Consulting & business services
Books and taxes for DOT compliance consultants.
A monthly retainer keeping a fleet's driver files in order, a project fee that spikes the week an FMCSA audit gets scheduled, an FMCSA registration fee paid on a client's behalf, and the subcontracted auditor who checks the files. 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
May came in at $7,800. Cascade Freight's audit prep fee only shows up once, tied to their actual FMCSA audit date, so I kept it apart from your steady retainer income.
- Redline Trucking retainerRetainer income
- Cascade Freight audit prepAudit prep project fees
- Subcontracted safety auditorSubcontracted auditors
- FMCSA registration, paid throughPass-through registration fees
- CSA monitoring softwareCompliance monitoring software
Why your books are different
A DOT compliance consultant's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and filing fees. Your business is a steady monthly retainer for keeping driver files in shape, a project fee that only appears when a client actually gets audited, and a registration fee paid to FMCSA on a client's behalf. When the books do not know that, one audit month can look like your new normal.
-
1
An audit prep fee looks like recurring income
A one-time project fee for preparing a client through an actual FMCSA audit lands the same month as your regular retainers, and blended together, it makes that month look like a new steady baseline instead of a one-time event.
What we doKeeps audit prep project fees separate from retainer income, so a single audit month does not get mistaken for the new normal. -
2
An FMCSA registration fee looks like your income and your expense
You collect a registration or filing fee from a client and pay it straight to FMCSA. Booked as both income and an expense, it inflates your numbers without changing what you actually earned.
What we doKeeps pass-through registration fees out of your income and expenses entirely, since that money only ever passed through. -
3
A subcontracted auditor becomes a standing hire
A safety auditor you bring in for every fleet's driver-file review, using your checklist and your client relationships, starts to look like an employee rather than a project hire.
What we doFlags a subcontracted auditor who looks employee-like and gets the accountant's read before the pattern is a year old. -
4
Per-file audit fees and monthly retainers blur together
A one-time per-driver-file audit fee and an ongoing monthly compliance retainer are different kinds of work, and mixed together, it is hard to see which part of the practice is the steady base.
What we doKeeps per-file audit fees and retainer income in separate lines, so the steady base of the practice is visible on its own.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a DOT compliance consulting practice.
Set up once for how you bill and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retainer incomeOngoing monthly compliance support for a fleet.
- Audit prep project feesOne-time fees tied to an actual FMCSA audit date.
- Per-driver-file audit feesOne-time reviews of a fleet's driver qualification files.
- Consortium enrollment feesAdministrative fees for managing a client's drug and alcohol testing program.
Money out
- Subcontracted auditorsOutside safety auditors brought in for driver-file reviews.
- Pass-through registration feesFMCSA and state filing fees paid on a client's behalf.
- Compliance monitoring softwareTools tracking CSA scores and driver qualification deadlines.
- Continuing educationDOT compliance certification and required training.
- Travel to client terminalsMileage and lodging for on-site file reviews.
What we watch for you
- Retainer versus project mix
How much of the practice is steady retainer work versus one-time audit prep fees.
- Subcontractor cost share
What subcontracted auditors cost against total retainer and project income.
- Pass-through reconciliation
Whether registration fees collected from clients match what actually got paid to FMCSA.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things DOT compliance consultants 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, and the books show that clearly. Audit prep fees are kept separate from your steady retainer income, so a one-time project doesn't get mistaken for a new baseline.
No. That money passes straight through, so it never touches your real income or expenses.
Worth a look. That pattern is starting to resemble an employee relationship, so I flagged it for the accountant to weigh in.
The tax side
The tax side of a DOT compliance consulting practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is keeping one-time audit fees separate from steady retainer income and pass-through filings out of your real earnings. Handled right, the year does not surprise you.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099sA subcontracted auditor paid $2,000 or more over the year, off payroll, needs a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that tally current.
- Pass-through fees are not your incomeA registration or filing fee collected from a client and paid straight to FMCSA is not revenue, and it should never be reported as such.
- Self-employment taxSelf-employment tax runs 15.3 percent on owner profit, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base, since there's no paycheck withholding it along the way.
- The pass-through deductionYour real consulting income, apart from pass-through fees, can often qualify for up to a 20 percent deduction off taxable profit. The accountant confirms the actual number at filing time.
Deductions DOT compliance consultants miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- CSA and compliance monitoring software
- DOT compliance certification renewal
- Subcontracted auditor fees
- Travel to client terminals
- Professional liability insurance
- Laptop and reference materials
- Home office space
- Trade association dues
- Marketing to trucking companies
- Continuing education courses
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 DOT compliance year, checked in four times.
FMCSA audit schedules and CSA score reviews come and go on their own timing all year. Gus keeps your own taxes on schedule alongside it. 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, 1099s go out to subcontracted auditors, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Return filed, return signed. The bill is no surprise, because the set-aside has been quietly building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether retainer clients are renewing at the pace you expected.
- October
Before year end
A look at software renewals and certification worth doing before December closes out the year.
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 DOT compliance consultants. 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 DOT compliance consultants ask first.
A client paid a big one-time fee for audit prep. Does that mean my monthly income is permanently higher?
No. Gus keeps audit prep fees separate from your steady retainer income, so a single audit doesn't get mistaken for a new baseline.
I collect an FMCSA filing fee from a client and pay it myself. Is that revenue?
No. Gus keeps that money out of your income and expenses entirely, since it was only ever passing through your hands on the way to FMCSA.
My subcontracted auditor works on every fleet I take on. Does that change my taxes?
It might. If that auditor works only for you on your schedule, the pattern can start to look like an employee relationship, and Gus flags it for the accountant to review.
I bill some clients a monthly retainer and others a flat per-file audit fee. Can Gus keep those straight?
Yes. Retainer income and one-time audit fees are kept in separate lines, so you can see which part of your practice is the steady base.
My books are behind after a stretch of back-to-back client audits. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have from the fleets you audit. Gus sorts them out, and most owners know where they stand inside 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