Gyms & fitness studios
Books and taxes for women-only gyms.
Monthly dues, a childcare room staffed during peak hours, community workshops that sell tickets, and a retail corner of women's activewear. 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
February came in at $8,200. Your nutrition workshop sold out this month, and I kept ticket sales and the speaker's fee in their own lines so you can see the event covered itself with room to spare.
- Mindbody dues draftMembership dues
- Workshop ticket salesWorkshop income
- Childcare staff payrollChildcare staffing
- Trainer payroll batchTrainer pay
- Workshop speaker feeWorkshop costs
Why your books are different
A women-only gym's books go wrong around its extra services.
A generalist sees dues and a rent bill. Your gym staffs a childcare room during peak hours, hosts community workshops that sell tickets and cost a speaker fee, and sells retail built specifically for its members. When the books miss that, you can't tell whether the things that set your gym apart are actually worth what they cost.
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1
Childcare staffing gets buried in general payroll
A childcare room staffed during peak hours is a real, ongoing cost that members value, but lumped into general wages, you can't tell what it costs to offer against what it's worth in member retention.
What we doKeeps childcare staffing in its own line, separate from trainer pay, so its real cost stays visible. -
2
Workshop income and costs get mixed with regular dues
A nutrition or wellness workshop sells tickets and costs a speaker fee and materials, and blended into regular gym income, you can't tell whether the event actually paid for itself.
What we doKeeps workshop ticket income and speaker costs in their own lines so you can see whether the event covers itself. -
3
Retail built for members blends into dues
Activewear and gear curated for your specific membership rings up alongside dues, so you never see whether that retail case is actually earning after what it cost to stock.
What we doKeeps retail in its own category, separate from dues, so its real margin shows up on its own. -
4
A member's annual plan inflates a single month
A member who pays annually to save money hands over twelve months of dues at once, and if that whole amount gets counted the week it lands, the month looks unusually strong while the eleven months it was meant to cover look emptier than they really are.
What we doSpreads an annual payment across the months it actually pays for, so a wave of yearly renewals doesn't distort the months around it.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a women-only gym.
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
- Membership duesMonthly EFT drafts through Mindbody or a similar system.
- Workshop ticket salesCommunity events and wellness workshops, kept apart from dues.
- Personal trainingOne-on-one and small group sessions sold in blocks.
- RetailActivewear and gear curated for members.
Money out
- Trainer payGroup and personal training wages and commissions.
- Childcare staffingPay for whoever runs the childcare room, kept apart from trainer pay.
- Workshop costsSpeaker fees and materials for community events.
- Rent and utilitiesThe building and the power it runs on.
- SoftwareMindbody or a similar scheduling and payment system.
- InsuranceGeneral liability, including coverage for the childcare room.
- MarketingLocal ads and referral incentives for new members.
What we watch for you
- Childcare cost per member
What staffing the childcare room costs against how many members use it.
- Workshop margin
Whether ticket sales cover the speaker fee and materials for community events.
- Retail margin
What activewear and gear earn after what they cost to stock.
- The set-aside
What you'll owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things women-only gym 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 keep childcare staffing in its own line, separate from trainer pay, so you can see that cost clearly against how many members are actually using the room.
Yes, with room to spare. Tickets brought in more than the speaker fee and materials cost, and I keep both sides tracked so you always know.
If she's not on payroll and you pay her $2,000 or more this year, yes, by January 31. I keep that list running so it's ready.
The tax side
The tax side of running a women-only gym.
Most of what trips up this business is that the services that set it apart, childcare, workshops, and curated retail, need their own visibility instead of blending into general dues.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Trainer or employeeA trainer who works your schedule with your equipment usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, no matter what the pay arrangement is called. Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
- Contractor 1099sA workshop speaker or guest instructor not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Sales tax on retailActivewear and gear sold at the desk are usually taxed even when dues aren't, and the rule varies by state. Gus keeps retail separate so that number is easy to find.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when dues, childcare, and workshops are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions women-only gyms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Childcare room supplies and toys
- Mindbody or scheduling software fees
- Liability insurance
- Workshop speaker fees
- Trainer certifications
- Flooring and mirrors
- Retail inventory for the shop
- Business phone and booking line
- Cleaning service
- Marketing and referral incentives
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 women-only gym's year, kept every month.
Community workshops come throughout the year. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so the New Year's signup wave doesn't turn into an April surprise.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you'll owe, and whether childcare and workshops are pulling their weight.
- October
Before year-end
Before the calendar closes, Gus looks at equipment or retail worth stocking 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 women-only gyms. 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 women-only gym owners ask first.
Can Gus tell me if our childcare room is worth the cost?
Yes. Childcare staffing is tracked in its own line, separate from trainer pay, so you can see exactly what it costs against how many members actually use it.
Do our community workshops need their own set of books?
Not separate books, just their own categories. Gus tracks ticket income and speaker costs apart from regular dues, so you can see whether each event covers itself.
Is our retail corner worth tracking separately from dues?
Yes. Retail is kept in its own category so you can see what activewear and gear actually earn after what they cost to stock, separate from membership income.
Our front desk runs on Mindbody. Do I have to change anything?
Not a thing. Gus works from your bank statement and the Mindbody EFT batch exactly as they come in, and if a line item isn't obvious, he'll ask you once and remember it going forward.
Nobody's kept the books up since we opened. Is that a problem?
Not a problem. Whatever you have on hand since opening is enough to start with. Gus catches the books up, the accountant checks his work, and you'll know where the gym stands 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