Accounting, tax & financial pros
Books and taxes for 1031 exchange intermediary firms.
A flat fee per closing, interest your agreement lets you keep on funds held during the exchange window, a hefty fidelity bond premium, and a title company referral fee. 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
May made $14,000. The interest your agreement lets you keep on held exchange funds is on its own line, kept apart from your exchange fees, since it moves with rates, not with how many closings you handled.
- Exchange fees, 22 closingsExchange fees
- Interest income retainedInterest income kept
- Annual bond renewal, statewideClient funds insurance
- State registration renewalState registration fees
- Referral fee, title companyReferral fees paid
Why your books are different
A 1031 intermediary's own books go wrong in one big place, and a few smaller ones.
You are trusted to hold someone else's sale proceeds untouched while they identify a replacement property. Almost none of the money moving through your accounts is yours, and the books have to know the difference between what you are holding and what you actually earned.
-
1
Exchange funds get counted as the firm's own revenue
Sale proceeds held during an exchange window are not the intermediary's money, only the flat exchange fee is, but a plain bank feed cannot always tell held client funds apart from fees actually earned.
What we doKeeps exchange funds held for clients separate from exchange fees you actually earned, so revenue reflects what the firm kept, not what passed through it. -
2
Interest kept on held funds gets missed or mixed with fee income
Depending on the exchange agreement, some or all of the interest earned on funds held during the exchange window belongs to the firm, but it often either gets missed entirely or gets lumped in with exchange fees, hiding how much of it depends on interest rates rather than deal volume.
What we doKeeps interest income the firm is entitled to keep in its own line, separate from exchange fees, so it is clear how much depends on rates versus closings. -
3
The fidelity bond premium gets buried in general insurance
Insurance covering the firm against loss of client exchange funds is often required by state law and can be one of the largest costs of running the practice, but it frequently disappears into a general insurance line where its size goes unnoticed.
What we doKeeps the fidelity bond and client funds insurance in its own line, so the true cost of holding that trust stays visible. -
4
Rush fees for tight identification deadlines blend with standard fees
A client racing toward the identification deadline sometimes pays a rush premium for faster handling, but that extra fee usually lands in the same account as a standard exchange fee, hiding how often the firm is paid for speed.
What we doKeeps rush fees in their own line, separate from standard exchange fees, so that part of the business is visible on its own. -
5
Referral fees to title companies and attorneys get missed
A fee paid to a title company or real estate attorney who sends exchange business your way is a real and recurring cost of getting clients, but it usually gets folded into general expenses instead of tracked against the relationship.
What we doKeeps referral fees paid out in their own line, so the firm can see what each source of exchange business actually costs.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a 1031 exchange intermediary firm.
Set up once for how your firm bills and spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Exchange feesThe flat fee earned per closing, regardless of the exchange amount held.
- Interest income keptInterest on held funds the firm is entitled to under the exchange agreement.
- Rush feesPremiums for exchanges handled under a tight identification deadline.
- Referral incomeBusiness sent over by title companies or real estate attorneys.
Money out
- Client funds insuranceThe fidelity bond protecting held exchange funds.
- State registration feesLicensing required in states that regulate exchange intermediaries.
- Referral fees paidWhat you pay title companies or attorneys who send business.
- Escrow accounting softwareTools tracking each client's held funds separately.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage for the firm's own advisory exposure.
- Continuing educationCourses tracking exchange rules as they develop.
What we watch for you
- Fee versus interest split
Exchange fees against interest kept on held funds, so income is not read as more deal volume than it really is.
- Bond and insurance cost
What it costs every year to be trusted with client exchange funds.
- Rush fee share
How much of a strong month depends on tight deadlines rather than steady closing volume.
- Referral cost
What each referral relationship costs against the business it brings in.
Ask Gus
Things 1031 intermediary owners 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, and that is the important part. Most of that is a client's sale proceeds held during their exchange window. Your actual revenue is the exchange fee, which I keep separate.
About $1,800 of the $14,000. I keep interest income in its own line, so a rate change does not get mistaken for more deal volume.
That one is above my pay grade to settle from the books alone. I keep that cost visible against your closing volume, and the accountant can help you think through it.
The tax side
The tax side of running a 1031 exchange intermediary firm.
Most of what trips up your own return is the same distinction that defines the whole business: what is being held for a client versus what the firm actually earned.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Only the fee, and any interest kept, is incomeClient exchange funds passing through your accounts are not revenue. Only the exchange fee, and any interest the agreement lets you keep, count toward what the firm actually made.
- 1099s for contract processorsA contract document processor or closer, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment tax and the S corp questionOnly the exchange fees and any interest you keep count as net profit, and that profit is subject to 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base. Electing S corp status by March 15 can change how much of it gets taxed that way.
- Section 179 on escrow tracking systemsComputers and escrow accounting software bought for the firm can usually be written off in the year purchased, up to $2,560,000.
Deductions 1031 exchange intermediary firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fidelity bond premium
- State intermediary registration fees
- Escrow accounting software
- Referral fees paid out
- Professional liability insurance
- Continuing education courses
- Home office costs
- Computer and workstation upgrades
- Secure document storage
- Conference travel
- Contract processor payments
- Document preparation and notary costs
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 1031 intermediary firm's year, kept every month.
Real estate closings do not follow a tax calendar, but your own filing deadlines still do. Gus keeps the firm's real numbers steady underneath the funds passing through. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
New year, steady closings
Last year's own return gets started, and a set-aside gets planned around exchange fee and interest income patterns from the prior year.
- April
Filed, funds untouched
The firm's own return is filed and signed, based on real exchange fees and kept interest, not the client funds that passed through along the way.
- July
Midyear closing check
Where the firm stands, how closing volume compares to last year, and whether bond and insurance costs are keeping pace with growth.
- October
Before year-end exchanges
A look at staffing and software before the fourth quarter, when real estate closings often cluster before year end.
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 1031 exchange intermediary firms. 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 1031 intermediary owners ask first.
Does Gus manage the exchange funds we hold for clients?
No. Gus only books the firm's own operating account, the exchange fees and any interest you are entitled to keep. Client exchange funds are never the firm's money and are never treated as its revenue.
Can Gus separate the interest we keep from our exchange fees?
Yes. Interest income kept under the exchange agreement stays in its own line, so a rate change does not get mistaken for more closing volume.
We already use escrow accounting software to track client funds. Does anything change?
No. Keep tracking held funds the way you do. Gus works from the firm's own operating account and asks once if a deposit is unclear.
How does Gus handle rush fees for exchanges racing a tight deadline?
They stay in their own line, separate from standard exchange fees, so you can see how much of a strong month depends on tight timelines.
Our own books have been behind since we are focused on client closings. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the firm's own bank statements, whatever shape they are in. Gus will work through them while the accountant checks behind him, so the firm's books are not what holds up the next closing.
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