Land recreation & adventure
Books and taxes for small ski hills and tubing hills.
Timed tubing sessions, day lift tickets, group and school bookings, and the snowmaking that runs the electric bill up all winter. Gus sorts it as it lands, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
December came in at $18,700. Snowmaking ran almost every night this month to get the hill open for the holiday crowd, so that cost shows up bigger than a normal month.
- Tubing session bookingsTubing income
- Day lift ticket salesLift ticket income
- Snowmaking electric billSnowmaking costs
- Lift and tow rope serviceLift maintenance
- Slope and lodge staff payrollStaff wages
Why your books are different
Small hill books go wrong where snowmaking meets a short season.
You make your own snow to open on schedule, sell timed tubing sessions by the hour, and earn almost the whole year's income in a handful of winter weeks. A generalist sees a big electric bill and a pile of ticket sales. Your books need to know what it costs to make the season happen at all.
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1
Snowmaking costs swing wildly by the week
A cold snap means running guns every night, and a warm stretch means barely running them at all, so the electric and water cost behind snowmaking can look erratic if it is buried in general utilities.
What we doKeeps snowmaking costs in their own line, so a heavy snowmaking week is explained clearly instead of looking like a random spike in utilities. -
2
Group and school bookings get paid before the trip happens
A school books a tubing field trip and pays weeks ahead, and if that payment counts as income the day it lands, the actual visit month shows almost nothing from a booking that size.
What we doHolds group and school deposits as money owed until the visit happens, then counts the income that day. -
3
A short season carries the entire year
A hill that only runs eight to twelve weeks a year can look like it loses money every single month it is closed if nobody looks at the season as a whole.
What we doTracks the season as a whole and tells you what the winter actually banked after costs, so the closed months read as expected, not alarming. -
4
Lift and tow rope maintenance gets treated like a random repair
Surface lifts and tow ropes at a small hill need scheduled mechanical service and inspection, and mixing that with general building repairs makes it hard to plan for a cost that recurs every season.
What we doKeeps lift and tow rope maintenance in its own line, dated so the yearly pattern is easy to plan around.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a small ski and tubing hill.
Set up once for how tickets, tubing sessions, and groups get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Tubing incomeTimed tubing lane sessions, sold by the hour.
- Lift ticket incomeDay and half-day skiing and riding tickets.
- Group and school bookingsField trips and organized group visits, recognized the day of the visit.
- Lesson incomeSki and snowboard lessons for beginners.
- Rental incomeSki, board, and tube rentals.
Money out
- Snowmaking costsElectric, water, and fuel for snow guns, which swings with the weather.
- Lift maintenanceSurface lift and tow rope mechanical service and inspections.
- Tubing lane maintenanceConveyor lift service and lane surface upkeep.
- Staff wagesSlope, lift, and lodge staff, often seasonal.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for skiing, riding, and tubing operations.
- Equipment rental fleetSkis, boards, tubes, and boots bought and replaced for rentals.
- Lodge utilities and suppliesHeat, power, and general lodge upkeep.
- Marketing and group sales outreachAds and the effort to book school and group trips.
What we watch for you
- Snowmaking cost per week
What making snow actually runs, since it swings hard with the weather and matters for pricing the season.
- Deferred group booking balance
How much group and school money is still owed in visits not yet taken.
- Season length versus budget
How many operating days the season actually delivers against what was planned.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked all winter, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things small hill 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 keep snowmaking costs in their own line, so a heavy snowmaking stretch is explained clearly as what it took to open the hill, not just a scary utility bill.
It's held as money owed to them in a visit that hasn't happened yet. I'll count it in January, the day they actually come tubing.
No, I track the season as a whole, so the closed months read as expected. Your winter is what carries the year, and the report shows exactly what it earned.
The tax side
The tax side of a small ski and tubing hill.
Most of what trips up a small hill is timing group bookings and keeping snowmaking, lift, and rental costs on the right track.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Group and school bookings are earned at the visitMoney collected ahead of a group or school visit is deferred income, recognized only when the visit actually happens.
- Snowmaking and lift equipmentSnowmaking guns, lift mechanisms, and tow ropes are capital equipment, often written off largely in the year they are bought.
- Seasonal staff classificationSlope, lift, and lodge staff working scheduled shifts under your direction are usually employees, even for a short winter season.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, which comes out right when a short, concentrated season is tracked accurately.
Deductions small ski hills and tubing hills miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Snowmaking electric and water costs
- Lift and tow rope service
- Tubing conveyor maintenance
- Liability insurance premiums
- Seasonal staff wages
- Rental fleet gear replacement
- Lodge heat and utilities
- Snow grooming equipment fuel
- Marketing for group and school outreach
- Radios for slope staff communication
- Signage and trail markers
- Uniforms for slope and lodge staff
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 small hill's year, kept every month.
A short, intense winter carries the whole year, and the off season needs its own planning. 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 a monthly set-aside is planned based on how last winter's season actually landed.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed as the season wraps up and equipment goes into off season storage.
- July
Off season check
A look at where the hill stands with the quiet months in view, and what next season's group bookings look like so far.
- October
Before the season opens
Snowmaking equipment readiness, lift service, and gear worth buying before the season's opening weeks.
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 small ski hills and tubing hills. 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 small hill owners ask first.
Our snowmaking costs swing a lot depending on the weather. Will that make our numbers look erratic?
No, Gus keeps snowmaking in its own line, so a cold, heavy-use week is explained as what it took to open the hill, not treated as a random spike.
Schools book tubing field trips weeks ahead and pay in advance. How does Gus track that?
He holds that payment as money owed until the visit happens, then counts it as income that day, so the numbers match the actual trip, not just when the check arrived.
We're only open a few months a year. Is that going to look like the business is struggling the rest of the time?
No, that is normal for this trade. Gus tracks the season as a whole so the closed months read as expected, not as a warning sign.
Do our lift ticket sales and tubing session sales get mixed together?
No, they stay in separate categories, so you can see whether skiing and riding or the tubing lanes are actually carrying the season.
This winter was warmer than usual and our season ran short. Will that throw off our set-aside?
No. Gus adjusts the set-aside as the season's real numbers come in, so a short season does not leave you overpaying ahead of a lighter year.
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