Advisors, lenders & money services
Books and taxes for credit repair companies.
Monthly subscription fees, a credit card chargeback from an impatient client, dispute letter postage, per-client data pulls from three bureaus. Your own bookkeeper sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March made $7,100. Two chargebacks came in from clients who disputed a charge before disputes finished processing, so I logged them apart from your regular monthly fees.
- Monthly subscription batchSubscription fees
- Chargeback, card disputeChargebacks
- Bureau data pull feesCredit data costs
- Dispute letter softwareDispute software
- Affiliate payout, lead partnerAffiliate marketing
Why your books are different
A credit repair company's books go wrong in a few particular spots.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a subscription deposit and a card processing bill and calls it routine. Your fees have rules about when they can actually be counted as earned, your clients dispute charges when results feel slow, and a data pull cost follows every single file open.
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1
Fees collected do not always match fees earned
Money collected from a client can sit ahead of the work actually being completed on their file, and counting it as income the day it lands instead of when it is earned overstates the month and understates how much is still owed in service.
What we doTracks collected fees against completed work, so income reflects service actually delivered, not just money that hit the account. -
2
Chargebacks arrive weeks after the original charge
A client who does not see a fast score jump can dispute the card charge with their bank, and the chargeback often lands a month or two after the original fee, showing up as an unexplained loss if it is not linked back.
What we doTies every chargeback back to the original client and fee, so it reads as a reversal, not a random hit to revenue. -
3
Bureau data pulls scale with every new client
Each open file usually means a recurring data pull cost from the credit monitoring services the practice uses, and as the client list grows this cost climbs quietly without ever getting compared to what each client actually pays.
What we doKeeps bureau and monitoring data costs in their own line, so you can see them against subscription revenue as the client count changes. -
4
Affiliate and lead partner payouts blend into general marketing
A percentage paid to an affiliate or lead partner for every signed client is a real, scaling cost, and lumped into general marketing it becomes impossible to see which lead source is actually worth the payout.
What we doKeeps affiliate payouts in their own category tied to the source, so you can see what each channel actually costs against what it brings in.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a credit repair company.
Set up once for how the business collects fees and what it spends on disputes and data. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Monthly subscription feesRecurring fees billed to active clients for ongoing dispute work.
- First work feesThe initial fee tied to opening a file and starting the first round of disputes.
- Referral incomeFees received for sending clients to a lender or other partner.
- Reinstated paymentsPayments that resume after a paused or delinquent account catches up.
Money out
- ChargebacksFees reversed when a client disputes a card charge with their bank.
- Credit data costsBureau and credit monitoring pulls tied to each open client file.
- Dispute softwareTools used to generate and track dispute letters.
- Postage and mailingCertified mail and postage for dispute letters sent to bureaus and creditors.
- Affiliate marketingPayouts to lead partners for signed clients.
- Card processing feesWhat the payment processor keeps on every subscription charge.
What we watch for you
- Chargeback rate
How much fee revenue reverses against total collected, a sign of client satisfaction.
- Data cost per client
What bureau pulls actually cost against what each client pays monthly.
- Affiliate payout share
What lead partners are paid against the clients they actually bring in.
- The set-aside
What the business will owe once chargebacks and refunds are subtracted out.
Ask Gus
Things credit repair 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.
It gets tied straight back to her original fee, so it shows up as a reversal, not a random loss in this month's numbers.
Yes. Data costs stay in their own line, so you can see them against subscription income and know if pricing still makes sense.
That is one for the accountant and your compliance counsel, since the rules on when fees can be collected are specific. I just make sure whatever you decide gets booked consistently.
The tax side
The tax side of a credit repair company.
Most of what matters here is timing income against completed work and keeping chargebacks and per-client costs visible, since the underlying tax rules are the same as any service subscription business.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Income should reflect work delivered, not just cash collectedA fee collected before the service is complete is not automatically taxable income the day it lands. The accountant reviews how the practice's fee structure lines up with when work is actually done.
- Chargebacks reduce revenue, not a separate write-offA reversed charge generally lowers the income it was originally counted as, rather than becoming its own deduction. Gus tracks each one against the original fee so the return reflects it correctly.
- Recurring subscription profit and the S corp questionOnce chargebacks and data costs are subtracted, monthly subscription profit is taxed at 15.3 percent for self-employment tax, up to the $184,500 wage base for 2026, a number worth reviewing against an S corp election due March 15.
- 1099s for affiliates and contract staffAn affiliate, lead partner, or contract dispute writer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions credit repair companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Bureau and monitoring data fees
- Dispute letter software
- Certified mail and postage
- Card processing fees
- Affiliate and lead partner payouts
- Client portal software
- Continuing education courses
- Compliance consulting
- Office rent
- Phone and data plan
- Marketing and website costs
- Errors and omissions insurance
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 credit repair company's year, kept every month.
Clients sign up and disputes resolve on their own timeline all year, with no single busy season. Your team keeps the business's own books current through all of it. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Year planned
New client sign-ups often rise after holiday spending catches up with people, 1099s go out for affiliates and contractors, and last year's return gets started.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, with chargebacks and refunds already netted against fee income, so the number due is accurate.
- July
Halfway check
Where the business stands, what it will owe, and whether chargebacks this year are running higher or lower than usual.
- October
Before year end
A look at software or equipment worth buying before December, and whether affiliate payout rates still make sense against results.
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 credit repair 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 credit repair owners ask first.
A client charged back her monthly fee after the first round of disputes. How is that tracked?
The chargeback gets tied back to her original fee, so it reads as a reversal on your books, not an unexplained drop in revenue.
My data costs from the bureaus keep rising as I add clients. Can Gus show me if pricing still works?
Yes. Data costs stay in their own line against subscription revenue, so you can see the real cost per client whenever you want to check your pricing.
Does Gus help me write dispute letters or work client files?
No. Gus and your bookkeeper only keep the business's own books, what it makes and spends. Dispute work and client files stay entirely with you.
I pay affiliates a fee for every client they send. How does that get tracked?
Each affiliate stays in its own line, so you can see exactly what each lead source costs against the clients it actually brings in.
I am not sure I am collecting fees the right way under the rules for this business. Can Gus tell me?
Gus keeps the books consistent with however you and your compliance counsel set up billing, but the rules on fee timing are specific enough that the accountant and your own counsel are the right call there.
My books have been inconsistent since I started running affiliate marketing last year. Can Gus fix that?
Yes. Send the bank and processor statements you have and Gus sorts it out. Most owners 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.
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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