Performance marketing & lead gen

Books and taxes for Google Ads and PPC agencies.

Management retainers, conversion-based bonuses, Local Services Ads lead billing, and the promo vouchers Google hands new accounts. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
MayExample month
$8,700
what you made

May came in at $8,700. The $500 Google promo credit on the Hargrove HVAC account didn't get booked as your income, since it was never your money to begin with.

  • QuickBooks retainer depositManagement retainers
  • Hargrove HVAC conversion bonusPerformance bonus
  • PPC copywriter, contractContent contractors
  • Local Services lead creditLead credits
  • SEMrush and Optmyzr subscriptionSoftware
Money in$29,500
Money out$20,800
Set aside for taxes$2,000
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Google Ads agency books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees invoices and a software bill. Your business runs on retainers, bonuses tied to numbers Google reports, Local Services leads billed and sometimes credited back, and promo vouchers that pass through an account without ever being your money.

  1. 1

    Promo vouchers get booked as your revenue

    Google sometimes credits a new client account $500 in ad spend to get them started. That credit never touches your bank account, but if it shows up anywhere in your books as income, your revenue looks bigger than what you actually earned.

    What we doLeaves Google's promo credits out of your books entirely, since they are the client's ad account balance, not your money.
  2. 2

    Local Services lead credits get missed

    A spam or duplicate lead through Local Services Ads gets refunded by Google days or weeks after the charge, and if that credit is never matched to the original charge, your lead cost looks higher than it really was.

    What we doMatches Local Services credits back to the month they belong to, so your real lead cost is what shows up.
  3. 3

    Conversion bonuses get counted before Google and GA4 agree

    A bonus tied to conversions can be paid on a Google Ads number that GA4 later reports differently, and booking the bonus the day it is estimated instead of once the client confirms it can overstate a month that gets adjusted later.

    What we doBooks a conversion bonus once the client confirms the number, and flags any month that relied on an early estimate.
  4. 4

    Quality Score swings hide inside one ad spend line

    A drop in Quality Score can push cost per click up without a single dollar of extra budget approved, and if ad spend and account performance are not tracked apart from your own fee, an owner cannot tell whether a slow month was a budget change or an account problem.

    What we doKeeps your management fee separate from client ad spend at all times, so a swing in what a client's account costs never gets confused with what you earned.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a Google Ads agency.

Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Management retainersMonthly fees for running Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns.
  • Conversion or lead-volume bonusesPaid once a client confirms the numbers behind them.
  • Local Services Ads lead billingFees for leads delivered through Google's pay-per-lead product.
  • Audit and onboarding feesOne-time charges for a new account audit or conversion tracking setup.
  • YouTube and Display campaign feesRetainer add-ons for video and display work billed apart from search.

Money out

  • Contractor PPC specialistsFreelance strategists and copywriters paid outside of payroll.
  • Reporting and bid management softwareOptmyzr, SEMrush, and similar tools used to run and report on accounts.
  • Certifications and trainingGoogle Skillshop courses and renewal costs.
  • Conversion tracking setup costsGoogle Tag Manager and analytics setup work billed to your own tools.
  • Coworking or office costsDesk space or a home office share.
  • Payment processing feesWhat Stripe or PayPal keeps before a retainer payment lands.

What we watch for you

  • Fee margin

    Your management fee against your own tool and contractor costs, kept apart from client ad spend entirely.

  • Lead credit rate

    How much of your Local Services billing gets refunded as spam or duplicate leads.

  • Bonus collection lag

    How long a conversion bonus takes to confirm and land, so a slow month is not mistaken for a bad one.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked against your retainer income every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things Google Ads agency 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.

Google gave a new client a $500 credit. Does that count as money I made?

No. That credit went straight into their ad account, never your bank account, so it stays out of your books entirely.

A Local Services lead I got charged for turned out to be spam. Google refunded it three weeks later.

I matched that credit back to the charge it belongs to, so your real lead cost for that month reflects what actually happened, not the original bill.

My contractor copywriter works from Portugal. What paperwork do I need?

She likely needs a signed W-8BEN instead of a 1099-NEC, since she's not a US person. I flagged her file so the accountant can confirm what's on record.

The tax side

The tax side of a Google Ads agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing and paperwork, not big rules. A promo credit counted as income, a bonus booked too early, and a contractor paid without the right form on file.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Promo credits are not your incomeAd spend vouchers Google hands a client's account never pass through your bank, so they should never appear anywhere in your revenue or your tax return.
  • Domestic contractor 1099sAny US-based specialist, copywriter, or strategist not on payroll who you pay $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current all year.
  • Foreign contractorsA PPC specialist or strategist working outside the US usually does not get a 1099-NEC. A signed W-8BEN is generally the paperwork instead, and the accountant confirms exactly what your setup needs.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when client ad spend never gets tangled up with what you actually earned.

Deductions Google Ads and PPC agencies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Google Skillshop certification
  • Optmyzr or bid management software
  • SEMrush or keyword research tools
  • Contractor PPC specialists
  • Home office or coworking desk
  • Laptop and second monitor
  • Payment processing fees
  • Business phone and internet
  • Client call and reporting software
  • Industry conference travel

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 Google Ads agency year, kept every month.

Client search budgets move with retail seasons and their own fiscal years. Your team keeps you ahead of both the swings and the tax calendar. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, your 1099 list for domestic PPC specialists and copywriters is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has tracked your retainer income apart from client ad spend every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring budget renewals changed the number.

  4. October

    Before Q4 budgets spike

    Search and Shopping budgets typically climb fast once Q4 hits, especially around Black Friday. Before that happens, Gus looks at what tool subscriptions are worth locking in before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 Google Ads and PPC agencies. 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 Google Ads agency owners ask first.

Do promo vouchers Google gives my clients count as my business income?

No. That credit lands in the client's own ad account and never touches your bank, so it stays out of your books and off your return entirely.

A conversion bonus was based on a number Google later changed. What now?

Gus only books a bonus once the client actually confirms it, so an early estimate that later shifts does not leave a wrong number sitting in a month you already closed.

How does Local Services lead billing show up in the books?

As its own category, separate from Search and Shopping spend, with any spam or duplicate lead credits matched back to the charge they refund so your real cost per lead is accurate.

My PPC specialist works as a 1099 contractor from another state. Anything to watch for?

Mostly, keep paying her the way you do. If she starts working your schedule and only for you, that can start to look like an employee relationship, so Gus flags patterns like that for the accountant.

Can Gus tell me if a client account is actually worth keeping?

He can show your management fee and contractor cost for that account against what you're spending on tools to run it, so you see your real margin, separate from the client's own ad spend.

My books are a mess from switching accounting software twice. Is that fixable?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have, even from both systems. Gus sorts out what actually happened each month, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.

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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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