Staffing, recruiting & HR services
Books and taxes for hospitality staffing agencies.
Banquet and event staffing, hotel housekeeping crews, tipped wage rules, and a calendar that swings hard between wedding season and the slow months. Gus 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 came in at $20,200. Holiday banquet bookings ran double a normal month, so I flagged the surge in event billings apart from your standing hotel contracts.
- Grandview Hotel weekly payoutStanding contract billings
- Holiday gala event payoutEvent billings
- Same-week payroll runCrew wages
- Banquet server tip pool remittanceTipped wage adjustments
- Indeed seasonal hiring pushSourcing costs
Why your books are different
Hospitality staffing books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and paychecks. Your business runs on a single banquet night that has to be billed and staffed on almost no notice, tipped wages that follow their own rules, and a calendar that goes from packed to empty overnight. When the books don't know that, you can't tell which bookings are worth the scramble.
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1
One-night events get billed like standing contracts
A hotel's weekly housekeeping contract and a single holiday gala both land as deposits, but the gala took rush sourcing, same-week payroll, and no repeat guarantee. Blended together, you can't tell which kind of work is actually worth the scramble.
What we doKeeps standing contract billings and one-off event billings in separate lines so margin on each type of work stays visible. -
2
Tipped wages get mishandled
Banquet servers and bartenders often work under tip credit rules, where a lower cash wage is allowed if tips make up the difference. Get the math or the recordkeeping wrong and it becomes a wage claim risk fast.
What we doKeeps tipped wage adjustments and tip pool remittances in their own line so the numbers are ready for the accountant to check against the rules. -
3
A seasonal surge looks like a permanent jump in cost
Staffing up hard for wedding season or the holidays means a spike in sourcing and onboarding costs that isn't going to repeat every month. Left unflagged, it can make an owner think regular overhead just went up.
What we doFlags seasonal sourcing spikes as their own line so a surge month doesn't get mistaken for a new normal. -
4
Same-week payroll outruns the client payment
Event staff often need to be paid within days of a gig, while the client invoice for that same event can sit unpaid for weeks. The cash goes out long before it comes back in.
What we doTracks what's billed against what's collected so a fast-payroll, slow-pay event doesn't look like a loss when it's really just a timing gap.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a hospitality staffing agency.
Set up once for standing contracts and one-off events with different pay rules. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Standing contract billingsWeekly hotel housekeeping or kitchen staffing invoices, billed on a set schedule.
- Event billingsOne-off banquets, weddings, and galas, billed separately from standing contracts.
- Rush staffing premiumsShort-notice fills for events booked with little lead time.
- Temp-to-hire conversion feesWhat a hotel or venue owes when a placed worker is hired on permanently.
Money out
- Crew wages and payroll taxesW-2 pay for servers, housekeepers, and kitchen staff, often paid same-week.
- Tipped wage adjustmentsTip credit and tip pool handling for banquet and bar staff.
- Workers comp premiumsBilled by role: kitchen work, housekeeping, and event service carry different rates.
- Seasonal sourcing costsJob board and referral spend that spikes ahead of wedding season and the holidays.
- Uniforms and event gearServer attire, aprons, and event-specific supplies.
- Background checksScreening fees for workers placed in hotels and venues.
- Staffing and scheduling softwareThe system running last-minute dispatch and event billing.
What we watch for you
- Margin by booking type
Standing contracts against one-off events. Shows which kind of work actually pays for the scramble.
- Seasonal sourcing cost
Spend that spikes ahead of wedding season and the holidays, tracked apart from steady-month costs.
- Days sales outstanding on events
How long event clients take to pay after staff already got paid. Shows the real cash gap.
- The set-aside
What you'll owe across both the quiet months and the holiday rush, tracked every month, so April isn't a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things hospitality staffing 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.
Yes, once the client invoice clears. Right now it's a receivable, since staff got paid before the venue paid you. I'm tracking that gap so it doesn't look like a loss.
It's running high right now, but I've flagged it as a seasonal spike, not your new normal, so it won't throw off how the rest of the year compares.
I'm keeping tip credit adjustments in their own line so the numbers are ready. Tip rules get specific fast, so I'd have the accountant confirm the setup matches how your servers are actually paid.
The tax side
The tax side of a hospitality staffing agency.
Most of what goes wrong here is tipped wage rules and timing. A tip credit applied wrong, and event revenue counted before the client actually pays.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Tip credit and tip reportingEmployers can often pay a reduced cash wage to tipped workers if tips bring total pay up to at least minimum wage, but the math and recordkeeping have to be exact and rules vary by state.
- Worker classification for event staffA server or bartender working an event under your direction and schedule is a W-2 employee, not a 1099 worker, even for a single-night gig.
- No tax on tips deductionA federal deduction of up to $25,000 for tips earned in certain occupations runs from 2025 through 2028. Tips still owe payroll or self-employment tax regardless of this deduction.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, a benefit that comes out right when margin by booking type is tracked all year.
Deductions hospitality staffing agencies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Staffing and scheduling software
- Job board postings for seasonal hiring
- Background check fees
- Uniforms and event service gear
- Workers comp premiums
- General liability insurance
- Recruiter mileage to venues
- Staffing agency bonds
- Phone and tablet for event-day dispatch
- Referral bonuses for seasonal staff leads
- Card processing fees on client payments
- Storage for reusable event equipment
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 hospitality staffing year, kept every month.
Bookings swing hard between the busy season and the quiet months, and your taxes still land on a fixed 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.
- January
Reset after the holiday rush
Last year's return gets started, W-2s go out, and a monthly set-aside begins right after the busiest stretch of the year winds down.
- April
Filed between bookings
Your return is filed and signed without needing a quiet week to do it. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Wedding season margin check
Where wedding season margin stands, and whether the summer surge changed what you'll owe.
- October
Before the holiday push
Banquet and event bookings ramp hard through the holidays. Gus looks at seasonal sourcing spend and staffing needs before it 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 hospitality staffing 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 hospitality staffing owners ask first.
Can Gus tell the difference between a standing hotel contract and a one-off event?
Yes. He keeps standing contract billings and one-off event billings in separate lines, so you can see which type of work actually pays for the effort it takes.
Our event staff get paid same-week but the client takes weeks to pay. Does that look bad on the books?
No. Gus tracks what's billed against what's actually collected, so that gap shows up as a receivable owed to you, not as a loss.
How does Gus handle tip credit for banquet servers?
He keeps tip credit adjustments and tip pool remittances in their own line so the numbers are ready. The exact tip credit rules vary by state, so the accountant confirms your setup matches them.
We hire a lot more staff before wedding season. Does that mess up the monthly comparison?
No. Gus flags seasonal sourcing spikes as their own line, so a busy hiring push before your peak season doesn't look like a permanent jump in cost.
Do we need to change anything about how we pay event staff same-week?
No. Keep paying however works for your crew. Gus works from your bank statement and payroll runs and keeps everything sorted from there.
Our books are behind after a packed wedding season. Can we catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements and event invoices you have. Gus sorts standing contracts from one-off bookings, and most owners see where they stand within 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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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