Accounting, tax & financial pros
Books and taxes for bookkeeping firms.
Monthly retainers, cleanup projects, client software you bill through, and referral fees you pay out. 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
September made $11,000. The QuickBooks wholesale billing came through this month, I kept it apart from your own software costs so the passthrough doesn't inflate what you actually spend.
- Client retainer batchMonthly bookkeeping fees
- Riverside Cafe cleanupCleanup projects
- QuickBooks wholesale billClient software passthrough
- Financial CentsPractice management software
- Referral fee, Maple and CoReferral fees paid
Why your books are different
A bookkeeping firm's own books go wrong in a few predictable spots.
You catch this exact thing in a client's books every week: passthrough costs booked wrong, one-time fees hiding in recurring revenue, referral costs nobody tracks. Your own firm's books are not immune just because you know better.
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1
Client software billing blurs with your own
When you buy QuickBooks Online or Gusto wholesale and bill it through to a client, that passthrough often lands in the same software expense line as the tools you actually use to run the firm, so neither number is honest.
What we doKeeps client software you bill through separate from the software your own firm runs on, so both numbers mean what they say. -
2
Cleanup projects hide inside monthly retainers
A one-time catch-up or cleanup project for a new client often gets billed and booked the same way as recurring monthly work, so a good project month looks like the retainer base grew when it did not.
What we doKeeps one-time cleanup and catch-up fees in their own line, apart from recurring monthly retainers, so growth in the base is easy to see. -
3
Referral fees paid out get missed
A fee paid to the accounting firm or advisor who sent you a new monthly client is a real cost of growth, but it usually gets buried in a general expense account instead of tracked against where clients actually came from.
What we doKeeps referral fees paid out in their own category, so you can see what each source of new clients actually costs. -
4
Add-on work rides along with the base retainer
Extra work like accounts receivable cleanup or a one-off report gets billed on the same invoice as the monthly retainer, so the base recurring number looks bigger than the steady part really is.
What we doFlags add-on charges riding on a retainer invoice and keeps them in their own line, so the recurring base stays honest. -
5
Staff capacity costs are invisible until a client is lost
Bookkeeper wages climb as the client roster grows, but without a clear view of revenue against staff cost, a firm often does not notice margin shrinking until a client leaves and the payroll does not shrink with it.
What we doKeeps staff wages visible against monthly retainer income every month, not just at year end, so a thinning margin shows up early.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a bookkeeping firm.
Set up once for how your firm bills and spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Monthly bookkeeping feesThe recurring retainer from your client roster.
- Cleanup projectsOne-time catch-up work for new or messy clients.
- Add-on servicesAccounts receivable, invoicing, or reporting work billed beyond the base retainer.
- Referral incomeOverflow work sent to you by other firms or advisors.
Money out
- Staff bookkeeper wagesPayroll for the team handling your client roster.
- Client software passthroughQuickBooks, Xero, or Gusto billed wholesale and passed to clients.
- Practice management softwareFinancial Cents, Keeper, or Karbon, run for your own firm.
- Referral fees paidWhat you pay accounting firms or advisors who send you clients.
- Professional liability insuranceThe firm's own coverage against claims.
- Continuing educationQuickBooks or Xero certification and course fees.
- Marketing and lead generationWhat it costs to bring in new monthly clients directly.
What we watch for you
- Recurring base growth
Retainer revenue against one-time project fees, so growth is real and not just a good cleanup month.
- Passthrough net
What you bill clients for software against what you actually pay for it.
- Staff cost per client
Wages against your client count, so margin does not shrink without notice.
- Referral cost
What you pay out for new clients against what those clients are worth.
Ask Gus
Things bookkeeping firm 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.
I keep it in its own passthrough line, apart from your retainer fees, so you can see the real margin on what you mark it up, if any.
Cleanup fees stay in their own line, separate from monthly retainers. Your recurring base this month is steady, the project is what made it look bigger.
That one is above my pay grade to settle from the bank feed alone. I keep draws and wages separate either way, and the accountant can walk through what structure fits your firm.
The tax side
The tax side of running a bookkeeping firm.
Most of what trips up a bookkeeping firm's own return is timing and labels, the same things you fix in client books every week.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- The pass-through deduction and passthrough billingUp to 20 percent of qualified business income can come off taxable income, but the client software you bill through should never be counted as your own income when you are only passing along the cost, since it changes what that deduction is measured against.
- Contractor 1099s for overflow bookkeepersA part-time or contract bookkeeper you bring in for overflow, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Section 179 on firm equipmentLaptops and office equipment bought for the firm can usually be written off in the year purchased, up to $2,560,000, with full bonus depreciation on qualifying property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Home office if you run remoteA room used regularly and only for client bookkeeping work can usually be deducted based on its share of the home, if you are not renting a separate office.
Deductions bookkeeping firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- QuickBooks or Xero certification fees
- Practice management software
- Professional liability insurance
- Client portal and file-sharing tools
- Continuing education courses
- Referral fees paid out
- Home office costs
- Business cards and firm marketing
- Bank and card processing fees
- Computers and monitors
- Bookkeeping association dues
- Contractor payments for overflow work
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 bookkeeping firm's year, kept every month.
Your clients need clean books before tax season, whatever month that means for each one. Gus keeps your own numbers moving all year so the firm that fixes everyone's books has clean ones too. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
New year, new roster
New clients from accounting firm referrals get onboarded, last year's own return gets started, and a monthly set-aside gets planned.
- April
Your return, off the list
Your firm's own return is filed and signed while most of your clients' accounting firms are still deep in their own season.
- July
Midyear retainer check
Where the firm stands, how the recurring base is trending, and whether referral costs are still worth what they bring in.
- October
Before year-end cleanup season
A look at staffing and software before the fourth quarter cleanup rush, when clients scramble to get books ready for their own returns.
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 bookkeeping firms. 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 bookkeeping firm owners ask first.
Can Gus separate my cleanup project fees from my monthly retainers?
Yes. Cleanup and catch-up work stays in its own line, apart from recurring monthly fees, so you always know whether your base client roster is actually growing.
I bill clients for software I buy wholesale. How does that get booked?
As passthrough, kept separate from your retainer income and your own firm's software costs, so the real margin, if any, is visible.
We already use Financial Cents to manage client work. Does anything change?
No. Keep running client engagements the way you do. Gus works from your firm's own bank statement and asks once if something is unclear.
I pay referral fees to a couple of accounting firms. Where does that go?
Its own line, separate from general expenses, so you can see what each referral relationship actually costs against what it brings in.
My own books are behind because I keep everyone else's first. Is that a problem?
No, and you would not be the first bookkeeper to say that. Send what you have. Gus sorts it, the accountant checks it, and most firm owners have a clear picture within about 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