Craft beverage producers
Books and taxes for vineyards.
Grape contracts paid out over months, a harvest crew that shows up for three weeks a year, young vines that will not bear fruit for years, and irrigation bills that never stop. 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
September came in at $22,600. The first harvest payment from your grape buyer landed, and I kept the picking crew's pay separate from your year-round labor so you can see what harvest actually costs.
- Grape contract paymentGrape sale contracts
- Harvest crew payrollSeasonal harvest labor
- Corteva AgriscienceFertilizer and crop protection
- Irrigation district billWater and irrigation
- John Deere FinancialEquipment and loans
Why your books are different
A vineyard's books go wrong around the harvest and the young vines.
A generalist sees a farm and a check from a buyer. Your business is grape contracts paid out in pieces, vines that took years to plant before they earned a dime, and a crew you pay hard for three weeks and barely at all the rest of the year. When the books do not know that, the year makes no sense.
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1
Grape contract payments trickle in over months
A winery buying your fruit by the ton often pays a portion at harvest and the rest after final weights and testing, sometimes months later. Booked only when cash lands, the harvest month looks thin and the real picture gets lost.
What we doTracks each grape contract as it is invoiced and paid, so you can see what a harvest actually earned even when the money arrives late. -
2
Young vines get expensed like a bag of fertilizer
Costs for a newly planted block, posts, wire, plants, and labor, usually have to be tracked separately until the vines start bearing fruit, rather than deducted the year they are paid. Mixed in with regular spray and fertilizer costs, next year's return can miss what it should catch.
What we doKeeps new vine planting costs in their own line from the day they are paid, so the accountant has a clean record when it is time to file. -
3
Harvest labor swings the year in three weeks
A picking crew paid hard during a short harvest window can look like a payroll problem if it is lumped in with your year-round labor costs, when it is really just the nature of the work.
What we doKeeps seasonal harvest labor in its own line, separate from year-round crew and equipment operators, so the swing makes sense. -
4
Equipment loan payments get booked as one lump expense
A tractor or sprayer loan payment is part paying down what you owe and part interest. Booked as one expense, the real interest cost gets lost and the loan balance on paper drifts from what the bank shows.
What we doSplits loan payments into principal and interest, so your equipment debt and your real interest cost both stay accurate. -
5
Crop insurance proceeds get treated like a grape sale
A payout after a frost or hail year is real income, but it is not a grape sale and it is not something you can count on again next year. Blended into regular revenue, it makes a bad year look normal.
What we doBooks crop insurance proceeds in their own line, so a rough weather year is visible for what it was.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a vineyard.
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
- Grape sale contractsPayments from wineries and other buyers, tracked by contract as they come in.
- Direct grape salesFruit sold to home winemakers or smaller producers outside a standing contract.
- Crop insurance proceedsKept apart from grape sales, since it is not repeat revenue.
- Custom farming incomeFees for farming a neighboring vineyard's block, if you do.
Money out
- Fertilizer and crop protectionSpray, fungicide, and nutrients from suppliers like Corteva Agriscience.
- Water and irrigationIrrigation district bills and drip system upkeep.
- Seasonal harvest laborPicking crews, kept apart from year-round vineyard staff.
- Year-round crew wagesPruning, canopy management, and equipment operators.
- Vineyard equipmentTractors, sprayers, and harvesters, logged so they get written off right.
- New vine planting costsPosts, wire, and young vines, kept separate until the block bears fruit.
- Fuel and equipment repairsDiesel, parts, and service for tractors and sprayers.
- Crop insurance premiumsCoverage against frost, hail, and other weather losses.
What we watch for you
- Harvest revenue by contract
What each buyer owes and what has actually been paid, since payments often trail the harvest by months.
- Cost per ton
What it actually costs to grow a ton of fruit this year, once labor, spray, and water are counted.
- Young vine spend
What is going into blocks not yet bearing fruit, kept apart from your working vineyard's costs.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things vineyard 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.
I logged the contract and what has been paid so far. Once the rest lands, I will book it, and either way you can see the full picture right now, not just what hit the bank.
Probably not all at once. Costs for a young block not yet bearing fruit usually get tracked separately rather than deducted right away. I am keeping a clean record, and the accountant makes the final call.
I kept harvest labor separate from your year-round crew, and the total lines up with a normal three-week picking window. Nothing looks off.
The tax side
The tax side of running a vineyard.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Harvest payments that trail the season, young vines that are not deductible yet, and a picking crew that needs the right paperwork.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Tractors, sprayers, and harvestersVineyard equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it. Section 179 expensing goes up to $2,560,000, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for harvest crewsA picking crew or contract labor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running through the season.
- Grapes as farm inventoryFruit still on the vine or in a buyer's hands at year end matters for an accurate accounting of what was grown and sold. Good records of each contract make this straightforward.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated vineyards can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when harvest revenue, labor, and crop costs are tracked clearly all year.
Deductions vineyards miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fertilizer and crop protection
- Irrigation and water district fees
- Posts, wire, and trellis materials
- Tractor and sprayer fuel
- Equipment repairs and parts
- Crop insurance premiums
- Harvest crew housing or transport
- Soil and tissue testing
- Farm liability insurance
- Frost protection equipment
- Pruning and canopy labor
- Land lease payments
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 vineyard year, kept every month.
Your year runs on bud break, bloom, and harvest, not a calendar quarter. Gus keeps the return on track around all of it. 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, harvest contract totals are confirmed, 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 while the harvest contracts settled.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand ahead of harvest, and whether this year's crop load and spray program changed the number.
- October
After harvest, before the bills
Harvest wraps and contract payments start arriving. Gus looks at equipment worth buying before December and confirms what each buyer still owes.
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 vineyards. 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 vineyard owners ask first.
Do you track what each grape buyer still owes us?
Yes. Gus logs each contract as it is invoiced and paid, so you always know what has landed and what is still coming from a harvest.
Can Gus separate our young vine block from the rest of the farm?
Yes. New planting costs are kept in their own line from the day they are paid, so the accountant has a clean record for how that block should be handled at tax time.
Our harvest crew is only here three weeks a year. Does that confuse the books?
No. Seasonal harvest labor is kept apart from your year-round crew, so a heavy labor month during harvest reads as exactly what it is.
We got a crop insurance payout after a frost. Is that treated like a grape sale?
No. Crop insurance proceeds are booked in their own line, separate from grape sale contracts, since it is not revenue you can count on year to year.
We do not produce wine, just grow grapes. Do we still owe federal alcohol tax?
No. Federal alcohol excise tax applies to businesses that hold a permit to produce alcohol. A vineyard selling grapes to wineries does not have that obligation on its own.
Our farm records are scattered across a shoebox and a spreadsheet. Can Gus sort it out?
Yes. Send what you have. Gus sorts it by contract and by season, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they 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.
More in craft beverage producers
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Homebrew & winemaking supply shops
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Brewpubs
- Coffee roasters
- Craft breweries & taprooms
- Liquor stores
- Non-alcoholic beverage brands
- Wineries & tasting rooms
- Arcade bars (barcades)
- Artisan cheese makers
- Bagel shops
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Beer gardens
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Cigar lounges
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Cottage food producers
- Custom cake studios
- Dive bars & neighborhood taverns
- Farmers market vendors
- Food hall vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hookah lounges
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