Bookkeeping That Treats Your Business Right

Professional bookkeeping for groomers, boarders, daycares, and pet trainers. Track tips, manage supply inventory, and see exactly which services and clients drive your profit.

Expert-managed bookkeeping starting at $69/month. No contracts. Cancel anytime. FREE catch-up bookkeeping included with every new subscription.

Get Started — $69/month

Bookkeeping Challenges Facing Pet Businesses

Pet Businesses face unique financial pain points that generic bookkeepers simply don't understand. Here are the issues we solve every day for businesses like yours:

  • Tip Tracking Compliance. Tips for groomers and bathers create payroll and tax obligations most owners don't realize they have. The IRS treats them as taxable wages.
  • Supply Inventory Drift. Shampoos, treats, leashes, and retail product silently bleed margin without proper inventory and COGS tracking.
  • Multiple Service Lines. Grooming, boarding, daycare, and training all have different margins. Lumping them together hides which lines are actually paying the rent.
  • Recurring Boarding Deposits. Holiday and pre-paid boarding deposits are deferred revenue, not cash you've earned — booking them wrong distorts every month.

Pet Business Owners: Save Thousands with S-Corp Election

Profitable groomers, boarders, and pet daycares clearing $70,000+ in net income are leaving real money on the table without S-Corp election. Pay yourself a reasonable owner-operator salary and take additional profit as distributions — keeping more of every wash, walk, and stay.

  • Pay yourself a reasonable owner salary, take profits as distributions
  • Reduce or eliminate self-employment tax on the distribution portion
  • We handle payroll (including tip wages), quarterly filings, and S-Corp compliance
  • Free evaluation of whether S-Corp election fits your pet business

Our team of experienced bookkeepers and tax strategists will evaluate your specific situation and walk you through the S-Corp election process from start to finish — including payroll setup, reasonable compensation analysis, and ongoing compliance.

How GuidedLedger Helps Pet Businesses

We combine industry-specific expertise with modern accounting technology to deliver bookkeeping that actually moves your business forward:

  • Tip Tracking & Payroll Compliance. We help you capture tips correctly through payroll so groomers and bathers stay legal and your liability stays clean.
  • Supply Inventory & Retail COGS. We track shampoo, treats, food, and retail product so your gross margin is real and your retail mix actually pays.
  • Service-Line Profitability. We separate grooming, boarding, daycare, training, and retail so you can see which lines are profitable and which are subsidizing the others.
  • Recurring Revenue Visibility. Daycare packages and boarding deposits are tracked as deferred revenue and recognized properly so you see real recurring income each month.

Common Tax Deductions for Pet Businesses

Many pet businesses miss thousands of dollars in legitimate deductions every year. Our team makes sure every eligible expense is properly tracked and categorized so you keep more of what you earn:

  • Shop or facility rent, utilities, and build-out costs
  • Grooming tables, tubs, kennels, and crates (Section 179 eligible)
  • Shampoo, conditioner, brushes, blades, and grooming supplies
  • Food, treats, leashes, toys, and retail inventory (COGS)
  • Pet-business software (Gingr, Time To Pet, MoeGo, ProPet, Square)
  • Staff payroll, tip wages, payroll taxes, and workers comp
  • Liability and animal-care insurance
  • Vehicle expenses for mobile grooming or training (mileage or actual)
  • Continuing education, certifications (NDGAA, IACP, ABCDT) and conferences
  • Marketing, social ads, signage, and referral partnerships

We review your spending throughout the year, flag deductions you may have missed, and prepare a tax-ready year-end package for your CPA or tax preparer.

What's Included for $69/month

  • Monthly bookkeeping & bank reconciliation
  • Professional financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow)
  • Transaction categorization tailored to your industry
  • Year-end tax-ready books
  • QuickBooks or Xero management at wholesale pricing
  • Email support & quarterly check-ins
  • FREE catch-up bookkeeping when you subscribe
  • S-Corp evaluation and tax-savings analysis

What Pet Businesses Are Saying

“I thought boarding was my big money-maker. Once GuidedLedger split things out, it turned out grooming and retail were carrying the business — boarding barely broke even. We re-prioritized and our profit jumped 30% in six months.”

— Erin M., Pet Grooming & Boarding Owner, Colorado

*Client name abbreviated for privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should we handle tips for groomers and bathers?

Tips are taxable wages. We help you set up tip reporting through payroll so trainers, groomers, and bathers stay compliant and you avoid back payroll tax assessments.

Can you separate grooming, boarding, and retail in our books?

Yes. We use class or location tracking to give you a true profit number per service line so you know which ones to expand, reprice, or shut down.

How do you handle boarding and daycare prepayments?

Prepaid daycare packs and holiday boarding deposits sit in deferred revenue until services are delivered, then recognize as income. That keeps your monthly P&L honest.

Do you support pet-business POS and booking platforms?

Yes. We work with Gingr, Time To Pet, MoeGo, PetExec, ProPet, Square, and most major pet POS and booking systems — pulling sales, tips, and fees in cleanly.

When does S-Corp election make sense for a pet business?

Generally once you're consistently netting $70,000+ in profit. We run the numbers as part of your free consultation and only recommend S-Corp when the savings clearly beat the added payroll and filing cost.

Related Industries We Serve

Don't see your industry? We work with small businesses across every vertical. View all industries we serve or get started with a free consultation.