Water recreation & marinas
Books and taxes for sailing schools.
Certification courses billed by the level, live-aboard packages with provisioning, bareboat charters for graduates, and a fleet of sailboats that need rigging and sail work every season. 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
June made $15,600. The new mainsail and rigging on the 101 boat went in as fleet equipment, not repairs, since it's a full replacement, not a patch job.
- Booking site payout, coursesCertification course fees
- Live-aboard package depositLive-aboard course bookings
- New mainsail and riggingFleet equipment
- Instructor payrollInstructor wages
- Marina slip rent, teaching fleetFleet dockage
Why your books are different
A sailing school's books go wrong in the same handful of places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. A sailing school is courses billed by certification level, live-aboard packages that include food and fuel, bareboat charters for graduates, and a fleet of sailboats with rigging and sail costs a powerboat never sees. When the books do not know that, real margin by course level stays hidden.
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1
Course levels get lumped into one revenue line
A basic keelboat course and an advanced coastal navigation course price and cost very differently to run, and mixed into one line, nobody can see which certification level is actually worth promoting.
What we doKeeps each certification level's income in its own line where possible, so course pricing decisions are based on real numbers. -
2
Live-aboard packages bury provisioning inside course fees
A multi-day live-aboard course includes food, fuel, and dock fees along the route, and if those costs sit inside general instructor pay, nobody can see whether the package price actually covers what it costs to run.
What we doKeeps live-aboard provisioning and route costs in their own line, separate from instructor wages, so the real cost of a live-aboard course is visible. -
3
Bareboat charter income for graduates looks like course revenue
Once a sailor is certified, renting them a boat for a bareboat charter is a different product with different insurance and liability than a course, and mixed together, neither shows its real return.
What we doSplits bareboat charter income from course income, so each side of the business shows its own margin. -
4
Rigging and sail work look like routine maintenance
New sails, standing rigging, and winches can cost thousands of dollars and are a normal cost of keeping a teaching fleet safe, but filed the same as a bilge pump replacement, they flatten a month's profit.
What we doFlags major rigging and sail purchases the day they happen, logs them as fleet equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how they are written off. -
5
The teaching fleet's dockage looks like general overhead
Keeping several sailboats docked at a marina all season is a real, steady cost, and if it sits in a general expenses bucket, nobody can see it clearly against what the fleet earns in courses and charters.
What we doKeeps fleet dockage in its own line, so the real cost of keeping the boats teaching-ready is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a sailing school.
Set up once for how courses and charters get paid and what the fleet costs to run. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Certification course feesBasic keelboat through advanced coastal certification courses.
- Live-aboard course bookingsMulti-day courses that include overnight stays aboard.
- Bareboat charter incomeBoat rentals for certified sailors who have completed a course.
- Retail and gear salesFoul weather gear, lines, and branded apparel sold at the shop.
Money out
- Instructor wagesPay for sailing instructors, tied to the courses they teach.
- Fleet equipmentSails, standing rigging, winches, and other major fleet gear.
- Fleet dockageMarina slip rent for the teaching and charter fleet.
- Live-aboard provisioningFood, fuel, and route costs for multi-day live-aboard courses.
- Boat maintenanceEngine, hull, and rigging repair for the fleet.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for a school teaching people to sail and chartering to graduates.
What we watch for you
- Course versus charter mix
How much of the month is certification courses against bareboat charters, since they carry different insurance and margin.
- Live-aboard course margin
Live-aboard package income against provisioning and route costs, so pricing covers what a multi-day course actually costs.
- Fleet dockage as a share of income
What the teaching fleet's slip rent costs against what it earns, since it is a steady cost whether boats are booked or not.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things sailing 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.
I logged it as fleet equipment, not a repair. It is flagged for the accountant, since a purchase that size deserves a real look at how it gets written off.
This trip, yes, by about $1,100. I keep provisioning against the package price so you can see that margin clearly instead of guessing.
That is above my pay grade to settle. It is a real question worth asking the accountant, since charters and instruction often carry different coverage.
The tax side
The tax side of running a sailing school.
Most of what goes wrong here is mixing course levels, charters, and live-aboard trips into one number. Getting the categories right most of the year makes the return simpler.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Fleet and rigging depreciationSailboats, sails, and major rigging can usually be written off in the year they are bought, up to current Section 179 and bonus depreciation limits, or spread out over time depending on the year.
- Instructor worker classificationAn instructor who teaches your courses on your boats and your schedule is usually an employee, not a contractor, even if pay is calculated per course.
- Sales tax on courses and chartersWhether courses, live-aboard packages, and charters owe state or local sales tax varies by state and is worth checking locally. Gus keeps each split out for the accountant to apply correctly.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when courses, charters, and fleet costs are tracked correctly all season.
Deductions sailing schools miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sails and standing rigging
- Winches and hardware
- Marina slip rent
- Bottom paint and haul-out
- Liability insurance
- Instructor certification renewals
- Live-aboard provisioning
- Radios and navigation electronics
- Foul weather gear for the shop
- Booking site fees
- Marketing and social ads
- Storage rental for the off season
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 sailing school's year, kept every month.
Courses fill up with the sailing season and charters follow close behind. Taxes come on their own 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside so tax time is already handled before course bookings open.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, ahead of the season's first courses.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer courses and charters are on pace to cover the whole year's costs.
- October
Before the fleet comes in
Before boats go into winter storage, Gus looks at rigging and fleet purchases worth making 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 sailing 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 sailing school owners ask first.
Can Gus tell us which certification level is actually worth promoting?
He keeps course income split where possible by level, so you can see which courses are pulling their weight instead of guessing from one lump of course revenue.
We just replaced sails and rigging on one boat. Does that write off right away?
Often it can. Major fleet equipment like sails and rigging can usually be deducted in the year it is bought, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
Do bareboat charters for our graduates get taxed differently than course fees?
Sales tax treatment can differ by state, which is above what Gus decides on his own. He keeps charter and course income split out so the accountant can apply the right rule.
Our instructors are paid per course. Does that change how they're classified?
Not usually. An instructor who teaches on your boats and your schedule tends to look like an employee no matter how the pay is calculated. The accountant looks at the specifics before anything is decided.
Our books from last season are a mess. Can we still start now?
Yes. Send the bank and booking site statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.
Do you handle our US Sailing or ASA certification paperwork?
No. Certification records and agency paperwork stay between you and the certifying association. Gus handles the books and the tax side, not the sailing credentials.
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