Insurance agencies
Books and taxes for final expense agents.
Small burial policies sold by phone or at the kitchen table, an IMO override on top of your own commission, heavy lead spend to keep the calendar full, and a client who stops paying six months in. 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
June came in at $5,500. Lead cost ran higher than usual this month, so I flagged it next to the policies it produced so you can see if the spend paid off.
- IMO first-year commissionNew policy commission
- IMO override depositOverride commission
- Facebook burial lead campaignLead generation
- Chargeback, lapsed burial policyCommission chargeback
- Mobile phone planPhone and telesales tools
Why your books are different
A final expense agent's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a stack of small deposits and a stack of small bills and calls it a wash. Your income is built on volume, an IMO override on top of your own commission, lead spend that eats a big share of every sale, and a client base that lapses more often than most, since final expense clients are often on a fixed income. When the books do not track that, you cannot tell if you are actually ahead.
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1
Lead cost eats more of the sale than it looks like
A $20 lead that takes three tries to close, plus the cost of the two that never converted, can run well past what shows on a single receipt. Buried in general marketing, you cannot tell if your lead source is actually profitable.
What we doKeeps lead spend on its own line next to the policies it produced, so cost per sale is visible, not guessed at. -
2
Chargebacks hit harder in this business than most
Final expense clients are often on a fixed income, and a policy that lapses inside the carrier's chargeback window claws back commission you already counted on. It happens more often here than in most life insurance work.
What we doLogs every chargeback against the original sale, so a run of lapses reads as a known risk of this business, not a mystery. -
3
IMO overrides and your own commission blur together
Your IMO pays you a base commission plus an override for hitting production levels, and mixed together it is hard to see which part of your income is steady and which depends on keeping volume up.
What we doSplits base commission from override pay, so you can see what your production actually earns on its own. -
4
Telesales tools get filed as personal phone bills
A dialer, a second phone line, and call recording for compliance are real business costs of a phone-heavy sales model, but they often get paid from a personal account and never make it onto the books.
What we doTracks telesales tools and phone costs as business expenses, so they count toward your deductions.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a final expense agent.
Set up once for how your IMO pays you and what the business spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- New policy commissionFirst-year commission on small whole life policies you sell.
- Override commissionIMO production bonuses on top of your base commission.
- Renewal commissionThe smaller trail on policies still in force after year one.
- Referral incomeFees from other agents who pass along a final expense lead they cannot use.
Money out
- Lead generationFacebook campaigns, direct mail, and lead vendor costs.
- Commission chargebacksClawbacks from lapsed or canceled policies.
- Phone and telesales toolsDialer, second line, and call recording costs.
- Licensing and E&OState license, appointment, and errors and omissions coverage.
- TravelMileage for in-home appointments.
What we watch for you
- Cost per policy sold
Total lead spend against policies actually closed, so you know your real margin per sale.
- Chargeback rate
How often recent sales lapse and get clawed back, since this business runs higher than most.
- Base versus override
How much of your income is steady commission versus IMO production bonuses.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things final expense agents 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 keep your lead spend right next to what it produced, so you can see cost per sale for yourself instead of guessing. This week is on the high side, worth watching next week too.
It happens more in this business than in most life insurance work. I logged each one against the sale it came from, so it reads as a known risk, not a shock.
Yes, those are ordinary costs of phone-based sales. I keep them logged as telesales tools so they are ready when the return is prepared.
The tax side
The tax side of final expense sales.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and volume, lead spend not weighed against what it produced, chargebacks that surprise a cash-tight month, a set-aside that never accounted for how often policies lapse.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Self-employment tax and estimatesAgents paid on commission rather than a W-2 pay self-employment tax at 15.3 percent up to the $184,500 wage base, usually in quarterly estimates on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
- The pass-through deductionMost independent agents can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. The benefit narrows above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, so the accountant runs the exact number.
- Lead and telesales deductionsLead spend, dialer software, and phone costs used for the business are ordinary expenses, deductible in the year paid.
- 1099-K awareness on payment appsIf any client premium or referral payment ever runs through a payment app, a 1099-K can arrive at $20,000 and 200 transactions. All income is taxable whether or not a form arrives.
Deductions final expense agents miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Facebook and digital lead campaigns
- Direct mail lead costs
- Dialer and call recording software
- Second phone line for telesales
- State license and appointment fees
- Errors and omissions insurance
- Mileage for in-home appointments
- Continuing education courses
- CRM software for tracking leads
- Home office space used for calls
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 final expense agent's year, kept every month.
Volume drives this business every week of the year. Gus keeps the books ready no matter the season. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Set the pace
Last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside built around a realistic chargeback rate, not just gross sales.
- April
Return locked in
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, even with the lapses this business always sees, because the set-aside was built around your real chargeback rate from January on.
- July
Volume check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether lead spend is still producing at the rate it did in the spring.
- October
Before year's close
Gus looks at CRM or dialer upgrades 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 final expense agents. 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 final expense agents ask first.
Can Gus tell me if my leads are actually profitable?
He tracks lead spend next to the policies it produced, so you can see cost per sale for yourself and decide if a source is working.
Why do I keep getting charged back on policies I sold months ago?
Final expense clients are often on a fixed income, so lapses inside the chargeback window happen more than in most life insurance work. Gus logs each one against the original sale so it is not a surprise.
My IMO pays me a base commission plus a bonus for volume. Can Gus separate those?
Yes. Base commission and override bonuses are kept on separate lines, so you can see what your production alone actually earns.
I run everything through my personal phone and bank account. Is that a problem?
No. Send the statements you have. Gus sorts business activity out from personal, including telesales tools you are already paying for.
Do I need to set aside more than other agents because of chargebacks?
Often a bit more, since this business runs a higher lapse rate. Gus builds your set-aside around your real numbers, not just what you sold.
Can Gus handle it if I sell through more than one IMO?
Yes. Commission and overrides from each IMO are tracked separately, so you can see which relationship is actually carrying your income.
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