Youth & adult sports training
Books and taxes for volleyball clubs.
Tryout fees in the fall, tiered dues across a dozen age groups, hotel deposits for winter qualifiers, and a bulk Mizuno uniform order. 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
January came in at $11,000. The 14s and 16s teams are running at different dues, so I kept each age group's fees on its own line instead of one club total.
- SportsEngine payoutTeam dues
- Qualifier housing depositTournament travel
- Mizuno Team orderUniforms
- Gym time, Tuesday nightsGym rental
- Coach stipends, JanuaryCoach pay
Why your books are different
A club volleyball program's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your club runs a season that starts with a tryout fee in the fall, charges different dues by age group, and pays for hotel blocks months before a qualifier happens. When the books do not know that, no one team's numbers make sense.
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1
Tryout fees and season dues get treated as the same money
A $35 October tryout fee and a $2,400 season commitment paid in November are two different things, but both often land in the account within weeks of each other and get logged as one lump of registration income.
What we doSplits tryout fees from season dues, so you can see how many tryout kids actually became paying team members. -
2
Every age group pays different dues, but the books don't say so
A 12s team might pay $1,800 for the season while an 18s national team pays $3,200, with different travel schedules behind each number. Blended into one club total, you cannot tell which teams are actually carrying the club.
What we doKeeps each age group's dues and costs on its own line, so team-by-team performance is easy to see. -
3
Qualifier hotel deposits get paid months before the trip
A bid tournament often requires a hotel block deposit paid well before the actual weekend, sometimes for an event two or three months out. Booked the day it's paid, a slow month looks worse than it is.
What we doTies travel deposits to the tournament weekend they belong to, so early hotel payments don't distort the month they land in. -
4
Coach stipends vary by team and get lumped together
A head coach for an 18s national team and an assistant for a 12s local team are paid very differently, but both often show up as one payroll number with no way to see who is earning what against which team's dues.
What we doKeeps coach pay tied to the team each coach runs, so dues and coaching cost can be compared team by team. -
5
A uniform order lands as one expense before dues are fully collected
A bulk order of jerseys, liberos tops, and warmups from a team dealer can run tens of thousands of dollars, paid before every family has finished paying their season dues.
What we doTies the uniform order to the season dues meant to cover it, so a big order doesn't make one month look like a loss.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a club volleyball program.
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
- Tryout feesFall evaluation fees, tracked apart from season commitments.
- Team duesSeason fees, broken out by age group and travel level.
- Tournament and gate feesEntry and spectator fees for events the club hosts.
- Uniform and gear salesWhat families pay toward their team's jersey order.
Money out
- Coach payStipends tied to each team, kept apart from your own draw.
- Gym rentalPractice and tryout time rented by the hour or the season.
- Tournament travelHotel blocks, vans, and entry fees for qualifiers.
- Uniforms and gearJersey orders from a team dealer, tied to the season they cover.
- InsuranceParticipant accident and general liability coverage.
- Team management softwareSportsEngine or similar fees for rosters and payments.
What we watch for you
- Tryout conversion
How many tryout kids actually turn into paying team members.
- Team-level margin
Dues against coaching and travel cost for each age group.
- Travel cost per weekend
What each qualifier actually costs against the dues meant to cover it.
- The set-aside
What each team's dues actually owe in taxes, tracked monthly so April holds no surprises for the club.
Ask Gus
Things club volleyball directors 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.
It shouldn't, and now it won't. I'm tying that deposit to March, so it shows up against the tournament it's actually for instead of dragging down the month you paid it.
Yes, tell me roughly how his hours split between the two teams and I'll divide his stipend that way, so each team's coaching cost stays honest.
If they're paid a set stipend on your schedule using your gym time, they typically look like employees, not contractors. That one needs the accountant's read before you settle on how to pay them.
The tax side
The tax side of a club volleyball program.
Most of what trips up a club is timing and mixing money across teams. Tryout fees blended with dues, hotel deposits booked too early, and coaches paid in a way that doesn't match how they actually work.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Coach worker classificationA coach paid a set stipend on a schedule the club sets, using the club's gym time, is usually an employee rather than a contractor, even for a seasonal role.
- Contractor 1099s for guest cliniciansA guest skills clinician or a one-time tryout evaluator paid $2,000 or more in 2026, and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Sales tax on uniform and gear salesJerseys and gear sold to families are usually taxable even where dues and training fees are not. Rules vary by state, so Gus keeps that income separate to make the split easy.
- The pass-through deductionMost club owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when dues, travel, and coaching cost are booked to the right months.
Deductions volleyball clubs miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Volleyballs and ball carts
- Net systems and antennae
- Gym floor tape and line marking
- Team dealer uniform samples
- Team management software fees
- Hotel booking and deposit fees
- First aid and training room supplies
- Liability and accident insurance
- Coaching certification fees
- Film review tools for match footage
- Qualifier and showcase listing fees
- Storage for nets and equipment
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 club volleyball year, kept every month.
The season builds from a fall tryout through a spring qualifier run. Your taxes come on a fixed 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 coach stipend list is ready by team, and a monthly set-aside is running before tryout season.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right as the qualifier run reaches its final events.
- July
Halfway check
Where the club stands, what it will owe, and whether the spring travel season changed the number.
- October
Before tryouts
Before fall tryout season opens, Gus looks at uniform orders and gym contracts worth locking in 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 volleyball clubs. 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 club volleyball directors ask first.
Can Gus keep each age group's dues separate?
Yes. He tracks fees, coach pay, and travel cost by team, so a 12s team and an 18s national team never get blended into one confusing club total.
We collect dues through SportsEngine. Do I need to change how we register families?
No, SportsEngine stays exactly as it is. Gus reads the deposits that land in your account, and the one time something looks unclear, he checks with you and remembers it after that.
Our hotel deposits for a March qualifier get paid in December. Does that mess up December's number?
It won't. Gus ties travel deposits to the tournament weekend they're for, so an early deposit shows up against the right month instead of dragging down whichever month you happened to pay it.
Some of our coaches work with more than one team. Can pay be split between teams?
Yes, once you tell Gus roughly how a coach's time splits, he divides the stipend accordingly, so each team's coaching cost against its dues stays accurate.
Our books haven't been touched since before last season. Can that be untangled?
It can. Send over every bank statement you can find, even going back multiple seasons. Gus sorts through it team by team until the club has a real number to work from.
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 youth & adult sports training
We keep books for the business next door too.
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- Prenatal & postnatal fitness
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