Bars & nightlife
Books and taxes for sports bars.
A packed Sunday, a wing order that doubles for the playoffs, a beer distributor invoice, and the season TV package bill. 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
January came in at $18,300. Playoff weekend alone was almost a third of the month, so I flagged it so you can see how much one Sunday moved the number.
- Toast payoutFood and drink sales
- Sysco orderFood and wings
- Reyes Beverage invoiceBeer purchases
- DirecTV commercial accountSports package
- Payroll, kitchen and barWages and tip pool
Why your books are different
A sports bar's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and a beer bill. Your bar is a handful of huge Sundays that carry the slower weeknights, a food cost driven by wing prices that swing all year, and a season-long TV package bill that hits whether the game was packed or dead.
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1
Game-day spikes hide the real slow weeks
A playoff weekend or a rivalry game can bring in more than a normal week combined, and averaged into one flat monthly number, an owner cannot tell whether a quiet Tuesday crowd is normal or a real problem.
What we doFlags the weeks a major game clearly drove the number, so a slow stretch reads as normal instead of alarming. -
2
Wing and food cost swings get blamed on the wrong month
Chicken wing prices move a lot through the year, and a bar that stocks up before a big game can see food cost spike in a week that had nothing to do with how the kitchen is actually running.
What we doKeeps food purchases in their own line against the sales they supported, so a price spike reads as a market swing, not a kitchen problem. -
3
The season TV package looks like one big bill
A commercial sports package paid up front or over a few months covers an entire season, and booked the day it is paid, it can make one month look like a loss when it is really covering games months out.
What we doSpreads the season TV package cost across the months it actually covers, so no single month looks worse than it is. -
4
Betting and fantasy promotions blur into regular sales
Free drink vouchers, watch-party giveaways, and promotional tabs tied to a betting partner or fantasy league night reduce what a big crowd actually pays, and lumped into regular sales they overstate what the night brought in.
What we doKeeps promotional comps in their own line so a big crowd on a promo night does not look more profitable than it was. -
5
New TVs and sound gear look like a repair
A wall of new televisions or an upgraded sound system for game day is a real equipment purchase, but on a bank statement it can look like ordinary maintenance and get expensed the wrong way.
What we doFlags large TV, sound, and equipment purchases the month they happen and gets the accountant's call on how they should be written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a sports bar.
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
- Food and drink salesEverything rung through Toast, Square, or a similar system.
- Game-day reservationsTable holds and section buyouts for major games.
- Private watch partiesRoom rentals for corporate or group bookings.
- MerchandiseTeam gear, branded jerseys, and koozies sold at the bar.
Money out
- Beer purchasesDomestic and craft beer from your distributor.
- Liquor purchasesSpirits and mixers for the full bar.
- Food and wingsWing, produce, and other kitchen orders from Sysco or a similar supplier.
- Sports packageThe commercial DirecTV or cable package that carries every game.
- Wages and tip poolKitchen, bar, and server pay, kept apart from pooled tips.
- TV and sound equipmentScreens, mounts, and sound gear for game day.
- Card processing feesWhat the card processor keeps before you get paid.
What we watch for you
- Food cost
Wing and kitchen cost against sales, tracked through price swings.
- Beer cost
Beer purchases against drink sales, so keg pricing changes stand out.
- Labor cost
Wages and tip pool against sales, so game-day staffing pays off.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is not a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things sports bar 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.
Usually all in the year you buy them. I logged the TVs and mounts as equipment and flagged the purchase so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
You paid for the whole season up front. I am spreading that cost across the months it covers, so it will not drag down just this one.
If you pay either one $2,000 or more this year and they are not on payroll, they get a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a sports bar.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing. A season TV bill paid once, wing costs that spike with the market, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- TVs, sound, and bar equipmentScreens, mounts, and sound systems can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA trivia host, DJ, or promoter not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Employee or contractorA bartender or server who works your schedule and your shifts is usually an employee, not a contractor, even on game days only.
- 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 sports bars miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Season sports package fees
- TV and mount replacement
- Sound system repair
- Wing and produce spoilage
- Fryer and kitchen equipment repair
- Card processing fees
- Team gear for staff
- Trivia and promotion costs
- Liquor liability insurance
- Pest control service
- Grease trap and disposal fees
- Menu board printing
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 sports bar year, kept every month.
Football, playoffs, and championship weekends do not follow a normal calendar. Your team keeps you ahead of the season and the return. 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 hosts and promoters is ready, and your monthly set-aside is planned around playoff season.
- 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 how the summer slowdown between seasons changed the number.
- October
Before the season kicks off
Before football season ramps up, Gus looks at TV and equipment upgrades 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 sports bars. 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 sports bar owners ask first.
Can Gus handle a huge swing between a playoff Sunday and a slow Tuesday?
Yes. He flags the weeks a major game clearly drove the number, so the slow stretch around it reads as normal instead of looking like a problem.
How do you handle our season-long TV package bill?
It gets spread across the months it actually covers instead of hitting all at once, so the month you pay it does not look worse than it is.
We run promo nights tied to a fantasy league. Does that change the books?
It changes where the discount shows up, not what you do at the bar. Promotional comps stay in their own line so a big promo crowd does not look more profitable than it was.
Do I write off new TVs and sound equipment all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
My books are behind after a busy football season. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside 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.
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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