Youth & adult sports training

Books and taxes for sports photography companies.

Picture day contracts across four sports this fall, package sales through an online gallery, a rebate owed back to the league for exclusive access, and a second shooter paid a day rate. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
OctoberExample month
$15,000
what you made

October came in at $15,000. Football, soccer, volleyball, and cross country all had picture days this month, so I kept each sport's sales on its own line.

  • Package sales, online galleryPhoto package sales
  • League access rebateLeague and school rebates
  • Second shooter, October eventsAssistant photographer pay
  • Print lab orderPrinting and fulfillment
  • Camera lens purchasePhotography equipment
Money in$42,000
Money out$27,000
Set aside for taxes$3,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A sports photography company's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your busiest weeks are clustered into a handful of picture days each season, families buy packages through an online gallery weeks after the shoot, and you owe a rebate to the league for the right to shoot there. When the books do not know that, the season's real numbers are hard to see.

  1. 1

    Package sales get counted the day a family checks out, not the day the photos were taken

    A family might browse proofs and buy a package three weeks after picture day, meaning most of a season's real income lands well after the actual shoot happened, making it look like a slow month followed by a random spike.

    What we doTies package sales back to the picture day that generated them, so a season's real revenue timeline makes sense.
  2. 2

    League and school rebates get missed or treated as a random fee

    Many leagues and schools require a percentage of sales paid back for exclusive shooting rights, but that rebate often gets paid out weeks later and logged with no link to which contract it belongs to.

    What we doTies each rebate to the specific league or school contract it's owed under, so your real margin per contract is visible.
  3. 3

    Second shooters paid a day rate look like one big lump expense

    Hiring an assistant photographer for a busy weekend of back-to-back picture days is a real cost tied to those specific events, but it often gets logged as one unexplained payroll charge with no connection to which shoots it covered.

    What we doKeeps assistant photographer pay tied to the events it covered, so you can see the real cost of a busy shooting weekend.
  4. 4

    Camera bodies and lenses get filed as ordinary supplies

    A new camera body or a fast lens can cost several thousand dollars, a very different kind of purchase than memory cards or backdrop paper.

    What we doFlags camera bodies and lenses as equipment, not supplies, and gets the accountant's call on how they should be written off.
  5. 5

    Print lab and fulfillment costs get bundled into one generic expense

    What you pay a print lab to fulfill orders is directly tied to what packages families bought, but if it's logged separately from sales with no connection, you cannot see your real margin on a package.

    What we doKeeps print and fulfillment cost close to the package sales it fulfills, so your real margin per package stays visible.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a sports photography company.

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

  • Photo package salesDigital and print packages sold to families through your gallery.
  • Team and league contract feesFlat fees paid by a league or school for coverage.
  • Reprint and add-on salesExtra prints, buttons, or products ordered after the initial sale.
  • Yearbook and licensing feesImage licensing paid by a yearbook company or league publication.

Money out

  • Assistant photographer paySecond shooters paid a day rate, tied to the events they covered.
  • League and school rebatesThe percentage owed back for exclusive shooting access.
  • Photography equipmentCamera bodies, lenses, and lighting gear.
  • Printing and fulfillmentPrint lab costs tied to package sales.
  • Online gallery softwareFees for the gallery service families use to view and buy photos.
  • InsuranceEquipment and general liability coverage.

What we watch for you

  • Package conversion rate

    How many families who see proofs actually buy a package.

  • Rebate cost per contract

    What each league or school's rebate actually costs against what the contract brings in.

  • Package margin

    What a package nets once print and fulfillment costs are pulled out.

  • The set-aside

    What each season's package sales actually owe, tracked monthly even when payouts land late.

Ask Gus

Things sports photographers 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.

Most of our sales land weeks after picture day. Why does that make the books look strange?

Only if we let it. I tie sales back to the shoot that generated them, so a season's real revenue timeline lines up with the work you actually did, not just when checkout happened.

We owe one league a 20 percent rebate on everything sold from their picture day. How should that be tracked?

I keep that tied to their specific contract, so you can see your real margin on that league separately from every other one you shoot for.

Is my second shooter a contractor or does she need to be on payroll?

A day rate for a specific event usually keeps her as a contractor, but if she works with you regularly on a set schedule, that can shift toward employee. Worth a check-in with the accountant if the arrangement gets more regular.

The tax side

The tax side of a sports photography company.

Most of what trips up this business is timing sales against the shoots that earned them, and keeping equipment separate from routine supplies.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Camera and lighting equipmentCamera bodies, lenses, and studio lighting can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent, permanent, for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Second shooter classificationA photographer paid a day rate for specific events is usually a contractor, but one working a regular set schedule with you may look more like an employee.
  • Contractor 1099sA second shooter or assistant 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 package sales and rebate costs are tied to the right contracts.

Deductions sports photography companies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Camera bodies and lenses
  • Memory cards and storage
  • Backdrops and lighting gear
  • Online gallery software fees
  • Print lab and fulfillment costs
  • Editing software subscriptions
  • Liability and equipment insurance
  • Website and booking tools
  • Vehicle mileage between shoots
  • League and showcase listing fees
  • Storage for equipment and props
  • Business cards and marketing materials

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 photography year, kept every month.

Picture days cluster into a few busy weeks each season, 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the assistant photographer 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed, right as spring picture day season ramps up.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring season sales changed the number.

  4. October

    Fall's busiest stretch

    In the middle of your busiest picture day season, Gus checks in on equipment and contracts worth planning before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 photography companies. 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 photographers ask first.

Can Gus tie sales back to the picture day they came from?

Yes. He tracks package sales against the shoot that generated them, so a season's real revenue timeline makes sense even when checkout happens weeks later.

We sell photos through an online gallery service. Do I have to change anything?

No. Your gallery service keeps running exactly as it does now. Gus reads the payouts that land in your account, and if one doesn't explain itself, he asks once and remembers it after that.

One league takes a rebate off everything we sell from their events. Does that get lost in the shuffle?

No. Gus ties that rebate to the specific league contract, so you can see your real margin on that relationship compared to every other one you shoot.

Do I write off a new camera body all at once?

Usually yes. Camera bodies and lenses typically qualify to be deducted the year you buy them. Gus tags the purchase and the accountant confirms what fits your year.

My books are a mess of gallery payout reports with no real system behind them. Can Gus start from there?

Yes. Send over your bank statements alongside those payout reports, and Gus builds 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.

More in youth & adult sports training

We keep books for the business next door too.

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