Freight, trucking & delivery
Books and taxes for final-mile delivery companies.
Per-stop pay from retailer contracts, two-person crew wages, damage claims on appliances and furniture, and the box truck fleet that gets it all there. Your own bookkeeper sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
December brought in $13,800. A recliner arrived damaged and had to be replaced before the retailer paid the claim, so I tracked that payout apart from routine costs.
- Retailer contract settlementRetailer contracts
- Assembly and stairs surchargeService upcharges
- Crew payroll runCrew wages
- Damage claim replacementDamage claims
- Box truck lease paymentFleet costs
Why your books are different
Final-mile books go wrong around crews and claims.
A generalist sees a settlement deposit and payroll. Your business runs two-person crews delivering heavy items into people's homes under a retailer's contract, where a damaged item or a missed appointment costs real money. When the books do not separate crew pay, upcharges, and claims, you cannot tell which contract is actually worth running.
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1
A retailer settlement nets out fees before you see it
A retailer contract can deduct a chargeback for a late delivery or a failed appointment before the settlement lands, and booked as one number, you lose track of what those deductions are actually costing you.
What we doBreaks a settlement into gross stops paid, upcharges, and any chargebacks, so each shows up where it belongs. -
2
Assembly and stairs fees blur into base delivery pay
A stop that includes assembly or a third-floor walkup pays more than a simple drop-off, but if every stop lands in one revenue line, you cannot tell whether upcharge work is actually worth the extra crew time.
What we doKeeps service upcharges in their own category, separate from base per-stop pay, so you can see what the extra work is really worth. -
3
A damaged item payout gets treated like a normal cost
Replacing or repairing a damaged appliance or piece of furniture before a retailer reimburses the claim is a real out-of-pocket cost, and lumped in with routine expenses, it can make a bad month look like a spending problem instead of a claim.
What we doKeeps damage claim payouts in their own line, so one costly delivery does not get read as a trend. -
4
Crew pay and box truck costs get mixed together
Crew wages and box truck lease payments both come out of the same account, but mixed into one labor and equipment line, you cannot tell if a crew or a truck is what is actually eating into a route's margin.
What we doKeeps crew wages and fleet costs in separate lines, so each route's real cost is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a final-mile delivery company.
Set up once for how retailer contracts pay you and what running crews and trucks costs. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retailer contractsPer-stop pay from the retailer or distribution center program you deliver for.
- Service upchargesAssembly, stairs, and room-of-choice fees billed on top of base delivery.
- Damage claim reimbursementAmounts recovered from the retailer for a damaged item claim.
- Direct delivery contractsAny client outside the main retailer program.
Money out
- Crew wagesPay for the two-person delivery crews, kept apart from fleet costs.
- Damage claimsOut-of-pocket replacement or repair costs before a claim is reimbursed.
- Fleet costsBox truck lease, loan, and fuel across the fleet.
- Vehicle maintenanceRepairs and upkeep on trucks and liftgates.
- InsuranceCargo, liability, and workers comp for crews and vehicles.
- Route and scheduling softwareDispatch and appointment scheduling tools.
What we watch for you
- Cost per stop
Crew, fuel, and repair costs against stops completed. It tells you if a contract's rate still makes sense.
- Damage claim rate
How often a delivery ends in a claim. A rising rate points to training or handling worth a look.
- Upcharge share
How much of your revenue comes from assembly and stairs work versus base delivery.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so filing season is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things final-mile delivery 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.
A late-delivery chargeback came out before the deposit. I broke it out so you can see your gross stop pay and the deduction separately, not just the net.
I kept it in its own damage claim line, apart from routine costs, so it does not get mistaken for a spending pattern.
I keep upcharge revenue separate from base delivery pay, so once you have a few months of data you will be able to see the real answer.
The tax side
The tax side of running a final-mile delivery company.
Most of what trips up a final-mile company is treating a net settlement as the whole picture and losing track of what crews and claims really cost.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Writing off box trucks and liftgatesA box truck or liftgate bought for the business can often be written off in full the year it is bought, since the lower $32,000 heavy SUV cap does not apply to a truck used for delivery. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for crew membersA crew member who runs your truck, follows your schedule, and delivers on your contract usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, no matter what the pay arrangement is called.
- 1099s for contracted crewsAny crew or driver not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost final-mile delivery owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when settlements, crew pay, and claims are tracked cleanly all year.
Deductions final-mile delivery companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Box truck lease and loan interest
- Fuel across the fleet
- Liftgate and truck repairs
- Crew wages
- Cargo and liability insurance
- Workers comp coverage
- Route and scheduling software
- Furniture blankets and straps
- Uniforms and safety gear
- Damage claim payouts not reimbursed
- Yard or warehouse staging space
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-mile delivery year, kept every month.
Retailer contracts run every week, and the holiday delivery surge changes what those routes look like. Your team stays on both, not just at filing time. 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 1099 list for contracted crews is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new retailer contracts this year changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday surge
Delivery volume climbs hard before the holidays. Gus looks at whether adding a crew or truck makes sense before the busiest stretch hits.
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-mile delivery companies. 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-mile delivery owners ask first.
Can the books tell me which retailer contract is actually worth keeping?
Yes. Settlements, upcharges, and claims are tracked by contract, so you can see the real per-stop economics of each one, not just a combined total.
How do you handle a chargeback for a late or failed delivery?
It gets logged against the settlement it came from, separate from your gross stop pay, so you can see how often it happens and what it costs.
My crews are a mix of employees and people I pay by the route. Is that a problem?
No, but it matters. Gus keeps wages and contractor pay in separate lines and flags anyone paid enough to need a 1099, and the accountant can confirm the classification is right.
What happens when an item is damaged and I have to eat the cost before the claim clears?
That gets tracked in its own damage claims line, so it shows up as what it was instead of looking like a normal month of overspending.
Do assembly and stairs fees need separate invoicing from us?
No, keep billing however your contract already works. Gus tags the upcharge amounts within your settlement so they show up separately in your numbers.
We have grown from one crew to four and our books never kept up. Can you catch us up?
Yes. Send the statements and settlement reports you have. Gus sorts it out, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand within a couple weeks.
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