Specialty food makers & markets
Books and taxes for seafood markets.
Daily dock purchases at a price that changes by the boat, retail counter sales, restaurant wholesale accounts, and ice that never stops running. 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
August came in at $9,400. A run of good boats brought in cheaper catch this month, so your margin looks stronger than usual, and I flagged that it tracks with dock prices, not a change in your business.
- Retail counter salesCounter sales
- Restaurant wholesale invoiceWholesale orders
- Dock purchase, daily catchSeafood cost
- Ice deliveryIce and cold storage
- Walk-in cooler repairRefrigeration upkeep
Why your books are different
A seafood market's books go wrong around a price that changes daily.
You are not buying inventory at a set wholesale price once a month. The dock price moves every day the boats come in, product spoils fast if it does not sell, and ice is a real running cost most retailers never think about. When the books do not track that, margin swings look like a mystery.
-
1
Daily catch price swings get absorbed instead of tracked
What you pay for fish and shellfish can change day to day depending on the boats and the season. A market that prices product the same way regardless watches margin swing without ever seeing why.
What we doKeeps seafood cost as its own line so a good or bad week of dock prices shows up clearly, not buried in a general supply total. -
2
Ice and cold storage look like a random utility cost
Ice deliveries and refrigeration are constant, real costs for a business handling highly perishable product, but filed as a generic utility bill, they hide how much keeping product fresh actually costs.
What we doKeeps ice and cold storage in their own category so the true cost of the cold chain is visible. -
3
Spoiled and unsold catch is never written off
Fresh seafood that does not sell in a day or two often gets tossed, and that loss rarely gets subtracted from the books, so the real cost of overbuying a slow day stays hidden.
What we doTracks spoiled or discounted-to-clear product as its own cost so the real spoilage rate is visible, not buried. -
4
Wholesale and counter prices get blended
A restaurant account buying by the case at a wholesale price gets recorded the same as a retail customer paying counter price, which hides how much each channel actually earns.
What we doSplits wholesale and retail counter sales into their own categories, so each channel's real margin against the day's dock price is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a seafood market.
Set up once for how you sell and what you buy. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Counter salesRetail seafood sales at the market, cash and card.
- Wholesale ordersRestaurants buying by the case, usually net 15 or net 30.
- Prepared food salesChowder, cooked shrimp, or ready-to-eat items sold at the counter, where offered.
- Shipped ordersOvernight shipped seafood, where offered.
Money out
- Seafood costDaily dock purchases and wholesale distributor buys, your biggest and most volatile cost.
- Ice and cold storageIce deliveries, walk-in coolers, and freezer costs.
- Refrigeration upkeepRepairs and maintenance for cold storage equipment.
- PackagingIce bags, wax paper, and shipping containers.
- Licensing and inspectionState seafood dealer license and health inspection fees.
- Marketplace and card feesWhat Square or a shipping marketplace kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Cost per pound
What dock purchases cost against pounds sold. Tracks daily price swings before they eat a week's margin.
- Spoilage rate
What gets tossed or marked down against what was bought. High spoilage often means overbuying for a slow week.
- Margin by channel
Wholesale and counter sales rarely earn the same. Watching them apart shows which is worth growing.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things seafood market 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.
Dock prices ran cheaper than usual this month, which is most of it. I flagged that it tracks with the catch cost, not a change in how you are running things.
Based on what you have logged as tossed or marked down to clear, it is a real but manageable slice of the month. Worth watching if it climbs on a slow week.
Most states require a seafood dealer license for wholesale sales, and the exact rules vary. That call is above my pay grade, but I keep your licensing fees tracked either way.
The tax side
The tax side of a seafood market.
Most of what matters here is keeping a daily-changing product cost honest, since inventory, spoilage, and cold chain costs all move fast in this business.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goods soldOnly the seafood that went into what you sold this year counts as cost of goods. Given how fast product turns, most of it moves the same week it is bought.
- Equipment write-offsIce machines, walk-in coolers, and display cases can usually be written off in the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent, permanent, for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA delivery driver or part-time cutter not on payroll who you pay $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit before it is taxed. It comes out right only when counter and wholesale sales are tracked cleanly all year.
Deductions seafood markets miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Daily dock and distributor purchases
- Ice deliveries
- Walk-in cooler and freezer repair
- Seafood dealer license fees
- Health inspection fees
- Ice bags and wax paper
- Display case maintenance
- Delivery mileage to accounts
- Scale calibration
- Employee gloves and aprons
- Signage and counter labels
- 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
A seafood market year, kept every month.
Catch availability and holiday seafood demand shift the year as much as any calendar does. Your team keeps you ahead of the tax deadlines through all of it. 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 1099 list for helpers is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your business return is filed and signed, no surprise bill because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Summer catch check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer dock prices have shifted your margin from what you planned for.
- October
Before the holiday seafood push
Holiday shellfish and prepared food orders pick up. Gus looks at cold storage capacity and licensing renewals before the year's busiest stretch.
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 seafood markets. 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 seafood market owners ask first.
Can Gus track how daily dock prices affect my margin?
Yes. Seafood cost is kept in its own category, so when dock prices move, you can see exactly how much of any margin change is the catch cost and how much is something else.
Do you track spoiled or unsold product?
Yes, as its own cost, so the real spoilage rate from a slow day or week is visible instead of hidden in a general supply total.
I sell wholesale to restaurants and retail at the counter. Does that complicate the books?
No. Gus books wholesale and counter sales at their real prices, so each channel's margin shows up honestly instead of one blended number.
Do I need a special license to buy and sell seafood commercially?
Most states require a seafood dealer license, and the specifics vary by state and by whether you buy direct from boats. That is outside what Gus handles, but he keeps the related fees tracked.
My books are behind from a busy summer season. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and he sorts them by catch cost, channel, and fees. Most owners know where they stand within a week.
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 specialty food makers & markets
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Artisan cheese makers
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Cottage food producers
- Custom cake studios
- Farmers market vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hot sauce brands
- Jerky makers
- Maple syrup producers
- Pickles & fermented food makers
- Popcorn shops
- Salsa & dip brands
- Sourdough & microbakeries
- Spice blenders & seasoning brands
- Butcher shops & meat markets
- Ethnic grocery stores
- Specialty grocers & delis
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Homebrew & winemaking supply shops
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Vineyards (grape growers)
- Arcade bars (barcades)
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