Accounting, tax & financial pros
Books and taxes for business valuation firms.
Estate and buy-sell valuation retainers, litigation testimony fees, comparable transaction data subscriptions, and travel to interview a client's management team. 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
October made $15,000. The Hensley Farms estate valuation retainer is on its own line, kept apart from your recurring buy-sell update fee, so you can see the new engagement separately from the repeat one.
- Hensley Farms valuation retainerValuation engagement fees
- Buy-sell update fee, annualRecurring valuation retainers
- Comparable transaction databaseValuation data subscriptions
- Contract analyst, report supportContract labor
- Site visit travel, client interviewTravel and site visits
Why your books are different
A business valuation firm's own books go wrong in a few predictable spots.
You spend weeks building a defensible number for someone else's company. Your own firm's books hit a version of the same timing problem, because a valuation retainer is usually collected long before the report it pays for is finished.
-
1
A retainer gets counted as earned the day it lands
A client pays an engagement retainer to start a valuation, but the report itself might not be finished for six or eight weeks, so booking the whole fee as income on day one overstates what the firm has actually earned that month.
What we doFlags large engagement retainers against how far along the report is, so income timing reflects the work actually finished, not just the deposit received. -
2
One-time engagements and recurring buy-sell updates blend together
A new estate or litigation valuation engagement and an annual buy-sell agreement update for a repeat client often land in the same revenue line, hiding whether new business or repeat work is really driving the firm.
What we doKeeps one-time engagement fees separate from recurring annual update fees, so repeat business is easy to see growing on its own. -
3
Data subscription costs climb without anyone noticing
Comparable transaction and industry multiple databases are a real, often sizable monthly cost, but because they renew quietly in the background, a price increase or an added database can go unnoticed for months.
What we doKeeps valuation data subscriptions in their own visible line, so a cost creep shows up right away instead of at year end. -
4
Litigation testimony fees get mixed with standard valuation fees
Testimony and deposition work tied to a valuation used in litigation is usually billed differently than a standard estate or buy-sell report, but both often end up in the same revenue account.
What we doKeeps litigation testimony fees in their own line, separate from standard engagement fees, so each kind of work is easy to compare. -
5
Site visit travel for client interviews is treated as routine expense
Interviewing a company's management team in person is often necessary for a defensible valuation, but the travel cost behind it usually gets lumped into general travel with no link to the engagement it supported.
What we doKeeps site visit travel tied to the engagement it supported, so you can see the real cost of each report.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a business valuation 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
- Valuation engagement feesEstate, gift, litigation, or sale valuations, billed per project.
- Recurring valuation retainersAnnual buy-sell agreement updates for repeat clients.
- Litigation testimony feesDeposition and court appearances tied to a valuation.
- Referral incomeEngagements sent over by estate attorneys or wealth managers.
Money out
- Valuation data subscriptionsComparable transaction and industry multiple databases.
- Contract laborAnalysts brought in to support a specific engagement.
- Travel and site visitsInterviewing company management for a defensible report.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage sized for litigation exposure.
- Continuing educationCredential renewal and valuation methodology courses.
- Referral fees paidWhat you pay estate attorneys or advisors who send engagements.
What we watch for you
- New versus recurring engagements
One-time valuation fees against annual buy-sell updates, so repeat business is visible.
- Data subscription cost
What comparable databases cost against revenue, so a quiet price increase is caught early.
- Testimony share
How much of your income depends on litigation work versus standard reports.
- Site visit cost per engagement
Travel against what each valuation actually pays, so field work stays worth it.
Ask Gus
Things business valuation 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.
Not quite. I flagged it against how far along the report is, so this month only shows what has actually been earned so far, not the full deposit.
Mostly new cases this quarter. I keep annual updates separate from new engagements, and the recurring side has held steady rather than grown.
That one is above my pay grade to settle from the books alone. I keep that subscription cost visible against your fees, and the accountant can help you run the math.
The tax side
The tax side of running a business valuation firm.
Most of what trips up your own return is the same discipline you apply to every engagement: getting the timing of what was actually earned right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- A retainer is not earned the day it is collectedA valuation engagement is usually earned as the report gets finished, not the day the retainer lands, and getting that timing right on the firm's own return matters as much as it does in a client's business.
- 1099s for contract analystsA contract analyst brought in to support an engagement, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment tax and the S corp questionRetainers, testimony fees, and buy-sell updates together make up one net profit number, taxed at 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base. Electing S corp status by March 15 can change how much of it gets taxed that way.
- Section 179 on data and reporting toolsWorkstations and report production software bought for the firm can usually be written off in the year purchased, up to $2,560,000.
Deductions business valuation firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Valuation data subscriptions
- Continuing education and credential renewal
- Professional liability insurance
- Report writing software
- Travel to client sites
- Referral fees paid out
- Home office costs
- Secure report storage
- Computer and workstation upgrades
- Industry publication subscriptions
- Court appearance travel
- 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
A business valuation firm's year, kept every month.
Estate deadlines, court dates, and buy-sell renewals all pull at different times of year. Gus keeps your own numbers steady underneath all of it. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
New estate season begins
Year-end estate and gift valuations from the prior quarter wrap up, last year's own return gets started, and a set-aside gets planned.
- April
Your own return, filed
Your own return is filed and signed, timed around whatever litigation testimony or report deadlines are active.
- July
Midyear engagement check
Where the firm stands, how new engagements compare to recurring buy-sell work, and whether data subscription costs are still worth it.
- October
Before year-end estate deadlines
A look at equipment or subscriptions worth adding before December, when estate and gift valuations often cluster ahead of year end.
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 business valuation 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 business valuation firm owners ask first.
Can Gus handle a retainer that gets collected before the report is finished?
Yes. He flags large retainers against how far along the engagement is, so income reflects work actually completed rather than just the deposit.
Can Gus tell my new engagements apart from recurring buy-sell updates?
Yes. They stay in separate lines, so you can see whether new business or repeat clients are driving a given quarter.
We already subscribe to a comparable transaction database. Does anything change?
No. Keep using the data you rely on. Gus works from your firm's bank statement and asks once if a charge is unclear.
How does Gus handle litigation testimony fees versus a standard valuation report?
They stay in separate lines, so you can see how much of your income depends on litigation work versus standard estate or buy-sell reports.
My own books have been behind since I am buried in report deadlines. Is that fixable?
Yes. Report deadlines come first for good reason. Send the statements you have, and Gus will work through the gap while the accountant checks behind him.
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