Youth & adult sports training
Books and taxes for sports camps.
Families booking three non-consecutive weeks out of an eight-week summer, extended care add-ons, teen counselors-in-training paying a reduced fee, and a camp T-shirt order due before you know final headcount. 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 $24,000. Extended care add-ons got their own line this time, apart from the base camp tuition families paid.
- Weekly camp tuitionCamp tuition
- Extended care add-onsExtended care fees
- Counselor payroll, JulyCounselor pay
- Camp T-shirt orderCamper gear
- Sports equipment restockCamp equipment
Why your books are different
A sports camp's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your camp sells enrollment by the week, often in non-consecutive blocks across a summer, plus extended care and a teen counselor-in-training program that blends staff and camper roles. When the books do not know that, no single week's number is trustworthy.
-
1
A family's multi-week booking gets counted all at once
A parent books and pays for weeks two, five, and seven of an eight-week summer in one transaction back in March. Booked as March income, the actual camp weeks show none of that revenue when the kids finally show up.
What we doSpreads a multi-week booking across the actual camp weeks it covers, so income lands when the camper attends, not when the family paid. -
2
Extended care fees get folded into base tuition
Before and after care is usually a separate add-on fee with its own staffing cost, but if it's deposited alongside base tuition, you cannot tell whether the add-on is actually covering the extra staff hours it requires.
What we doKeeps extended care fees and their staffing cost in their own line, separate from base camp tuition. -
3
Counselor-in-training fees mix camper revenue with staff cost
A teen CIT often pays a reduced fee to attend while also helping run activities, which is part tuition and part unpaid or lightly paid labor, but usually gets logged as one ordinary camper enrollment.
What we doFlags CIT program fees separately and asks about the work-for-reduced-fee arrangement, so the accountant can weigh in on how it should be treated. -
4
Discounted early-bird bookings blur what a week is really worth
An early registrant pays a discounted rate while a late sign-up for the same week pays full price, but both often get logged as the same tuition category with no way to see the real average price per camper.
What we doTracks tuition against the discount applied, so you can see the true average price per camper for each week. -
5
A T-shirt order gets placed and paid for before final headcount is known
Ordering camp shirts for an estimated 200 campers weeks before the actual roster is locked in means the expense often lands in a different month than the tuition meant to cover it.
What we doTies the gear order to the camp weeks it supports, so an early order doesn't distort the month it's paid in.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a sports camp.
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
- Camp tuitionWeekly enrollment fees, tracked to the actual camp week attended.
- Extended care feesBefore and after care add-ons, kept apart from base tuition.
- CIT program feesReduced fees paid by teen counselors-in-training.
- Gear and merchandise salesCamp shirts and extra gear sold to families.
Money out
- Counselor payCamp staff wages, kept apart from your own draw.
- Camp equipmentBalls, cones, and sport-specific gear for daily activities.
- Camper gearT-shirts and swag ordered for each camp week.
- Facility rent or permitsFields, gyms, or a school facility rented for the summer.
- InsuranceParticipant accident and general liability coverage.
- MarketingLocal ads, your website, and early-bird promotion.
What we watch for you
- Weekly fill rate
How full each camp week is running against capacity.
- Average price per camper
What tuition is really averaging once early-bird and late discounts are counted.
- Extended care attach rate
How many families are adding before or after care each week.
- The set-aside
What weekly tuition actually owes in taxes, tracked all summer so April isn't a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things sports camp 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.
I'm fixing that. I spread their payment across the three actual camp weeks they booked, so March isn't inflated and those weeks show the revenue they earned.
It's worth a second look. I've flagged their fees separately, since a reduced fee tied to work performed can raise questions the accountant should weigh in on.
I tied that order to the camp weeks it's for, so April doesn't take the hit for an expense that's really covering the whole summer.
The tax side
The tax side of a sports camp.
Most of what trips up a camp is timing across weeks and figuring out how to treat a counselor-in-training program that blends camper and staff roles.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Counselor worker classificationA counselor who works your camp hours on your schedule is almost always an employee, not a contractor, even for a single summer.
- Counselor-in-training arrangementsA teen who pays a reduced fee in exchange for helping run activities may create a compensation question worth a closer look, since work traded for a discount can have its own tax treatment.
- Contractor 1099s for guest instructorsA guest sport-specific instructor for a themed camp week, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when weekly tuition is booked to the actual camp weeks delivered.
Deductions sports camps miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sport-specific camp equipment
- Camp T-shirts and swag
- First aid and training room supplies
- Field or gym rental
- Liability and accident insurance
- Registration software fees
- Website and early-bird promotion
- Background check fees for staff
- Storage for camp equipment
- Walkie-talkies and check-in supplies
- Staff training and certification
- Signage and check-in tent rental
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 camp's year, kept every month.
Summer carries most of your year, but your taxes come on a fixed schedule. Your team keeps you ahead 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 counselor 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right as spring registration for summer camp weeks picks up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this summer's enrollment changed the number.
- October
Before next summer
Before next year's early-bird pricing goes live, Gus looks at equipment and gear worth planning 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 camps. 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 camp owners ask first.
Can Gus handle a family booking non-consecutive weeks across the summer?
Yes. He tracks each camper's paid weeks against the weeks they actually attend, so income lands when the camp week happens, not when the family first paid.
We take registration through a sign-up app. Do I have to change anything?
Nothing on your end needs to change. Gus works from your bank statement, and if a deposit from the sign-up app doesn't explain itself, he asks once and keeps that answer for every camp after.
Our CIT program has teens paying a reduced fee to help out. Does that need special handling?
It's worth flagging. Gus keeps CIT fees separate and notes the arrangement, since a discount tied to work performed is a question the accountant should weigh in on.
Do our extended care fees need to be tracked separately from tuition?
It helps a lot. Gus keeps them apart so you can see whether extended care is actually covering the extra staff hours it requires.
Our books are mostly a folder of camp registration reports with no real accounting behind them. Where do we start?
Right there. Send Gus your bank statements alongside those registration reports, and he'll build the real picture from what actually moved through the account.
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