Restaurants, cafes & food service
Books and taxes for shaved ice and snow cone stands.
Cash at the window, a season that runs a few months and closes the rest of the year, dozens of syrup flavors bought before opening day, and sales that swing hard with the weather. Gus sorts every one, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one clear number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
July brought in $6,000. That one rainy weekend pulled sales down for three days, which shows up as weather, not a real drop in business.
- Cash deposit, weeklyCounter sales
- Card reader batch depositCounter sales
- Syrup flavor restockSyrup purchases
- Ice deliveryIce purchases
- Seasonal staff payrollWages and payroll taxes
Why your books are different
A shaved ice stand's books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. A shaved ice stand runs only a few months a year, takes mostly cash at the window, and can see sales swing hard with a single rainy day or heat wave. When those pieces are not understood in context, an owner cannot tell a normal closed season or a weather swing from a real problem.
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1
A closed season isn't a red flag
A stand that only opens for a few months a year has real months with zero revenue and zero activity, and without that context, a $0 month reads like something has gone wrong instead of the normal shape of this business.
What we doTracks the season's real months so an off-season month reads as expected, and the full year's picture still comes together correctly at tax time. -
2
Weather swings look bigger than they are
A single rainy day or a heat wave can change daily sales more than almost any other food business sees, and comparing two ordinary weeks within the same summer without that context can look alarming.
What we doKeeps the season's day-to-day swings in view so a slow rainy stretch reads as weather, not a real drop in business. -
3
Dozens of syrup flavors are easy to overbuy
A stand carrying dozens of syrup flavors for variety can order more of a slow-selling flavor than it uses in a season, and syrup that sits past one summer loses flavor and often gets tossed, a real cost if nobody tracks which flavors are worth restocking.
What we doKeeps syrup purchases in one line and flags a season-opening stock-up so it isn't mistaken for a normal month's cost. -
4
Cash at the walk-up window goes undercounted
A roadside stand running mostly cash can lose track of the drawer if nobody counts it consistently, especially on a hot, busy day when the line never stops.
What we doAsks for a daily cash count and records it the same as a card sale, so busy-day sales do not quietly disappear. -
5
Pre-season spending happens months before any revenue
The stand buys syrup, services the ice machine, and pays a seasonal lot lease in spring, weeks or months before opening day, and without that context, a pre-season month looks like a straight loss instead of the normal cost of getting ready.
What we doNotes pre-season spending against the season it is funding, so it reads as startup cost, not an unexplained loss.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a shaved ice stand.
Set up once for how the season, the syrups, and cash actually run. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Counter salesCash and card sales rung through the window reader.
- Event and festival bookingsOne-off pop-ups at local events or festivals.
- Fundraiser salesSchool or community fundraiser nights, where a portion of sales is donated.
- Party bookingsPrivate parties and backyard events.
Money out
- Syrup purchasesDozens of flavors, kept in one steady line separate from ice.
- Ice purchasesBlock ice or ice machine supplies, tracked apart from syrup.
- Wages and payroll taxesSeasonal staff pay, tied to the months the stand is open.
- Seasonal lot leaseRent for the spot the stand operates from during the season.
- Cups and packagingCups, spoons, and straws.
- Stand equipmentIce machines and shave blocks, logged apart from syrup so they get written off right.
What we watch for you
- Food cost percentage
Syrup and ice cost against sales, the number that catches a supplier price jump early.
- Cash sales share
How much of the day's total is cash, so a count is habit, not an afterthought.
- Season revenue pace
How this season's sales compare to the same point in prior seasons.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things shaved ice stand 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.
No, I track your season's real months, so the off months read as expected, not a warning sign, and your full year still comes together right at tax time.
Not the way I track it. Weather swings like that stay in context, so a rainy stretch reads as weather, not a real drop in business.
No, I flag a season-opening stock-up so it does not get mistaken for a normal month's cost.
The tax side
The tax side of a shaved ice stand.
Most of what goes wrong here is context: a closed season, a rainy week, or a stock-up read as trouble when they are just the normal shape of this business.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Section 179 on ice machines and equipmentIce machines and shave blocks can usually be written off the year you buy them, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for seasonal staffA seasonal worker who runs the window on your schedule with your equipment is almost always an employee, not a contractor, even for a short season.
- Form 1099-NEC for contracted helpAnyone hired outside of payroll for a festival booking or a busy stretch, paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment tax for owner-operatorsAn owner who takes profit directly rather than a W-2 paycheck owes self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
Deductions shaved ice and snow cone stands miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Ice machine maintenance
- Syrup flavor variety purchases
- Snow cone cups and spoons
- Seasonal lot lease fees
- Cash box and register supplies
- Umbrella or shade structure
- Uniforms and aprons
- Food handler certification
- Local summer event sponsorships
- Employee shift meals
- Pest control contracts
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 shaved ice stand's year, kept every month.
The stand runs a few months and sits quiet the rest of the year. Your taxes come on a 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, the 1099 list for any seasonal help is readied, and you get a monthly set-aside built around the months you are actually open.
- April
Filed and signed
Your return is filed and signed, right as pre-season spending on syrup and equipment starts ramping up for opening day.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the midpoint of the season, and whether weather has swung sales more or less than a normal summer.
- October
Before the off-season
Before the stand closes for the year, Gus looks at ice machine maintenance and equipment storage worth doing before next season.
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 shaved ice and snow cone stands. 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 shaved ice stand owners ask first.
We are only open a few months a year. Will the closed months look bad in the books?
No. Gus tracks your season's real months, so an off-season month with zero activity reads as expected, and your full year still comes together correctly at tax time.
A single rainy day can wreck our sales for the week. Does that look like a real problem?
Not the way Gus tracks it. He keeps the season's day-to-day swings in view, so a slow rainy stretch reads as weather, not a real drop in business.
We buy a lot of syrup flavors before the season starts. Does that make our first month look bad?
No. Gus flags a season-opening stock-up, so it does not get mistaken for a normal month's ongoing cost.
We take mostly cash at the window. Is that hard to keep straight?
It just takes a daily count from you. Gus records it the same as a card sale, so busy summer days do not quietly disappear from the numbers.
We spend money on the lot lease and equipment weeks before we open. Is that a loss?
It is a real cost, but Gus notes it against the season it is funding, so it reads as a normal startup cost, not an unexplained loss.
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