Hair & grooming
Books and taxes for salon suite operators.
Suite rent from a dozen independent stylists, a vacant unit or two, shared utilities, and a security deposit here and there. 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 came in at $13,000. One suite sat empty after a tenant moved out, so I flagged the vacancy against the rent roll instead of just noting a smaller deposit.
- Suite rent, unit 4Suite rent income
- Suite rent, unit 9Suite rent income
- New tenant security depositSecurity deposits
- Building lease paymentFacility lease
- Water and power billShared utilities
Why your books are different
A salon suite operator's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees rent checks and a lease payment. Your business is a rent roll of independent tenants, some paying on time, some behind, plus deposits, vacancies, and utilities you cover but do not always bill back. When the books cannot track a unit by unit, you cannot see which suites are actually profitable.
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1
Security deposits counted as income
A new tenant's deposit lands in the same account as rent, and if it gets booked as income the day it arrives, the business looks like it made money it may have to return later.
What we doTracks security deposits as money held, not income, until it is earned back or returned. -
2
Vacant suites disappear from the picture
A unit that sits empty for a month just shows up as less rent collected, with nothing showing why. Owners lose track of which suites turn over often and which stay filled.
What we doFlags vacant units against the full rent roll, so a slow month has a reason attached to it, not just a smaller number. -
3
Utilities paid for tenants get buried
Water, power, and trash often get paid by the operator and either billed back to tenants or built into rent. Left unsorted, it is hard to tell whether utility costs are actually covered by what tenants pay.
What we doKeeps shared utility costs in their own line and tracks any utility billback separately from base rent. -
4
Buildout and renovation get mixed with repairs
Building out a new suite for an incoming tenant, new flooring, plumbing for a shampoo bowl, a mirror wall, is a bigger investment than a routine repair, but it often gets logged the same way.
What we doFlags buildout and renovation spending separately from repairs, so the accountant can decide how it gets written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a salon suite operator.
Set up once for how the building gets paid and what it costs to run. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Suite rent incomeMonthly rent from each independent stylist or barber leasing a unit.
- Security depositsHeld as a liability until returned or applied, not counted as income.
- Late feesCharges collected when rent comes in past the due date.
- Utility billbacksReimbursements from tenants for shared water, power, or internet.
Money out
- Facility leaseThe master lease or mortgage payment for the whole building.
- Shared utilitiesWater, power, and trash paid by the operator before any billback.
- Buildout and renovationNew flooring, plumbing, or fixtures for an incoming tenant's suite.
- Common area maintenanceCleaning, landscaping, and repairs to shared hallways and lobbies.
- Property insuranceCoverage for the building and shared spaces.
- Marketing and leasingListing fees and ads to fill vacant suites.
What we watch for you
- Occupancy rate
Share of suites currently rented. It is the single number that predicts next month's rent roll.
- Rent collected vs billed
How much of the total rent roll actually came in, so late payers do not hide inside a good month.
- Utility cost recovery
What tenants pay back against what the operator actually spends on shared utilities.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things salon suite operators 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.
First month's rent is income. Last month and the deposit are held until they are used or returned, so this month is not overstated.
It does now. I flag vacant units against your full rent roll each month, so you can see the gap instead of just a smaller deposit.
No, that is bigger than routine maintenance. I logged it as a separate buildout and flagged it so the accountant decides how it gets written off.
The tax side
The tax side of running a salon suite building.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing, when a deposit counts and when a buildout gets written off, not the rent itself.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Security deposits are not incomeA refundable deposit is not taxable when it is received. It only becomes income if it is kept for damages or unpaid rent, which Gus flags when it happens.
- Section 179 on buildout and equipmentFixtures and equipment installed for a new suite can sometimes be written off faster than the building itself, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation on property placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Rental income and self-employment taxSuite rent is usually reported as rental or business income depending on how the operation is structured, which changes whether self-employment tax applies. The accountant sorts out which fits your setup.
- The pass-through deductionMost operators can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income, a benefit that is now permanent, with limits starting above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint.
Deductions salon suite operators miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Building lease or mortgage interest
- Shared utilities
- Property insurance
- Common area cleaning
- Suite buildout costs
- Listing and leasing fees
- Property management software
- Landscaping and snow removal
- Security system monitoring
- Repairs to shared plumbing
- Signage and directory boards
- Accounting and legal fees
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 salon suite year, kept every month.
Tenant turnover and vacancy swings shape the year more than any season does. 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 April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether occupancy has run ahead of or behind the plan.
- October
Before lease renewals
Gus looks at buildout spending worth doing and any moves worth making before December, ahead of year-end lease renewals.
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 salon suite operators. 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 salon suite operators ask first.
Can Gus tell the difference between rent income and a tenant's deposit?
Yes. Deposits get held as a liability until they are returned or applied to damages, while rent gets counted as income when it is earned. Keeping them apart keeps your monthly number honest.
How does Gus handle a suite that sits empty for a while?
He flags the vacancy against your full rent roll, so a slower month shows why it happened instead of just landing as a smaller deposit with no explanation.
I bill some tenants back for utilities. Does that complicate things?
No. Utility payments you make and any reimbursements tenants send you both get their own line, so you can see whether your utility costs are actually covered.
I just built out two new suites for incoming tenants. How does that affect the return?
Buildout spending gets flagged separately from routine repairs. The accountant looks at your whole year to decide how much gets written off now versus over time.
My rent roll is a spreadsheet I update by hand. Can Gus work from that?
Gus works from your bank statements, but a rent roll helps confirm which deposit belongs to which suite. Send both and he sorts out the rest.
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 hair & grooming
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Braiding salons
- Curly hair specialists
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- Natural hair salons
- Trichologists & hair loss consultants
- Wig & hair replacement studios
- Blowout bars
- Hair extension specialists
- Independent booth-renting stylists
- Men's grooming lounges
- Scalp micropigmentation studios
- Barbershops
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- Medical tattoo & areola restoration artists
- Beauty schools & cosmetology academies
- Freelance makeup artists
- Independent nail techs
- Lash & brow training academies
- Permanent makeup artists
- Piercing studios
- Spray tan studios & mobile tanning
- Tanning salons
- Tattoo shops
- Teeth whitening studios
- Brow studios & microblading
- Day spas
- Esthetician & facial studios
- Lash extension studios
- Nail salons
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