Funeral, memorial & aftercare
Books and taxes for celebration-of-life planners.
Planning retainers, day-of coordination fees, and the venue and caterer payments that pass through your hands to vendors. Your own bookkeeper stays on the books all year, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June made $8,500. The venue deposit for the Whitfield celebration passed straight through to Rosewood Manor, so only your planning fee counted as income.
- Planning retainer, WhitfieldPlanning retainers
- Day-of coordination feeCoordination fees
- Rosewood Manor depositVendor pass-through
- HoneyBook subscriptionPlanning software
- Day-of assistant, cashContract event staff
Why your books are different
A celebration-of-life planner's books go wrong in a few particular spots.
A generalist sees money moving in and out and assumes it is all yours. Your business fronts venue and caterer payments for a family, collects a retainer months before the event, and pays event-day staff in cash. When the books do not separate what passes through from what you actually earned, your real income disappears into vendor traffic.
-
1
Vendor pass-through money looks like your own revenue
A family gives you $6,000 to cover the venue, and you pay the venue directly. Booked as your income and then your expense, it inflates both numbers and hides that your actual earnings are just the coordination fee.
What we doKeeps vendor pass-through payments in their own category, separate from your coordination fee, so your real income is what shows. -
2
Retainers count as income before the event happens
A family pays a $1,500 planning retainer for a celebration three months out. Booked as earned the day it lands, a slow month can look strong for work that has not happened yet.
What we doKeeps retainers as their own category until the event is delivered, so income lines up with the work actually done. -
3
Cash paid to day-of assistants goes untracked
Paying a day-of assistant in cash at the event is easy to forget by the time the books close, and it leaves no paper trail for the deduction or the paperwork owed if you pay her enough over the year.
What we doLogs cash paid to event staff the same week it happens and keeps a running total toward any 1099 owed. -
4
Package tiers blend into one income line
Full planning, partial planning, and day-of coordination are priced differently, but all landing in one category hides which package tier actually makes the business money.
What we doKeeps each package tier in its own category so you can see what each one earns.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a celebration-of-life planner.
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
- Planning retainersDeposits collected for a future celebration, held apart until the event happens.
- Coordination feesYour fee for day-of coordination or full planning, separate from vendor costs.
- Consultation feesPaid initial meetings before a family signs on for full planning.
- Referral feesFees paid by funeral homes or venues for referred business.
Money out
- Vendor pass-throughVenue, catering, and florist payments made on a family's behalf.
- Planning softwareTools like HoneyBook or Aisle Planner for proposals and scheduling.
- Contract event staffDay-of assistants and setup crew paid by the event.
- Liability insuranceEvent liability coverage for celebrations you plan.
- Marketing and websiteYour website, portfolio, and any paid promotion.
What we watch for you
- Coordination fee margin
What your fee brings in once vendor pass-through money is set aside from it.
- Retainer backlog
Deposits collected for events not yet delivered, so you know what work is still owed.
- Package tier mix
Which service tier, full planning, partial, or day-of, actually earns the most.
- The set-aside
What your coordination fees owe in taxes, set apart from vendor pass-through money, so April is already covered.
Ask Gus
Things celebration-of-life planners 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 really. I keep it as a vendor pass-through, separate from your coordination fee, so it does not look like your own income or your own cost.
Not yet, usually. I keep it as a retainer until the event happens, so your income lines up with the work you have actually delivered.
Yes, worth logging it right away. If you pay her $2,000 or more this year, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31, and I keep the running total.
The tax side
The tax side of a celebration-of-life planning business.
Most of what matters here is separating vendor pass-through money from your own earnings, and keeping event staff paperwork current.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Vendor pass-through is not really your incomeMoney you collect from a family only to pay a venue or caterer is not your earnings. Keeping it separate from your coordination fee keeps your real income accurate.
- A retainer is usually not income yetA deposit taken before an event is planned and delivered is usually held as a client deposit, not counted as earned income, until the event happens.
- Contract event staff need a 1099A day-of assistant or setup crew member paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost sole proprietors and small firms in this business can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions celebration-of-life planners miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Planning software subscriptions
- Website and portfolio hosting
- Liability insurance
- Mileage to venues and vendors
- Business cards and proposals
- Continuing education
- Payment processing fees
- Office supplies
- Professional photography for portfolio
- Networking event fees
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 celebration-of-life planner's year, kept every month.
Bookings come in year round and events cluster around warmer months in many regions. Your team keeps the books current through every part 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, any contract staff 1099s are ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Return signed
The accountant files and signs your return. Since your set-aside has been building since January, the bill is already covered.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a busy spring booking season changed the number.
- October
Before year end
A look at software renewals or equipment worth buying 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 celebration-of-life planners. 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 celebration-of-life planners ask first.
How does Gus handle money I collect for the venue and caterer?
It gets booked as a vendor pass-through, separate from your own coordination fee, so your real earnings are not inflated by money that was never yours to keep.
I offer full planning, partial planning, and day-of coordination. Do those get tracked separately?
Yes. Each package tier gets its own category, so you can see which one actually earns the most for the time it takes.
I get paid through several apps and sometimes by check. Does that complicate things?
No. Gus reconciles everything against your bank statement, whatever app or method a family used, so nothing gets counted twice or missed.
Do I need to track venue deposits I pay for clients as a business expense?
They are kept separate as pass-through money rather than your own expense, since you are not the one who ultimately keeps that money.
My income really depends on the season. Is that a problem?
No. The monthly number reflects whatever came in and went out that month, so a busier season shows up honestly instead of getting smoothed over.
I've never separated my business and personal accounts. Can you still help?
Yes. Send whatever statements you have, even if personal and business spending is mixed together. Gus sorts through it and most planners 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.
More in funeral, memorial & aftercare
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Casket & urn retailers
- Crematories
- Death doulas & end-of-life planners
- Estate cleanout companies
- Funeral removal & transport services
- Green & natural burial grounds
- Independent funeral homes
- Memorial jewelry & keepsake makers
- Monument & headstone dealers
- Preneed insurance agents
- Private cemeteries
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