Restaurants, cafes & food service
Books and taxes for tea and boba shops.
Counter drink sales, tapioca pearls cooked fresh every morning, imported tea that swings in price, and delivery orders remade for the wrong sugar level. Gus sorts every one, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one clear number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August brought in $6,500. Delivery remakes for wrong sugar levels came out of their own line, so you can see exactly what that is costing against what delivery actually brings in.
- Square POS batch depositCounter drink sales
- DoorDash payoutDelivery orders
- Imported tea and powder orderImported tea and powders
- Tapioca and brown sugar orderTapioca and syrup ingredients
- ADP payrollWages and payroll taxes
Why your books are different
A tea and boba shop's books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. A boba shop cooks tapioca pearls fresh every morning with only a few hours of shelf life, sources tea and powders that can swing in price, and remakes a share of delivery orders for the wrong sugar or ice level. When those pieces blend together, the owner cannot tell real margin from what looks like it on paper.
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1
Fresh-cooked tapioca pearls get thrown out daily
Pearls are cooked fresh every morning and only last a few hours. Whatever does not sell by closing gets tossed, a real cost that vanishes if nobody tracks how much of each batch goes unsold.
What we doAsks for a daily count of unsold pearls and tracks it as its own line, so the real cost of fresh-cooked pearls is visible. -
2
Imported tea and powders swing with import pricing
Matcha, specialty tea leaves, and flavor powders are often sourced overseas, and their price can swing with import costs well beyond what a typical ingredient order would move, hiding inside a general food cost line.
What we doKeeps imported tea and powder cost in its own line, apart from other ingredients, so a real import price swing is easy to spot. -
3
The cup sealer gets lost in general equipment
The machine that heat-seals a boba cup's lid is equipment specific to this trade, and lumped in with ovens or fridges from a generic kitchen category, a repair or replacement muddies an otherwise ordinary month.
What we doKeeps the cup sealer and related equipment in its own line, apart from general kitchen equipment. -
4
Delivery remakes eat into margin quietly
A delivery order made with the wrong sweetness or ice level often gets refunded or remade at the shop's cost, and if that cost is not tracked, delivery looks more profitable than it actually is.
What we doKeeps delivery refunds and remakes in their own line so real delivery margin is visible. -
5
Stamp card free drinks look like missing sales
A loyalty stamp card that gives away a free drink after ten purchases is a real marketing cost, but if it is not logged, it just looks like a drink that vanished with no sale to match it.
What we doLogs stamp card redemptions as marketing so the real cost is visible and it does not get mistaken for a missing sale.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a tea and boba shop.
Set up once for how the counter, delivery, and daily pearl cooking each run. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Counter drink salesWalk-up sales rung through Square or Toast.
- Delivery ordersDoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub payouts, booked at the full order value.
- Catering and event ordersLarger one-off orders for parties and offices.
- Gift card salesHeld as a liability until a card is redeemed, not counted as income the day it is sold.
Money out
- Tapioca and syrup ingredientsPearls, brown sugar, and syrups, kept apart from imported tea.
- Imported tea and powdersMatcha, tea leaves, and flavor powders sourced overseas.
- Wages and payroll taxesCounter staff pay.
- Cups and packagingSealed cups, straws, and specialty lids.
- Rent and building costsLease, utilities, and repairs on the shop.
- Cup sealer and brewing equipmentThe cup sealing machine and brewing gear, logged apart from ingredients so they get written off right.
- Delivery refunds and remakesThe cost of remaking or refunding a wrong delivery order.
What we watch for you
- Food cost percentage
Tea, tapioca, and syrup cost against sales, the number that catches a price jump early.
- Daily pearl shrink
What gets thrown out at closing, tracked so it is a known cost, not a mystery.
- Delivery refund rate
What remakes and refunds cost against delivery sales, since that eats into margin quietly.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things tea and boba shop 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.
More than you would think if nobody is counting it. I track your daily pearl shrink as its own line, so the real cost of cooking fresh every day is visible.
Yes, I keep delivery refunds and remakes in their own line, so your real delivery margin does not look better than it actually is.
Not the way you would think. I log it as marketing, not a missing sale, so it is a cost you can see and measure.
The tax side
The tax side of a tea and boba shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing: daily shrink left untracked, a remake mistaken for a normal cost, and equipment lost inside an ingredient order.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Section 179 on cup sealer and brewing equipmentThe cup sealing machine and brewing equipment can usually be written off the year you buy them, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for counter staffA counter worker who works your schedule and uses your equipment is almost always an employee, not a contractor, no matter how the pay is arranged.
- The FICA tip creditIf your counter has a tip jar or digital tip prompt and staff report the income, you can often claim a credit for the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare tax on tips above the minimum wage portion.
- Form 1099-NEC for contracted helpAnyone hired outside of payroll for an event or a busy stretch, paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions tea and boba shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Cup sealer film rolls
- Tapioca pearl cooking supplies
- Loyalty stamp cards
- Straws and specialty lids
- Brown sugar syrup ingredients
- Food handler certification
- Uniforms and aprons
- Employee shift meals
- Pest control contracts
- Online ordering fees
- Local social media ads
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 tea and boba shop's year, kept every month.
Pearls get cooked fresh every single morning of the year. Your taxes come on a schedule. 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 1099 list for any contracted help is readied, and you get a monthly set-aside so a busy season does not turn into an April surprise.
- April
Filed and signed
Your return is filed and signed. Because the set-aside has been running since January, there is no scramble for cash.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the midpoint of peak iced drink season, and whether pearl shrink and delivery remakes are eating more margin than expected.
- October
Before a new season
Before a new seasonal flavor launch fills the menu, Gus looks at brewing equipment worth buying and any 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 tea and boba shops. 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 tea and boba shop owners ask first.
Our tapioca pearls only last a few hours once cooked. Does Gus track what gets thrown out?
Yes. He asks for a daily count of unsold pearls and tracks it as its own line, so the real cost of cooking fresh every day is visible instead of disappearing.
We import our matcha and specialty tea leaves. Does the price swing get tracked separately?
It does. Imported tea and powder cost is kept in its own line, apart from other ingredients, so a real import price swing is easy to spot.
Delivery orders sometimes come back wrong and we have to remake them. Is that cost tracked?
Yes. Delivery refunds and remakes get their own line, so your real delivery margin is visible instead of looking better than it actually is.
Our loyalty stamp cards give out free drinks pretty often. Is that a problem for the books?
No, it just needs its own line. Stamp card redemptions are logged as marketing, so the real cost is visible and it does not get mistaken for a missing sale.
We have never tracked our cup sealer and brewing equipment separately from general kitchen costs. Can we start now?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and Gus starts tracking that equipment on its own line from here forward.
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