Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for wholesale plant nurseries.
A shade tree that has been growing in a field for four years, a big box store order shipped by the truckload, and a broker who takes a cut moving your stock to garden centers. 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
April came in at $55,400. This month's shipment of shade trees started as liners planted four seasons ago, so I matched those years of growing cost against the sale.
- Big box distribution center orderBig box and chain sales
- Broker-arranged garden center saleBroker sales
- Liner and rootstock orderPlant stock and liners
- Field digging crew wagesField labor
- Freight carrier, tree shipmentShipping and freight
Why your books are different
Wholesale nursery books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a plant supplier with a big freight bill. Your business grows crops that can take three to seven years in the ground before a single tree is ready to sell, ships by the truckload to big box distribution centers, and sometimes sells through a broker who takes a cut. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what a crop actually cost to bring to market.
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1
Years of growing cost get ignored at the sale
A shade tree sold this spring may have been planted as a liner four years ago, with fertilizer, water, and labor costs the whole time it grew. Treated like this year's expense against this year's sale, the return misses how much of what you spent years ago is what made this year's crop sellable.
What we doTracks planting and field maintenance costs by the year they happened, so the accountant can match the right years of cost against the crop that finally ships. -
2
Broker sales and direct sales get treated the same
A sale arranged through a broker who takes a commission pays you less than the full invoice amount, and booked as the net deposit, both your sales and your true selling costs come out wrong.
What we doBooks the full sale amount as revenue and the broker's commission as a cost, so your sales and your costs both show up honest. -
3
Big box orders and independent garden center orders blur together
A large chain distribution center order often comes with different pricing, volume, and payment terms than an order from an independent garden center, but both can land in the same general sales line.
What we doKeeps big box and chain sales separate from independent garden center and landscaper sales, so you can see which channel actually drives the business. -
4
Container and field-grown stock get valued the same way
A container-grown shrub ready in one season and a field-grown tree that took years both sit in inventory, but they carry very different costs per unit, and lumping them together hides which crop type is actually worth growing more of.
What we doKeeps container-grown and field-grown stock in separate categories, so the cost and margin on each stays visible. -
5
Crop loss from weather or disease gets no clean record
A hard freeze or a disease outbreak can wipe out a block of young stock that took years to grow, and without a note, that loss just reads as a slow season instead of the specific event and years of investment that were actually lost.
What we doNotes crop losses the owner flags, so a bad season reads as what it was, not a mystery in the numbers.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a wholesale plant nursery.
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
- Big box and chain salesOrders shipped to large retail distribution centers.
- Independent garden center salesDirect orders from independent garden centers and landscapers.
- Broker salesSales arranged through a broker, tracked at the full sale amount.
- Liner and young stock salesYoung plants sold to other growers rather than finished out yourself.
- Custom growing contractsCrops grown to order for a specific buyer under a standing agreement.
Money out
- Plant stock and linersSeed, cuttings, and liners bought to start each crop.
- Field laborPlanting, digging, and field maintenance crews.
- Field maintenanceFertilizer, irrigation, and pest control across multi-year growing blocks.
- Container and potting suppliesPots, soil mix, and tags for container-grown stock.
- Shipping and freightTruck freight and packing materials for shipping stock to buyers.
- Broker commissionsWhat a broker keeps for arranging a sale, tracked separately from the sale itself.
- EquipmentTree spades, diggers, and irrigation systems, logged so they get written off right.
What we watch for you
- Big box vs. independent mix
How much comes from chain distribution orders versus independent garden centers, so you know which channel to grow.
- Cost per crop year
What a multi-year block costs to grow per year in the ground, tracked against what it sells for.
- Broker commission cost
What brokers keep on arranged sales, worth knowing before deciding how much volume to route through one.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things wholesale nursery 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.
Yes. I track planting and field costs by the year they happened, so the accountant can match years of growing cost against the crop that finally ships.
That is the broker's commission. I book the full sale as revenue and the commission as a cost, so your sales and your costs both stay honest.
Flag it for me and I'll note it, so that block reads as a weather loss, not just a mysteriously thin season.
The tax side
The tax side of a wholesale plant nursery.
Most of what goes wrong here is matching years of growing cost to the year a crop finally sells. Broker commissions booked wrong, crop losses left untracked, and a set-aside nobody started until tax season.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Schedule F farm incomeGrowing and selling nursery stock generally lands on Schedule F instead of the Schedule C a typical small business files, which changes how income and certain costs are handled.
- Inventory and multi-year crop costsNursery stock grown over several years is tracked as inventory, with costs building up until the crop sells, rather than expensed the year each cost happens.
- Equipment depreciationTree spades, diggers, and irrigation systems can usually be written off, sometimes the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for field crewsAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for planting or digging crew work gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions wholesale plant nurseries miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Liner and rootstock purchases
- Fertilizer and soil amendments
- Container pots and potting mix
- Freight and shipping materials
- Irrigation system repair
- Tree spade maintenance
- Field labor wages
- Pest and disease control
- Broker commission fees
- Nursery tags and labels
- Liability insurance
- Diesel fuel for field 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 wholesale nursery year, kept every month.
Your crops take years to grow, but sales peak with the spring shipping season. Your taxes come on their own 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 field crew 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so spring shipping income funds it evenly.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed right as the spring shipping season hits full speed.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand after spring shipping, and whether big box and independent accounts are keeping pace with what fields are ready.
- October
Fall planting
Gus checks how this year's crop performed and flags equipment or field investments worth making before fall planting.
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 wholesale plant nurseries. 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 wholesale nursery owners ask first.
Can Gus handle a crop that took years to grow before it sold?
Yes. He tracks planting and field maintenance costs by the year they happened, so the accountant can match the right years of cost against the crop that finally ships.
We sell some stock through a broker who takes a commission. How does that get tracked?
Gus books the full sale amount as revenue and the broker's commission as a cost, so your sales and your costs both show up honest, not netted together.
Do I have to change how I sell to big box stores or independent garden centers?
No. Keep selling to big box stores and independent centers your usual way. Gus works from your bank statement, and a broker or distributor payout he cannot place gets one quick question.
A freeze wiped out a block of young stock. Does that show up anywhere?
Flag it for Gus when it happens, and he notes it, so that block reads as a weather loss rather than a mystery in the numbers.
Is a new tree spade or irrigation system written off all at once?
Usually. A tree spade or irrigation system bought for the nursery typically qualifies for a full write-off the year you buy it, though large systems sometimes get spread out instead. Gus flags it and the accountant decides.
We grow both container stock and field stock. Does that need separate tracking?
Yes, and Gus does it automatically. Container-grown and field-grown stock stay in their own categories, since the cost and timeline on each is so different.
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