Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for sunflower fields and photo farms.
Timed entry tickets sold online, a photographer buying a season pass to shoot portraits in the rows, and a bloom window that might last two weeks if the heat holds off. 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
August came in at $16,500. The Eventbrite payout came in short by its ticketing fee, so I booked the full ticket price and the fee separately.
- Eventbrite ticket payoutTimed entry tickets
- Photographer season passPhotographer passes
- Sunflower seed orderSeed and plant stock
- Field parking attendant wagesSeasonal labor
- Facebook and Instagram adsAdvertising
Why your books are different
Sunflower and photo farm books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees ticket sales from an app. Your business earns nearly its whole year in a bloom window that might last ten days or three weeks depending on the heat, selling timed entry to visitors and season passes to photographers who come back again and again. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what actually drives the season.
-
1
Ticket seller payouts land short of what was sold
A visitor pays full price for a timed entry ticket through Eventbrite or a similar ticket seller, but the payout that hits your bank a few days later is short the seller's fee. Booked as the deposit amount, both your sales and your marketing costs come out wrong.
What we doBooks the full ticket price as money in and the ticket seller's cut as a fee, so your sales and your costs both show up honest. -
2
Photographer passes get treated like a regular visitor ticket
A local photographer who buys a season pass to shoot portrait sessions in the field pays a different price for a different kind of access than a family buying one timed ticket, but both often land in the same sales line.
What we doKeeps photographer passes separate from regular ticket sales, so you can see how much of the season each brings in. -
3
The whole season rides on how long the bloom lasts
A hot stretch or an early frost can cut a three-week bloom down to ten days, and the books have no way of knowing that unless someone tells them, which makes one season look wildly different from the last without explanation.
What we doNotes the bloom window each year against ticket sales, so a short season reads as weather, not a business problem. -
4
Cut-stem bouquet sales blur into ticket revenue
Visitors who buy a bundle of cut sunflowers on the way out pay for a different product, with different costs, than the timed entry ticket that got them into the field.
What we doKeeps cut-stem sales in their own category, so you can see whether that add-on is worth the extra labor to cut and bundle. -
5
Parking and gate staff pay like cash
The extra hands who scan tickets, direct parking, and keep the rows tidy during a short, crowded bloom window are often paid at the end of the day, leaving no clean record of what the season's busiest days actually cost.
What we doTracks bloom-week gate and parking labor as its own line, so you can see what a weekend costs against what it brings in.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a sunflower and photo farm.
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
- Timed entry ticketsOnline ticket sales for scheduled entry windows during bloom.
- Photographer passesSeason or day passes sold to photographers shooting portraits in the field.
- Cut-stem salesBundled sunflowers sold at the exit for visitors to take home.
- Corporate and private event rentalsAfter-hours field buyouts for company events or engagement shoots.
- Merchandise salesHats, prints, and other branded items sold at the field stand.
Money out
- Seed and plant stockSunflower seed and any succession planting for a longer bloom window.
- Ticket seller feesWhat Eventbrite or a similar ticket seller keeps from each ticket sold.
- Seasonal laborGate, parking, and field upkeep staff during the bloom window.
- AdvertisingSocial ads that drive most ticket sales during a short season.
- Field day expensesPortable toilets, parking field prep, and signage for a crowded bloom.
- IrrigationWell electric and drip line costs to help the bloom hold as long as possible.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for large crowds walking a field during a short, busy window.
What we watch for you
- Ticket vs. pass mix
How much comes from single timed tickets versus photographer passes, so you know which to promote.
- Ticket seller fee cost
What the ticket seller keeps on every sale, worth knowing before picking one for next season.
- Bloom-week labor share
What gate and parking staff cost against what the busiest bloom days bring in.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things sunflower and photo farm 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.
That is the ticket seller's fee. I book the full ticket price as your sale and the fee as a cost, so your numbers stay honest either way.
I keep photographer passes in their own line, separate from regular tickets, so you can see how much of the season comes from each.
No, I note the bloom window against ticket sales, so a short season reads as weather, not a problem with the business.
The tax side
The tax side of a sunflower and photo farm.
Most of what goes wrong here is fees and timing on a short season. Ticket payouts booked short of the sale, photographer passes lumped with tickets, and a set-aside nobody started until the bloom ended.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Schedule F farm incomeGrowing and selling access to the field generally lands on Schedule F instead of the Schedule C a typical small business files, which changes how income and certain costs are handled.
- Equipment and field infrastructureIrrigation systems and similar structures can usually be written off, sometimes the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for gate and parking helpAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for gate, parking, or field help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Admissions tax on ticketed entryCharging admission to walk a field can carry a different state or local tax treatment than selling raw farm produce, so Gus keeps ticket revenue separate for the accountant to sort out.
Deductions sunflower fields and photo farms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sunflower seed and succession plantings
- Ticket seller fees
- Field parking signage
- Portable toilet rental
- Social media ad spend
- Liability insurance
- Irrigation and drip line repair
- Branded merchandise stock
- Gate scanning equipment
- Cut-stem wrapping supplies
- Field mowing and prep
- Staff name tags and shirts
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 sunflower and photo farm year, kept every month.
Your bloom might last two weeks or four, depending on the summer. Your taxes come on a schedule the rest of the year. 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 gate and parking help 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so a short bloom season funds it evenly.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed well before planting, so seed timing gets your full attention.
- July
Halfway check
A look at succession planting and ticketing setup before the bloom window opens.
- October
Season wrap
Gus checks how this year's bloom window and ticket sales compared to last year and flags anything worth changing for next season.
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 sunflower fields and photo farms. 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 sunflower and photo farm owners ask first.
Can Gus handle tickets sold through Eventbrite or a similar ticket seller?
Yes. He books the full ticket price as money in and the ticket seller's fee as a cost, so your sales are not understated and the fee still counts against your taxes.
We sell separate passes to photographers. Does that need its own category?
Yes, and Gus does that automatically. Photographer passes stay separate from single-visit tickets, so you can see how much of the season each one brings.
Our bloom only lasted ten days this year because of the heat. Will that look bad on the books?
It shouldn't. Gus notes the bloom window against ticket sales, so a short season reads as weather, not a warning sign about the business.
Do I have to change how I sell tickets or run the field?
No. Keep selling timed tickets and passes the same way. Gus works from your bank deposits, and a photographer pass or a ticket payout he cannot identify gets one quick question instead of a guess.
My gate and parking staff are paid cash at the end of a bloom-week day. Can that still be tracked?
Yes, as long as you send what was paid out. Keeping it as its own labor line is what lets you see what a busy day really costs.
Is admission income taxed differently than selling cut sunflowers?
It can be, depending on your state. Gus keeps ticket revenue and cut-stem sales in separate categories so the accountant has what is needed to sort out how each should be handled.
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