Sporting goods & sports services
Books and taxes for tennis and pickleball pro shops.
Racquet and paddle sales, a demo program that lets players try before they buy, court-side stringing add-ons, and a club's commission cut all move through one account. 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
June came in at $8,800. The Selkirk paddle order came in heavier than usual ahead of a new model release, so I flagged it as a stock-up, not a slow month coming.
- Clover POS depositRetail sales
- Selkirk wholesale orderPaddle and racquet inventory
- Court-side stringing payoutStringing add-ons
- Club commission paymentFacility commission
- Wilson dealer invoicePaddle and racquet inventory
Why your books are different
A tennis and pickleball shop's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a small retail counter. Your shop turns over paddle inventory fast as new tech releases, runs a demo program, and often splits revenue with the club it sits inside. When the books do not track that, your real margin stays hidden.
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1
Demo paddles and racquets are not tracked as their own thing
A demo paddle gets loaned out, comes back scuffed, and eventually sells at a discount or gets written off, but on the books it usually just looks like a shrinking pile of unsold inventory with no clear reason.
What we doKeeps demo gear in its own category so its eventual discount sale or write-off has a clear reason attached, instead of muddying regular inventory. -
2
A club commission cut looks like a plain expense
Many pro shops split retail revenue with the club or facility they operate inside. Filed as a generic fee, it is hard to see what percentage of sales the shop is actually keeping.
What we doKeeps the facility commission in its own line against gross sales, so your real take-home rate is visible at a glance. -
3
Court-side stringing add-ons blend into paddle sales
A quick string job done while a player waits gets rung up with a paddle sale as one transaction, hiding whether the add-on service is worth the bench time it takes.
What we doKeeps stringing and quick-service add-ons in their own line, separate from retail sales. -
4
New model releases wreck the inventory picture
Pickleball paddle technology changes fast, and a shop that stocks up ahead of a popular new release can look like it overspent one month and windfalled the next once the model sells through.
What we doKeeps wholesale purchases visible against what actually sold, so a stock-up ahead of a release does not read as a bad month on its own. -
5
Trade-in and clearance paddles blur into full-price sales
A used paddle taken in trade or a last season's model marked down sells for less than a new one, and mixed into regular sales, it quietly drags your margin down without an obvious cause.
What we doKeeps trade-in and clearance sales in their own line, so a dip in margin has a clear reason attached to it.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a tennis and pickleball shop.
Set up once for how you sell and where you operate. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail salesRacquets, paddles, apparel, and balls.
- Stringing add-onsQuick court-side string jobs billed on their own.
- Demo program incomeDiscounted or written-off demo gear, tracked apart from full-price sales.
- Lesson and clinic referral feesAny cut earned from the club's lesson program.
Money out
- Paddle and racquet inventoryWilson, Babolat, Head, and Selkirk dealer orders.
- Demo gearLoaner paddles and racquets kept for the try-before-you-buy program.
- Facility commissionThe cut paid to the club or facility for operating the shop.
- String and grip stockInventory for quick court-side jobs.
- Rent or shop space feeWhere the shop is not part of a revenue split with the facility.
- Card processing feesWhat the processor kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Commission rate
What percentage of gross sales the facility is actually keeping.
- Demo write-off rate
How much demo inventory ends up discounted or written off each season.
- Add-on attach rate
How often a retail sale comes with a stringing or grip add-on.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked across league seasons and new releases, so tax time is never a guess.
Ask Gus
Things pro 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.
This quarter it came to about 18 percent of gross retail sales. I keep the commission in its own line so that number is always ready when you want it.
It shows up honestly, but in its own line, not mixed into full-price sales. So a batch of demo write-offs will not make your regular margin look worse than it is.
That is above my pay grade to settle alone. I keep the pay in its own line either way, and the accountant will look at how the work actually runs.
The tax side
The tax side of a tennis and pickleball pro shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels: a facility commission counted as a plain expense, and demo gear that never gets tracked apart from regular inventory.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goodsWhat the shop actually paid for paddles, racquets, and gear sold, counted accurately at year end, is what determines the profit the return shows.
- Equipment for stringing and fittingA stringing machine or fitting equipment can usually be written off in the year bought. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA part-time stringer not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionOwners of a pass-through business can usually take up to 20 percent of profit off taxable income, and that number holds up only once the facility commission is separated from gross sales correctly.
Deductions tennis and pickleball pro shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Stringing machine and tools
- Demo paddle and racquet stock
- Grip and string inventory
- Facility commission fees
- POS and inventory software
- Shop fixtures and signage
- Freight on wholesale orders
- Card processing fees
- Buying show travel
- Liability insurance
- Local league sponsorships
- Website and online store 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 pro shop year, kept every month.
Pickleball's new model releases and tennis league seasons both push retail rushes. Your team keeps you ahead of the calendar and the tax deadlines 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 stringer 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned before spring inventory orders go out.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed as league season and demo traffic pick up, with the set-aside already covering what you owe.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's demo and commission numbers changed the picture.
- October
Before the slow season
Ahead of the quieter months, Gus looks at stringing or fitting equipment worth buying and anything worth doing 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 tennis and pickleball pro 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 pro shop owners ask first.
Can Gus track what the club is taking as commission?
Yes. The facility commission is kept in its own line against gross sales, so your real take-home percentage is always visible.
How does Gus handle demo paddles that get sold at a discount?
Demo gear is kept in its own category, so its eventual discount sale or write-off is clearly labeled instead of dragging down your full-price sales margin.
I do quick string jobs court-side. Does that need its own category?
Yes. Stringing and grip add-ons are kept separate from retail sales, so you can see whether the add-on work is worth the bench time it takes.
Will switching to Gus mean changing my POS setup?
No. Keep selling the way you always have. Gus works from your bank statement and reaches out only if a deposit does not match up with a normal sales day.
The club's busy season got away from me and my books fell behind. Fixable?
Usually within a week. Send the bank statements you have for the months that fell behind, and Gus sorts through them before the accountant checks the result.
A new paddle model came out and I stocked up heavy. Will that mess up my numbers?
It will show up as a large purchase that month, but Gus keeps it visible against what sells through afterward, so it does not read as a bad month on its own.
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