Youth & adult sports training
Books and taxes for youth sports leagues.
Registration fees for three sports running at once, park district field permits, a small stipend for volunteer coaches, and trophies for every team at season's end. 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 $15,000. Spring soccer and spring basketball registrations both landed this month, so I kept each sport's fees on its own line.
- Spring registration, soccerRegistration fees
- Spring registration, basketballRegistration fees
- Park district field permitField and facility permits
- Referee assignor payoutGame officials
- Volunteer coach stipendsCoach stipends
Why your books are different
A youth league's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your league runs several sports at once, pays field permits by the season, and hands small stipends to volunteer coaches. When the books do not separate all of that, you cannot tell whether any one sport is actually paying for its own fields.
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1
Fees from different sports get deposited into one bucket
Spring soccer and spring basketball registrations often land in the same week, and if both get logged as one lump registration total, you cannot tell which sport is bringing in enough to cover its own fields and referees.
What we doKeeps each sport's registration fees on its own line, so every season can be checked against what it actually costs to run. -
2
Field and gym permits get treated as one flat cost
A park district often charges different permit rates for a soccer field, a gym, and a baseball diamond, all rented for the same eight-week season. Lumped into one facility line, you cannot see which sport's fields are the most expensive to run.
What we doTies each sport's permit cost to that sport's registration fees, so you can see the real margin per season. -
3
Volunteer coach stipends get treated as informal cash instead of real pay
A small $75 stipend handed to a parent coach at season's end often gets paid out of pocket or in cash with no record, which misses the point where enough stipends add up to a filing requirement.
What we doTracks every stipend paid, so the league knows exactly how much went to volunteer coaches and whether any of them cross a filing threshold for the year. -
4
Trophies and jerseys bought for the whole league get filed as one purchase
A bulk order of participation trophies and basic jerseys for every division, ordered before the season starts, gets booked as one expense with no link to which sport's registration is supposed to cover it.
What we doTies trophy and jersey costs to the season and sport they belong to, so a bulk order does not distort one sport's numbers. -
5
Fee waivers for families who cannot pay disappear from the books
A league that waives registration fees for a number of families each season often just shows fewer sign-ups, with no record of how many kids actually played for free.
What we doLogs a waiver as a real cost against the fee that would have come in, so the league's giving and true enrollment both stay visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a youth sports league.
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
- Registration feesTracked by sport and by season.
- Sponsorship incomeLocal business sponsorships for jerseys or field signage.
- Concession salesSnack bar and drink sales at games.
- Late fees and add-onsLate registration charges and extra gear purchases.
Money out
- Field and facility permitsPark district or school fees, tied to the sport and season.
- Game officialsReferee and umpire pay, often through an assigning service.
- Coach stipendsSmall payments to volunteer coaches, tracked by season.
- Trophies and jerseysEnd-of-season awards and basic uniform kits.
- InsuranceParticipant accident and general liability coverage.
- Registration softwareOnline sign-up and payment processing fees.
What we watch for you
- Margin per sport
Registration fees against field permits and officials for each sport you run.
- Stipend totals
Total paid to volunteer coaches, watched against year-end filing thresholds.
- Waiver count
How many families are playing on a waived or reduced fee each season.
- The set-aside
What each season's fees actually owe, tracked monthly so April is already handled for the league.
Ask Gus
Things youth league 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.
Not on its own, since each one is well under the $2,000 threshold for the year. I'm tracking the total anyway, so if any one coach earns more across the year, it won't sneak past us.
Yes, I tie each sport's permit cost to that sport's own registration fees, so you can see basketball's real margin separately from soccer's.
It should, and I log it as a real cost against what the fee would have been. That way the league's actual reach stays visible, not just the paying sign-ups.
The tax side
The tax side of a youth sports league.
Most of what trips up a league is tracking small payments that add up and keeping each sport's season separate from the others.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Volunteer coach stipends and 1099sA stipend to a volunteer coach is usually small, but if any one coach is paid $2,000 or more across the year and is not on payroll, a 1099-NEC is due by January 31.
- Referee and official payOfficials paid through an assigning service are usually handled by that service's own tax filings, while officials paid directly by the league may need their own 1099 if the payments add up.
- For-profit versus nonprofit structureA league organized as a nonprofit files differently than one run as an owner-operated business, and has its own rules about paying officers and coaches. Confirm which structure applies before assuming a standard business return fits.
- The pass-through deductionA for-profit league operator can usually take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when each sport's fees and costs are tracked separately.
Deductions youth sports leagues miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Participation trophies and awards
- Basic team jerseys
- Cones, pinnies, and practice gear
- Referee assigning service fees
- Registration software fees
- First aid supplies
- Liability and accident insurance
- Field lining paint and equipment
- Website and scheduling tools
- Storage for league equipment
- Coach background check fees
- Signage and banners
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 youth league's year, kept every month.
Registration windows and seasons stack up across sports, but your taxes still come on a fixed schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of it. 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 and referee list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right as spring registration wraps up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer sign-ups changed the number.
- October
Before winter season
Before winter registration opens, Gus looks at trophy and jersey orders worth planning 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 youth sports leagues. 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 youth league directors ask first.
Can Gus keep each sport's season separate even though we run several at once?
Yes. He tracks registration, permits, and officials by sport, so soccer, basketball, and baseball each get their own honest number instead of one blended total.
We're structured as a nonprofit tied to a booster club. Does that change things?
It can. A nonprofit has its own filing rules that differ from an owner-operated business. Tell Gus your structure and he flags it so the accountant applies the right rules.
Our volunteer coaches get a small stipend. Do we need to track that closely?
Yes, even small amounts. Gus keeps a running total per coach, so if anyone crosses the yearly threshold for a 1099, it gets caught instead of missed at year end.
We collect registration through an online sign-up service. Do I have to change anything?
No, keep using whatever sign-up service works for your families. Gus reads directly off your bank statement, and the rare unclear deposit gets a single question, remembered from then on.
Our books have never really been organized beyond a checkbook register. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send over your bank statements and whatever records you've kept, and Gus sorts through them season by season until you have a real number to plan around.
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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- Quarterback & position coaches
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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