Performance marketing & lead gen

Books and taxes for Amazon PPC agencies.

Management fees tied to a slice of ad spend you never touch, TACOS-based bonuses, multi-marketplace sales in different currencies, and bid tools billed on their own scale. 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
$8,500
what you made

November came in at $8,500. Coldwater Gear's UK marketplace sales got converted to dollars at the right rate before landing in the books, so nothing got double-counted.

  • Management fee, Coldwater GearAd spend management fees
  • TACOS bonus, Q4 targetPerformance bonus
  • Pacvue subscriptionBid management tools
  • Listing copywriter, contractContent contractors
  • New marketplace launch feeOnboarding fees
Money in$31,000
Money out$22,500
Set aside for taxes$2,100
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Amazon PPC agency books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees invoices and a software bill. Your business runs on fees based on ad spend that never touches your bank, bonuses tied to total store sales you have to be given access to, sellers running on five marketplaces at once, and bid tools that bill you based on someone else's budget.

  1. 1

    A spend-based fee gets mistaken for a passthrough

    Charging 12 percent of a client's ad spend as your management fee is pure revenue, since the seller's own Seller Central account pays Amazon directly. Treating it like the fronted spend some other ad accounts involve adds a phantom expense line that was never real.

    What we doBooks your percentage-of-spend fee as straight revenue, with no offsetting expense, since no money for ad spend ever passed through your hands.
  2. 2

    A TACOS bonus needs sales data you do not generate

    A bonus tied to total advertising cost of sale depends on a seller's full store revenue, not just what your ads are credited with, and a client who is slow to share that export can leave a bonus sitting unconfirmed for weeks.

    What we doHolds a TACOS bonus out of income until the client's sales figure is actually confirmed, so an estimate never gets booked as real.
  3. 3

    Multi-marketplace sales get counted at the wrong exchange rate

    A seller running amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, and amazon.de at once reports revenue in different currencies, and converting a UK payout at the day it lands instead of the day it was earned can shift a month's numbers for no real reason.

    What we doConverts foreign marketplace revenue using a consistent method, so currency swings do not manufacture a change in what was actually earned.
  4. 4

    Bid management tools bill on a scale that is not your own

    Tools like Pacvue or Perpetua often charge a percentage of the ad spend they manage, so your own software bill can double for one client's Q4 push without your own revenue changing at all, and that swing looks like a mystery if it is buried in one flat software line.

    What we doKeeps spend-based tool costs in their own line, tied to the client it belongs to, so a jump in that bill is never a surprise.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an Amazon PPC 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

  • Ad spend management feesA flat retainer or percentage of managed ad spend, billed to the client directly.
  • TACOS or ACOS performance bonusesPaid once the client's own sales data confirms the target was hit.
  • Marketplace launch feesOne-time charges for setting up ads on a new Amazon marketplace.
  • Listing rewrite feesOne-time or add-on charges for rewriting titles, bullets, and images.

Money out

  • Bid management softwarePacvue, Perpetua, or Teikametrics, often billed as a share of managed ad spend.
  • Contractor PPC analystsFreelance bid strategists and account managers paid outside of payroll.
  • Listing and copy contractorsFreelance copywriters and designers for titles, images, and A+ content.
  • Data and research subscriptionsHelium 10, Jungle Scout, or similar keyword and competitor tools.
  • Certifications and trainingAmazon Ads certification and renewal costs.
  • Payment processing feesWhat Stripe or PayPal keeps before a retainer payment lands.

What we watch for you

  • Fee margin

    Your management fee against contractor and tool costs, kept apart from client ad spend you never touch.

  • Bonus collection lag

    How long a TACOS bonus takes to confirm once a client shares full sales data.

  • Tool cost per client

    What a spend-based bid tool actually costs against the fee that client pays, so a big account is not secretly unprofitable.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked against your spend-based fees every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things Amazon PPC 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.

My management fee is 12 percent of ad spend. Does the ad spend itself belong in my books at all?

No. That spend runs through the client's own Seller Central account, never yours, so only your fee counts as your revenue.

A client's TACOS bonus depends on total store sales, and they're three weeks late sending the export.

I left that bonus out of your income until the number is actually confirmed, so a guess doesn't end up sitting in a closed month.

My Pacvue bill doubled this month because one client ran a huge Q4 push.

I kept that cost tied to the client it belongs to, so it's clear the jump came from their spend, not a surprise on your end.

The tax side

The tax side of an Amazon PPC agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as your money and when. A spend-based fee treated like a passthrough, a bonus booked on an unconfirmed number, and currency swings that look like real changes.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Spend-based fees are your revenueA percentage-of-spend management fee is your income in full. The client's own ad spend, paid from their own account, never belongs in your revenue or your costs.
  • Domestic contractor 1099sAny US-based analyst, copywriter, or strategist 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.
  • Foreign contractorsAn analyst or strategist working outside the US usually does not get a 1099-NEC. A signed W-8BEN is generally the paperwork instead, and the accountant confirms exactly what your contractor roster needs.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when spend-based fees and tool costs are kept sorted all year.

Deductions Amazon PPC agencies miss

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

  • Pacvue, Perpetua, or Teikametrics
  • Helium 10 or Jungle Scout subscriptions
  • Amazon Ads certification renewal
  • Contractor PPC analysts
  • Listing copywriters and designers
  • Home office or coworking desk
  • Laptop and second monitor
  • Payment processing fees
  • Business phone and internet
  • Industry conference travel

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 Amazon PPC agency year, kept every month.

Q4 carries most sellers' year, and taxes still run on their own calendar. 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 PPC analysts 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 spend-based management fees every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring inventory pushes changed the number.

  4. October

    Before Q4 hits

    Prime Day follow-through and holiday ad spend management fees are about to spike. Before it hits, Gus looks at what's worth buying or 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 Amazon PPC 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 Amazon PPC agency owners ask first.

My fee is a percentage of ad spend. Does that spend ever show up in my books?

No. The client's own Seller Central account pays Amazon directly, so only the fee you're paid is your revenue. The underlying ad spend never belongs in your numbers.

A client is slow sharing the sales export my TACOS bonus depends on. What happens to that money in the meantime?

It stays out of your income until the number is confirmed. Gus does not book a bonus off an estimate, so nothing has to be walked back later.

I manage sellers on three different Amazon marketplaces with three currencies. Can Gus handle that?

Yes. Each marketplace's revenue gets converted using a consistent method, so exchange rate swings do not manufacture a change in what a client actually paid you.

My bid management software bill moves a lot month to month. Is that a red flag?

Usually not. Tools like Pacvue often bill as a share of the ad spend they manage, so a big client push can swing your own tool cost. Gus keeps it tied to the client it belongs to so the swing makes sense.

Can Gus tell me if a client account is actually worth the work?

He can show your management fee against contractor and tool costs for that specific client, so you can see your real margin, separate from ad spend that was never your money.

My books are a mess from switching bid tools twice this year. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank and marketplace payout statements you have. Gus sorts through what changed when you switched tools, 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