Passenger transportation

Books and taxes for airport shuttle services.

Hotel contract runs, per-seat online bookings, parking lot shuttle deals, and fuel that eats into thin margins. 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
NovemberExample month
$11,500
what you made

November came in at $11,500. Holiday travel pushed extra runs this month, so I logged the overtime driver hours apart from regular payroll.

  • Mozio payoutOnline bookings
  • Harborview Hotel contractHotel contracts
  • Airport lot fee, Park RidgeAirport fees
  • Shell fleet fuelFuel
  • Van driver payrollDriver wages
Money in$54,600
Money out$43,100
Set aside for taxes$2,900
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

An airport shuttle service's books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees deposits and fuel. Your business runs on thin per-seat margins, airport curb fees on every trip, and hotel contracts that pay on their own schedule. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which routes actually pay.

  1. 1

    Airport fees eat the margin before you notice

    Every pickup and drop-off at the terminal carries a per-trip curb or lot fee, and when it is not tracked separately it disappears into general expenses, hiding how much of each fare the airport actually keeps.

    What we doBooks airport fees in their own line against fares, so you can see the real margin on every run, not just what the fare looked like.
  2. 2

    Hotel contracts pay weeks behind the trips

    A hotel with a standing shuttle contract runs guests all month before the invoice gets paid, so cash in the bank can lag well behind the trips already completed.

    What we doTracks what hotel contracts have been billed against what has actually been paid, so you know what is still outstanding.
  3. 3

    Per-seat online bookings net out lower than they look

    A trip booked through an online ground transportation marketplace pays out less than the listed fare once the booking fee comes off, and recording only the deposit understates what riders were actually charged.

    What we doBooks the full fare as income and the marketplace's cut as its own cost, so pricing and margins stay honest.
  4. 4

    A stripped-down van fleet looks like one repair line

    Replacing a high-mileage van and repairing three others in the same fleet can all land in the same maintenance category, making it hard to tell a routine repair from a purchase that should be depreciated.

    What we doFlags full van purchases the month they show up and logs them as equipment so the accountant decides how they get written off.
  5. 5

    Overtime during travel spikes hides in regular payroll

    Holiday travel and flight delays mean drivers pick up extra shifts and overtime hours, and when that runs through the same payroll line as normal wages, a busy month's real labor cost is hard to see.

    What we doKeeps overtime and extra shifts visible against regular wages, so a busy travel week does not blur into every other week.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an airport shuttle service.

Set up once for how you get booked and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Online bookingsPer-seat and per-trip fares booked through Mozio, GroundLink, or similar ground transportation marketplaces.
  • Hotel contractsStanding shuttle arrangements with hotels, billed on their own schedule.
  • Parking lot contractsOff-airport parking lots that pay per passenger shuttled to the terminal.
  • Walk-up and curb faresRiders who book and pay on the spot.
  • Corporate travel accountsCompanies with standing airport transfer arrangements, billed monthly.

Money out

  • FuelGas or diesel for a fleet that runs constant short trips.
  • Driver wagesPayroll for van drivers, with overtime kept visible during travel spikes.
  • Airport feesCurb access and staging lot fees charged per trip by the airport.
  • Van maintenanceTires, brakes, and the constant wear of stop-and-go airport runs.
  • Van loans and leasesMonthly payments on the shuttle fleet.
  • Commercial fleet insuranceCoverage required to carry passengers for hire.
  • Marketplace and booking feesWhat Mozio, GroundLink, or similar services keep from each online booking.
  • Dispatch softwareScheduling and routing tools used to keep vans on time.

What we watch for you

  • Cost per trip

    Fuel, airport fees, and driver pay against fares, so you know which routes actually pay.

  • Hotel contract receivables

    What hotels owe and how long it has sat unpaid, before it becomes a problem.

  • Fuel share

    Fuel cost against fares, since thin per-seat margins can turn negative fast when prices climb.

  • The set-aside

    Tracked every month against every fare, so tax season never lands as a surprise.

Ask Gus

Things airport shuttle 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.

Why does my Mozio deposit never match the fare I quoted the rider?

The marketplace keeps a cut before it pays out. I book the full fare as income and their fee as its own cost, so your real margin stays visible.

The airport charges us every time we pull up to the curb. Does that get tracked?

Yes. I keep curb and lot fees in their own line against fares, so you can see what the airport actually takes off each run.

My drivers picked up a ton of overtime over the holidays. Does that show up anywhere useful?

I keep overtime separate from regular wages, so you can see exactly what a busy travel week cost versus a normal one.

The tax side

The tax side of an airport shuttle business.

Most of what goes wrong here is thin margins hidden by lumped-together costs. Airport fees, marketplace cuts, and overtime all need their own line to see what a trip really nets.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Vans and depreciationA shuttle van bought to run airport routes can usually be depreciated, with bonus depreciation back to 100 percent for vans placed in service after January 19, 2025.
  • Driver classificationA driver who runs your dispatched routes on your schedule is usually an employee, not a contractor, even during a busy travel season.
  • Contractor 1099sA subcontracted driver or shuttle operator you send overflow trips to, if not on payroll and paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, which comes out right when the books are kept straight all year.

Deductions airport shuttle services miss

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

  • Fuel
  • Van tires and brakes
  • Airport curb fees
  • Fleet insurance
  • Dispatch software fees
  • Marketplace booking fees
  • Driver uniforms
  • Van detailing
  • Radios and GPS units
  • Vehicle inspections
  • Driver background checks
  • Phone and tablet for dispatch

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 airport shuttle year, kept every month.

Travel spikes around holidays and dips in between, and your team stays on the books through every swing. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Set the routes up right

    Last year's return gets started, the driver overtime records from the holidays are wrapped up, and a monthly set-aside gets planned for the year ahead.

  2. April

    Return filed on schedule

    Your return is filed and signed while spring travel is already picking up, with no scramble because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Midyear travel tally

    A look at what summer travel brought in, what you will owe, and whether fuel costs ate into margins more than expected.

  4. October

    Staff up for the holidays

    Thanksgiving and Christmas travel is coming. Gus looks at driver scheduling costs and anything worth doing 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 airport shuttle services. 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 airport shuttle owners ask first.

Can Gus track what the airport charges us separately from our fares?

Yes. Curb and lot fees get their own line against fares, so you can see the real margin on every run instead of guessing.

I book most riders through Mozio. Do I need to change anything?

No. Run bookings the same way you already do. Gus reads the deposits off your bank statement, and if one looks off he asks you once and remembers what you tell him.

My hotel contracts pay a month behind the trips. Is that a problem for the books?

No. Gus tracks what has been billed against what has been paid, so the gap between the work and the payment is visible, not confusing.

Does overtime during busy travel weeks show up anywhere useful?

Yes. Gus keeps overtime separate from regular wages, so you can see exactly what a holiday travel surge cost in driver pay.

Do I write off a new shuttle van all at once?

In many cases yes. A shuttle van bought for the fleet usually qualifies for depreciation, and the accountant weighs whether to take it all now or spread it out based on the rest of your year.

My books are a few months behind. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Hand over whatever statements have piled up. Gus works through the backlog and tells you where the business actually stands, usually 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 passenger transportation

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