Passenger transportation
Books and taxes for charter bus companies.
Motorcoach deposits booked months out, per-mile contract billing, driver wages, and diesel that swings with every trip. 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 $29,300. Two graduation trips paid their balance this month, and I held the March deposits against those same trips.
- CharterUP payoutMarketplace bookings
- Lincoln High trip balanceGroup charters
- Flying J fuelDiesel and fuel
- Coach driver payrollDriver wages
- Prevost parts orderCoach maintenance
Why your books are different
A charter bus company's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and fuel bills. Your business is coaches that cost as much as a house, drivers who cross state lines, and trips booked a full season before the wheels turn. When the books do not know that, the return misses what it should catch.
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1
A trip deposit lands months before the trip runs
A church group books a coach in November for a spring trip and pays a deposit that day. Counted as November income, it inflates a slow month and the actual travel month looks thin by comparison.
What we doHolds the deposit against the date the trip actually runs, so the month with the coach on the road is the month that gets credit for the income. -
2
Deadhead miles disappear from the cost picture
A coach that drives three hours empty to pick up a group and three hours empty to get home burns diesel and driver hours that never show up against a single paid trip, making that route look more profitable than it was.
What we doTracks fuel and driver pay against total miles driven, not just miles with passengers aboard, so the real cost of a trip is visible. -
3
A coach purchase gets buried with repairs
A used motorcoach can run into six figures, and if it lands in the same category as brake jobs and oil changes, the month looks brutal and the return misses a depreciation deduction it should get.
What we doLogs coach purchases as equipment the month they show up and flags them for the accountant's call on how they get written off. -
4
Marketplace commissions get netted against the fare
A trip booked through CharterUP or GOGO Charters pays out less than the quoted price once the marketplace's cut comes off, and booking only the net deposit understates what the business actually charged for the trip.
What we doBooks the full quoted trip price as income and the marketplace's fee as its own cost, so pricing and margins both stay honest. -
5
A driver hired for one big trip looks like a contractor
A CDL driver brought on for a busy graduation weekend and paid a flat day rate is often still an employee if they are driving your coach on your route, even for a single trip.
What we doFlags short-term drivers who work like employees and brings in the accountant before it becomes a habit.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a charter bus company.
Set up once for how you get booked and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Marketplace bookingsTrips booked through CharterUP, GOGO Charters, or similar reservation marketplaces.
- Group chartersSchools, churches, and tour groups booked directly and billed by deposit and balance.
- Corporate and event contractsCompanies and event planners with standing charter arrangements.
- Per-day and per-mile tripsMulti-day trips billed by the day, the mile, or both.
- Charter depositsAmounts collected ahead of a trip, held against the date the trip runs.
Money out
- Driver wagesPayroll for CDL drivers, kept apart from any subcontracted driver pay.
- Diesel and fuelFuel for the fleet, which swings with every long trip.
- Coach maintenanceTires, brakes, engine work, and scheduled service for motorcoaches.
- Coach loans and leasesMonthly payments on the fleet.
- Commercial fleet insuranceCoverage required to carry passenger groups.
- Marketplace and booking feesWhat CharterUP, GOGO Charters, or similar booking marketplaces keep from each trip.
- Tolls and parkingHighway tolls and destination parking for multi-day trips.
- Licensing and DOT complianceUSDOT numbers, inspections, and driver qualification files.
What we watch for you
- Cost per mile
Fuel, maintenance, and driver pay against total miles, including deadhead miles.
- Deposit backlog
Deposits collected for trips still months away, so cash looks like what it is.
- Driver labor share
Wages against money in, so pricing keeps pace with what drivers cost.
- The set-aside
What you owe builds every month against every trip billed, so April never lands as a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things charter bus 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 hold it against March, the month the coach actually runs the trip. November stays the month it really was.
I logged it as equipment, not a repair. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for coaches bought after January 19, 2025, but the accountant makes the final call with your whole year in view.
If he drove your coach on your route, he usually counts as an employee even for one trip. I flagged it so the accountant can walk you through what it means.
The tax side
The tax side of a charter bus business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A deposit counted too early, a coach filed like a repair, and a driver paid like a contractor for work that looks like employment.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Motorcoaches and depreciationA motorcoach bought for the business can usually be depreciated, and bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for coaches acquired after January 19, 2025, which can mean a large write-off in the year of purchase.
- Driver classificationA CDL driver who drives your coach on your route is usually an employee, not a contractor, even for a single trip or a busy weekend.
- Contractor 1099sA subcontracted driver or coach company you send overflow trips to, if not on payroll and paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, coming out right when the books track the year correctly.
Deductions charter bus companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Diesel and fuel
- Coach tires and brakes
- Driver per diem
- Fleet insurance
- Marketplace booking fees
- USDOT compliance costs
- Tolls on multi-day trips
- Coach detailing
- Radios and GPS units
- Driver background checks
- CDL training reimbursement
- Vehicle inspections
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 charter bus year, kept every month.
School trips, graduations, and group tours book up a season ahead. Your team stays on the books through every one of them. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Book the year ahead
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any subcontracted drivers is ready, and a monthly set-aside gets planned ahead of the spring trip season.
- April
Filed before graduation
Your return is filed and signed just as spring school trip deposits pick up, with no scramble because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Trip season tally
A look at what the graduation and school trip season brought in, what you will owe, and whether pricing kept pace with fuel and driver costs.
- October
Before the holiday charters
Company holiday parties and winter group trips are coming. Gus looks at any coach you might add and anything worth doing 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 charter bus companies. 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 charter bus owners ask first.
How does Gus handle a deposit collected months before a trip runs?
He holds it against the date the trip actually happens, not the day the deposit landed, so neither month gets credit for work that did not happen in it.
I book most trips through CharterUP. Do I need to change anything?
No. Keep booking the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do empty miles getting to a pickup count against anything?
They count against your real cost per trip. Gus tracks fuel and driver pay against total miles driven, including the empty ones, so you see what a route really costs.
My driver only worked one weekend trip. Does he still need to be on payroll?
Usually yes, if he drove your coach on your route. Gus flags drivers who work like employees and the accountant sorts out what it means for a single trip.
Do I write off a new motorcoach all at once?
Often you can. Coaches bought for the business can usually be depreciated, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
My books are a season behind. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Hand over the statements from however many months have piled up. Gus works through the backlog and tells you where the business actually stands, usually 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 passenger transportation
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Airport shuttle services
- Pedicab companies
- Private jet charter brokers
- School bus contractors
- Senior & wheelchair transportation
- Water taxis & ferries
- Wine tour & brewery tour shuttles
- Limousine & black car services
- Non-emergency medical transport (NEMT)
- Box truck businesses
- Car haulers
- Cold storage warehouses
- Customs brokers
- Expedited freight (sprinter vans)
- Final-mile delivery companies
- Freight forwarders
- Furniture delivery & white glove delivery
- Heavy haul & oversize transport
- Hot shot trucking
- Livestock haulers
- Local courier services
- Medical courier services
- Aerial applicators & crop dusters
- Aircraft detailing
- Aircraft maintenance shops (MRO)
- Aircraft sales brokers
- Boat detailing & bottom cleaning
- Boat repair & marine mechanics
- Boat shrink wrapping services
- Boat transport companies
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