Aviation & marine services
Books and taxes for yacht and sailboat charter operators.
Day rate bookings, provisioning runs, a damage deposit that is not yours to keep, and an owner who takes a cut of every trip you run on their boat. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
July came in at $12,500. The boat owner's 60 percent share of the two crewed charters this week went in as a cost, not part of your income.
- Bareboat charter, four daysCharter bookings
- Crewed charter, weekendCharter bookings
- Owner revenue share, crewed tripsOwner payouts
- Provisioning order, guest mealsProvisioning and supplies
- Marina dockage while awaiting charterDockage and mooring
Why your books are different
A charter operator's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a booking deposit and calls it income. Your business runs boats you often do not own outright, holds damage deposits that are not yours to keep, and provisions every crewed trip differently. When the books do not know that, the monthly number lies about what you actually kept.
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1
The owner's share gets counted as your income
When you run charters on a boat owned by someone else and split the trip fee with them, booking the whole charter fee as your income overstates what the business made and hides what you actually owe the owner.
What we doBooks the full charter fee as money in and the owner's share as a cost, so the management fee you actually keep shows up honest. -
2
A damage deposit looks like a booking payment
A security or damage deposit held against a bareboat charter is refundable if the boat comes back undamaged, and counting it as income the day it arrives overstates revenue for money you may have to return.
What we doKeeps damage deposits out of income entirely until the charter ends and any deductions from it are settled. -
3
Provisioning costs vary wildly trip to trip
A crewed charter with a full provisioning list for eight guests costs very differently than a bareboat trip with none, and if provisioning gets averaged into one general supplies line, you cannot tell which kind of charter actually pays better.
What we doKeeps provisioning and guest supplies in their own line tied to the charters that used them, so the real cost of a crewed trip is visible. -
4
Dockage between charters gets missed
A boat sitting at the marina between bookings still costs dockage, and if that ongoing cost is not tracked separately from the charter that just ended, the slow weeks look like pure loss instead of a normal cost of staying ready.
What we doKeeps dockage and mooring costs in their own line so the cost of staying ready between charters is visible, not confused with a bad trip.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a charter operation.
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
- Charter bookingsBareboat and crewed charter fees, billed by the trip.
- Add-on servicesFishing gear rental, extra crew, or catering upsells.
- Damage deposits heldRefundable deposits, kept separate from earned income.
- Multi-day trip packagesExtended charters booked well ahead of the season.
Money out
- Owner payoutsThe boat owner's share of trips run on a managed vessel.
- Provisioning and suppliesFood, drinks, and guest supplies for crewed trips.
- Dockage and mooringMarina fees for the boat between and during charters.
- Crew wagesCaptain and crew pay, kept apart from provisioning costs.
- FuelFuel used on charter trips, billed against what a trip actually burned.
- Maintenance and insuranceUpkeep and charter liability coverage for the vessel.
What we watch for you
- Revenue per charter day
What each day of charter actually nets after the owner's share and provisioning.
- Owner share paid out
How much of the month's charter fees went to boat owners, kept visible against what you kept.
- Damage deposits outstanding
What is still held and owed back, so nothing gets forgotten between charters.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things charter operators 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.
No. I book the full charter fee as money in and the owner's share as a cost, so what you actually keep is what shows as your income.
Not yet. I keep it out of income until the charter wraps up and any deductions are settled. It stays separate until then.
No, I keep provisioning tied to the charters that used it, so a big crewed trip's real cost is visible instead of blended into an average.
The tax side
The tax side of a charter operation.
Most of what goes wrong here is what actually counts as your income. Owner splits, damage deposits, and provisioning all need to be handled with care.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Owner revenue splitsOnly the share you actually keep from a managed vessel's charter is your income. The accountant confirms how your specific owner agreement should be reported.
- Vessel depreciationA charter vessel used in the business can often be depreciated, with bonus depreciation currently 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. How much to take in one year depends on the year you are having.
- Contractor 1099sAny crew, captains, or provisioning help you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when charter fees and owner splits are booked right all year.
Deductions yacht and sailboat charter operators miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Provisioning and guest supplies
- Dockage and mooring fees
- Charter liability insurance
- Fuel used on charter trips
- Crew wages and licensing
- Safety equipment and life jackets
- Vessel maintenance and repairs
- Booking and listing site fees
- Uniforms for crew
- Cleaning between charters
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 charter season, kept every month.
Bookings peak with the weather. Your taxes come on a 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 1099 list for crew is ready, 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, right before the season books up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether peak summer bookings changed the number more than usual.
- October
Before the season winds down
As bookings slow, Gus looks at maintenance or equipment worth doing before December and anything worth planning for next season.
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 yacht and sailboat charter operators. 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 charter operators ask first.
Can Gus keep the owner's revenue share separate from my actual income?
Yes. The full charter fee comes in as money in, and the owner's share goes out as a cost, so what you actually keep is what shows as your income.
Do damage deposits count as income when a guest pays them?
No. They stay out of income until the charter ends and any deductions from the deposit are settled, then only the portion you actually keep counts.
Do I need to change how I book trips through my listing site?
No. Keep booking the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Provisioning costs vary a lot trip to trip. Does that confuse the books?
No. Gus ties provisioning to the charters that used it, so a heavily provisioned crewed trip shows its real cost instead of getting averaged with a bareboat trip that had none.
My books are behind from a busy summer season. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most operators 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.
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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