Outdoor attractions & tours
Books and taxes for small water parks.
Season passes sold in spring, a summer of gate admission, a payroll full of lifeguards, and chemical bills that spike every week. 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
July came in at $41,500. The wave pool pump rebuild from Aqua Design showed up this month, so I logged it as equipment, not maintenance.
- Season pass installment batchSeason passes
- Gate admission depositDaily admission
- Aqua Design pump rebuildSlide and pool equipment
- Leslie's Pool SupplyChemicals and water treatment
- Lifeguard payroll runLifeguard wages
Why your books are different
Water park books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a gate and a snack bar. Your business is season passes sold months before they get used, a payroll of mostly teenage lifeguards, and chemical and pump bills that never stop even on a rained-out Tuesday. When the books do not know that, a great July can look average and a bad month looks like a crisis.
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1
Season passes get counted the day they sell
A family buys a season pass in April for a park that opens Memorial Day. Booking that money as April income overstates spring and understates the summer weeks the pass actually gets used.
What we doHolds season pass money as prepaid and counts a share of it each month the park is actually open, so the number tracks real visits. -
2
Lifeguard payroll swings wildly week to week
A park might run ten lifeguards on a sunny Saturday and three on a rainy Tuesday. Looking at one week's payroll without visitor counts makes labor look out of control when it is really just matching the crowd.
What we doKeeps lifeguard wages against admissions for the same stretch, so you can see whether staffing is matching the gate, not just rising. -
3
Chemical and filtration bills get lumped with general supplies
Chlorine, water testing, and pump parts are a real, recurring cost of keeping the water safe, not a miscellaneous expense. Buried in general supplies, you cannot tell if a wet, crowded month is costing more in chemicals than a slow one.
What we doKeeps chemicals and water treatment in their own line, so you can see the real cost of keeping the water open every day. -
4
A slide or pump rebuild looks like routine maintenance
A wave pool pump rebuild or a new slide flume can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Filed as maintenance, it wrecks one month's number and hides what the park actually invested in staying open.
What we doFlags large slide, pool, and pump work the day it happens, books it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how it gets written off. -
5
A ten-week season carries the other forty-two
Many water parks make nearly all their money between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Looking at any single winter month on its own makes a healthy seasonal business look like it is failing.
What we doTracks the season as a whole and helps plan a set-aside so the closed months do not drain the account.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a small water park.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Season passesSold ahead of opening, recognized across the weeks the park is open.
- Daily admissionGate cash and card sales for single-day visits.
- Group and school bookingsCamp days and school outings booked ahead.
- Cabana and tube rentalsRental fees for shade cabanas and inner tubes.
- ConcessionsFood, drinks, and snack bar sales.
Money out
- Lifeguard wagesHourly pay for a mostly seasonal, mostly teenage staff.
- Chemicals and water treatmentChlorine, testing supplies, and treatment from suppliers like Leslie's.
- Slide and pool equipmentPump rebuilds, filtration parts, and slide flume repair.
- Concession food costsSnack bar inventory and drinks.
- InsuranceLiability coverage, usually the largest fixed cost of the year.
- Towel and locker inventoryRental towels, lockers, and replacement stock.
- UtilitiesWater, gas for heaters, and electricity for pumps.
- Ticketing and payment feesWhat a ticketing app or card processor keeps.
What we watch for you
- Deferred pass balance
How much season pass money is still owed in visits, so a big spring deposit does not get spent as if it were already earned.
- Labor against admissions
Lifeguard payroll compared to gate and pass revenue for the same stretch, so staffing tracks the crowd.
- Chemical cost per visitor
Water treatment cost against attendance, since a busier park uses more chemicals.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things water park 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.
Because those passes pay for visits that have not happened yet. I spread that money across the weeks the park is open, so each month matches real attendance.
Not on its own. I check it against admissions for the same stretch, and this month the gate jumped too, so staffing is tracking the crowd, not running away from it.
Often it can. I logged it as equipment, not maintenance, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of a small water park.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing: passes counted too early, a pump rebuild filed as maintenance, and seasonal payroll paid the wrong way.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Deferred revenue on season passesSeason pass money is not fully earned the day it is collected. It gets recognized as income across the weeks visitors actually use the park.
- Slide and pool equipment depreciationSlides, pumps, and filtration systems are business equipment. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, and Section 179 can often write off a rebuild or new slide in the year it is bought.
- Worker classification for lifeguardsLifeguards who work your posted schedule and follow your safety rules are employees, even for a ten-week season. This one rarely has a gray area.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions small water parks miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pool chemicals and testing kits
- Slide flume and pump repair
- Lifeguard whistles and rescue tubes
- Sunscreen and first aid supplies
- Towel and locker inventory
- Cabana and tube replacement
- Water heater fuel
- Ticketing app fees
- Uniforms and staff shirts
- Concession equipment repair
- Liability insurance
- Signage and wayfinding
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 water park year, kept every month.
Your whole year rides on ten or twelve weeks of sunshine. Your taxes come on a schedule regardless. 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 is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so the closed months do not catch you short.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before opening day, so the season starts without a tax deadline hanging over it.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the peak of the season, and whether the summer gate is tracking ahead of last year.
- October
Before the off season
A look at pump, slide, and pool equipment worth buying before next summer, and anything worth doing 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 small water parks. 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 water park owners ask first.
Can Gus handle season passes sold months before we open?
Yes. He holds that money as prepaid income and recognizes it across the weeks the park is actually open, so your books match real attendance instead of the day a pass was sold.
Our lifeguard staff is almost entirely seasonal teenagers. Does that change payroll?
Not the classification. Lifeguards working your schedule and safety rules are employees. It does mean payroll swings a lot week to week, and Gus tracks that against attendance so it makes sense.
Do chemical and water treatment costs get their own category?
Yes. Chlorine, testing, and treatment supplies are kept separate from general supplies, so you can see the real cost of keeping the water open.
We rebuilt a wave pool pump for $22,000. Is that a repair or equipment?
Usually equipment. Major pool and slide work with real useful life gets logged as equipment, and the accountant decides how much of it can be written off this year.
We are closed five months a year. Is that a problem for the books?
No. Gus tracks your season as a whole, so the closed months do not make a profitable summer look like a struggling business.
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