Skin, nails & body art
Books and taxes for tanning salons.
Unlimited monthly memberships, walk-in sessions, tanning bed bulbs that run hundreds of dollars a set, and an electricity bill that swings with how many beds run each day. 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
March came in at $6,800. Spring break memberships jumped, and a full bulb replacement on bed three landed the same month, so I logged it as equipment, not supplies.
- Membership billingUnlimited memberships
- Walk-in session paymentsSingle sessions
- Bulb replacement, bed 3Bulb replacement
- Retail lotion saleRetail sales
- Utility bill, electricUtilities
Why your books are different
Tanning salon books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees membership deposits and a utility bill. Your business is beds that need bulbs swapped on a schedule, an electric bill that moves with how many beds actually run, and members who pay every month whether they tan once or twenty times. When the books do not know that, real per-bed cost stays hidden.
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1
Bulb replacement gets filed as a supply cost
A full set of bulbs for one high-pressure bed can run $600 or more. Filed as regular supplies, it wrecks the month it was bought and hides a real, predictable cost of running that bed.
What we doKeeps bulb replacement in its own line, apart from small supplies, so you can see the real cost of keeping each bed running. -
2
Electricity gets treated as one flat overhead number
Tanning beds pull a lot of power, and a busy spring break month can push the electric bill far higher than a slow winter month, but if utilities are just one lump line, that swing looks like a mystery.
What we doTracks utility costs month to month against membership usage, so a jump in the bill makes sense instead of looking like a red flag. -
3
Unlimited memberships get treated as pure profit
A member pays $40 a month for unlimited tanning and comes in fifteen times. If that $40 gets counted the same as a member who tans twice, you cannot tell which pricing tier actually covers your bulb and electric cost.
What we doTracks membership revenue against visits logged where the data allows it, so pricing tiers can be judged on real usage. -
4
Retail lotion sales blur into membership income
Tanning accelerator and bronzer lotion sold at the front desk gets rung into the same total as membership dues, so retail sales never show up as their own number.
What we doSplits retail product sales from membership and session income, so you can see what retail actually contributes.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a tanning salon.
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
- Unlimited membershipsMonthly membership billing, tracked against usage where possible.
- Single sessionsWalk-in and drop-in tanning sessions.
- Retail salesTanning accelerator, bronzer, and after-sun lotion.
- UV-free spray tanBooth spray tanning, kept apart from bed tanning.
Money out
- Bulb replacementFull and partial bulb sets for high-pressure and standard beds.
- UtilitiesElectric bill, which swings with how many beds run.
- Retail inventoryLotion and accelerator bought to resell.
- Bed maintenanceAcrylic cleaning, fan repair, and bed servicing.
- Studio rentLease on the salon space.
- Licensing and insuranceBusiness license and liability insurance.
What we watch for you
- Membership utilization
Visits against members billed, so pricing can be judged fair or not.
- Bulb cost per bed
Replacement spend tracked by bed, so you know which beds cost the most to keep running.
- Electric cost ratio
Utility spend against membership income, tracked from your own numbers.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things tanning salon 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 bulb replacement like that usually counts as equipment, not a supply cost. I logged it that way and flagged it so the accountant confirms with your full year in view.
Spring break membership sign-ups pushed bed usage way up. Your electric cost tracked right along with it, so this looks like busy season, not a leak.
It hinges on her hours and how much say she has over her own schedule. That call goes to the accountant, so it gets made with the full picture.
The tax side
The tax side of a tanning salon.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels. Bulbs filed as supplies, utilities treated as a mystery number, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Bed and bulb depreciationTanning beds and bulb sets can usually be written off the year they are bought. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for equipment placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAny contractor or cleaning service paid $2,000 or more in 2026 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 the books are right all year.
- Quarterly estimated taxesNothing withholds tax from membership and session income automatically, so most owners pay estimated taxes April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Deductions tanning salons miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Tanning bed bulbs
- Acrylic cleaner and bed sanitizer
- Fan and bed motor repairs
- Protective eyewear stock
- Retail display fixtures
- Business license and insurance
- Membership software subscription
- Electric bill for bed usage
- Front desk uniforms
- Marketing and lead fees
- Air conditioning maintenance
- 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 tanning salon year, kept every month.
Spring break and pre-summer months carry most of the year's memberships. Your team keeps you ahead of both the busy stretches and the tax deadlines. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring break and early summer memberships changed the number.
- October
Before winter
Bulb replacement season for the busy months ahead. Gus looks at bed purchases and moves worth making 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 tanning salons. 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 tanning salon owners ask first.
Can Gus separate bulb replacement from my regular supply costs?
Yes. Bulb sets get their own category, apart from smaller supplies, so a big replacement bill does not make a normal month look like a bad one.
Why does my electric bill vary so much month to month?
Gus tracks utility cost against membership and session activity, so a busy month with a higher bill reads as expected, not as a mystery expense.
My members pay the same whether they tan twice or twenty times. Can Gus track that?
Where visit data is available, Gus tracks usage against membership billing, so you can see whether your pricing tiers actually hold up against real usage.
Do I write off a full bed replacement all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the salon can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
My books have been a mix of personal and business for years. Can that get untangled?
Yes. Send in the statements as they are, mixed together. Gus separates salon spending from personal spending, the accountant reviews it, and most owners see where things stand inside 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