Organic, social & brand marketing

Books and taxes for GEO agencies.

Visibility audits, small monthly retainers bolted onto a client's existing search work, content rewrites, and answer-tracking software that renews every year. 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
SeptemberExample month
$6,400
what you made

September came in at $6,400. The visibility audit for the new client was a one-time fee, so I kept it apart from your ongoing retainers, they will not blend together next month.

  • Visibility audit, new clientOne-time project fees
  • Retainer, add-on to SEO workRetainer revenue
  • Semrush subscriptionResearch and tracking tools
  • Freelance content writerContractor payouts
  • Answer tracking softwareResearch and tracking tools
Money in$21,500
Money out$15,100
Set aside for taxes$1,600
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

GEO agency books go wrong in a few specific spots.

A generalist sees invoices and a software bill. Your business is a new kind of work most clients still buy as an add-on to something else, one-time audits that look nothing like a retainer, and tracking tools nobody has settled on yet. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell what part of the business is actually growing.

  1. 1

    Add-on retainers hide inside a bigger invoice

    A client already paying for search rankings tacks on a smaller monthly fee for visibility in chat-based answers, and the two get billed on one invoice. Booked as one lump sum, you cannot tell whether this newer service is actually catching on.

    What we doSplits an add-on fee out from the rest of an invoice so this specific line of work has its own number to watch.
  2. 2

    A one-time audit looks like a retainer

    A visibility audit for a brand-new client pays out once, but booked next to monthly retainer income, it makes a quiet month for recurring work look like it grew when it did not.

    What we doKeeps one-time audit fees separate from retainer income, so the recurring number stays the one you can trust.
  3. 3

    Tracking software gets billed like everything else

    A subscription that tracks how often a brand gets mentioned in chat-based search answers is new enough that it often gets lumped in with regular research tools, making it hard to see what this part of the service actually costs to deliver.

    What we doKeeps answer-tracking software in its own line next to other research tools, so cost per client stays visible as this work matures.
  4. 4

    Content rewrites get billed as one project

    Rewriting a client's pages so they read clearly to a chat-based search tool takes real writer hours, but it often gets folded into the audit fee instead of tracked as its own cost.

    What we doSeparates writer payouts for content rewrites from the audit fee itself, so you know what the work actually costs to deliver.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a GEO 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

  • Retainer revenueOngoing monthly work, whether standalone or added onto a client's existing search retainer.
  • One-time project feesVisibility audits and initial reports for new clients.
  • Content rewrite feesBilled apart from an audit when a client pays extra to rewrite pages.
  • Training and workshop feesSessions teaching a client's own team how to write for this kind of visibility.

Money out

  • Contractor payoutsFreelance writers and researchers paid through Upwork or direct invoice.
  • Research and tracking toolsSemrush and software that tracks how often a brand shows up in chat-based answers.
  • Client reporting toolsDashboards that show visibility trends over time.
  • Coworking and officeShared office space or a home office setup.
  • Conference and travelMarketing conferences where this work gets explained to new clients.

What we watch for you

  • Add-on revenue

    The piece of income from this specific service, split out from whatever else a client already buys.

  • Retainer revenue

    The recurring piece of income, separate from one-time audit fees.

  • Contractor cost

    What writers and researchers cost against revenue, since this work is still writer-heavy.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month even while this work is still finding its shape.

Ask Gus

Things GEO 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's invoice covers both their old SEO retainer and the new add-on. Can you tell them apart?

Yes. I split the add-on fee out so you have its own number to watch, separate from the rest of the invoice.

Do I need a 1099 for the freelance writer doing my content rewrites?

If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.

A visibility audit made this month look great. Is that going to happen every month?

Probably not. I kept the audit fee separate from your retainer income so you can see the recurring number underneath it.

The tax side

The tax side of a GEO agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is labels on a new kind of work. An add-on fee buried in a bigger invoice, a writer treated like an employee, and a set-aside nobody started until April.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, a freelance writer or researcher, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated agencies can take up to 20 percent of profit off their taxable income. Once income passes roughly $200,000 single, the accountant looks at whether the full amount still applies to this kind of work.
  • Self-employment taxA solo owner without payroll owes 15.3 percent in self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.

Deductions GEO agencies miss

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

  • Semrush subscription
  • Answer tracking software
  • Freelance writer payments
  • Client reporting dashboards
  • Conference tickets and travel
  • Coworking space
  • Business phone and internet
  • Website hosting for the agency
  • Accounting and legal fees
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator

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 GEO agency's year, kept every month.

This work is new enough that most months bring a different mix of audits and retainers. Your team keeps you ahead of the tax calendar anyway. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Set the year up

    Last year's return gets started, the researcher and writer 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Return filed

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the monthly set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway look

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether add-on retainers are turning into a steadier piece of revenue.

  4. October

    Before next year's pitch

    Clients start planning next year's marketing budget. Gus looks at which retainers are worth pitching as standalone work 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 GEO 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 GEO agency owners ask first.

Most of my clients add this on top of their existing SEO retainer. Can Gus split that out?

Yes. Gus separates the add-on fee from the rest of the invoice so this specific service has its own number, instead of hiding inside a bigger retainer total.

A visibility audit paid a big one-time fee. Does that skew my monthly numbers?

No. Gus keeps one-time audit fees apart from retainer income, so your recurring revenue stays the number that actually predicts next month.

I pay a freelance writer to rewrite client pages so they read clearly for chat-based search tools. Does that need its own tracking?

It helps to see it separately, and Gus already does that. Content rewrite payments sit apart from the audit fee, so you know what the work costs to deliver.

This is a new kind of work. Does Gus actually understand it?

Gus tracks the money the same way regardless of how new the service is: what came in, what went out, and what to set aside. When a tax question is specific to how this income should be treated, the accountant looks at it directly.

My books have been a mix of retainers and one-off audits with no real system. Can this get sorted out?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts what is recurring from what is one-time, the accountant checks it, 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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We keep books for the business next door too.

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