Tutoring, test prep & alternative schools
Books and taxes for STEM and robotics centers.
Weekly team dues, an after-school program contract with the local district, robotics kits and spare parts that need restocking before every competition, and travel costs for regional tournaments. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
February made $8,400. Regional tournament travel for two teams hit this month, so I kept it in its own line instead of letting it blend into regular supplies.
- Team dues, spring seasonTeam dues
- School district contract paymentSchool program contracts
- Robotics kit and parts orderKits and parts
- Regional tournament travelCompetition travel
- Coach and mentor payCoach pay
Why your books are different
STEM and robotics center books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees dues and a supply order. Your center runs on competition teams with their own budgets, school district contracts paid on a different schedule than family dues, and parts inventory that gets consumed unevenly across a season. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which team or contract actually pays for itself.
-
1
School district contracts get mixed with family-paid dues
An after-school program contract with a district pays on its own invoice schedule, often net thirty or sixty days, and if that revenue lands in the same category as family dues, you cannot see how much of the center depends on one contract renewing.
What we doKeeps school and district contract revenue in its own category, separate from family-paid team dues. -
2
A season's parts order wrecks the monthly number
Robotics kits, motors, sensors, and spare parts get bought in bulk before build season, and one big order can make a strong month look thin while the following month looks unusually good.
What we doKeeps kits and parts spending in a steady line and flags a seasonal bulk order so it reads as what it is. -
3
Tournament travel gets buried in general expenses
Regional and national competition travel, including hotels, mileage, and entry fees, is a real and recurring cost tied to the competition calendar, and if it is not tracked on its own, you cannot see what fielding a team in tournaments actually costs.
What we doKeeps competition travel in its own category, tied to the season it belongs to. -
4
Volunteer mentors and paid coaches blend into one line
A robotics program often runs on a mix of unpaid volunteer mentors and paid coaches or lead instructors, and if pay is not split out clearly, it is hard to see the real staffing cost of running each team.
What we doKeeps paid coach and mentor wages in their own line, separate from volunteer involvement, so labor cost per team is clear.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a STEM and robotics center.
Set up once for teams, contracts, and competition season. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Team duesFamily-paid dues for team membership and season participation.
- School program contractsAfter-school and in-school program revenue from district or private school contracts.
- Camp and workshop feesSummer camps and one-off STEM workshops billed apart from team dues.
- Sponsorship and grant incomeLocal business sponsorships or grants supporting a team or program.
Money out
- Coach payWages for paid coaches and lead instructors, kept apart from volunteer mentors.
- Kits and partsRobotics kits, motors, sensors, and spare parts for builds.
- Competition travelTournament entry fees, mileage, and hotel costs for regional and national events.
- Facility rentThe build space or classroom the center operates from.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for the workshop, competitions, and travel.
- Marketing and school outreachMaterials and visits used to build district and school partnerships.
What we watch for you
- Contract share of revenue
How much of income depends on school or district contracts versus family-paid dues.
- Team dues per season
The base your family revenue rests on, tracked season to season.
- Competition travel cost
What fielding teams in tournaments actually costs across a season.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things STEM and robotics center 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 contract revenue in its own category so you can see it come in on its own schedule without confusing it with family dues.
I keep parts spending steady across the year and flag a bulk seasonal order, so it reads as the normal build-season cost it is.
Yes, and I keep paid coach wages separate from volunteer time, so you can see the real staffing cost of running each team.
The tax side
The tax side of a STEM and robotics center.
Most of what goes wrong here is contract revenue mixed with dues and a season's parts order distorting the month. Fix the tracking and the return follows.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Coach and mentor classificationA paid coach who runs a set practice schedule and reports to the center is usually an employee, even if the arrangement started as informal volunteer help.
- Contractor 1099sAny coach or contractor not on payroll, paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running.
- Equipment write-offs for kits and toolsRobotics kits, tools, and shop equipment can usually be written off in the year they are bought, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when contract revenue and team costs are tracked cleanly all year.
Deductions STEM and robotics centers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Robotics kits and spare parts
- Competition entry fees
- Tournament travel and mileage
- Coach and mentor training
- Liability insurance
- Facility or build-space rent
- Tools and shop equipment
- Marketing and school partnership materials
- Team uniforms and gear
- Card processing fees
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 STEM and robotics center year, kept every month.
Build season and tournament season drive your calendar as much as the school year does. Gus keeps both organized alongside the tax calendar. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Build season begins
Teams start building for spring competitions. Last year's return gets started and the monthly set-aside gets planned.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right around the close of the spring competition season.
- July
Summer camp check-in
Where you stand as summer camps and workshops replace the team season, and whether contract renewals changed what you will owe.
- October
Before the fall season
New team registrations and district contracts often renew in the fall. Gus looks at parts or equipment worth buying 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 STEM and robotics centers. 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 STEM and robotics center owners ask first.
We run a school district contract alongside family-paid teams. Can Gus keep those separate?
Yes. Contract revenue and family dues get their own categories from the start, so you can always see how much the center depends on each source.
Parts costs come in huge lumps before competition season. Will that mess up my numbers?
No. Gus keeps kits and parts spending steady across the year and flags a seasonal bulk order, so a big build-season purchase reads as what it is.
Some of our mentors are volunteers and some are paid staff. Does that complicate things?
No. Paid coach and mentor wages are tracked separately from unpaid volunteer time, so the real labor cost of each team stays clear.
Do we need to send tax forms to our paid coaches?
Any coach not on payroll, paid $2,000 or more this year, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running so it is ready when the time comes.
Our books mix school contract payments with team dues from three seasons ago. Can Gus sort that out?
Yes. Send what you have and he sorts it into clean, separate categories going forward. Most owners know exactly where they stand within 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