Aviation & marine services
Books and taxes for aircraft sales brokers.
Commission on a closed sale, escrow held by a title company until the paperwork clears, an FAA lien search, and a ferry flight to deliver the plane. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September came in at $32,200. The buyer's escrow deposit on the Bonanza sale stayed with the title company, off the books entirely, until closing cleared.
- Commission, Bonanza sale closedBrokerage commission
- Referral fee, other brokerReferral fees paid out
- Controller.com listing renewalListing and marketing fees
- FAA title and lien searchTitle and escrow fees
- Ferry pilot, delivery flightDelivery and ferry costs
Why your books are different
An aircraft broker's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a big number land and calls it income. Your business earns commission only when a sale closes and the title clears, holds no claim on a buyer's escrow money, and coordinates costs like ferry flights that belong to the deal, not to you. When the books do not know that, your numbers overstate what you actually made.
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1
Escrow held by the title company looks like your money
A buyer's deposit on an aircraft usually sits with an aircraft title and escrow company until the FAA paperwork and lien search clear, and if that money is counted as your income the day the deal is agreed to, your books show income for a sale that has not actually closed.
What we doKeeps escrow held by the title company out of your income entirely until the deal closes and the commission is actually earned. -
2
A referral fee gets missed entirely
When another broker brings the buyer or seller, a referral or co-broke fee gets paid before the commission ever reaches you, and if the whole sale price is booked as your income with the fee buried in a wire transfer, your real earnings look inflated.
What we doBooks the full commission as money in and the referral fee paid out as its own cost, so what you actually kept is honest. -
3
Title search and lien fees get billed through you but are not your income
You often coordinate an FAA title search or lien search on behalf of a buyer, paying the search company and passing the cost through, and if that pass-through gets counted as revenue, it inflates your income for money that was never yours to keep.
What we doKeeps title and escrow fees you pass through separate from your actual commission, so pass-through costs never look like earnings. -
4
A ferry flight to deliver the plane gets mixed with your commission
Arranging a ferry pilot to fly the aircraft to the buyer is a coordination cost tied to one specific deal, and if it is not tracked against that sale, it is hard to tell whether the deal's total cost still made the commission worth it.
What we doKeeps delivery and ferry costs tied to the sale they belong to, so the real economics of each closed deal are visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an aircraft sales brokerage.
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
- Brokerage commissionYour share of a closed sale, after any referral fee is accounted for.
- Title and escrow feesPass-through fees for searches you coordinated on a buyer's behalf.
- Pre-buy inspection coordinationFees for arranging a mechanic's pre-purchase inspection.
- Consulting and appraisal feesStandalone valuation work not tied to a sale.
Money out
- Referral fees paid outWhat goes to another broker who brought the buyer or seller.
- Listing and marketing feesController.com, Trade-A-Plane, and photography for active listings.
- Delivery and ferry costsFerry pilots and fuel to deliver an aircraft to its buyer.
- Travel for showingsMileage and travel to meet buyers and view aircraft.
- Broker association duesMembership and licensing fees for the brokerage.
What we watch for you
- Average commission per sale
What a closed deal actually nets after any referral fee, useful for knowing which listings are worth the time.
- Days on market
How long a listing sits before closing, tracked from when commission actually lands versus when the aircraft went up.
- Escrow held versus earned
What sits with the title company waiting on a close, kept clearly apart from what you have actually earned.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things aircraft brokers 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 money stays with the title company until the deal closes and the commission is earned. It never touches your income before then.
I book the full commission as money in and the referral fee as its own cost, so what you actually kept is what shows as your income.
I tie it to that specific sale, so you can see what the deal actually netted after delivery costs, not just the commission on paper.
The tax side
The tax side of an aircraft sales brokerage.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and what actually counts as your income. Escrow money, referral splits, and pass-through fees all need to be handled with care.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Commission income timingCommission is generally income when a deal closes and the commission is earned, not when a buyer's deposit first reaches the title company. Gus keeps escrow separate so this stays clean.
- Contractor 1099sAny referring broker or ferry pilot you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll may need a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Vehicle and travel costsDriving to showings and meeting buyers can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents from July, or through actual costs, whichever fits your 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 commissions and referral fees are booked right all year.
Deductions aircraft sales brokers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Controller.com and Trade-A-Plane listing fees
- Listing photography and video
- Broker association dues and licensing
- Vehicle mileage for showings
- Ferry pilot and delivery costs you cover
- Phone and office expenses
- Errors and omissions insurance
- Pre-buy inspection coordination costs
- Continuing education and certification renewal
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 aircraft brokerage year, kept every month.
Deals close whenever a buyer and seller agree and the paperwork clears. 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
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for referral partners is ready, 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 running since January, right as spring fly-in and listing season heats up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring and summer listings turned into closed commissions.
- October
Before year-end deals
Buyers often push to close before year-end for their own tax reasons. Gus looks at anything worth doing before December.
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 aircraft sales brokers. 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 aircraft brokers ask first.
Does a buyer's deposit sitting with the title company ever look like my money?
No. It stays out of your income entirely for as long as it sits in escrow. Only the commission you actually earn once the deal closes and the FAA paperwork clears counts as income.
How does a referral fee to another broker show up on the books?
The full commission comes in as money in, and the referral fee you pay out is its own cost, so your real take-home is what shows as income.
I pass title search fees through to the buyer. Does that count as my revenue?
No. Pass-through fees you coordinate but do not keep are kept separate from your actual commission, so they never inflate what you actually earned.
Do I need to change how I list aircraft on Controller.com?
No, list them the way you always have. Gus reads what actually clears the bank and flags a prepaid listing fee so it does not read like an unusually expensive month.
My books are behind from a slow stretch. Is that a problem?
Not at all. Forward whatever statements piled up while things were quiet. Gus works through them, the accountant checks the results, and most brokers are caught up 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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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