IT & tech services

Books and taxes for chatbot and virtual agent builders.

A client billed per conversation handled, a white-label deal where a marketing agency resells your chatbot under its own name, hosting costs that scale with traffic, and a support escalation team standing behind the bot. Your own bookkeeper sorts 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
DecemberExample month
$14,500
what you made

December came in at $14,500. Holiday traffic pushed one client's chatbot past its included conversation volume, so I booked the overage separately from their flat monthly fee.

  • Flat monthly bot fees x8Subscription income
  • Conversation overage billingUsage overage income
  • White-label partner shareWhite-label revenue share
  • Hosting and uptime costsInfrastructure costs
  • Human escalation staff payEscalation support wages
Money in$44,000
Money out$29,500
Set aside for taxes$3,600
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Chatbot builder books go wrong at the overage and the white-label split.

A generalist sees a subscription business. Your business runs on flat monthly bot fees that overflow into usage overages, white-label deals where another agency resells your bot and keeps a cut, and hosting costs that scale with traffic spikes. When the books blend those, you cannot tell if a client's plan still covers what their bot actually costs to run.

  1. 1

    A traffic spike pushes a client past their included conversation volume

    A busy season or a marketing push can send a client's chatbot far past the conversations included in their flat monthly fee, and if the overage is not tracked apart, that month looks like ordinary subscription growth instead of a one-time spike.

    What we doKeeps conversation overage income in its own line, apart from flat subscription fees, so a spike reads honestly.
  2. 2

    A white-label partner's cut looks like a plain expense

    When a marketing agency resells your chatbot under its own brand and keeps a share of what the end client pays, that split needs to be tracked against the specific client it came from, or you cannot tell which white-label deals are actually worth the split.

    What we doTies white-label revenue share to the client it came from, so each partner deal's real value is visible.
  3. 3

    Hosting costs swing with traffic, not with billing

    A chatbot that suddenly handles far more conversations during a busy stretch costs more to host that month, and if hosting is treated as a flat overhead line, a traffic spike looks like your costs got out of control instead of tracking with the volume that caused it.

    What we doKeeps hosting and infrastructure costs visible against conversation volume, so a spike in cost matches the spike in use.
  4. 4

    Escalation staff pay gets mixed with development wages

    Staff who step in when a bot cannot answer a question are a support cost tied to keeping clients happy, not development labor, and blended with developer wages, you cannot see the real cost of running the bots you have already built.

    What we doKeeps escalation support wages in their own line, apart from development pay, so ongoing support cost is visible.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a chatbot and virtual agent builder.

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

  • Subscription incomeFlat monthly bot fees for a set number of conversations.
  • Usage overage incomeBilling for conversation volume past what a plan includes.
  • One-time build feesNew client onboarding and initial bot setup.
  • White-label partner feesIncome from agencies reselling your bot under their own brand.

Money out

  • Infrastructure costsHosting and uptime costs, tracked against conversation volume.
  • White-label revenue shareThe cut paid back to a reselling partner, tied to the client.
  • Escalation support wagesStaff who step in when the bot cannot answer.
  • Development wagesPay for developers building and maintaining bots.
  • Business insuranceGeneral liability and technology errors-and-omissions coverage.

What we watch for you

  • Overage share

    Usage overage income against total income, worth knowing if traffic spikes are common.

  • Hosting cost per conversation

    Infrastructure cost against conversation volume, so pricing still covers what it costs to run.

  • White-label deal value

    What each reselling partner is worth after the revenue share, tracked by client.

  • The set-aside

    The set-aside tracks subscription and overage income together, so a traffic spike does not throw off what is owed in April.

Ask Gus

Things chatbot builder 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's bot went way over its included conversations during a holiday rush. Does that mess up my subscription numbers?

No, I booked the overage in its own line, apart from their flat fee, so your subscription income still reads the way it actually happened.

A marketing agency resells my bot and keeps a cut of what their client pays. Can you track whether that deal is worth it?

Yes, I tie their revenue share to the specific client it came from, so you can see what that white-label deal is really worth after the split.

My hosting bill jumped during a traffic spike. Is that a real cost problem?

I tracked it against the conversation volume that month, and the two moved together. It is not runaway cost, it is the spike itself.

The tax side

The tax side of a chatbot and virtual agent builder.

Most of what goes wrong here is usage-based income that gets lumped with flat fees, and revenue share deals that are not tied to the client they came from.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Contractor 1099s for escalation staffAny escalation support contractor not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running list all year.
  • Software development cost treatmentCosts to build a bot meant to be reused across many clients may need to be spread out over several years rather than deducted right away depending on the work. This is a call for the accountant.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when subscription, overage, and white-label income are tracked apart all year.
  • Self-employment tax for solo ownersA solo builder pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the set-aside has to cover both.

Deductions chatbot and virtual agent builders miss

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

  • Hosting and infrastructure costs
  • Escalation support staff pay
  • Development software licenses
  • Business insurance
  • Technology errors-and-omissions coverage
  • Developer workstations
  • White-label partner agreements and legal review
  • Business phone and internet
  • Continuing education courses
  • Conference and networking travel
  • Code repository tools
  • Home office 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 chatbot builder year, kept every month.

Traffic spikes with the seasons a client serves, not your own calendar. Your team stays on the books every month, not just at tax time. 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, the escalation contractor 1099 list is finalized, and a monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed, traffic and all

    Your return is filed and signed, with subscription, overage, and white-label income already sorted apart.

  3. July

    Midyear traffic check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether hosting costs are still tracking with conversation volume.

  4. October

    Before the holiday spike

    Ahead of the busiest traffic season, Gus looks at hosting capacity worth buying and flags any plan whose price no longer covers its usage.

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 chatbot and virtual agent builders. 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 chatbot builder owners ask first.

A client's bot went over its included conversations during a busy stretch. Does that inflate my subscription income?

No. Gus books the overage in its own line, apart from the flat subscription fee, so the numbers reflect what actually happened that month.

A partner agency resells my bot and takes a cut. Can Gus tell me if that deal is worth it?

Yes. Gus ties the revenue share to the client it came from, so you can see what the deal is worth after the partner's cut.

My hosting costs jump around with traffic. Is that a sign something is wrong?

Usually not. Gus tracks hosting cost against conversation volume, so a spike that matches a traffic spike reads as expected, not a problem.

I pay a contractor to handle conversations the bot cannot answer. Does she need a 1099?

If she is not on payroll and you pay her $2,000 or more this year, yes, by January 31. Gus keeps that running total.

My books are behind because subscription and overage income were never separated. Can Gus fix that?

Yes. Send what you have. Gus sorts subscription income from overages and white-label deals, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand 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.

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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