Land recreation & adventure

Books and taxes for survival and bushcraft schools.

Weekend and week-long courses booked months out, instructor day rates, a gear locker of knives and tarps, and land access fees for the property you teach on. Gus sorts it as it lands, 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
SeptemberExample month
$11,900
what you made

September came in at $11,900. A week-long course booked back in the spring finally ran this month, so I counted that income now instead of when the deposits landed.

  • Week-long course balancesCourse income
  • Weekend course depositsDeferred course income
  • Morakniv gear orderGear inventory
  • Assistant instructor day ratesInstructor pay
  • Land access fee, teaching siteLand access costs
Money in$36,000
Money out$24,100
Set aside for taxes$3,000
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Survival school books go wrong between the booking and the course.

A student books and pays for a week-long course months before it runs, you bring in other instructors for bigger classes, and the land you teach on is not always land you own. A generalist counts a deposit as today's money. Your books need to know a booking is not a completed course.

  1. 1

    Course deposits get counted before the course runs

    A student pays a deposit in April for a September course, and if that money counts as April income, September, when the course and most of its costs actually happen, looks thin by comparison.

    What we doHolds course deposits as money owed until the course happens, then counts the income the month it runs.
  2. 2

    Assistant instructor pay hides the real cost of a course

    A bigger class often needs a second or third instructor, and if that day rate pay blends into your own instructor income, you cannot tell what a specific course actually nets after paying everyone who taught it.

    What we doKeeps assistant instructor pay in its own line, tied to the courses they worked, separate from your own teaching income.
  3. 3

    Land access fees get mixed with general overhead

    Teaching on leased or permitted land often means a per-use or annual access fee that is different from a fixed rent payment, and burying it in general overhead hides what access to that land actually costs against the courses it supports.

    What we doKeeps land access costs in their own line, separate from other fixed overhead.
  4. 4

    Consumable gear gets bought in bulk and used slowly

    Tarps, cordage, ferro rods, and knives used across many courses get purchased in batches, and one large gear order can make a slow month look like a loss for no visible reason.

    What we doKeeps gear inventory in its own line and tells you when a bulk order, not a bad month, is why costs spiked.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a survival and bushcraft school.

Set up once for how courses, instructors, and gear get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Course incomeWeekend and week-long course fees, recognized when the course actually runs.
  • Deferred course incomeDeposits collected ahead of a scheduled course.
  • Private and custom instructionOne-on-one or small private group teaching.
  • Gear and equipment salesKnives, tarps, and gear sold to students.
  • Certification and workshop feesSpecialty single-day workshops and certification courses.

Money out

  • Instructor payYour own teaching income, kept apart from assistant instructor pay.
  • Assistant instructor payDay rates for other instructors brought on for bigger courses.
  • Gear inventoryKnives, tarps, cordage, and consumables used across courses.
  • Land access costsFees paid for permission to teach on leased or permitted land.
  • Liability insuranceCoverage for outdoor instruction, often the largest fixed cost.
  • Food and course suppliesMeals and consumables provided during multi-day courses.
  • Vehicle costsFuel and repairs for transporting students and gear to teaching sites.
  • Marketing and booking site feesAds and any online reservation system's cut.

What we watch for you

  • Deferred course deposit balance

    How much course deposit money is still owed in courses not yet run.

  • Instructor cost per course

    What assistant instructor pay costs against course income, useful for pricing bigger classes.

  • Gear cost per student

    What consumable gear runs per student, so course pricing keeps pace with supply costs.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things survival school 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.

A student paid a deposit back in April for a September course. Why isn't that showing as income until now?

It was held as money owed to them in a course they hadn't taken yet. I counted it in September, when the course actually ran, so the report matches the real work you did.

I brought in another instructor for a bigger class this month. How does his pay get tracked?

I keep his day rate pay separate from your own teaching income, tied to the specific course he worked, so you can see what that course actually netted.

The land I teach on isn't mine. Does that access fee count the same as rent?

I keep it in its own line, separate from other overhead, so you can see what access to that land actually costs against the courses it supports.

The tax side

The tax side of a survival and bushcraft school.

Most of what trips up a survival school is timing course deposits and getting instructor and gear costs on the right track.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Course deposits are earned at the courseMoney collected for a course booked ahead of time is deferred income, recognized only when the course actually happens.
  • Teaching gear depreciationHigher-cost gear bought for instruction is business equipment, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Assistant instructor or employeeAn assistant instructor who follows your curriculum, uses your gear, and teaches your students is often an employee rather than a contractor.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, which comes out right when course income is tracked accurately all year.

Deductions survival and bushcraft schools miss

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

  • Knives, tarps, and cordage for courses
  • Land access and permit fees
  • Liability insurance premiums
  • Assistant instructor day rates
  • Course food and consumables
  • First aid and wilderness medical supplies
  • Vehicle fuel for teaching site travel
  • Certification and training renewals
  • Booking site fees
  • Marketing and course listings
  • Uniforms and instructor apparel
  • Tents and shelter gear

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 survival school's year, kept every month.

Course season and the tax calendar rarely line up. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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, and a monthly set-aside is planned based on how last season's courses actually landed.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed as spring course bookings ramp up.

  3. July

    Peak season check

    Where you stand at the busiest stretch, and whether instructor and gear costs are keeping pace with course income.

  4. October

    Before the season winds down

    Gear restocking, next year's land access planning, and equipment worth buying before the off season.

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 survival and bushcraft schools. 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 survival school owners ask first.

Students book and pay for courses months in advance. How does Gus handle that timing?

He holds course deposits as money owed until the course actually runs, so the income lands the month you are teaching it, not the month the deposit was paid.

I bring on assistant instructors for bigger courses. Does that pay mess up my own teaching income?

No, assistant instructor pay stays in its own line, tied to the courses they worked, so your own teaching income stays clear.

I pay to access land I don't own for teaching. How does that get tracked differently from rent?

Land access fees get their own category, separate from other overhead, so you can see what access to that land actually costs against the courses it supports.

My gear orders come in occasional big batches. Will that make some months look like a loss?

No, Gus flags a bulk gear order as a stock-up, not a bad month, so the report explains the spike instead of just showing it.

My course schedule is uneven through the year. Will that throw off my set-aside?

No. Gus adjusts the set-aside as the year's real numbers come in, so an uneven course schedule does not leave you overpaying ahead of a lighter stretch.

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 land recreation & adventure

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