Freight, trucking & delivery
Books and taxes for 3PL warehouses.
Per-pallet storage fees, pick and pack charges, inbound receiving fees, and the racking and forklift costs that keep the warehouse running. Your own bookkeeper sorts it by client, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
November came in at $13,300. A new client's inbound container hit receiving fees for the first time, so I kept that separate from your standing storage revenue.
- Storage fee invoicesStorage fees
- Pick and pack invoicesPick and pack fees
- Warehouse lease paymentWarehouse rent
- Forklift maintenanceEquipment and racking
- Warehouse staff payrollWarehouse labor
Why your books are different
A 3PL's books go wrong when client inventory looks like your own.
A generalist sees storage invoices and a payroll run. Your business holds inventory that belongs to other brands, bills them for storage, receiving, and pick and pack separately, and runs a warehouse full of racking and equipment that has to earn its keep. When the books do not separate clients and services, you cannot tell which contracts are actually worth the space they take up.
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1
Client inventory looks like a business asset
The pallets sitting in your warehouse belong to your clients, not to you, but if inventory value ever gets logged onto your own books, it can badly distort what the business actually owns.
What we doKeeps client inventory out of your own books entirely, tracking only the fees you bill for storing and handling it. -
2
Storage and pick and pack fees blend into one number
A flat storage fee and a per-order pick and pack charge are priced completely differently, and lumped into one revenue line, you cannot tell which service is actually profitable for a given client.
What we doKeeps storage fees and pick and pack fees in separate categories, so each client's real profitability is visible. -
3
A slow-paying client hides inside total receivables
With many client accounts, one or two falling behind on invoices can quietly tie up cash without ever standing out in a combined total.
What we doTracks revenue by client, so a slow payer shows up clearly instead of blending into the warehouse's overall numbers. -
4
A racking or forklift purchase wrecks one month's numbers
New racking or a replacement forklift can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and filed as a plain expense it makes a normal month look like a loss instead of an investment in capacity.
What we doFlags an equipment purchase the day it posts, logs it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how it gets written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a 3PL warehouse.
Set up once for how clients pay you and what running the warehouse costs. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Storage feesPer-pallet or per-square-foot fees billed to each client.
- Pick and pack feesPer-order fulfillment charges billed to each client.
- Inbound receiving feesFees for unloading and checking in a client's inventory.
- Kitting and value-add feesCharges for assembling or labeling products before they ship.
Money out
- Warehouse rentLease payments on the storage and fulfillment space.
- Warehouse laborWages for receiving, picking, and packing staff.
- Equipment and rackingForklifts, pallet jacks, and racking systems.
- Packaging and shipping suppliesBoxes, tape, and packing materials used to fulfill orders.
- Warehouse management softwareInventory and order tracking software subscriptions.
- InsuranceProperty, liability, and warehouse legal liability coverage.
What we watch for you
- Revenue per client
What each brand actually pays monthly, so you can see who is worth the space they occupy.
- Cost per order fulfilled
Labor and supplies against orders picked and packed. It tells you if your pricing still holds up.
- Days to collect
How long clients take to pay against your own costs going out. A widening gap strains cash.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so filing season is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things 3PL 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, that inventory belongs to your clients. I keep it off your own books entirely and only track the fees you bill for storing and handling it.
You would with me tracking it. Revenue is broken out by client, so a slow payer shows up clearly instead of hiding in the total.
Usually a good chunk of it can. I logged it as equipment and flagged it, and the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of running a 3PL warehouse.
Most of what trips up a 3PL is treating client inventory as if it belongs to the business and mixing storage revenue with fulfillment revenue.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Writing off racking and equipmentRacking systems, forklifts, and pallet jacks bought for the business can often be written off in the year they are bought, up to the Section 179 limit of $2,560,000, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Client inventory is not your assetInventory owned by client brands and stored in your warehouse is never part of your business's own assets or income, only the fees you bill for handling it are.
- 1099s for contracted warehouse laborAny warehouse worker not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost 3PL owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when storage and fulfillment fees are tracked cleanly by client all year.
Deductions 3PL warehouses miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Warehouse rent
- Racking and forklift purchases
- Warehouse labor wages
- Packaging and shipping supplies
- Warehouse management software
- Property and liability insurance
- Pallet jacks and material handling equipment
- Utilities for the warehouse space
- Uniforms and safety gear
- Security systems for the facility
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 3PL's year, kept every month.
Client inventory moves in and out all year, and the holiday order surge changes what that traffic looks like. Your team stays on both, not just at filing time. 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 1099 list for contracted labor is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new client contracts this year changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday order surge
Order volume climbs hard before the holidays. Gus looks at whether more racking or staff makes sense before the busiest stretch hits.
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 3PL warehouses. 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 3PL owners ask first.
Does client inventory ever show up as an asset on my books?
No. Inventory that belongs to your clients stays off your books entirely. Gus tracks only the fees you bill for storing and handling it.
Can the books tell me which client is actually profitable?
Yes. Storage and pick and pack fees are tracked by client, so you can see who is worth the space and labor they use.
I bill storage per pallet and pick and pack per order. Is that a problem to track?
No. Gus keeps those as separate categories, so you can see how each pricing model is performing on its own.
One client is consistently slow to pay. Would I notice that in my numbers?
Yes, since revenue is tracked by client, a slow payer stands out clearly instead of getting lost in the warehouse's total income.
I have a mix of payroll staff and contract labor in the warehouse. Is that handled differently?
Yes. Wages and contractor payments are kept in separate lines, and Gus flags anyone paid enough to need a 1099, so nothing gets missed at filing time.
My books have never separated client accounts from each other. Can you fix that?
Yes. Send the statements and invoices you have. Gus sorts revenue and costs by client going forward, and most owners see a clear picture within a few weeks.
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