Performance marketing & lead gen

Books and taxes for home service lead gen agencies.

Retainers and per-lead fees for roofing, HVAC, and plumbing clients, a storm that triples ad spend overnight, multi-location franchise billing, and fees paid to Angi or Thumbtack for leads you resell. 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
AprilExample month
$9,700
what you made

April came in at $9,700. The hailstorm that hit Denton Roofing's territory tripled their ad spend for eleven days, so that spike is flagged as a storm event, not a budgeting mistake.

  • Retainer, Denton RoofingRetainers
  • Storm surge ad spend, Denton RoofingClient ad spend passthrough
  • Per-lead fees, HVAC client, three locationsPer-lead fees
  • Angi marketplace lead costMarketplace lead costs
  • Contractor PPC specialistContractor specialists
Money in$39,500
Money out$29,800
Set aside for taxes$2,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Home service lead gen books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees a retainer and an ad bill. Your business runs on demand that can triple overnight after a storm, clients with five locations that each need their own numbers, leads bought wholesale from Angi or Thumbtack and resold with a markup, and service areas where two contractors cannot both get the same lead.

  1. 1

    A storm surge looks like a budgeting mistake

    A hailstorm can push a roofing client's ad spend up threefold for a week or two, and if that spike is not flagged as a storm event, it looks like the campaign lost control of the budget instead of responding to a real surge in demand.

    What we doFlags storm-driven ad spend spikes as their own event, so a surge in spending reads as a response to demand, not a mistake.
  2. 2

    A multi-location client gets billed as one lump account

    A franchise HVAC client with five locations needs leads and costs split by location, since one city's demand and cost per lead can look nothing like another's, and lumping it all into one client account hides which locations are actually worth the ad spend.

    What we doSplits billing and lead cost by location for multi-location clients, so each one's real performance is visible on its own.
  3. 3

    Marketplace lead costs get mixed with your own ad spend

    Buying leads wholesale from Angi or Thumbtack and reselling them to a client at a markup is a different cost structure than running your own Google or Meta campaigns, and blended together, you cannot see which lead source is actually worth the money.

    What we doKeeps marketplace lead costs separate from your own ad spend, so you can see which source is actually earning its keep.
  4. 4

    Service area exclusivity gets ignored until a client complains

    Selling the same lead to two roofers in overlapping zip codes breaks the exclusivity a client is paying for, and if territory is not tracked against who is buying leads where, the mistake only surfaces after a client is already upset.

    What we doFlags leads and clients by service area, so exclusivity conflicts are visible before they become a client relationship problem.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a home service lead gen 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

  • RetainersMonthly fees for running a client's ad campaigns and lead delivery.
  • Per-lead feesCharges for leads delivered, tracked by client location where relevant.
  • Marketplace resale marginYour markup on leads bought wholesale from Angi, HomeAdvisor, or Thumbtack.
  • Setup and onboarding feesOne-time charges for a new client's campaign and tracking setup.

Money out

  • Client ad spend passthroughGoogle, Meta, or Local Services spend run on a client's behalf.
  • Marketplace lead costsWhat you pay Angi, HomeAdvisor, or Thumbtack wholesale before reselling.
  • Contractor PPC and SEO specialistsFreelance help paid outside of payroll.
  • Call tracking softwareTools used to route and measure leads by location and source.
  • Data and reporting subscriptionsSoftware used to track cost per lead and campaign performance.
  • Payment processing feesWhat a processor keeps before a payment lands.

What we watch for you

  • Cost per lead by source

    Marketplace leads against your own ad campaigns, so you know which source is actually worth the money.

  • Performance by location

    For multi-location clients, which cities are worth the ad spend and which are not.

  • Storm surge spend

    How much of a month's ad spend came from a weather event, so it does not get confused with your normal baseline.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked against retainers and per-lead fees every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things home service lead gen 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.

A hailstorm hit and my roofing client's ad spend tripled for two weeks. Is that going to look bad?

No. I flagged that as a storm surge tied to the event, so it reads as demand you responded to, not a budget that got away from you.

My HVAC client has five locations. Should I just track them as one account?

Better to split them. I track billing and lead cost by location, so you can see which cities are actually worth the ad spend.

I buy leads from Angi and resell them with a markup. Does that need to be separate from my own campaigns?

Yes. I keep marketplace lead costs apart from your own ad spend, so you can see which source is really earning its keep.

The tax side

The tax side of a home service lead gen agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is telling one cost apart from another. Storm-driven spend that looks like a mistake, and marketplace and campaign costs blended into one number.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Client ad spend passthroughAd spend you run for a client and bill back is not the same as your own management fee. Keeping it separate keeps your real revenue and margin readable.
  • Contractor 1099sAny US-based PPC or SEO specialist 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 or SEO contractor working outside the US usually does not get a 1099-NEC. A signed W-8BEN generally covers that instead, and the accountant confirms exactly what applies to your team.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when ad spend, marketplace costs, and your own fee are all sorted correctly all year.

Deductions home service lead gen agencies miss

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

  • Call tracking software
  • Cost-per-lead reporting tools
  • Contractor PPC and SEO specialists
  • Home office or coworking desk
  • Laptop and monitors
  • Payment processing fees
  • Business phone and internet
  • Industry conference travel
  • Certifications and training
  • Continuing education and courses

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 home service lead gen year, on the books every month.

Weather drives demand more than the calendar does, but taxes still run on their own schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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 and SEO specialists 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 retainers and per-lead fees every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether storm season changed the number.

  4. October

    Before winter demand

    HVAC and plumbing demand often shifts hard once the weather turns. Before it hits, Gus looks at what's worth buying or setting aside 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 home service lead gen 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 home service lead gen agency owners ask first.

A storm caused my client's ad spend to spike hard for two weeks. Will that mess up my numbers?

No. Gus flags a storm-driven spend spike as its own event, so it reads as a response to real demand instead of looking like a budgeting problem.

I have a client with locations in five different cities. Should that be one account in the books?

It is usually clearer split apart. Gus tracks billing and lead cost by location, so you can see which cities are actually worth the ad spend and which are not.

I buy leads wholesale from Angi and resell them to clients. How is that different from running my own ads?

It is a different cost structure entirely. Gus keeps marketplace lead costs apart from your own ad campaigns, so you can compare which source is really worth the money.

How does Gus help me avoid selling the same lead to two contractors in the same area?

He flags leads and clients by service area, so an exclusivity conflict is visible in the numbers before it becomes a problem with a client.

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 hours and only for you, that starts to look like an employee relationship, so Gus flags patterns like that for the accountant.

My books are behind since I added Angi and Thumbtack leads on top of my own ad campaigns this year. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts marketplace lead costs from your own ad spend across every client, 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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We keep books for the business next door too.

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