fuel, park truckTrucks and fuel
- Ace pedestal partsHookup repairs
Why your books are different
RV park books go wrong differently than a destination campground's.
You are not selling a week of vacation, you are turning sites over every night or two for travelers passing through. When the books do not know that, a busy interstate weekend and a slow Tuesday get treated the same way, and small side income like laundry and propane gets lost inside the site fee.
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1
One-night turnover buries the real occupancy
A park that fills and empties every single night looks the same on a bank statement as one steady weeklong stay, but the labor and the wear on hookups are completely different.
What we doTracks site revenue by the night so you can see turnover and occupancy separately from total dollars. -
2
Laundry and propane get lost inside site fees
Coin laundry and pump propane sales often get counted with whatever else came in that day, so an owner cannot tell if the laundry room is worth the water and gas it uses.
What we doKeeps laundry and propane in their own lines so each one shows what it actually earns. -
3
Pedestal and hookup repairs pile up unseen
Constant plug-ins and unplugs from different rigs wear out 50-amp pedestals faster than a park with long-term guests. A string of small parts orders can quietly become the biggest expense of the month.
What we doKeeps hookup repairs in one line and flags a month when that line runs high. -
4
Truck stop and highway lead fees are easy to miss
Money spent on highway signage, a listing with a travel app, or a fuel station referral deal is a real cost of getting overnight travelers in the gate, but it often gets buried in general office spending.
What we doKeeps marketing and referral costs in their own line so you know what it costs to fill a night.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an overnight RV park.
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
- Overnight site feesOne and two night stays booked through RoverPass or on arrival.
- Laundry incomeCoin or app-based laundry room revenue.
- Propane salesPump sales to travelers filling up before the road.
- Dump station feesOne-time fees for travelers who only need to empty tanks.
- Vending and ice salesIce, soda, and snack machines near the office.
Money out
- Hookup repairsPedestals, cords, and water connections worn by constant turnover.
- UtilitiesElectric, water, and septic across every site.
- Propane inventoryBulk propane bought to resell at the pump.
- Booking feesWhat RoverPass or a similar site keeps before you get paid.
- Highway signage and listingsWhat it costs to get seen by travelers on the interstate.
- Overnight staff payrollThe night clerk or gate attendant covering late check-ins.
- InsuranceProperty and liability coverage for the park.
What we watch for you
- Turnover rate
How often sites change hands, since that drives wear and labor.
- Laundry and propane margin
What those side lines earn against water, gas, and machine upkeep.
- Hookup repair cost
A rising number usually means it is time to replace, not patch, pedestals.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is not a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things RV park 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.
This month it cleared about $180 after water and the machine lease. Not huge, but it is not costing you either.
Often it can. I logged the parts and labor as equipment rather than repairs and flagged the total, so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of an overnight RV park.
Most of what goes wrong here is volume: a lot of small transactions that need to land in the right bucket, and equipment turnover that outpaces a slower destination park.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Lodging or occupancy taxMost states and many counties tax overnight stays, even a single night. It is collected from travelers and is usually filed separately from your business return.
- Equipment and pedestal replacementBonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025, and Section 179 can cover most equipment purchases up to $2,560,000 in a year.
- Contractor 1099sA plow driver, a fence repair crew, or a signage installer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment taxAn owner-operator not structured as an S corp pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, on wages up to the $184,500 Social Security base.
Deductions RV parks miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pedestal and cord replacement
- Bulk propane for resale
- Laundry machine parts
- Highway signage
- Travel app listing fees
- Dump station maintenance
- Booking fees
- Night staff uniforms
- Security camera monitoring
- Ice machine repair
- Snowplow contractor
- Business liability insurance
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
An RV park year, kept every month.
Your traffic follows the highway, not the calendar the way a destination park's does. Gus keeps the tax side steady no matter which weeks are busy. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the slow stretch
Last year's return gets started, the plow and repair contractor list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside before spring travel picks back up.
- April
Filed and done
Your return is filed and signed, well ahead of the summer travel rush when you have no time to think about it.
- July
Midyear check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this summer's travel volume is running ahead of last year.
- October
Before travel slows
A look at pedestal and hookup wear from the year and whether replacing more of them before winter makes sense.
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 RV parks. 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 RV park owners ask first.
Most of our stays are one night. Does that make the books harder?
It just means more transactions, not more complexity. Gus sorts each one the same way whether a rig stays one night or ten.
How does Gus handle propane and laundry income?
He keeps them in their own categories separate from site fees, so you can see what each one actually earns after what it costs to run.
We book through RoverPass. Does Gus need access to that?
No. Gus works from your bank statement. When a payout batch is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer after that.
Do I need to track which sites are full hookup versus water and electric only?
Not for Gus to do the books, though it is useful for your own pricing. He tracks total site revenue and can split it out if you send him that detail.
Our pedestal repairs have been adding up fast this year. Is that normal?
It happens with constant turnover from different rigs. Gus flags when that line runs high so you can decide if it is time to replace rather than keep patching.
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 campgrounds, RV parks & glamping
We keep books for the business next door too.
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- Kayak & paddleboard rentals and tours
- Marinas
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