Consulting & business services
Books and taxes for executive coaches.
A corporate purchase order that pays net 60, a 360 assessment billed through you, a keynote fee, and the coach you bring in when a client company sends three executives at once. 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 $27,000. The Global Tech purchase order was actually two months of work billed at once, so I split it across the engagement it covers.
- Global Tech Corp PO paymentCorporate engagement income
- Keynote fee, Meridian SummitSpeaking fees
- Hogan Assessments360 assessment tools
- Marriott corporate rateTravel to client sites
- T. Whitfield, coachSubcontracted coaches
Why your books are different
An executive coach's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is a corporate purchase order that covers a multi-month engagement, a 360 assessment billed through you at cost, and a coach you bring in when a client company sends three executives at once. When the books do not know the timing, a quiet quarter can look like a crisis.
-
1
A purchase order pays for months of work at once
A company issues a $22,000 purchase order that covers a six-month leadership engagement, paid net 60 after the invoice goes in. Booked entirely the month it lands, the engagement's real pace disappears.
What we doSpreads a multi-month engagement's income across the months it covers, so the books reflect the coaching actually delivered. -
2
A 360 assessment fee looks like coaching revenue
The cost of a Hogan or similar assessment is billed through your invoice at cost, but mixed with your coaching fee it inflates what you actually earned for the engagement.
What we doKeeps assessment costs billed through to clients separate from your coaching fee, so your real earnings per engagement are clear. -
3
One company, three executives, one invoice
A single purchase order covering coaching for three separate executives at one company can look like one large engagement instead of three, hiding which relationships are actually worth renewing.
What we doTags income by executive or cohort within a shared purchase order, so you can see which engagements are performing. -
4
The overflow coach who is basically a partner
A subcontracted coach you bring in every time a client sends multiple executives starts to look less like an occasional hire and more like a standing part of the business.
What we doFlags a recurring subcontracted coach so the accountant can weigh in before the pattern is a year old.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an executive coaching 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
- Corporate engagement incomePurchase order payments for multi-month leadership coaching.
- Speaking and keynote feesConference and corporate event speaking engagements.
- Assessment fees billed through360 or personality assessment costs passed to the client, kept apart from coaching fees.
- Referral incomeFees from HR consultants or firms who send engagements your way.
Money out
- Subcontracted coachesOutside coaches brought in for multi-executive engagements.
- 360 assessment toolsHogan, DISC, or similar assessment licensing.
- Travel to client sitesFlights, hotels, and mileage for on-site corporate visits.
- Certification and supervisionICF renewal and required coaching supervision hours.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage for the advice you give corporate clients.
- Video conferencing and schedulingZoom, Calendly, and client portals for session notes.
What we watch for you
- Engagement renewal rate
How many corporate contracts extend into a new term or a new executive.
- Days to get paid
Corporate purchase orders often pay net 60, and a slipping number signals a cash gap ahead.
- Subcontractor cost share
What outside coaches cost against what multi-executive engagements bring in.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things executive coaches 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.
I spread it across the six months the engagement runs, so your monthly number reflects the coaching happening, not just when the invoice got paid.
No. I keep assessment costs billed through separate from your coaching fee, so your real earnings on the engagement stay clear.
Worth a look. That's starting to read like a standing part of the business rather than an occasional hire, so I flagged it for the accountant.
The tax side
The tax side of an executive coaching practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing across a long engagement and classification of the coaches you bring in. 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 coach paid $2,000 or more across the year needs a 1099-NEC by January 31, as long as they're not on your payroll. Gus keeps the tally current.
- Employee or contractorA coach you bring in on every large engagement, using your intake process and your client relationship, is starting to look like an employee rather than a project hire. Gus flags the pattern.
- The pass-through deductionMost solo practices can deduct up to 20 percent of profit from taxable income, though that benefit narrows for coaching income above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint. The accountant confirms the actual figure.
- Solo retirement savingsA solo executive coach can defer up to $24,500 into a solo 401(k), plus an $8,000 catch-up at 50 and over, which lowers what gets taxed this year.
Deductions executive coaches miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- 360 assessment licensing
- Coaching supervision hours
- Flights and hotels for client sites
- ICF or credential renewal
- Professional liability insurance
- Video conferencing software
- Laptop and presentation equipment
- Speaking engagement travel
- Home office space
- Subcontracted coach fees
- Executive assessment reports
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 executive coaching year, checked four times over.
Corporate leadership budgets reset with the fiscal year, and your own taxes run on a different clock entirely. Gus tracks 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, 1099s go out to subcontracted coaches, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Signed and filed. Because the set-aside started in January, there's no scramble for a payment now.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's engagements are renewing at the pace you expected.
- October
Before budget planning
Corporate clients start planning next year's leadership development spend. Gus looks at assessment licensing and equipment worth buying 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 executive coaches. 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 executive coaches ask first.
I get paid through a corporate purchase order, not a client card. Does that change anything?
No. Gus works from your bank deposits and invoices however they arrive, corporate purchase order included, and sorts them the same careful way.
A purchase order pays for coaching across three executives. Can Gus separate that out?
Yes. He tags income by executive or cohort within a shared purchase order, so you can see which relationships are actually worth renewing.
Do speaking fees get mixed in with coaching income?
No. Gus keeps speaking and keynote fees in their own category so you can see how much of the practice comes from each source.
My engagements often run six months from a single invoice. How does Gus handle that?
He spreads the income across the months the engagement covers, so a single large payment does not distort the monthly picture.
Can Gus tell me if my overflow coach is becoming a bigger part of the business than I realize?
Yes. When a subcontracted coach shows up on engagement after engagement, Gus flags the pattern so the accountant can weigh in on how it should be handled.
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.
More in consulting & business services
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Answering services
- Apostille services
- Background check companies
- Document shredding & records management
- DOT compliance consultants
- Drug testing centers
- Exit planning advisors
- Government contracting consultants
- Grant writers
- Import & export consultants
- ISO certification consultants
- Lean & operations consultants
- Loan signing agents
- Mail & package centers
- Mobile notaries
- OSHA safety consultants
- Proposal & RFP writers
- Transcription services
- Translation & interpretation services
- Virtual office providers
- Call centers
- Coworking spaces
- Franchise consultants
- HR consultants
- Management consultants
- Registered agent services
- Sales training firms
- Virtual assistant agencies
- Business coaches
- Banner & large-format printers
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