Consulting & business services
Books and taxes for HR consultants.
Ongoing retainer support, a flat-fee handbook project, a contingent placement fee, and the subcontracted recruiter who worked the search. 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
March came in at $9,700. The Coastal Foods handbook was a flat project fee, so I kept it separate from your ongoing retainer clients.
- Meridian HR retainerRetainer income
- Coastal Foods handbookHandbook and policy projects
- R. Chen, recruiterSubcontracted recruiters
- SHRM renewalCertification and dues
- LinkedIn RecruiterRecruiting and job boards
Why your books are different
An HR consulting firm's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is a monthly retainer, a flat-fee handbook rewrite, a placement fee that depends on someone accepting an offer, and a recruiter you bring in for the search. When the books blur those together, you cannot tell what part of the practice is actually growing.
-
1
A handbook project gets buried in the retainer
A client on a $2,200 monthly retainer also pays a one-time $4,500 fee for a full handbook rewrite. Lumped together, the month looks like the retainer grew when it was really a one-off project.
What we doKeeps project fees like handbooks and audits in their own line, separate from ongoing retainer income. -
2
A placement fee counted before the offer is signed
A contingent recruiting fee depends on a candidate accepting an offer. Booked the day the client says yes to a finalist, it can get recognized before the placement actually happens and has to be walked back if it falls through.
What we doWaits to book a contingent placement fee until the hire is confirmed, so the month reflects money actually earned. -
3
The recruiter who is basically staff
A subcontracted recruiter who works only your searches, on your schedule, using your applicant tracking system, starts to look like an employee rather than a project hire.
What we doFlags a recruiter who looks employee-like and gets the accountant's read before the pattern is a year old. -
4
Employment liability coverage filed as generic insurance
Employment practices liability insurance protects you specifically from claims tied to the HR advice you give, and it is priced and treated differently than general liability coverage.
What we doKeeps employment practices liability insurance in its own line so it is easy to confirm it is still active and current.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an HR consulting firm.
Set up once for how you bill and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retainer incomeOngoing monthly HR support for client companies.
- Handbook and policy projectsFlat-fee rewrites and policy updates, kept apart from retainers.
- Compliance audit feesOne-time reviews of a client's HR practices and files.
- Placement or recruiting feesContingent fees booked once a hire is confirmed.
- Training and workshop feesHarassment prevention and management training sessions.
Money out
- Subcontracted recruitersOutside recruiters brought in for specific searches.
- Certification and duesSHRM or HRCI renewal and chapter membership.
- Employment attorney reviewLegal review of handbooks and policies before they go out.
- Workshop materials and printingTraining handouts, workbooks, and certificates.
- Employment practices liability insuranceCoverage for claims tied to the HR advice you give.
- Recruiting and job boardsLinkedIn Recruiter and paid job board postings.
- Travel to client sitesMileage and lodging for on-site training and audits.
What we watch for you
- Retainer renewal rate
Whether your ongoing client base is holding steady month to month.
- Recruiter cost share
What subcontracted recruiters cost against placement fees earned.
- Days to get paid
Larger client companies often pay net 30 to net 45, and a slipping number signals a cash crunch.
- Project versus retainer mix
How much of the month is steady retainer work versus one-time projects.
Ask Gus
Things HR consultants 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.
Usually, yes. I logged it under certification and dues, and the accountant confirms it fits when your return is prepared.
Not yet. I hold contingent fees until the hire is actually confirmed, so a fallen-through placement never has to be walked back out of the books.
It might. That looks more like an employee relationship than a project hire, so I flagged it for the accountant before it becomes a bigger habit.
The tax side
The tax side of an HR consulting practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and classification. A placement fee booked too early, a recruiter who looks like staff, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099sA recruiter paid $2,000 or more over the year, and not on your payroll, needs a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus tracks who crossed that line as the year goes.
- Employee or contractorA recruiter who works only your searches, on your schedule, using your systems, is starting to look like an employee. Gus flags the pattern before it becomes a habit.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can knock up to 20 percent off taxable profit, though the benefit narrows for consulting income above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint. The accountant works out the real figure at return time.
- Self-employment tax and estimatesIncome you take as the owner, rather than a paycheck, carries a 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 wage base, generally paid four times a year rather than all at once in April.
Deductions HR consultants miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- SHRM or HRCI certification renewal
- Employment attorney consultations
- Employment practices liability premium
- LinkedIn Recruiter subscription
- Handbook template licensing
- Workshop materials and printing
- Mileage to client sites
- Laptop and video conferencing gear
- Home office space
- Trade association chapter dues
- Job board posting fees
- Candidate screening subscription
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
An HR consulting year, watched all four quarters.
New employment rules often take effect January 1, and your own taxes run on a separate calendar entirely. Gus keeps track of both. 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, 1099s go out to your recruiters, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Filed, signed, and done. The set-aside covered it, since it started back in January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's handbook and audit projects are tracking ahead of last year's.
- October
Before policy season
Clients start planning next year's handbook updates. Gus looks at software or certification renewals worth doing before December.
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 HR consultants. 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 HR consultants ask first.
I bill a flat fee for handbooks and a monthly retainer for ongoing support. Can Gus tell those apart?
Yes. He keeps project fees like handbooks and audits in their own line, separate from ongoing retainer income, so you can see how each part of the practice is doing.
Do I book a placement fee the day a client accepts a candidate?
Gus waits until the hire is actually confirmed, since a contingent fee that gets recognized too early sometimes has to be reversed if the placement falls through.
My recruiter only works for me. Should I be worried?
It is worth a look. A subcontractor who takes direction on your schedule and works exclusively for you can start to resemble an employee, so Gus flags the pattern for the accountant to weigh in.
Is my employment practices liability insurance a deductible expense?
Yes, it is an ordinary business expense. Gus keeps it in its own line, apart from general insurance, so it is easy to confirm it is still current.
I work with client companies in several states. Does that complicate anything?
It can. Handbook and compliance work for clients across state lines sometimes touches different state employment rules, and Gus flags anything worth a closer look from the accountant.
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