Faith-based, nonprofit & membership orgs
Books and taxes for veterans organizations.
Canteen bar sales, a bingo night's gaming proceeds, member dues split with the state department, and an honor guard detail's costs for a member's funeral. Your own bookkeeper keeps it sorted, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $3,300 after expenses. Bingo night proceeds are kept in their own line, separate from canteen sales, the way the gaming license requires.
- Canteen bar salesCanteen sales
- Bingo night proceedsGaming proceeds
- Department dues remittanceDues remitted upward
- Honor guard uniforms and flagsHonor guard costs
- Post hall utilitiesFacility costs
Why your books are different
A veterans post's books go wrong in the same recurring places.
A generalist sees a bar tab and a dues collection and calls it simple. Your post runs regulated gaming nights, splits member dues with a state department and national organization, and covers honor guard costs for member funerals that never show up on a typical nonprofit's books. Miss that mix and the post cannot prove its gaming proceeds went where they were supposed to.
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1
Gaming proceeds get mixed with canteen sales
Bingo or pull-tab proceeds are regulated gaming income with rules on how they can be spent, usually toward charitable purposes, and mixed with regular canteen bar sales, the post cannot show it kept gaming money separate the way its license requires.
What we doKeeps gaming proceeds in their own line, tracked separately from canteen sales, so the post can prove the money was used the way its gaming license requires. -
2
Member dues collected get confused with dues owed upward
A post collects full dues from its members, but a portion has to be remitted to the state department and national organization, and if that split is not tracked clearly, the post can spend money it does not actually get to keep.
What we doKeeps dues collected and the portion owed to the department and national organization in separate lines, so the post always knows what it actually keeps. -
3
Honor guard and funeral detail costs get lost in general expenses
Uniforms, flags, and ammunition for rifle details at a member's funeral are a real, recurring cost specific to a veterans post, and buried in general supplies, nobody can see what it actually costs to provide that honor.
What we doKeeps honor guard and funeral detail costs in their own category, so the post can see and budget for this part of its mission clearly. -
4
Nonmember bar sales get taxed the same as member sales
Canteen sales to members and sales to the general public at an open event are often treated differently for tax purposes, and if the two are not tracked apart, the post cannot tell the accountant which portion of bar income might be taxable.
What we doKeeps member and nonmember sales in separate lines where the post can distinguish them, so the accountant has what is needed to sort out any taxable portion. -
5
A veteran emergency assistance fund gets spent like general operating cash
Money set aside to help a veteran in need with rent or utilities during a hard month is different from the post's regular operating budget, and without a separate line, it is easy to lose track of how much is actually available to help the next veteran who asks.
What we doTags emergency assistance fund gifts and awards separately, so the post always knows what is available to help.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a veterans post.
Set up once for how dues, gaming, and canteen sales flow through the post. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Canteen salesBar and food sales at the post, split between member and nonmember where possible.
- Gaming proceedsBingo, pull-tabs, and other regulated gaming income.
- Member duesAnnual dues collected from post members.
- Donations and fundraisingGeneral gifts and fundraiser proceeds supporting post programs.
Money out
- Dues remitted upwardThe portion of dues owed to the state department and national organization.
- Honor guard costsUniforms, flags, and supplies for funeral and ceremonial details.
- Veteran assistance fundDirect help awarded to veterans in need.
- Facility costsUtilities, repairs, and insurance for the post hall.
- Canteen suppliesBar and kitchen inventory for the canteen.
- Gaming license and compliance feesState licensing costs tied to running regulated gaming nights.
- Event and program costsFish fries, dances, and community events the post hosts.
What we watch for you
- Gaming compliance balance
Gaming proceeds tracked against what the license requires them to be spent on.
- Dues retained versus remitted
What the post actually keeps from member dues after the department and national share.
- Canteen margin
What the bar and canteen bring in against what it costs to stock and staff.
- Assistance fund balance
What is available to help the next veteran in need, tracked apart from operating cash.
Ask Gus
Things post officers 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.
Yes. Gaming proceeds are kept in their own line, separate from canteen sales, with spending tracked against them, so you have a clear record if the state reviews it.
About 60 percent based on the current split. I keep dues collected and dues owed upward in separate lines, so you always see what the post actually gets to use.
It is logged in the assistance fund with a plain note on what it covered, kept apart from operating costs, so you always know what is left to help the next person.
The tax side
The tax side of running a veterans organization.
Most of what matters here is keeping gaming, dues, and member versus nonmember sales tracked correctly.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Regulated gaming incomeBingo, pull-tabs, and similar gaming proceeds are usually subject to state licensing rules on how they can be spent, generally toward charitable purposes, separate from how canteen income is treated.
- Member versus nonmember incomeIncome from members is often treated differently than income from the general public at an event open to nonmembers, and the split matters for figuring out what portion, if any, is taxable to the post.
- Worker classification for canteen and bar staffA bartender or kitchen worker who works your schedule and uses your equipment is an employee, not a contractor, even if paid in cash for a single event.
- Contractor 1099sA band, caterer, or contractor not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for a post event gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions veterans organizations miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Canteen and bar inventory
- Honor guard uniforms and flags
- Gaming license and compliance fees
- Post hall utilities and repairs
- Kitchen equipment and supplies
- Liability and dram shop insurance
- Event entertainment and catering
- Rifle and ceremonial equipment maintenance
- Building security systems
- Bank and card processing fees
- Newsletter printing and postage
- Parking lot and grounds upkeep
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 veterans post's year, kept every month.
Dues, gaming nights, and canteen sales run all year, and honor guard details come up whenever they come up. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Reconcile dues and gaming
Last year's records are wrapped up, member dues remitted to the department and national organization are confirmed, and the gaming proceeds record is finalized for the year.
- April
Canteen and gaming finalized
Whatever filing applies to the post's structure is ready to hand off, with canteen sales, gaming proceeds, and dues already sorted for the year.
- July
Summer canteen check
Where canteen and gaming income stand at the year's midpoint, and whether the assistance fund has enough to carry through the rest of the year.
- October
Before the busy fall calendar
Fall often brings more events and honor guard requests. Gus looks at facility costs and the assistance fund before the season picks up.
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 veterans organizations. 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 post officers ask first.
Can Gus keep our gaming proceeds separate the way our license requires?
Yes. Bingo and pull-tab proceeds are tracked in their own line, apart from canteen sales, with spending tracked against them, so you can show the state exactly where the money went.
How do you handle the dues we owe to the state department and national organization?
The portion owed upward is tracked separately from what the post collects, so you always know what the post actually keeps to run its own programs.
Do you file our post's annual return with the IRS?
No, that filing is handled outside this subscription. Canteen sales, gaming proceeds, and dues stay reconciled all year, so the post's own preparer works from a clean set of books instead of a shoebox of register tapes.
Our canteen sells to both members and the public at open events. Does that matter for taxes?
It can. Sales to nonmembers are sometimes treated differently than sales to members, so Gus keeps them separate where possible and flags it for the accountant to sort out.
We keep an assistance fund to help veterans in need. Can that stay separate from our operating budget?
Yes. Every gift into the fund and every award out of it is tracked on its own, so the post always knows what is available to help.
Our books have not been reconciled since our last quartermaster changed. Can you catch us up?
Yes. Send the bank and canteen records you have. Gus works through the backlog and the accountant checks it, and most posts know where they stand within a couple of weeks.
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