Performance marketing & lead gen

Books and taxes for cold email agencies.

Retainers plus a bonus per booked meeting, dozens of domains and mailboxes bought and warmed up, and the ones that get blacklisted and replaced. Gus sorts all of 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
SeptemberExample month
$6,200
what you made

September came in at $6,200. The eight domains that got blacklisted on the Marrow Analytics campaign and had to be replaced are tracked as infrastructure cost, not a random software spike.

  • Retainer, Marrow AnalyticsRetainers
  • Meeting bonus, September batchPer-meeting bonus
  • Domain registrations, bulk orderDomain and mailbox infrastructure
  • Google Workspace seatsDomain and mailbox infrastructure
  • Instantly and Smartlead subscriptionSoftware
Money in$22,000
Money out$15,800
Set aside for taxes$1,500
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Cold email agency books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees a subscription bill and a deposit. Your business runs on dozens of domains and mailboxes that need to warm up for weeks before they can send, a bonus per meeting a client has to confirm actually happened, and infrastructure that gets blacklisted and has to be rebuilt on a schedule you do not control.

  1. 1

    Domain and mailbox costs get lost in one software line

    Buying twenty domains and sixty mailboxes across a handful of clients is a real, recurring cost of running campaigns, and if it disappears into a general software line next to your CRM subscription, you cannot see what sending infrastructure actually costs you.

    What we doKeeps domain and mailbox purchases in their own line, separate from other software, so infrastructure cost against results is visible.
  2. 2

    Blacklisted domains get replaced with no record of why

    A domain that gets flagged and blacklisted mid-campaign has to be replaced and warmed up again before it can send, and that replacement cost looks like a random spike in spending if it is not tied to the domain it replaced.

    What we doLogs domain replacement costs as their own item, so a blacklisting event reads as a known cost of the business, not a mystery.
  3. 3

    A meeting bonus gets booked before the client confirms it happened

    Clients often only pay for meetings that were actually held, not just booked on a calendar, and counting the bonus the day an email thread confirms a time can overstate a month that gets walked back once a no-show surfaces.

    What we doWaits to book a meeting bonus until the client confirms it was held, and flags any month that relied on an early count.
  4. 4

    Annual domain and tool costs distort a single month

    Registering fifty domains for a year or prepaying an annual warm-up tool subscription in one lump payment makes that month look far more expensive than a typical one, even though the cost covers the whole year ahead.

    What we doNotes when a payment covers a longer period, so one heavy month does not read as your new normal cost.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a cold email agency.

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

  • RetainersMonthly fees for running a client's outbound email campaigns.
  • Per-meeting bonusesPaid once a client confirms a booked meeting actually happened.
  • Onboarding and copywriting feesOne-time charges for building sequences and initial targeting lists.
  • Volume bonusesExtra pay for exceeding a client's monthly meeting target.

Money out

  • Domain and mailbox infrastructureDomain registrations, Google Workspace or Microsoft seats, and warm-up services.
  • Sending and CRM softwareInstantly, Smartlead, or similar tools used to run and track campaigns.
  • Contractor copywritersFreelance help for sequences and subject line testing.
  • Data and list subscriptionsApollo or similar tools used to build targeting lists.
  • Deliverability monitoring toolsSoftware that tracks inbox placement and domain reputation.
  • Payment processing feesWhat a processor keeps before a payment lands.

What we watch for you

  • Infrastructure cost per meeting

    Domain, mailbox, and tool cost against meetings actually confirmed, so pricing keeps pace with real cost.

  • Domain replacement rate

    How often domains get blacklisted and rebuilt, so a bad month is caught early.

  • Bonus collection lag

    How long a client takes to confirm a meeting happened before the bonus is real income.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked against confirmed meeting bonuses every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things cold email agency 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 bought sixty new domains this month after a bunch got blacklisted. My software bill looks huge.

I kept that domain replacement cost in its own line, tied to the campaign it belongs to, so it reads as a known infrastructure cost, not a mystery.

A client hasn't confirmed if last week's booked meetings actually happened. Do I count that bonus yet?

Not yet. I hold a meeting bonus out of income until the client confirms it, so a no-show doesn't leave a number that has to be walked back.

I just prepaid a year of Instantly and fifty domain registrations in one lump payment.

I noted that it covers the year ahead, so this month doesn't look like your new normal cost of doing business.

The tax side

The tax side of a cold email agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is what a cost covers and when income is really earned. Infrastructure lumped with software, and a meeting bonus counted before it's confirmed.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Domain and mailbox costs are real deductionsDomains, mailbox seats, and warm-up services bought to run campaigns are ordinary business expenses. Keeping them in their own line keeps your infrastructure cost readable.
  • Contractor 1099sAny US-based copywriter or specialist not on payroll who you pay $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current all year.
  • Foreign contractorsA copywriter working outside the US usually does not get a 1099-NEC. A signed W-8BEN generally covers that instead, and the accountant confirms exactly what your contractor roster needs.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when infrastructure cost and meeting bonuses are booked at the right time all year.

Deductions cold email agencies miss

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

  • Domain registrations
  • Google Workspace or Microsoft seats
  • Instantly or Smartlead subscriptions
  • Warm-up services
  • Deliverability monitoring tools
  • Contractor copywriters
  • Data and list subscriptions
  • Home office or coworking desk
  • Laptop and monitors
  • Payment processing 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 cold email agency year, kept every month.

B2B inboxes go quiet around the holidays more than they follow weather. Your team keeps you ahead of both the calendar and taxes. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, your 1099 list for domestic copywriters is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has tracked confirmed meeting bonuses every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer inboxes slowed meeting volume.

  4. October

    Before inboxes go quiet

    Reply rates typically drop through December as inboxes empty out for the holidays. Before that happens, Gus looks at what's worth buying or setting aside before year end.

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 cold email agencies. 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 cold email agency owners ask first.

I buy dozens of domains and mailboxes a month. How does that show up in the books?

As its own line, separate from your other software, so you can see exactly what sending infrastructure costs you against the meetings it produces.

A batch of domains got blacklisted and I had to replace them. Is that just a loss?

It is a real cost, and Gus logs it against the campaign it belongs to, so a blacklisting event reads as a known part of running the business, not a mystery expense.

Do I owe tax on a meeting bonus before the client confirms it actually happened?

No. Gus only books a bonus once the client confirms the meeting was held, so a no-show that surfaces later doesn't leave an inflated number sitting in a closed month.

I prepaid a year of domains and a warm-up tool in one lump sum. Won't that make this month look terrible?

Gus notes that the payment covers the year ahead, so a heavy month like that does not get mistaken for your typical monthly cost.

My copywriter works from Nigeria. Does she get a 1099?

Probably not a 1099-NEC, since she is based in Nigeria and is not a US person. Gus flags her file so the accountant can confirm the right paperwork, likely a W-8BEN.

My books are behind since I scaled from ten domains to sixty this year. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank and tool statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside 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 performance marketing & lead gen

We keep books for the business next door too.

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