Performance marketing & lead gen

Books and taxes for affiliate marketing agencies.

A management fee for running a client's affiliate program, a client-funded pool you disburse to affiliates, network subscription fees, and tiered bonus payouts. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
AprilExample month
$6,200
what you made

April came in at $6,200. The $28,000 Sundale Home client wired for affiliate payouts stayed out of your revenue entirely, since it was never your money to begin with.

  • Management fee, Sundale HomeManagement fees
  • Affiliate payout funding, Sundale HomeClient-funded payout pool
  • Affiliate disbursement, Q1 batchAffiliate payouts
  • Impact network subscriptionNetwork subscription fees
  • Top affiliate bonus, contractAffiliate payouts
Money in$42,000
Money out$35,800
Set aside for taxes$1,900
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Affiliate agency books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees one big deposit and calls it revenue. Your business runs on a fee for running the program, a client-funded pool that only passes through your account, network subscription costs, and affiliates who get paid in tiers with holdbacks for returns.

  1. 1

    A client's payout pool gets counted as your revenue

    A brand that wires $28,000 for you to disburse to its affiliates is not paying you $28,000 for your services, and booking the whole wire as income makes your real earnings and margin impossible to see.

    What we doKeeps a client's affiliate payout pool in its own line, separate from your management fee, so only what you actually earned counts as revenue.
  2. 2

    Network subscription fees get mixed with affiliate payouts

    What Impact or ShareASale charges you to run the program is a real business cost, but lumped in with the affiliate payouts themselves, it is impossible to see what running the program costs versus what affiliates are actually paid.

    What we doKeeps network subscription fees separate from affiliate disbursements, so your real operating cost is visible on its own.
  3. 3

    Return holdbacks make a payout look wrong for weeks

    Affiliate commissions often hold back 30 to 60 days for returns, so an affiliate's confirmed earnings can drop after a payout was already scheduled, and paying the original number without adjusting for holdbacks understates what the program actually kept.

    What we doNotes return holdback periods on affiliate payouts, so the numbers reflect what the program actually paid out once returns settle.
  4. 4

    Nobody is sure who issues the affiliate a 1099

    When a brand funds the payouts but your agency sends the money, it is not always clear whether the brand or the agency is the one responsible for reporting that payment to the affiliate, and getting it wrong leaves a gap that surfaces later.

    What we doKeeps a clean record of every disbursement and who funded it, so the accountant can sort out which side is responsible for the paperwork.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an affiliate marketing agency.

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

  • Management feesWhat a brand pays you to recruit affiliates and run the program.
  • Client-funded payout poolsMoney a brand wires for you to disburse to its affiliates, kept apart from your fee.
  • Program setup and audit feesOne-time charges for launching a new affiliate program.
  • Performance bonusesExtra pay tied to program growth, confirmed against the brand's own sales data.

Money out

  • Affiliate payoutsCommission disbursed to affiliates, funded by the client's own pool.
  • Network subscription feesImpact, ShareASale, or Tune subscription and usage costs.
  • Contractor affiliate managersFreelance recruiters and program managers paid outside of payroll.
  • Fraud and compliance toolsSoftware used to screen affiliates and catch invalid traffic.
  • Payment processing feesWhat a processor keeps before a payment lands.

What we watch for you

  • Fee margin

    Your management fee against network and contractor costs, kept apart from client-funded payouts.

  • Payout pool balance

    What clients have funded against what has actually been disbursed, so nothing sits unaccounted for.

  • Return holdback impact

    How much of a payout period is still subject to holdback, so a number is not treated as final too soon.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked against your management fee apart from client-funded payouts every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things affiliate agency 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 client wired $28,000 for me to pay out to affiliates. Is that my income?

No. That money is the client's, passing through your account to reach affiliates. Only your management fee counts as what you earned.

Do I or the brand send a 1099 to an affiliate I paid on their behalf?

That depends on who is considered the actual payor, which is above my pay grade. I keep a clean record of every disbursement so the accountant can sort out who is responsible.

An affiliate's payout got reduced because of returns after I already scheduled it.

I noted the holdback period on that batch, so the adjusted number reflects what the program actually kept once returns settled.

The tax side

The tax side of an affiliate marketing agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is whose money it is and who is responsible for reporting it. A client's payout pool counted as revenue, and unclear responsibility for affiliate 1099s.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Client-funded pools are not your revenueMoney a brand sends specifically to disburse to its affiliates is not payment for your services. Only your management fee and any bonuses belong in your revenue.
  • Affiliate 1099 responsibility variesWhether the brand or the agency is responsible for reporting a payment to an affiliate depends on who is treated as the actual payor. This is one for the accountant to confirm on a program-by-program basis.
  • Contractor 1099s for your own teamAny US-based program manager or recruiter not on payroll who you pay $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current all year.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when client-funded payouts never get tangled up with your actual earnings.

Deductions affiliate marketing agencies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Impact, ShareASale, or Tune fees
  • Fraud and compliance screening tools
  • Contractor affiliate managers
  • Home office or coworking desk
  • Laptop and monitors
  • Payment processing fees
  • Business phone and internet
  • Client reporting software
  • Industry conference travel
  • Continuing education and courses

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 affiliate agency year, kept every month.

Affiliate volume often tracks retail seasons more than your own calendar, but taxes still run 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, your 1099 list for domestic program managers is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has tracked your management fee apart from client-funded payouts every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a spring program launch changed the number.

  4. October

    Before Q4 payouts peak

    Affiliate sales and payout volume typically climb fast heading into the holiday shopping season. Before that peak lands, Gus looks at what's worth setting aside before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 affiliate marketing agencies. 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 affiliate agency owners ask first.

A client wires me money to pay their affiliates. Does that count as my business income?

No. It passes through your account to reach the affiliates it was meant for. Gus keeps it in its own line, separate from your management fee, so your real revenue is not inflated.

Who is responsible for sending a 1099 to an affiliate I paid on a client's behalf?

It depends on who is treated as the actual payor, which varies by how the program is structured. Gus keeps clean records of every disbursement so the accountant can sort out which side is responsible.

How does a network subscription fee show up differently than affiliate payouts?

As its own cost line, separate from what affiliates are actually paid, so you can see what running the program costs you against what it moves through to affiliates.

An affiliate's earnings dropped after returns came in following the payout period. What happens in the books?

Gus notes the return holdback on that batch and adjusts the numbers once returns settle, so the program's real cost reflects what it actually kept, not the original estimate.

Can Gus tell me if a client's affiliate program is actually profitable for my agency?

Yes. He shows your management fee against network and contractor costs for that program, separate from the client-funded payouts, so your real margin is clear.

My books are a mess from running affiliate payouts through my regular business account. Can Gus fix that going forward?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts out what was actually yours from what was passing through, and most owners know where they stand inside 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.

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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