Advisors, lenders & money services
Books and taxes for debt settlement firms.
A settlement fee earned only when a creditor accepts and the client pays, client funds sitting untouched in a dedicated account, lead costs for enrollments that never close. 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
June brought in $11,400. Four settlements closed and the fees posted, so I only counted the ones where the client's first payment actually cleared.
- Settlement fee, closed dealSettlement fees
- Lead purchase, call centerLead costs
- Negotiation softwareCase management software
- State licensing renewalLicensing
- Compliance review, outside counselCompliance costs
Why your books are different
A debt settlement firm's books go wrong in a few particular spots.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a client sign up and calls that a sale. Your fee is not earned until a creditor accepts a deal and the client actually pays into it, the money clients save toward settlements is never yours to count, and a lot of enrollments never make it to a closed deal.
-
1
A signed enrollment is not the same as earned income
A client can enroll and start saving toward settlements for months before any creditor accepts an offer, and counting the enrollment itself as revenue overstates the month before any real fee has actually been earned.
What we doBooks settlement fees only once a deal is accepted and the client's payment toward it clears, so income reflects work actually completed. -
2
Client dedicated account funds are not firm revenue
Money a client deposits each month into a dedicated account to fund future settlements is the client's money, held for the client, and treating any part of that balance as the firm's income badly overstates what the business actually made.
What we doKeeps dedicated account balances entirely separate from the firm's books, so only the fee the firm actually earns counts as its revenue. -
3
Lead costs get measured against the wrong number
A lead that turns into an enrollment can still drop out before ever reaching a completed settlement, so comparing lead spend to enrollments instead of to closed deals makes marketing look far cheaper than it really is.
What we doTracks lead cost against completed settlements, not just signups, so the real cost of a closed deal is visible. -
4
Compliance and legal review costs blend into general overhead
Outside counsel review, state licensing, and compliance monitoring are real, recurring costs specific to running a regulated settlement practice, and generic bookkeeping tends to file them as unlabeled admin expense.
What we doKeeps compliance and legal costs in their own category, so you can see what staying compliant actually costs each year.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a debt settlement firm.
Set up once for how the firm earns fees and what it spends to find and close settlements. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Settlement feesFees earned once a creditor accepts a deal and the client's payment clears.
- Document review feesFlat fees for reviewing a client's debt situation before enrollment, where charged.
- Referral incomeFees received for sending a client to a partner service.
- Renegotiation feesAdditional fees for reworking a settlement plan after enrollment.
Money out
- Lead costsPurchased leads and call center costs, tracked against completed settlements.
- Case management softwareTools used to track negotiations and client files.
- Compliance costsOutside counsel review and compliance monitoring for the practice.
- LicensingState registration renewals for the settlement practice.
- InsuranceErrors and omissions coverage that covers the negotiation work itself.
- Contract laborContract negotiators or client service staff paid outside payroll.
What we watch for you
- Enrollment to close rate
How many enrolled clients actually reach a completed settlement.
- Cost per closed settlement
What lead spend actually costs against deals that truly finished.
- Compliance spend
What staying licensed and reviewed costs each year, tracked on its own.
- The set-aside
What the firm will owe on completed settlements, known well before the deadline.
Ask Gus
Things debt settlement 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.
No. The fee only counts once a creditor accepts a deal and her payment toward it clears. Enrollment alone does not book as income.
None of it. That money belongs to the client until it funds an actual settlement. Only the fee the firm earns on a closed deal is your revenue.
Yes. I track lead cost against completed settlements, not signups, so you see the real cost of a closed deal, not a flattering half-truth.
The tax side
The tax side of a debt settlement firm.
Most of what matters here is timing the fee correctly and keeping client funds entirely separate from the firm's own income, since the underlying business tax rules are otherwise routine.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Fees are earned on completion, not on enrollmentA settlement fee is generally taxable income once the deal closes and payment is made, not when the client first signs up. The accountant confirms the exact timing for the firm's method of accounting.
- Client funds are never the firm's incomeMoney sitting in a client's dedicated account belongs to the client until it funds a settlement. It never counts as the firm's revenue and should never appear on the firm's own return as such.
- Settlement fee profit and the S corp questionOnce client dedicated account funds are correctly excluded, what remains as the firm's real profit is taxed at 15.3 percent for self-employment tax, up to the $184,500 wage base for 2026, worth weighing against an S corp election due March 15.
- 1099s for contract negotiatorsA contract negotiator or client service representative paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions debt settlement firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Lead and call center costs
- Case management software
- Compliance and legal review
- State licensing renewals
- Errors and omissions insurance
- Client portal software
- Continuing education courses
- Office rent
- Phone and dialer systems
- Marketing and website costs
- Credit report pulls
- Background checks for staff
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 debt settlement firm's year, kept every month.
Enrollments and closed deals land on their own schedule all year, with no single busy season for the firm itself. 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
Enrollments often rise after holiday debt catches up with clients, 1099s go out for contract negotiators, and last year's return gets started.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, counting only settlements that actually closed all year, so the number due holds no surprises.
- July
Halfway check
Where the firm stands, what it will owe, and whether the enrollment to close rate is holding steady.
- October
Before year end
A look at software or equipment worth buying before December, and whether lead sources are still worth their cost.
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 debt settlement 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 debt settlement firm owners ask first.
A client just enrolled but no settlement has closed yet. Does her fee count as income now?
No. The fee only counts once a creditor accepts a deal and her first payment toward it clears. Enrollment alone is not booked as revenue.
Does Gus manage the money clients save toward their settlements?
No. That money sits in a dedicated account that belongs to the client, not the firm. Gus and your bookkeeper only keep the firm's own books, what it actually earns and spends.
My lead costs look great against signups but a lot of clients drop out before closing. Can Gus show me the real number?
Yes. Gus tracks lead cost against completed settlements, not just enrollments, so you see what a closed deal actually costs to produce.
I pay outside counsel to review my practice for compliance. Is that worth tracking on its own?
Yes. Compliance and legal review costs get their own category, so you can see what staying compliant costs against what the firm brings in.
Does Gus negotiate settlements or give clients legal advice?
No. Gus and your bookkeeper only keep the firm's own books. Negotiating with creditors and advising clients stays entirely with your team.
My books have been a mess since I started tracking enrollments separately from closed deals. Can Gus untangle that?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and Gus sorts it out, settlement by settlement. 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