IT & tech services

Books and taxes for business VoIP providers.

Monthly per-seat phone billing, a number ported in from a client's old carrier, usage overages on international minutes, and an upstream carrier bill due whether or not clients pay on time. Your own bookkeeper sorts 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
JuneExample month
$12,400
what you made

June came in at $12,400. Three clients ran over their included international minutes, so I booked those overages apart from the flat per-seat fees, they are not the same kind of income.

  • Per-seat billing batchSeat licensing
  • International overage chargesUsage overages
  • Bandwidth carrier invoiceCarrier and trunk costs
  • Number porting feesPorting costs
  • 911 compliance feeRegulatory fees
Money in$44,500
Money out$32,100
Set aside for taxes$2,800
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

VoIP provider books go wrong at the seat count and the carrier bill.

A generalist sees a subscription and a bill. Your business runs on per-seat billing that shifts every time a client adds or drops a line, usage overages that vary month to month, and upstream carrier costs that are due whether every client paid on time or not. When the books blend those, you cannot tell if pricing still covers the carrier bill.

  1. 1

    Seat count changes get lost between billing cycles

    A client who adds five lines mid-month and another who drops three can both hit the books on different days, and if seat changes are not tracked against the invoice, a growing account and a shrinking one can look the same.

    What we doTracks seat licensing income against the billing cycle it belongs to, so a growing or shrinking account shows up clearly.
  2. 2

    Usage overages blend into flat per-seat fees

    International minutes and premium call routing that go over a client's included allowance get billed as extra, and if that is not kept apart from the flat monthly fee, you cannot tell whether overages are a meaningful part of revenue or a rounding error.

    What we doKeeps usage overage income in its own line, separate from flat per-seat billing.
  3. 3

    The carrier bill does not move with your collections

    Your upstream carrier charges for minutes and trunk capacity on its own schedule, whether or not every client paid you on time, and a slow collections month can look like the carrier suddenly got expensive when really it is a timing gap.

    What we doKeeps carrier and trunk costs visible against seat income, so a slow collections month does not read as a cost spike.
  4. 4

    Porting and regulatory fees get lumped into overhead

    Number porting fees and 911 compliance charges are real, recurring costs tied directly to onboarding and serving clients, and if they disappear into general overhead, you cannot see what it actually costs to bring a new client on.

    What we doKeeps porting and regulatory fees in their own line, tied to onboarding, so the real cost of a new client is visible.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a business VoIP provider.

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

  • Seat licensingFlat monthly per-seat or per-line billing.
  • Usage overagesInternational minutes and premium routing beyond a client's plan.
  • Onboarding feesOne-time setup charges for new client accounts.
  • Hardware salesDesk phones and headsets sold to clients.

Money out

  • Carrier and trunk costsUpstream billing for minutes and network capacity.
  • Porting costsFees to move a client's number from their old carrier.
  • Regulatory fees911 compliance and other required telecom charges.
  • System hostingThe infrastructure that runs your own phone service.
  • Support staff wagesKept apart from contractor pay for overflow support.
  • Business insuranceGeneral liability and technology errors-and-omissions coverage.

What we watch for you

  • Net seat growth

    Lines added against lines dropped each month, the clearest read on whether the business is growing.

  • Overage share

    Usage overage income against total income, worth knowing if it is a real revenue source or noise.

  • Carrier cost ratio

    What the upstream carrier keeps against total seat income, so pricing still makes sense.

  • The set-aside

    The set-aside tracks against seat income and overage charges together, so the tax bill in April is no surprise.

Ask Gus

Things VoIP provider 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.

A few clients went over their included minutes this month. Does that count the same as regular billing?

No, I keep usage overages in their own line, apart from your flat per-seat fees, so you can see whether overages are actually worth tracking.

My carrier bill went up but three clients paid late. Is my margin actually shrinking?

Your carrier costs are steady against seat income, it is the late payments creating the gap. I flagged both so you can see them apart.

I ported in 15 new lines from a client's old carrier this month. That cost me some porting fees, right?

Right, I logged those as porting costs tied to that onboarding, so the real cost of bringing that client on is visible.

The tax side

The tax side of a business VoIP provider.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing between carrier bills and client collections, and regulatory fees that get buried instead of tracked as their own cost.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Equipment write-offsServers, networking gear, and desk phone inventory bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy them.
  • Contractor 1099sAny subcontracted support staff not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when seat income, overages, and carrier costs are tracked apart all year.
  • State telecom and regulatory obligationsTelecom services can carry state-specific regulatory fees and tax obligations beyond ordinary sales tax, and these vary enough that they need a direct check with the accountant.

Deductions business VoIP providers miss

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

  • Carrier and trunk fees
  • Number porting costs
  • 911 compliance fees
  • Hosting and infrastructure costs
  • Desk phones and headsets for demo use
  • Business insurance
  • Support staff training
  • Business phone and internet
  • Technology errors-and-omissions coverage
  • Contractor support payments
  • Trade conference travel
  • Client onboarding materials

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 VoIP provider year, kept every month.

Clients add and drop lines any week of the year, and the carrier bill does not wait for collections to catch up. Your team stays on the books every month, not just at tax time. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Lines reset for the year

    Last year's return gets started, the support contractor 1099 list is finalized, and a monthly set-aside is planned around seat and overage income.

  2. April

    Filed on schedule

    Your return is filed and signed, with seat income, overages, and carrier costs already sorted apart.

  3. July

    Halfway across the wire

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether net seat growth is holding steady against carrier cost.

  4. October

    Before the budget reset

    Gus looks at hosting or hardware worth buying before December and flags any carrier cost creep worth a look.

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 business VoIP providers. 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 VoIP provider owners ask first.

Can Gus track when clients add or drop seats mid-cycle?

Yes. Seat licensing income is tied to the billing cycle it belongs to, so a growing or shrinking account shows up clearly instead of blending into the total.

My carrier bills me on a different schedule than I collect from clients. Does that confuse the books?

No, Gus keeps carrier costs visible against seat income directly, so a timing gap between collections and the carrier bill does not look like your margin shrank.

Do porting fees count as a client onboarding cost or overhead?

Gus ties porting and regulatory fees to the onboarding they belong to, so you can see the real cost of bringing a new client on.

Does Gus handle the regulatory side of telecom compliance?

That is above his pay grade. Gus tracks the fees and flags anything unusual, but state telecom regulatory questions go to a real accountant.

My books are behind because seat billing and usage overages were never separated. Can Gus fix that?

Yes. Send what you have. Gus sorts seat income from overages and carrier costs, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand within 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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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