Accounting, tax & financial pros
Books and taxes for cost segregation firms.
A flat study fee sized to one property, a December rush fee before a client's year end, an engineer's out-of-state site visit, and a referral commission paid to the accounting firm that sent the client. 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
December made $22,000. The Thornwood rush fee is on its own line, kept apart from your regular study fees, since year-end always brings a wave of clients trying to beat their own filing deadline.
- Meridian Plaza study feeStudy fees
- Thornwood rush feeRush fees
- Subcontract engineer, site visitContract engineering labor
- Referral commission, Ashford AccountingReferral fees paid
- Site visit travel, out of stateTravel to properties
Why your books are different
A cost segregation firm's own books go wrong in a few predictable spots.
You spend your days breaking one building into pieces that depreciate at different speeds. Your own firm's books need a version of that same discipline, since a flat study fee, a rush fee, and an engineer's site visit all behave differently and rarely get tracked that way.
-
1
A flat fee does not always match what a study actually took
A study priced by property size or value can take far longer for a complex building than a simple one, but if every study is booked the same way, the firm cannot see which kinds of properties are actually worth the flat fee charged.
What we doKeeps engineering cost tied to each study, so the firm can see which property types are genuinely profitable at the going rate. -
2
Site visit travel gets lumped into general travel
Sending an engineer to inspect a property, sometimes out of state, is a real cost tied to one specific study, but it usually lands in a general travel account with no link to which client it supported.
What we doKeeps site visit travel tied to the study it supported, so the real cost of each engagement is visible. -
3
Year-end rush fees blend into regular study fees
Clients racing to finish a study before their own tax deadline often pay a rush premium, but that extra fee usually gets folded into the standard study fee instead of tracked as its own thing.
What we doKeeps rush fees in their own line, so the firm can see how much of a strong month depends on year-end timing pressure. -
4
Referral commissions to accounting firms get buried
A commission paid to the accounting firm that sent a property owner your way is a real, ongoing cost of winning that business, but it often gets folded into a general expense account instead of tracked against the relationship.
What we doKeeps referral commissions paid out in their own line, so the firm can see what each referral source is actually worth. -
5
Follow-up studies for new property additions get lost in the main fee line
A client who adds a new building or a major renovation often needs a smaller follow-up study, but that fee usually lands in the same category as a full new engagement, hiding how much repeat work is really coming from existing clients.
What we doKeeps follow-up and update study fees separate from new full engagements, so repeat client work is easy to see.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a cost segregation firm.
Set up once for how your firm bills and spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Study feesFlat fees for a full cost segregation study, sized to the property.
- Rush feesPremiums for studies completed under a tight year-end deadline.
- Follow-up study feesSmaller studies for new additions or major renovations.
- Referral incomeStudies sent over by accounting firms or real estate advisors.
Money out
- Contract engineering laborEngineers brought in to inspect and document each property.
- Travel to propertiesSite visits, including out-of-state trips for larger studies.
- Referral fees paidCommissions paid to accounting firms that send clients.
- Study softwareTools used to document and calculate each property's components.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage sized for exposure if a study is challenged.
- Continuing educationCourses tracking depreciation and property tax rules as they develop.
What we watch for you
- Engineering cost per study
Site visit and engineering labor against what a given study actually pays.
- Rush fee share
How much of a strong month depends on year-end deadline pressure rather than steady demand.
- Referral commission cost
What each accounting firm relationship costs against what it brings in.
- Repeat client rate
Follow-up study fees against new full engagements, so growth in existing accounts is visible.
Ask Gus
Things cost segregation firm 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.
Mostly, yes. I keep rush fees in their own line, so you can see how much of December's strength is year-end timing rather than steady demand.
About $4,100 between the engineer and the travel. I keep that tied to the study, so you can see the real margin on that one.
That one is above my pay grade to settle from the books alone. I can show the accountant your travel costs against study fees, and that conversation can start from real numbers.
The tax side
The tax side of running a cost segregation firm.
Most of what trips up your own return is the same discipline your studies bring to a client's building: getting the timing and the pieces right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- A study fee is usually earned at deliveryA flat study fee is usually earned when the completed report is delivered to the client, not the day a deposit is collected, and that timing matters on the firm's own return as much as it does for the client's depreciation schedule.
- 1099s for subcontract engineersAn engineer brought in to inspect a property, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on your payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31, whether the site visit happened in state or not.
- Self-employment tax and the S corp questionStudy fees and rush fees together make up net profit for the year, and all of it owes 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base. Electing S corp status by March 15, ahead of a heavy year-end season, can change how much of it gets taxed that way.
- Section 179 on firm equipmentCameras, measuring tools, and workstations bought to support site visits and reports can usually be written off in the year purchased, up to $2,560,000.
Deductions cost segregation firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Cost segregation study software
- Travel to client properties
- Subcontract engineer payments
- Referral commissions paid out
- Professional liability insurance
- Continuing education courses
- Home office costs
- Computer and workstation upgrades
- Secure report storage
- Conference travel
- Industry publication subscriptions
- Document preparation costs
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 cost segregation firm's year, kept every month.
Your busiest weeks cluster around other people's fiscal year ends, not one calendar date. Gus keeps your own numbers steady all year, whatever the rush looks like this quarter. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
New properties come in
New engagements come in from accounting firm referrals, last year's own return gets started, and a set-aside gets planned around study timing.
- April
Filed, ahead of the rush
Your own return is filed and signed, whether or not this year's biggest rush studies have landed yet.
- July
Midyear pipeline check
Where the firm stands, how many studies are in the pipeline, and whether referral commissions are still worth what they bring in.
- October
Before the year-end rush
A look at equipment or staffing worth adding before the December wave of clients trying to finish a study before their own deadline.
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 cost segregation firms. 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 cost segregation firm owners ask first.
Can Gus separate rush fees from regular study fees?
Yes. Rush fees stay in their own line, so you can see how much of a strong month depends on year-end timing pressure versus steady demand.
My engineers travel to properties, sometimes out of state. How does that get tracked?
Tied to the study it supported, so you can see the real cost of each engagement against what it pays.
I pay a few accounting firms a referral commission. Where does that show up?
In its own line, separate from general expenses, so you can see what each relationship costs against what it brings in.
Can Gus tell a follow-up study apart from a full new engagement?
Yes. They stay in separate lines, so you can see how much repeat work is coming from existing clients.
My own books have been behind since I am focused on active studies. Is that fixable?
Yes. Property visits tend to come first. Send the statements you have, and Gus will catch the books up while the accountant checks behind him, ready before the next rush.
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