Wellness & recovery services
Books and taxes for birth doulas.
Flat birth fees paid in installments months before the due date, mileage from being on call at all hours, and a backup doula split when you cannot attend. 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
May came in at $3,900. Two clients made their final installment ahead of June due dates, so I kept that tied to those births, not counted as finished work yet.
- Deposit, August due dateBirth fee installments
- Final payment, June due dateBirth fee installments
- Mileage, on-call travelTravel
- Backup doula split, April birthBackup doula pay
- Birth bag restockSupplies
Why your books are different
A doula's income arrives on a schedule that has nothing to do with the work itself.
A birth fee gets paid in installments over months, but the actual work, the labor support, happens on one unpredictable day or night near the due date. A bookkeeper who treats every payment as finished work misses that the job is not done until the birth happens.
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1
Installment payments are not the same as work completed
A client pays a deposit at booking and the balance before the due date, but the actual birth support, the reason you were hired, might not happen until weeks later, so counting every payment as income the day it lands overstates work not yet done.
What we doTracks each client's fee against their due date, so income reflects when the birth actually happens, not just when payments arrived. -
2
On-call mileage is real cost, not incidental driving
Being on call means driving to a hospital or a client's home at any hour, sometimes for a birth that stalls and restarts over a day or two, and untracked mileage quietly costs a doula real deductions every year.
What we doKeeps on-call and birth-related mileage in its own line, ready for the accountant to apply as a deduction. -
3
A backup doula split changes what you actually earned
When a backup doula covers a birth because you were unavailable, part of the fee goes to them, and if the full fee is still counted as your income, your actual earnings for that birth look higher than they were.
What we doBooks the full fee as income and the backup split as its own cost, so your real take on that birth is accurate. -
4
A sliding scale or reduced-rate birth needs its own record
Taking on a client at a reduced rate or as a volunteer birth is common in this work, but without tracking what was actually charged, it is easy to lose sight of your real average fee across a year of very different birth outcomes.
What we doLogs reduced-rate and volunteer births at what was actually charged, so your real average fee stays honest.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a birth doula practice.
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
- Birth fee installmentsDeposits and balances paid ahead of a due date, tracked by birth.
- Postpartum add-onsExtra visits or support booked beyond the birth itself.
- Backup doula feesPayments received when covering for another doula.
- Childbirth educationClasses or workshops taught separately from birth support.
Money out
- TravelMileage for on-call trips, prenatal visits, and births.
- Backup doula paySplits paid to another doula covering a birth for you.
- Birth bag suppliesComfort items, tools, and supplies restocked regularly.
- Certification and trainingDoula certification and continuing education.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for the births you attend.
What we watch for you
- Average fee per birth
What you actually collect once reduced-rate and volunteer births are counted, not the listed price.
- Mileage logged
On-call and birth-related driving tracked from the books, so the deduction does not get missed.
- Backup split cost
What gets paid out when someone else covers a birth, so your real take per birth is clear.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things birth doulas 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.
I am tracking those against their due dates. They will count as income when the birth actually happens, so the work matches the money.
I booked the full fee as income and her split as its own cost, so what you actually kept from that birth is accurate.
Yes, it adds up to a real deduction. Keep a simple log and I will pull it into its own line for the accountant.
The tax side
The tax side of a birth doula practice.
Most of what trips up a doula is timing income to due dates and not missing the mileage that quietly adds up over a year.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Self-employment taxWorking for yourself means paying both halves of Social Security and Medicare, 15.3 percent total, on top of income tax. The set-aside is built to cover it.
- Mileage deductionThe business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026, then 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026, for on-call and birth-related driving.
- The pass-through deductionMost solo practitioners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
- Quarterly estimated paymentsWith no employer withholding anything, most independent doulas pay estimated tax four times a year, on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
Deductions birth doulas miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Mileage for prenatal visits and births
- Birth bag comfort items
- Certification and training fees
- Liability insurance
- Continuing education workshops
- Phone plan for on-call availability
- Backup doula pay
- Marketing and website costs
- Professional association dues
- Client welcome gifts
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 birth doula's year, kept every month.
Due dates spread births out unevenly, and your taxes still land on a fixed schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled, even with income tied to due dates rather than months.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a busier birth season than expected changed the number.
- October
Before the year closes
Gus looks at mileage logged so far and whether certification renewal or new supplies are worth handling 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 birth doulas. 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 birth doulas ask first.
How does Gus handle payments collected months before the due date?
He tracks each client's fee against their due date, so income counts when the birth actually happens rather than when the deposit or final payment arrived.
I sometimes take on a client at a reduced rate. Does that mess up my numbers?
No. Gus logs what was actually charged, so reduced-rate and volunteer births are counted honestly instead of skewing your average fee.
Do I really need to track mileage for every on-call trip?
It is worth it. On-call driving adds up over a year, and Gus keeps it in its own line so the deduction does not get missed at tax time.
My backup doula covered a birth I couldn't attend. How does that affect my books?
Gus books the full fee as income and her split as a separate cost, so your real earnings from that birth are accurate, not overstated.
My income is really unpredictable since births don't follow a schedule. Is that normal?
Yes, and Gus tracks income by due date rather than assuming it should be even month to month, so an uneven year still reads honestly.
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