Passenger transportation

Books and taxes for wine tour and brewery tour shuttles.

Tour bookings through Viator or direct, tasting fees paid on the guest's behalf, gratuities, and a harvest season that carries the year. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
OctoberExample month
$16,600
what you made

October came in at $16,600. Harvest season filled every weekend, and I kept the tasting fees paid to wineries apart from tour income.

  • Viator payoutTour marketplace bookings
  • Private group booking, AlvarezDirect tour bookings
  • Ridgeline Winery tasting feesTasting fee pass-through
  • Van fuel, fleet cardFuel
  • Driver-guide payrollDriver wages
Money in$58,200
Money out$41,600
Set aside for taxes$3,900
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A wine tour or brewery tour shuttle's books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees deposits and fuel. Your business fronts tasting fees to wineries and breweries on the guest's behalf, runs a season that peaks hard during harvest, and pays drivers who double as tour guides. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell what the tour itself actually earned.

  1. 1

    Tasting fees paid on behalf of guests look like the tour's own cost

    A tour that includes a tasting fee paid directly to each winery or brewery on the guest's behalf can look like a routine business expense, when it is really money collected from the guest and passed straight through to the venue.

    What we doKeeps tasting fee pass-throughs in their own line, separate from what the tour actually charges for the ride and the experience.
  2. 2

    Harvest season deposits get counted before the tour runs

    A group books a fall harvest tour weeks or months ahead and pays a deposit that day. Counted as income right away, it can make an early month look busy and the actual harvest weekend look thinner by comparison.

    What we doHolds tour deposits against the date the tour actually runs, so the month with guests on the van gets credit for the income.
  3. 3

    A driver-guide's tips blend into wages

    A driver who also narrates the tour and gets tipped directly by guests can have that tip land in the same pot as their hourly wage, making it hard to see what the business pays versus what guests give the guide directly.

    What we doKeeps driver-guide tips separate from wages, so labor cost and guest generosity never get confused with each other.
  4. 4

    A marketplace booking pays out less than the tour price

    A tour booked through Viator or a similar marketplace pays out after the marketplace's commission comes off, and recording only the deposit understates what guests were actually charged for the tour.

    What we doBooks the full tour price as income and the marketplace's cut as its own cost, so pricing and margins stay honest.
  5. 5

    The off-season looks like a failing business

    Winter and early spring bring far fewer bookings in most wine and brewery regions, and without separating the season's fixed costs from tour income, the slow months can look like the business is struggling instead of following its normal calendar.

    What we doKeeps fixed van and insurance costs visible through the off-season, so the quiet months read as expected.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a wine tour or brewery tour shuttle.

Set up once for how you get booked and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Tour marketplace bookingsTrips booked through Viator, GetYourGuide, or similar tour marketplaces.
  • Direct tour bookingsPrivate groups and events booked straight with the company.
  • GratuitiesTips guests give the driver-guide, kept apart from wages.
  • Corporate and event group bookingsCompany outings, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and private celebrations.

Money out

  • Driver wagesPayroll for driver-guides, kept apart from tips.
  • FuelFuel for vans running weekend tour routes.
  • Tasting fee pass-throughFees paid to wineries or breweries on the guest's behalf.
  • Van maintenanceTires, brakes, and repairs for the tour fleet.
  • Van loans and leasesMonthly payments on the shuttle fleet.
  • Commercial fleet insuranceCoverage required to carry passenger groups on tour.
  • Marketplace booking feesWhat Viator or a similar marketplace keeps from each tour sold.
  • MarketingLocal advertising, wedding and event referrals, and seasonal promotions.

What we watch for you

  • Cost per tour

    Fuel, tasting fee pass-throughs, and driver pay against tour income, so you know what a route actually nets.

  • Seasonal booking pace

    Deposits collected for harvest weekends against the calendar, so peak season is tracked as it fills.

  • Off-season fixed costs

    Van loans and insurance that keep running through the quiet months.

  • The set-aside

    What you owe from harvest season on, tracked every month, so April holds no surprise.

Ask Gus

Things wine and brewery tour shuttle 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.

We pay the winery tasting fees directly for our guests. Does that count as our expense?

I keep it as a pass-through, not a business expense. You collect it from the guest and hand it to the winery, so it stays in its own line.

A group booked a harvest tour in July for an October weekend. Is that July's income?

I hold it against October, the month the tour actually runs. July stays the month it really was.

My driver-guide gets tipped well by guests. Does that count as part of her pay?

No, I keep tips separate from wages, so you can see what the business pays her against what guests give her directly.

The tax side

The tax side of a wine tour or brewery tour business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing and pass-through money getting mixed with real income. Tasting fees, harvest deposits, and driver tips all need their own line.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Tour vans and depreciationA van bought to run tasting tours can usually be depreciated, with bonus depreciation back to 100 percent for vans placed in service after January 19, 2025.
  • Driver-guide classificationA driver-guide who runs your scheduled tours on your van is usually an employee, not a contractor, even if partly paid through guest tips.
  • No tax on tips deductionFor occupations on the Treasury's published list, up to $25,000 of reported tips can be deducted from 2025 through 2028, though the tips still owe payroll or self-employment tax. Whether a driver-guide role qualifies depends on that list.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, which comes out right when tasting fee pass-throughs and tour income are tracked separately.

Deductions wine tour and brewery tour shuttles miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Fuel
  • Van tires and brakes
  • Fleet insurance
  • Marketplace booking fees
  • Driver-guide uniforms
  • Wine glasses and tour supplies
  • Marketing and local advertising
  • Van detailing
  • Radios and GPS units
  • Vehicle inspections
  • Driver background checks
  • Phone for dispatch

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 wine and brewery tour year, kept every month.

Harvest season carries the bulk of the year, and your team stays on the books through the busy weekends and the quiet months. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan before harvest

    Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any subcontracted drivers is ready, and a monthly set-aside gets planned ahead of the season.

  2. April

    Filed before the tastings

    Your return is filed and signed just as spring tastings begin drawing weekend crowds, with no surprise bill because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Midsummer tour tally

    A look at how summer tour bookings performed, what you will owe, and whether tasting fee pass-throughs are being tracked cleanly.

  4. October

    Peak harvest season

    Harvest weekends bring the year's busiest bookings. Gus keeps a close eye on van costs and anything worth doing before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 wine tour and brewery tour shuttles. 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 wine and brewery tour shuttle owners ask first.

We collect tasting fees from guests and pay them to the winery. Does that count as our income?

No. Gus keeps tasting fee pass-throughs in their own line, separate from what the tour actually charges, so your real income stays clear.

We book most tours through Viator. Do we need to change anything?

No. Keep taking bookings the way you always have. Gus matches deposits to tours off your bank statement, and asks you once if something does not add up.

Deposits for harvest tours come in months before the weekend. How does that get handled?

Gus holds each deposit against the date the tour actually runs, so the busy harvest weekend gets credit for the income, not the month the deposit landed.

My driver-guides get tipped generously. Does that affect their pay status?

Not directly, but if they run your scheduled tours on your van, they usually count as employees regardless of tips. Gus flags it and the accountant sorts out what it means.

Winter is very slow for us. Does that look bad in the books?

No. Gus keeps fixed costs like van payments and insurance visible year-round, so the off-season reads as the normal part of the business it is.

Our books have not been touched since last harvest season. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send over the statements from last harvest through now. Gus sorts out tasting fee pass-throughs from real tour income, and most owners know where they stand within 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.

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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