Senior care & aging services
Books and taxes for adult day care centers.
Daily attendance fees, Medicaid waiver days, van transportation, and staff paid for the hours you are actually open. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one clear number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May netted $8,000. A week of lighter attendance from a stomach bug going around meant fewer billed days, so I flagged it as an attendance dip, not a spending problem.
- Private-pay attendance feesPrivate-pay attendance
- State waiver day-program depositMedicaid waiver
- Payroll, care and activities staffStaff wages
- Van fuel and maintenanceTransportation
- Sysco meal deliveryMeals and snacks
Why your books are different
An adult day care center's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees payroll and a rent bill. Your business is billed by the day, runs a van, and closes every evening and weekend. When the books do not know that, a slow attendance week looks like a mystery instead of what it is.
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1
Revenue lives and dies by daily headcount
A model billed per day of attendance means a slow week from a flu outbreak or bad weather can visibly dent income in a way a facility with monthly rates never sees, and looking only at the monthly total hides why a particular week fell short.
What we doTracks daily attendance against revenue, so a short week reads as an attendance dip, not an unexplained drop. -
2
Transportation costs get buried in general expenses
Van fuel, maintenance, and driver wages are a real and sizable cost of running the program, and lumped in with direct care wages, it is hard to see whether the transportation side is worth what it costs to run.
What we doKeeps van and driver costs in their own line, so you can see what transportation actually costs against the participants it brings in. -
3
Waiver and private-pay days get mixed together
A participant attending on a Medicaid waiver day pays a different rate on a different schedule than a private-pay family, and if every day of attendance is booked the same way, it is hard to see which payer mix actually supports the program.
What we doSplits attendance revenue by payer, so you can see which days are private pay, which are waiver-funded, and how that mix is trending. -
4
Part-time staffing during open hours looks like a mess
Staff paid only for the hours the center is open, often split around morning drop-off and afternoon pickup, can make payroll look erratic week to week if hours are not tracked against the daily schedule.
What we doKeeps staff hours tied to the daily schedule, so a heavier week reads as more open days or more participants, not a payroll mistake.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an adult day care center.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Daily attendance fees, private payFamilies paying per day or per package of days attended.
- Medicaid waiver day paymentsA state waiver program paying per day of attendance for qualifying participants.
- Veteran respite benefitWhere the VA covers adult day care as a respite benefit for a participant.
- Transportation feesA separate charge for van pickup and drop-off, when not already bundled in.
Money out
- Care and activities staff wagesPaid for the hours the center is open, not around the clock.
- Payroll taxes and workers compThe cost of employing day program staff, not just paying them.
- Van fuel and maintenanceRunning and repairing the vehicles that pick up and drop off participants.
- Driver wagesPaid separately from care and activities staff.
- Meals and snacksServed to participants during the day.
- Activities and programming suppliesCraft materials, games, and exercise equipment.
- Facility rent and utilitiesThe cost of the space the program runs from.
- Licensing and inspection feesState renewal and inspection costs.
What we watch for you
- Average daily attendance
The number the whole revenue model is built around, tracked to catch a slow stretch early.
- Transportation cost per rider
Van, fuel, and driver cost spread across the participants actually riding.
- Payer mix
The share of attendance days that are private pay against Medicaid waiver or VA funded.
- Staff cost per open day
Wages against the hours the center is actually open, to catch drift as attendance changes.
Ask Gus
Things adult day care 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.
A short week from lower attendance shows up as fewer billed days, not a mystery drop. I track it daily so you can see exactly which week it was.
No, I keep transportation costs in their own line, so a repair month is visible for what it was and does not get blamed on care staffing.
Yes, and I already do. Splitting them shows you which mix of attendance is actually supporting the program day to day.
The tax side
The tax side of an adult day care center.
Most of what goes wrong here is how the van gets written off and whether part-time staff are treated as employees.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Vehicles used for transportationA van bought for participant transportation can usually be expensed the year purchased under Section 179, up to $2,560,000, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Staff paid for open hours, not shiftsDirect care and activities staff working set hours during the day the center is open are employees, even if their schedule looks part time or irregular.
- Actual vehicle expenses versus mileageA center running its own van deducts actual vehicle costs, fuel, maintenance, insurance, rather than the standard mileage rate used for a personal car.
- 1099s for outside programming helpA music therapist or activities specialist who works independently for more than one center, paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions adult day care centers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Van fuel and maintenance
- Driver wages
- Meals and snacks
- Activities and craft supplies
- Liability insurance
- Licensing and inspection fees
- Background checks per hire
- Staff first aid training
- Facility rent, business-use share
- Cleaning supplies
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
An adult day care center's year, kept every month.
New participants can enroll any week of the year. Waiver renewals and your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Rates and waivers confirmed
New year rates and Medicaid waiver authorizations for returning participants get confirmed, so the team checks both before billing continues.
- April
Filed before the van rolls
Your return is filed and signed before the morning pickup route even starts. The set-aside built since January already covers it.
- July
Halfway on attendance
A look at average daily attendance and transportation cost per rider against the year's budget.
- October
Before flu season attendance dips
Flu season often means lighter attendance through the fall and winter. The team looks at staffing plans and van maintenance before it 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 adult day care centers. 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 adult day care owners ask first.
Why did income look lower during a slow attendance week?
Your revenue is built around daily attendance, so a short week from illness or weather shows up as fewer billed days. Gus tracks it daily so the reason is clear.
Our van broke down and needed a big repair. Does that throw off the books?
No. Gus keeps transportation costs in their own line, so a repair month is visible for what it was and is not confused with care staffing costs.
Some of our participants pay privately and some are on a Medicaid waiver. Do we need to track that separately?
Yes, and Gus already does. Splitting attendance by payer shows you which mix is actually supporting the program.
Our staff hours look erratic depending on the week. Is that a problem?
Not if it tracks to your daily schedule. Gus ties staff hours to the days the center is open, so a heavier week reads as more attendance, not a payroll mistake.
Can Gus help us bill the Medicaid waiver program directly?
No, that runs through your own billing process with the state. Gus works from what lands in your bank account once the waiver pays out.
My books are behind from a stretch of full enrollment. Can you still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus rebuilds your daily attendance and payer records from what is there, and most owners have a clear picture within a week.
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.
More in senior care & aging services
We keep books for the business next door too.
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- Senior home safety assessments
- Senior living placement advisors
- Senior move managers & downsizing specialists
- Companion care services
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- Small assisted living facilities
- Home health agencies (skilled)
- Hospice providers
- Non-medical home care agencies
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