Farms
Income arrives with the harvest. Expenses show up year-round. Farm bookkeeping needs someone who understands the rhythm.
Seasons Don't Wait for Paperwork
During planting and harvest, you’re working before sunrise until after dark. The crop doesn’t care about your bookkeeping. Neither does the weather. When the window opens, you work. Everything else gets pushed aside.
Then the season ends and you’re looking at three months of receipts. Equipment repairs, fuel charges, seed invoices, an operating loan draw that never got recorded. Tax season is coming and your lender wants updated financials.
We work with farms because we understand this cycle. Shane grew up on a family farm in Iowa, handling the books for family farm operations. He knows that farm records can’t always happen in real time.
Year-Round Expenses, Seasonal Income
Harvest brings the revenue. But equipment needs maintenance in January. Seeds and supplies get ordered in March. Labor costs run through the growing season. The cash flow timing in farming is unlike almost any other business.
You might run things yourself with seasonal help during busy times. Or you have year-round employees plus contractors for harvest. Either way, the books need to reflect what’s actually happening with money coming in and going out on completely different schedules.
Who We Work With
Who We Work With
Vegetable farms, fruit orchards, row crop operations, nurseries, and greenhouses in the Greater Houston area. Family farms and multi-generation operations. Whether you sell at farmers markets, to distributors, or direct to restaurants.
The Reality
The Reality
Income concentrated in a few months. Expenses spread across the whole year. Operating loans that cover the gap. Too many farmers fly blind on actual profitability until tax time forces them to add it all up.
Where Farm Accounting Gets Complicated
Farm accounting has specific requirements that general bookkeepers miss. Schedule F has categories that need proper coding. Equipment depreciation rules allow significant deductions but only if tracked correctly. Crop inventory can affect taxable income depending on your accounting method.
Then there’s the structure many farms use. Land owned personally, operations running through an LLC, equipment leased from another entity. Each one needs its own set of books. Transactions between them need proper recording. Operating loan payments need principal separated from interest.
Equipment and Depreciation
Equipment and Depreciation
Tractors, implements, irrigation systems, outbuildings. Farm equipment qualifies for accelerated depreciation under Section 179 and bonus depreciation rules. These deductions can be substantial but require accurate asset records and planning.
Operating Loans and Credit Lines
Operating Loans and Credit Lines
Most farms run on operating credit that gets drawn during the season and paid down after harvest. Draws and payments need proper recording. Interest expense gets separated. Your lender wants clean financials when renewal season comes around.
Records Ready When You Need Them
You need organized books for three reasons. Tax filing requires everything categorized correctly for Schedule F. Lender reporting happens quarterly or annually depending on your operating loan terms. And knowing your actual profit is the only way to make informed decisions about next year.
We handle the bookkeeping so you’re not scrambling. Transactions coded properly for farm tax reporting. Equipment purchases tracked as depreciable assets. Operating loan activity reconciled. When your lender calls or your accountant needs records, everything is ready.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Monthly Bookkeeping
Bank and credit card reconciliation. Expenses categorized for Schedule F. Equipment tracked as assets with depreciation documented. Operating loan draws and payments recorded with principal and interest separated. Books closed every month rather than scrambled together at year end.
Farm Tax Returns
Farm Tax Returns
Schedule F prepared with proper expense categories. Equipment depreciation calculated and documented. Farm-specific deductions captured. Returns prepared by someone who actually understands how farm income and expenses work throughout the year.
Greater Houston's Small Business Bookkeeping Partner
The Next Step:
A Quick Conversation
Tell us about your business and what you need help with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a straightforward quote.