Consulting & business services
Books and taxes for background check companies.
A volume contract with a staffing agency, a landlord ordering a tenant screen, a courthouse runner fee in a county with no online records, and the cost of investigating a candidate's dispute. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June came in at $10,600. Meridian Staffing ran fewer reports than their contract minimum guarantees, so I flagged the gap instead of just booking the flat contract amount.
- Meridian Staffing contractVolume contract income
- Landlord screening feesTenant screening income
- County courthouse runner feesCourthouse and records costs
- National database subscriptionData provider fees
- Dispute investigation, contractorDispute investigation costs
Why your books are different
A background check company's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and data bills. Your business is a volume contract with a minimum guarantee, a courthouse fee that changes county by county, and the real cost of investigating a report a candidate disputes. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which contracts and which counties are actually worth what they cost you.
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1
A volume contract's minimum hides actual usage
A staffing agency's contract guarantees a flat monthly minimum regardless of how many reports actually run, and booked as one number, it hides whether that client is using more or less than what they are paying for.
What we doTracks contracted minimums against actual reports run, so a client drifting under their commitment gets flagged before it becomes a habit. -
2
Courthouse runner fees vary county by county
A county with no online records access can cost far more per report in runner fees than a county with a searchable database, and lumped into general data costs, that difference disappears.
What we doKeeps courthouse and records costs in their own line, so you can see which counties are actually driving your cost per report. -
3
Dispute investigations are a real cost with no client to bill
When a candidate disputes a report's accuracy, the investigation to resolve it takes real time and sometimes a subcontracted investigator, and none of that is billable back to the original client.
What we doTracks dispute investigation costs on their own, so you can see what accuracy challenges actually cost the business. -
4
Compliance costs get buried in general overhead
The processes and training that keep your reports compliant are a real cost of doing this business, and filed as generic legal fees, it is hard to see what staying compliant actually costs against what a report earns.
What we doKeeps compliance-related costs in their own line, so you can see the true cost of running a report the right way.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a background check company.
Set up once for how you bill and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Volume contract incomeOngoing agreements with employers, staffing agencies, or franchisors.
- Tenant screening incomeReports ordered by landlords and property managers.
- Rush report feesPremiums for same-day or expedited turnaround.
- Standalone report feesOne-off reports for smaller employers without a contract.
Money out
- Data provider feesNational criminal, credit, and identity database subscriptions.
- Courthouse and records costsRunner fees for counties without searchable online records.
- Dispute investigation costsTime and subcontracted help resolving a candidate's dispute.
- Compliance costsTraining and process costs tied to running compliant reports.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage for the accuracy and handling of sensitive reports.
What we watch for you
- Contract usage
Whether clients are running enough reports to justify their contract's minimum guarantee.
- Cost per report by county
How courthouse and records costs vary, since some counties cost far more to search.
- Dispute rate
How often reports get disputed, a signal worth watching for accuracy and cost.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things background check company 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.
You will now. I track contracted minimums against actual reports run, so a client drifting under commitment gets flagged instead of quietly costing you.
Yes. Courthouse and records costs are kept in their own line, so you can see exactly which counties are driving up your cost per report.
Usually not, so I track dispute investigation costs separately. That way you can see what accuracy challenges actually cost the business.
The tax side
The tax side of a background check company.
Most of what goes wrong here is keeping contract usage and county-level costs clearly tracked. Handled right, the year does not surprise you.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099sA subcontracted courthouse runner or investigator paid $2,000 or more over the year, off payroll, needs a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that tally current.
- Self-employment taxBecause there's no employer withholding your own pay, self-employment tax (15.3 percent, capped at the $184,500 wage base) falls on you directly.
- Quarterly estimated paymentsWithout payroll withholding to cover it, most owners send estimated payments quarterly, due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
- Equipment write-offsComputers and secure data storage equipment bought for the business can usually be written off in the year they are purchased. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Deductions background check companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- National database subscriptions
- Courthouse runner fees
- Compliance training and software
- Professional liability insurance
- Secure data storage costs
- Laptop and office equipment
- Home office space
- Dispute investigation fees
- Marketing to employers and property managers
- Business licensing and registration
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 background check company's year, reviewed one quarter at a time.
Hiring seasons and rental turnover shape workload differently across the year. Gus keeps your own taxes on schedule alongside it. 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, 1099s go out to any subcontracted investigators, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Filed and signed, with nothing left to figure out, since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether contract clients are using what they're committed to.
- October
Before year end
A look at data provider renewals and equipment worth buying before December closes out the year.
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 background check companies. 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 background check company owners ask first.
A client's contract guarantees a monthly minimum but they run fewer reports than that. Would Gus catch that?
Yes. Contracted minimums are tracked against actual reports run, so a client drifting under commitment gets flagged rather than quietly costing you.
Some counties cost a lot more to search than others. Can the books show that?
Yes. Courthouse and records costs are kept in their own category, so you can see which counties are actually driving your cost per report.
I had to pay someone to investigate a disputed report. Is that a normal business cost?
Yes, and Gus tracks it separately from your regular data costs, since it usually isn't billable back to the client who ordered the original report.
I run both employment screening and tenant screening. Can Gus tell those apart?
Yes. Employment volume contracts and tenant screening fees are kept in separate categories, so you can see which side of the business is actually growing.
My books are behind after a busy hiring season for several clients. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements and contract details you have. Gus sorts them out, and most people 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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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