The boat ran perfectly. The books didn't.
How McGregor Financial Services reconstructed 18 months of missing yacht financials and built a monthly reporting system the owner actually uses.
- $145K+ Annual Financial Benefit
- $564K True Annual Operating Cost
- 4,462 Transactions Reconstructed
- $244K Estimated Tax Savings
- Vessel
- 85-ft Motor Yacht
- Operation
- Personal & Charter
- Home Port
- South Florida
- Entity
- Single-Member LLC
- Records Behind
- 18 Months
- Completed In
- 90 Days
The Challenge
The owner estimated $300,000 a year. The real figure was $564,000.
When this client engaged us, their 85-foot motor yacht had been generating charter income for over a year — but no one had properly tracked what it cost to run. Expenses flowed through multiple bank accounts, personal credit cards, captain-managed purchases, fuel cards, and wire transfers. After 18 months, the owner had no reliable picture of operating costs, charter profitability, or tax exposure.
- 4,462 transactions across operating accounts, credit cards, vendor invoices, payroll, and charter deposits — none properly categorized
- No separation between personal use and charter expenses, making any tax deduction claims difficult to defend
- Charter revenue deposited inconsistently; broker commissions, APA, and direct charter costs never offset against it
- Captain managing expense tracking in his spare time — the numbers didn't reconcile with the bank statements
- Charter broker requesting financial documentation the owner simply couldn't produce
How We Helped
A structured reconstruction, phase by phase.
We don't guess or patch. We start at the beginning and work forward — collecting every source document, reconstructing every transaction, and building a clean foundation before setting up any ongoing reporting.
1. Diagnostic & Document Collection
We gathered every financial source — bank feeds, card statements, vendor invoices, captain logs, charter agreements, and APA records — and mapped exactly what was missing and what needed to be reconstructed.
2. Full Transaction Reconstruction
4,462 transactions · 18 months
Bank: 1,287 · Cards: 2,144 · Invoices: 489 · Fuel: 78 · Charter: 21 · Payroll: 132 · Maintenance: 311
Every transaction reviewed and classified across yacht-specific categories: crew, fuel, dockage, insurance, repairs, management, charter revenue, and capital improvements.
3. Charter Profitability Analysis
$278K gross revenue · $84K direct costs · $194K net income
We rebuilt the P&L for every charter booking — gross revenue, broker commissions, APA settlements, crew gratuities, and direct fuel costs.
Key Finding. The charter programme was profitable — but not as profitable as the owner assumed. With that clarity, the base charter rate was increased, the APA percentage tightened, and a fuel surcharge introduced. None of those decisions could have been made defensibly without the reconstructed data.
4. Tax Planning & Depreciation Analysis
55% charter use · $2.09M business basis · $418K accelerated depreciation · $661K total deductions · $244,570 est. tax savings
With charter use established at 55% of total vessel use, the business basis on a $3.8M vessel was $2,090,000 — unlocking first-year accelerated depreciation deductions the owner had never previously claimed.
5. Cost Leak Identification & Ongoing Reporting
$8,900 duplicate payments · $6,500 unused dock fees · $4,300 redundant contracts · $18,700 fuel savings · $50,900/yr total savings
The audit uncovered waste across four categories. We then implemented a monthly reporting package — P&L, charter performance, budget vs. actual, and cash flow forecast — delivered without any involvement from the crew.
Outcomes
Results that changed every decision that followed.
Four findings from a single 90-day engagement. Each one material. Each one previously invisible.
- $244,570 tax savings identified (estimated)
- $194,000 net charter income documented
- $50,900 annual waste eliminated
- 18 months of accounting reconstructed
88% cost underestimate
Operating costs were 88% higher than estimated. The owner believed annual costs were around$300,000. The true figure was $564,000 — a $264,000 gapthat had been completely invisible. Crew payroll alone was $168,000. Maintenance was $118,400. Knowing the real numbers changed every financial decision that followed.
$194K net charter profit
$278,000 in gross charter revenue offset by $84,000 in real charter costs — producing a net charter profit the owner could actually verify, report, and build a pricing strategy around.
$244K estimated tax savings
$243,000 in business expense deductions plus $418,000 in first-year accelerated depreciation — $661,000 in total deductions the owner had never previously claimed, generating an estimated $244,570 in tax savings.
$50.9K annual savings
Duplicate vendor payments recovered, unused dock reservations cancelled, redundant contracts terminated, and fuel purchasing brought under control. $50,900 in annual savings — identified and resolved within the 90-day engagement.
$489,470 combined financial impact — tax savings, documented charter profit, and operational waste eliminated — recovered in a single 90-day engagement. These figures are from this anonymized engagement and are client-specific. Tax savings in the source are described as estimated.
Our Specialisation
Yacht accounting is not a side service — it is what we do.
McGregor Financial Services was built around the specific financial challenges yacht owners face. Mixed personal and charter use, multi-account expense flows, crew payroll, APA reconciliations, vessel depreciation — these are not topics most accounting firms handle well. We handle them exclusively.
- Accounting and financial oversight for managed yachts
- Charter revenue tracking and profitability reporting
- Yacht budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow management
- Crew payroll coordination and expense reporting
- Vendor management and payment controls
- Accounting cleanups for vessels months or years behind
- Monthly financial reporting and variance analysis
- U.S. tax compliance and advisory services
IRS Enrolled Agent — Authorised to represent taxpayers before the IRS.Fort Lauderdale, FL — One of the world's largest yachting hubs.Yacht-Focused Accounting — Built around vessel ownership, charter activity, and marine financials.Tax-Ready Records — Documentation organised for deductions, depreciation, and year-end filing.Owner-Level Reporting — Clear monthly financials, operating costs, and charter profitability.
Work With Us
Ready to see the real numbers?
Whether your books are months behind or you simply want better visibility going forward, we'd welcome the conversation.