Vehicle sales & auto services
Books and taxes for driving schools.
Lesson package tuition, classroom course fees, instructor pay per lesson, and a fleet of dual-brake cars all move through the books differently. Gus sorts every dollar into its own line, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June netted $8,600. The refund for the student who moved got matched back to her original package, so this month's revenue is what the school actually kept.
- Package payment, onlineLesson package tuition
- Classroom course feeClassroom and online course fees
- Instructor pay, per lessonInstructor wages
- Dual-brake car insuranceFleet insurance
- Fuel, instructor vehiclesFleet fuel and maintenance
Why your books are different
A driving school's books go wrong around the package, not the lesson.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business sells tuition before the work is done, refunds it sometimes, and runs a small fleet of cars built just for teaching. When the books do not track by lesson, revenue can look bigger or smaller than what you actually earned.
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1
Package tuition gets counted before it's earned
A student pays for a ten-hour lesson package up front, and if the full amount is booked as income the day it is paid, the school looks like it earned money for lessons that have not happened yet.
What we doBooks tuition as it is used, so income reflects lessons actually delivered, not just cash collected. -
2
Refunds and cancellations get lost
A student cancels partway through a package and gets a partial refund, but if that refund is not tracked against the original tuition, revenue looks higher than what the school actually kept.
What we doMatches refunds to the original package so revenue reflects what was truly earned. -
3
Instructor pay per lesson hides labor cost
Instructors paid a flat rate per behind-the-wheel hour look like a simple expense, but without tracking pay against hours actually taught, it is hard to tell if lesson pricing still covers the cost of teaching it.
What we doKeeps instructor pay tied to lessons taught so the real cost of an hour on the road is visible. -
4
Fleet costs get buried in one vehicle line
Insurance, fuel, and maintenance on three or four dual-brake cars used only for lessons get mixed with any personal vehicle expenses, so the true cost of running the fleet is unclear.
What we doKeeps instructional vehicle costs separate from personal use, so fleet expense reflects only the business. -
5
A summer surge distorts the rest of the year
A rush of teenagers signing up for summer permit prep can bring in more revenue in two months than the rest of the year combined, making slower months look like a problem instead of the normal calendar.
What we doTracks the seasonal pattern so a strong summer does not make a normal fall or winter look weak.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a driving school.
Set up once for how tuition, courses, and fees come in. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Lesson package tuitionMulti-hour behind-the-wheel packages paid up front or in installments.
- Classroom and online course feesState-required classroom hours or an online course sold directly or through a partner like Aceable.
- Road test fees collectedFees passed through for scheduling or administering the state road test.
- Single lesson bookingsOne-off lessons booked outside a package.
Money out
- Instructor wagesPay per lesson or hourly for behind-the-wheel and classroom instructors.
- Fleet insuranceCoverage on dual-brake instructional vehicles.
- Fleet fuel and maintenanceGas, oil changes, and brake work on the lesson cars.
- Vehicle lease or loan paymentsFinancing on dual-brake vehicles.
- Classroom rentalSpace rented for in-person classroom hours.
- State licensing and certificationSchool licensing and instructor certification renewals.
- Scheduling softwareThe booking system students use to reserve lessons.
What we watch for you
- Revenue per instructor hour
What a lesson hour actually nets once instructor pay is considered.
- Package completion rate
How much of sold tuition has actually been delivered as lessons, tracked against cash collected.
- Fleet cost per car
Insurance, fuel, and maintenance against how many lessons each vehicle runs.
- Refund rate
How much of tuition collected ends up refunded, since that eats into real revenue.
Ask Gus
Things driving school 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.
Only the four lessons taught count as earned income right now. The rest sits as tuition owed, so your revenue matches what actually happened.
I matched the refund to that student's original tuition, so your revenue reflects what the school actually kept.
No. I track the pattern year over year, so a slower fall reads as the normal calendar, not a decline.
The tax side
The tax side of a driving school.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on tuition and knowing an employee from a contractor. Getting both right is what makes the return come out clean.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Tuition is earned as lessons happenPayment for a package of lessons is generally recognized as income as those lessons get delivered, not all at once when the cash comes in.
- Dual-brake vehicles and Section 179Instructional vehicles bought for the business can usually be expensed the year they are bought, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for instructorsAn instructor who teaches on your schedule, in your car, following your curriculum is usually an employee, not a contractor. Getting that wrong gets expensive.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when tuition and instructor pay are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions driving schools miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Dual-brake vehicle installation
- Fleet insurance premiums
- Instructor certification renewals
- Classroom rental costs
- Scheduling software fees
- Fuel for lesson vehicles
- Vehicle signage and decals
- State school licensing fees
- Printed course materials
- Online course provider fees
- Extra mirrors and safety equipment
- Advertising to local schools
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 driving school's year, kept every month.
Summer permits bring the rush every year on schedule. Your taxes come on a schedule too. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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, and a monthly set-aside is planned before the summer permit rush brings the year's busiest stretch.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed as spring enrollment picks up ahead of summer. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at midyear, what you will owe, and how the summer surge is tracking against what Gus expected from past years.
- October
Before the slow season
Gus looks at any fleet vehicle worth replacing and what the year's number looks like heading into the calmer winter months.
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 driving schools. 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 driving school owners ask first.
How do you handle a package a student hasn't finished yet?
It stays as tuition owed until the lessons are actually taught. Gus books income as lessons happen, not all at once when the payment comes in.
What happens when I refund part of a package?
The refund gets matched to that student's original tuition, so your revenue always reflects what the school actually kept.
My instructors are paid per lesson, not hourly. Does that work with Gus?
Yes. He tracks instructor pay against lessons taught, so you can see the real cost of an hour on the road, however you structure the pay.
Summer is way busier than the rest of the year. Will that throw off my books?
No. Gus tracks the seasonal pattern so a slower fall or winter reads as the normal calendar, not a decline in the business.
Do you handle the DMV paperwork for road tests?
No. Gus tracks the money, including any fees collected or passed through for testing. Scheduling and administering the actual test stays with your school and the state.
I have three dual-brake cars and one personal vehicle I sometimes use for the business. Can Gus keep those separate?
Yes. He keeps instructional fleet costs apart from any personal vehicle use, so your fleet expense reflects only the business.
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