Dental
Books and taxes for endodontists.
New root canal payments, retreatment cases, referral volume, and same-day emergency fees, none of which behave the same month to month. Gus sorts every deposit, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September made $21,600. Retreatment cases ran higher than usual this month, and I kept them apart from standard root canals so you can see the difference in what each brings in.
- New root canal paymentsProcedure income
- Retreatment case paymentRetreatment income
- Microscope service contractEquipment service
- Darby Dental orderDental supplies
- Referral thank-you mailersReferral outreach
Why your books are different
An endodontic practice's books go wrong in four familiar places.
Your practice has no hygiene department to smooth out a slow week, and every patient arrives by referral, in pain, on no real schedule. A generalist bookkeeper who does not know that reads normal swings as trouble.
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1
No hygiene income to smooth things out
Unlike a general practice, an endodontic office has no recurring hygiene revenue underneath it. Every month's number depends entirely on referral volume, which makes normal swings look sharper than they are.
What we doTracks the pattern across full months instead of single weeks, so a quiet stretch is not mistaken for a real drop in referrals. -
2
New root canals and retreatments price differently
A retreatment, removing a prior root canal's materials before redoing the work, takes longer and is usually billed higher than a first-time root canal. Dumped into one procedure income line, you cannot see which type of case is filling the schedule.
What we doKeeps new root canal income and retreatment income in separate categories, so a busy retreatment month is not confused with simply more patients. -
3
The operating microscope is not a small supply purchase
A dental operating microscope and its imaging equipment can cost as much as a car. Filed alongside files and irrigation materials, it wrecks the month it was bought.
What we doFlags a major equipment purchase the day it clears and logs it separately from routine supply orders. -
4
Emergency cases arrive with no real schedule
Same-day pain referrals do not follow a pattern the way scheduled procedures do, so a quiet week of emergency cases can look like a slowdown when it is really just an ordinary gap.
What we doKeeps emergency and same-day fees in their own category so their natural unevenness does not get mistaken for a trend.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an endodontic practice.
Set up once for how the practice gets paid and what it spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- New root canal paymentsStandard single-visit root canal procedures, the bulk of the schedule.
- Retreatment paymentsCases that require removing a prior root canal's materials before redoing the work.
- Insurance paymentsPPO coverage for endodontic procedures, with the contracted write-off kept separate.
- Emergency and same-day feesPain relief visits referred in same-day, billed at the practice's emergency rate.
Money out
- Dental suppliesDarby Dental and Henry Schein orders for files, materials, and irrigation materials.
- Equipment serviceMaintenance contracts for the operating microscope and imaging equipment.
- Clinical staff payAssistants trained in endodontic procedures, kept apart from front desk pay.
- Referral outreachMailers and materials sent to the general dentists who refer nearly every patient.
- Sterilization suppliesAutoclave supplies and biohazard pickup.
- Practice software subscriptionsScheduling and imaging software built for a referral-based practice.
What we watch for you
- Retreatment share
How much of the month came from retreatment cases against new root canals, since retreatments run longer and cost more.
- Referral volume
How many new cases came in from referring dentists, the main driver of the whole month.
- Emergency case count
How many same-day pain cases came through, since they arrive on no real schedule.
- The set-aside
What you owe even as referral volume swings week to week, tracked so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things endodontists 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.
Yes. Retreatments take longer and are usually billed higher than a new root canal. I kept them in their own category so you can see the jump came from case mix, not just more patients.
Emergency cases come in on no real schedule, so a quiet week is not unusual on its own. Worth a look if it keeps happening past a couple of weeks.
A repair is usually a straightforward expense the year you pay for it, different from buying new equipment. I logged it and flagged it so the accountant confirms it is handled right.
The tax side
The tax side of an endodontic practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing across uneven months, not the rules themselves. Referral volume moves the whole year, so the set-aside has to account for that.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Operating microscope and imagingA dental operating microscope or an imaging system can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025. A repair to existing equipment is typically a regular expense instead.
- No hygiene revenue to offset a slow monthWithout a hygiene department, income depends entirely on referral volume, so the accountant pays close attention to smoothing the estimated tax set-aside across uneven months.
- Associate endodontist classificationAn associate endodontist paid a share of production is usually an employee, and state rules on who can own a dental practice narrow the options further.
- Contractor 1099sA relief endodontist or a lab paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions endodontists miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Endodontic files and materials
- Irrigation materials
- Microscope service contracts
- Loupes and headlights
- Malpractice insurance
- Continuing education
- Endodontic association dues
- Referral outreach materials
- Sterilization supplies
- Practice software subscriptions
- Credit card processing 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
An endodontic year, kept every month.
Referral volume drives the whole year, unevenly. Your team keeps you ahead of it, and of the calendar. 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 contractor list for any relief endodontist is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is not a scramble.
- April
Filed and signed
Your business return is filed. Because the set-aside has been running since January, the number due holds no surprise, even with uneven months behind it.
- July
Midyear read
A look at where the practice stands, what you will owe, and whether referral volume is keeping pace with the rest of the year.
- October
Before the slow stretch
Referrals often dip around the holidays as general practices get busy with their own patients. Before that hits, Gus flags equipment worth buying and anything worth 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 endodontists. 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 endodontists ask first.
How do you handle the difference between a new root canal and a retreatment?
They are kept in separate categories since retreatments take longer and usually cost more. That way a month heavy on retreatments is not mistaken for simply busier than usual.
My revenue swings a lot week to week since I only see referred patients. Is that a problem for the books?
No, that is normal for a referral-based practice. Gus tracks the pattern over the full month so a quiet week does not read as a real slowdown on its own.
I do not have a hygiene department. Does that change how my set-aside is calculated?
It means your income depends more on referral volume than a general practice's does. The accountant factors that in when setting your monthly set-aside so it holds up across uneven months.
Do emergency same-day cases get billed differently?
Often yes, since they are usually billed at the practice's emergency rate rather than a scheduled procedure rate. Gus keeps that income in its own category so you can see how much of the month came from same-day cases.
My books are a mess since my previous bookkeeper left. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send what you have. Gus sorts through the gap and flags anything unclear, and the accountant checks it once it is settled.
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