Accounting, tax & financial pros
Books and taxes for forensic accounting practices.
Litigation retainers, investigation hours, testimony fees at a premium rate, and case costs you front before a client reimburses them. 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 made $14,000. The Whitfield case retainer and the deposition testimony fee are on separate lines this month, so you can see the testimony premium instead of it blending into your normal investigation rate.
- Whitfield litigation retainerEngagement retainers
- Deposition testimony feeExpert witness fees
- Court reporter advance, WhitfieldReimbursable case costs
- Forensic data software renewalLitigation support software
- Contract investigator, data reviewContract labor
Why your books are different
A forensic accounting practice's own books go wrong in a few predictable spots.
You dig through someone else's records to find where the numbers stopped telling the truth. Your own firm's books hide the same kind of mismatch, because litigation work pays in retainers, hourly hours, and testimony fees that rarely land the same month the work happened.
-
1
Testimony fees blend into ordinary hourly billing
Court and deposition testimony is usually billed at a premium rate above regular investigation work, but if both land in the same revenue line, you cannot tell how much of a strong month came from testimony versus everyday case hours.
What we doKeeps expert witness testimony fees in their own line, separate from investigation hours, so the premium rate is visible on its own. -
2
Case costs you advance get stuck as a permanent expense
Court reporter fees, transcript costs, and travel you front for a case are usually reimbursed by the client later, but if they are booked only as an expense with no link to the reimbursement coming, the books understate what the case actually cost you to run.
What we doFlags advanced case costs separately, so once a client reimburses them, the timing between the outlay and the repayment is clear. -
3
Retainers and hourly investigation work blur together
A litigation retainer collected before work starts and the hourly fees billed as the investigation runs often land in the same account, making it hard to see whether new engagements or ongoing case work are driving a given month.
What we doKeeps retainers and hourly investigation billing in separate lines, so new business and ongoing casework are easy to tell apart. -
4
Rush fees for urgent litigation deadlines get missed
A case that lands with a filing deadline days away often carries a rush premium, but that extra fee usually gets folded into the regular hourly rate instead of tracked as its own thing.
What we doKeeps rush fees in their own line, so you know how much of your income depends on last-minute litigation timelines. -
5
Contract investigators on a big case blend with routine contract labor
Bringing in a data analyst or additional investigator for one large litigation matter is a cost tied to that case, but it often lands in a general contract labor account with no link to which engagement it supported.
What we doKeeps contract labor tied to the case it supported, so you can see whether a large matter actually paid after its true cost.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a forensic accounting practice.
Set up once for how your practice bills and spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Engagement retainersCollected before litigation or investigation work begins.
- Hourly investigation feesBilled as case work and analysis proceed.
- Expert witness feesTestimony and deposition work, billed at a premium rate.
- Rush feesExtra charges for urgent, deadline-driven cases.
- Referral incomeCases sent over by attorneys or other firms.
Money out
- Contract laborInvestigators or data analysts brought in for specific cases.
- Reimbursable case costsCourt reporters, transcripts, and travel advanced ahead of client reimbursement.
- Litigation support softwareData analytics and case management tools.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage sized for litigation and testimony exposure.
- Continuing educationFraud examination training and certification renewal.
- Secure case file storageLong-term retention required for closed litigation matters.
What we watch for you
- Testimony versus investigation split
Premium testimony fees against regular hourly work, so a strong month is read correctly.
- Reimbursement lag
Advanced case costs against what clients have paid back, so cash flow does not quietly get squeezed by a slow-paying case.
- Retainer pipeline
New engagement retainers against ongoing case billing, so new business is easy to see coming in.
- Contract labor per case
What outside help costs against what a large matter actually pays.
Ask Gus
Things forensic accounting practice 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.
Mostly the testimony fee. I keep that on its own line at the premium rate, separate from your regular hourly investigation work.
It shows as an advanced cost, flagged for reimbursement, not a straight loss. Once the client pays it back, the two will line up.
That one is above my pay grade to settle from the books alone. I can hand the accountant your rush fee history against case size, and that conversation can start from real numbers.
The tax side
The tax side of running a forensic accounting practice.
Most of what trips up your own return is timing, the same discipline you apply when reconstructing someone else's records.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- 1099s for contract investigatorsA contract investigator or data analyst brought in for a case, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment tax and the S corp questionA mix of retainers, hourly work, and testimony fees still adds up to one net profit number, and that profit owes 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base. Electing S corp status by March 15 can change how much of it gets taxed that way.
- Section 179 on litigation support toolsForensic software licenses, workstations, and secure storage equipment bought for the practice can usually be written off in the year purchased, up to $2,560,000.
- Advanced case costs are not a deduction until reimbursedCourt reporter fees or travel fronted for a client are usually a receivable owed back to you, not a deduction, until the reimbursement clears or the case closes without repayment.
Deductions forensic accounting practices miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Professional liability insurance
- Fraud examination training and renewal
- Litigation support software
- Travel to court and depositions
- Secure case file storage
- Continuing education courses
- Home office costs
- Professional association dues
- Computer forensics equipment
- Background checks for staff
- Expert witness liability coverage
- Court reporter and transcript costs
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 forensic accounting practice's year, kept every month.
Litigation runs on court schedules, not tax deadlines. Gus keeps your own numbers steady in the background, whatever case is consuming your attention this quarter. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Retainers and new referrals
New referrals from attorneys come in for the year, last year's own return gets started, and a set-aside gets planned around your case pipeline.
- April
Filed, case calendar aside
Your own return is filed and signed, timed around whatever depositions or trial dates are on the calendar.
- July
Midyear testimony check
Where the practice stands, how much came from testimony fees versus investigation work, and whether reimbursements are catching up.
- October
Before the year's last testimony
A look at software and equipment worth buying before December, and which open cases are likely to close or go to trial before year end.
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 forensic accounting practices. 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 forensic accounting practice owners ask first.
Can Gus separate testimony fees from regular investigation billing?
Yes. Expert witness and testimony fees stay in their own line at the premium rate, apart from your everyday hourly investigation work.
I front court reporter and travel costs for clients. How does that get booked?
As an advanced case cost, flagged for reimbursement, not a straight expense, so the timing between the outlay and getting paid back is clear.
We already use case management software to track matters. Does anything change?
No. Keep tracking cases the way you do. Gus works from your practice's bank statement and asks once if a deposit is unclear.
How does Gus handle a rush fee on an urgent case?
It stays in its own line, separate from the regular hourly rate, so you can see how much of your income depends on last-minute litigation timelines.
My own books have been an afterthought while I am buried in a big case. Is that fixable?
Yes. Cases do not leave much room for anything else. Send the statements you have, and Gus and the accountant will work through the backlog while the next case runs.
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