Insurance agencies
Books and taxes for commercial insurance brokers.
General liability, workers comp, and commercial auto placed across carriers, a broker fee on top of commission, a contingency bonus tied to your book's loss ratio, and premium you are holding, not keeping. 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 came in at $21,100. Your carrier's contingency bonus landed this month based on last year's whole book, so I kept it apart from October's actual new placements.
- Travelers commission depositCommission income
- Contingency bonus, TravelersContingency bonus
- Broker fee, client invoiceBroker fees
- Producer commission payoutProducer splits
- Agency management systemAgency software
Why your books are different
A commercial broker's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees premium checks and calls it all revenue. Your business collects premium that belongs to the carrier, charges a separate broker fee, earns a contingency bonus based on a whole book's performance, and pays producers a cut of what comes in. When the books do not separate that, the top line lies about what the agency actually earned.
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1
Held premium looks like agency revenue
A client pays $18,000 for a workers comp policy on agency bill. The agency owes the carrier $16,200 of that and keeps $1,800 in commission. Booked as one deposit, the top line is inflated and the amount owed to the carrier disappears.
What we doBooks held premium as a liability to the carrier, not agency revenue, so only your commission and fees count as income. -
2
A contingency bonus reflects last year, not this month
Carriers often pay contingency or profit-sharing bonuses once a year based on your whole book's growth and loss ratio, and a single large check can make one month look great and every other month look weak by comparison.
What we doFlags the contingency bonus as tied to last year's whole book, not this month's new business, so the trend line stays honest. -
3
Broker fees and commission get lumped together
A broker fee billed straight to the client is a different kind of income than commission from the carrier, and mixed together you cannot see how much of your revenue depends on carrier relationships versus your own fee structure.
What we doKeeps broker fees and carrier commission on separate lines, so both sides of your income are visible. -
4
Producer splits are counted before they go out
The carrier pays the agency the full commission, then the agency pays its producer a negotiated split, and counted as one number it looks like the agency kept the whole thing.
What we doKeeps the full commission and each producer's split on separate lines, so the agency's real take is always visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a commercial broker.
Set up once for how you get paid on each account and what the agency spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Commission incomePaid by carriers on general liability, workers comp, commercial auto, and other placed lines.
- Broker feesFees billed straight to the client on top of carrier commission.
- Contingency bonusAnnual payments from carriers based on your book's growth and loss ratio.
- Held premiumAgency-bill premium collected for a carrier, tracked apart from actual agency income.
Money out
- Producer splitsThe share of commission owed to the producer who wrote the account.
- Agency softwareAgency management system subscriptions and policy tracking tools.
- Licensing and E&OState license, appointment, and errors and omissions coverage.
- Marketing and account roundingCosts of expanding existing accounts into more lines of coverage.
- Payroll for account managersStaff who service renewals and certificates for the book.
What we watch for you
- Commission versus fee income
How much of your revenue is carrier commission versus your own broker fees, so pricing decisions are grounded in the real split.
- Held premium balance
Agency-bill money not yet remitted to carriers, so it never gets spent like it is yours.
- Producer payout share
What producers keep against total commission, so the agency's real take is clear.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things commercial broker 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.
No, that reflects your whole book's performance last year, loss ratio and all. I flagged it that way so October's actual new business is not overstated.
That premium sits as money owed to the carrier, not agency income, until you remit it. Only your commission and fees count as what the agency actually earned.
If she is paid outside payroll and clears $2,000 for the year, yes, by January 31. I keep that running total so it is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of a commercial brokerage.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and what counts as revenue, held premium mistaken for income, a contingency bonus booked to the wrong month, a producer split not tracked toward a 1099.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Producer 1099sAny producer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 outside payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running list all year.
- Self-employment tax and estimatesOwner-producers who are not on a W-2 pay self-employment tax at 15.3 percent up to the $184,500 wage base, typically in quarterly estimates timed to April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
- The pass-through deductionMost commercial agency owners can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income, with the deduction narrowing above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, so the accountant runs the number once contingency bonuses are counted.
- Equipment and software write-offsAgency management software licenses and office equipment can usually be expensed the year you buy them, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Deductions commercial insurance brokers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Errors and omissions insurance
- State license and appointment fees
- Agency management software
- Continuing education courses
- Mileage for client and prospect visits
- Trade association dues
- Office rent or home office share
- Account manager payroll
- Marketing and account rounding costs
- Background checks for new producers
- Business cards and signage
- Referral fees to other professionals
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 commercial broker's year, kept every month.
Renewals and new business come all year. Gus keeps the books ready around both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Map out the year
Producer 1099s go out, last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Signed and filed
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has tracked commission, broker fees, and held premium separately since January.
- July
Book review
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether commission or fee income is driving the year.
- October
Before bonus season
Contingency bonus season often lands around now, and Gus looks at software 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 commercial insurance brokers. 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 commercial broker owners ask first.
Can Gus keep held premium separate from what we actually earned?
Yes. Agency-bill premium collected for a carrier is tracked as a liability, not revenue, so your income reflects only your commission and fees.
How does Gus handle a once-a-year contingency bonus?
He notes that it reflects the whole prior year's book, loss ratio included, so a single large check does not distort this month's real trend.
We charge clients a broker fee on top of carrier commission. Can Gus track both?
Yes. Broker fees and commission are kept on separate lines, so you can see both sides of your income clearly.
Our producers are paid on a negotiated split. Does that complicate the books?
No. Gus keeps the full commission and each producer's split on separate lines, so the agency's real take is always visible.
Can Gus track our book across multiple carriers and lines of business?
Yes. Commission and fees are sorted by carrier and by line, so you can see which relationships and which coverages are actually carrying the agency.
Our books mix personal draws with agency deposits in one account. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the statements you have. Gus sorts held premium, commission, fees, and draws apart, 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.
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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