Freight, trucking & delivery
Books and taxes for customs brokers.
Duty and tariff amounts advanced on a client's behalf, your own brokerage fee, the customs bond that keeps you able to operate, and license renewal costs. Your own bookkeeper keeps client money separate from your own, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
July brought in $13,400 in brokerage fees. A large duty payment passed through for one importer, so I kept it out of your revenue entirely.
- Client brokerage feeBrokerage fees
- Duty reimbursement from clientDuty and tariff pass-through
- Duty payment to CBPDuty and tariff pass-through
- Customs bond premiumBond and licensing
- ACE filing softwareFiling and software fees
Why your books are different
A customs broker's books go wrong when client money looks like income.
A generalist sees deposits and payments to the government and calls the difference profit. Your business advances real duty and tariff money on a client's behalf and earns only its own brokerage fee for the clearance work. When the books do not separate those, your real income disappears into someone else's tax bill.
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1
Duty payments look like a business expense
A duty payment made to CBP on an importer's behalf is money that belongs to the client, not a cost of running your business, but booked as a plain expense it distorts what the brokerage actually spends to operate.
What we doKeeps duty and tariff pass-through amounts in their own category, separate from your actual operating costs and your brokerage fee income. -
2
The brokerage fee gets lost inside the total transaction
When a client reimburses both the duty amount and your fee in one payment, it is easy to lose sight of what you actually earned versus what you were simply repaid.
What we doSeparates the brokerage fee you earned from the duty amount you were reimbursed for, so your real revenue is clear. -
3
The customs bond renewal catches you off guard
Your bond is what keeps you legally able to clear shipments, and a lapse is a real operational risk, but buried in a general insurance or licensing line, a renewal date is easy to lose track of.
What we doKeeps bond and licensing costs in their own line, so a renewal never catches you off guard. -
4
A client's slow reimbursement looks like a cash problem
Fronting a duty payment before a client reimburses you can leave real cash tied up for weeks, and a bank statement alone never shows what is simply owed back to you.
What we doTracks what has been paid out on a client's behalf against what has been reimbursed, so a timing gap does not look like a loss.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a customs brokerage.
Set up once for what belongs to your clients and what is actually yours. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Brokerage feesWhat you actually earn for clearing a shipment, separate from duty amounts.
- Duty and tariff pass-throughClient reimbursements for duty amounts you advanced.
- Consulting and classification feesFees for tariff classification or compliance advice.
- Filing and documentation feesFees billed for entry filing and related paperwork.
Money out
- Duty and tariff pass-throughDuty amounts paid to CBP on a client's behalf.
- Bond and licensingYour customs bond premium and broker license renewal.
- Filing and software feesEntry filing software and related transaction fees.
- Staff and classification wagesPay for anyone doing classification, filing, or client work.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage for errors in classification or filing.
What we watch for you
- Fee per entry
What you actually earn per shipment cleared, separate from duty pass-through. It tells you if your pricing still holds up.
- Duty float days
How long duty payments sit fronted before a client reimburses you. A widening gap strains cash.
- Fee collection rate
How much of your billed brokerage fees actually gets collected on time.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so filing season is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things customs brokers 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 is a duty payment made on your client's behalf, and I keep it in its own pass-through category, separate from your actual business costs.
Your brokerage fee income is kept separate from duty reimbursements, so what you see as revenue is what you actually earned for the clearance work.
Yes, it is tracked in its own line, so it will not show up as a surprise the month it renews.
The tax side
The tax side of running a customs brokerage.
Most of what trips up a customs broker is treating client duty money as business income or expense, when only the brokerage fee is really yours.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Only your fee is taxable incomeDuty and tariff amounts advanced and reimbursed on a client's behalf are not business income or a business expense, only the brokerage fee you actually earn is. Clean books that separate the two make return preparation far more accurate.
- 1099s for classification and filing helpAnyone helping with classification or filing who is not on payroll and is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Bond and licensing costsYour customs bond premium and any broker license renewal fees are deductible costs of doing business, tracked the year they are paid.
- The pass-through deductionMost brokerage owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when only your actual fee income is what the books track.
Deductions customs brokers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Customs bond premiums
- Broker license renewal and exam fees
- Entry filing software and fees
- Professional liability insurance
- Continuing education and compliance training
- Staff wages for classification work
- Office space and phone
- Trade association dues
- Travel to visit clients or ports
- Reference materials for tariff classification
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 customs brokerage year, kept every month.
Imports clear on shipping schedules that rarely slow down, and your bond and taxes move on their own. Your team stays on both, not just at filing time. 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 contracted help is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside built from real fee income, not duty pass-through.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether import volume this year changed the fee picture.
- October
Before the peak import season
Import volume climbs ahead of the holidays. Gus looks at whether your bond and licensing are current and what still needs doing 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 customs 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 customs brokers ask first.
Do duty payments I make for clients count as my business income or expense?
Neither. Gus keeps duty and tariff pass-through amounts in their own category, separate from your books entirely, so only your actual brokerage fee shows up as revenue.
How do you keep client money separate from what I actually earned?
Every deposit and payment is tagged as either a pass-through amount belonging to a client or your own brokerage fee income, so the two never blend together in your numbers.
My bond and license renewals are on different schedules. Can the books track both?
Yes. Bond and licensing costs are kept in their own category with the dates noted, so a renewal does not catch you off guard.
What if a client is slow to reimburse a duty payment I already made?
Gus tracks what has been paid out against what has been reimbursed, so you and the accountant can see exactly where cash is tied up.
I have staff who do classification work and contractors who help with filing. Is that a problem?
No. Classification staff wages and contractor filing fees are kept in separate lines, and Gus flags anyone paid enough to need a 1099, so nothing slips through at filing time.
My books have always lumped duty payments in with my own expenses. Can you fix that?
Yes. Send the statements you have. Gus separates duty pass-through from your real fee income going forward, and most owners see a clear picture within a few weeks.
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