Legal
Books and taxes for criminal defense attorneys.
Flat fees paid on installment plans, court-appointed cases paid on the county's schedule, and investigator costs fronted before a case even goes to trial. Gus sorts 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 $12,000. The Reyes case went to trial after being quoted flat fee for a plea, so I flagged the extra hourly billing separate from the original fee.
- Reyes flat fee, installment 2Flat fee, installments
- County panel paymentCourt-appointed pay
- Summit InvestigationsInvestigator costs
- Ballistics expert retainerExpert witness fees
- Court reporter, Reyes hearingTranscript and court costs
Why your books are different
Criminal defense books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a fee and a bill. Your business is flat fees paid in installments by clients who got arrested with no warning, court-appointed work paid on the county's own schedule, and a case that was quoted for a plea but ends up at trial.
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1
Payment plans and missed installments blur the numbers
A client arrested without warning rarely has the full flat fee ready, so firms often collect it over several payments, and a missed installment can look like lost income instead of what it actually is, a client who has not finished paying yet.
What we doTracks each flat fee against what has actually been collected on it, so a payment plan in progress does not read as a loss. -
2
A plea-scope flat fee does not cover a trial
A flat fee quoted to resolve a case by plea can leave real money on the table if the case goes to trial instead, and if the extra work is not billed and tracked separately, the firm absorbs hours it was never paid for.
What we doFlags when hourly work starts showing up on a flat-fee matter, so the shift from plea scope to trial scope is visible, not buried. -
3
Court-appointed pay runs on its own schedule
Panel or public defender contract payments from the county or state often lag months behind the hearings that generated them, so a busy stretch of appointed cases can look thin in the books until the payments actually clear.
What we doTracks court-appointed income against what has been billed to the county, so a payment lag does not get mistaken for a slow month. -
4
Investigator and expert costs get advanced with no client to bill back
Unlike a contingency practice, most criminal defense clients pay flat fees or hourly, so an investigator or a forensic expert brought in on a case is usually a cost the firm eats, not one it recovers later.
What we doKeeps investigator and expert fees in their own line, so you can see what a complex case actually costs to defend, separate from ordinary overhead. -
5
Bail coordination looks like it belongs on these books
Attorneys often refer clients to a bail bond agent, but the bond premium and any collateral are the bail agent's business, not the firm's, and it is easy to let a client's bail conversation bleed into what actually gets booked here.
What we doBooks only the firm's own fees and costs. Bail premiums and collateral held by a bonding company never appear on these books at all.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a criminal defense practice.
Set up once for how fees get paid and what gets advanced along the way. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Flat fee, installmentsCase fees collected over more than one payment as clients pay down a plan.
- Hourly billingAdditional work beyond a flat fee's original scope, such as a case that goes to trial.
- Court-appointed payPanel or contract payments from the county or state for assigned cases.
- Retainer drawsHourly work billed against a client retainer on more complex matters.
Money out
- Investigator costsPrivate investigators retained to build the defense on a specific case.
- Expert witness feesForensic, medical, or toxicology experts retained for testimony or review.
- Transcript and court costsCourt reporter fees, filing fees, and hearing transcripts.
- Staff and paralegal wagesThe people who manage discovery and case files.
- Legal research subscriptionsWestlaw, LexisNexis, or a similar service.
- Malpractice insuranceAnnual or quarterly professional liability premiums.
What we watch for you
- Payment plan collection rate
How much of each flat fee has actually been collected, so a plan in progress does not read as a loss.
- Flat fee to trial conversion
How often a plea-scope case turns into trial work, worth knowing when quoting the next flat fee.
- Court-appointed lag
How far behind the county's payments run compared to when the work was actually done.
- The set-aside
What the firm will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already know.
Ask Gus
Things criminal defense attorneys 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 already flagged the new hourly time as separate from the original flat fee, so you can see exactly what the trial cost beyond what you were paid up front.
Not yet. I track it against what he still owes on the plan, so a late payment shows up as outstanding, not as money the firm lost.
If you paid them $2,000 or more this year and they are not on your payroll, that is a 1099-NEC due January 31, and I have been keeping the running list since the retainer came in.
The tax side
The tax side of a criminal defense practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Installment income counted before it is collected, county pay that lags the work, and a set-aside that assumes a steadier month than a criminal docket actually delivers.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Installment income is counted as collectedA flat fee paid over several installments becomes income as each payment actually lands, not the day the full fee was quoted. A missed payment simply has not become income yet.
- A heavy year of appointed and private work can hit the deduction ceilingMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit, but law counts as a specified service trade, so combined flat fee and county-paid income can push taxable income above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, where the deduction begins to shrink.
- Contractor 1099s for investigators and expertsA private investigator, expert witness, or contract paralegal paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Estimated taxes on a mix of flat fee and county payAn owner relying on a mix of flat fees and county-paid appointed work typically owes estimated payments on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, and payroll withholding alone rarely covers it.
Deductions criminal defense attorneys miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Bar dues and CLE
- Malpractice insurance
- Legal research subscriptions
- Investigator fees on the firm's own dime
- Expert witness fees
- Court reporter and transcript costs
- Mileage to court and client meetings
- E-filing and PACER fees
- Payment processing fees
- Office rent and utilities
- Case management software
- Answering or intake service 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 criminal defense year, kept every month.
Arrests do not follow the calendar. Gus keeps the set-aside steady through a busy docket or a quiet one. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for investigators and experts is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned around a mix of flat fees and appointed pay.
- April
Filed, docket and all
Your return is filed and signed, whatever mix of flat fee and appointed cases the year brought. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where the firm stands, how payment plans are collecting, and whether the set-aside still fits.
- October
Before year end
A look at any equipment or software worth buying before December, and a check on court-appointed payments still outstanding.
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 criminal defense attorneys. 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 criminal defense attorneys ask first.
Can Gus track bail money for my clients?
No. A bail bond's premium and any collateral belong to the bonding company, not the firm. Gus only books the attorney's own fees and costs, and bail activity never appears on these books at all.
How does Gus handle a flat fee that came in over three payments?
Each payment is tracked against the full fee, so a plan still in progress shows as partially collected rather than as a loss, and the whole picture is clear once the last payment lands.
My court-appointed pay always lags a few months behind the hearings. Is that a problem?
No. Gus tracks what the county has actually paid against the work, so a normal payment lag reads as a lag, not as a slow month for the firm.
A case I quoted flat fee for a plea just went to trial. Can Gus separate that?
Yes. Any hourly work beyond the original flat fee scope gets flagged and kept apart, so you can see what the trial actually cost beyond the original quote.
My income swings hard month to month with arrests I cannot predict. Does that hurt my taxes?
No. Gus builds the set-aside from what actually clears the bank each month, so an unpredictable docket gets planned around, rather than assumed away with a number that never quite fits.
Can Gus show me whether flat fees or appointed work actually pays better?
Yes. Flat fee income and court-appointed pay stay in separate lines, so over time you can see which kind of work is actually carrying the practice.
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