Childcare & youth programs
Books and taxes for in-home family daycare providers.
Weekly cash and Zelle payments from parents, a county subsidy check that lags behind, food receipts from Costco runs, and a house that doubles as your classroom. 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
October made you $3,300. I logged this month's Costco run under groceries, not household, since it fed the kids you had on the books.
- Zelle from parentsPrivate tuition
- State CCAP depositSubsidy vouchers
- Costco groceriesFood and meals
- Discount School SupplyCurriculum and supplies
- Homeowners insurance riderHome and liability
Why your books are different
A family daycare's books go wrong where the house and the business overlap.
You are not renting a classroom, you are running one out of your kitchen and your basement. A generalist bookkeeper cannot tell your grocery run from your family's dinner, or your mortgage from a business write-off. Gus can, because he asks the right questions from the start.
-
1
The home write-off never gets claimed
You are entitled to deduct a share of your rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and repairs based on how much of your home and how many hours a week go to daycare, but almost no provider tracks the rooms or the hours to support it.
What we doAsks which rooms are used for care and how many hours a week the house runs as a daycare, and keeps that log so the accountant can apply the write-off correctly. -
2
Groceries and daycare food get lumped together
One Costco receipt covers snacks for six kids and your own family's dinner in the same cart, and it is easy to book the whole thing as personal or the whole thing as business.
What we doSplits food costs between the daycare and the household when you tell him what the trip covered, so only the kids' share becomes a deduction. -
3
Subsidy payments arrive weeks behind the care
A county voucher family's tuition can land four to six weeks after the fact and at a rate lower than what you charge private-pay families, which makes a normal month look like you lost enrollment.
What we doKeeps subsidy deposits in their own line and matches each one back to the month it actually covers. -
4
Cash and Zelle payments go unrecorded
A lot of family daycare tuition moves as cash in an envelope or a Zelle transfer with no invoice behind it, and it is easy to undercount what actually came in for the year.
What we doAsks about cash and Zelle payments when the bank statement does not tell the whole story, and books them the same as any other tuition. -
5
A supply stock-up looks like a bad month
Buying a season of art supplies and diapers from Discount School Supply in one order can make that month look like a loss, even though nothing about your enrollment changed.
What we doKeeps supplies as one steady line and tells you when a stock-up, not lower enrollment, is why the month looks thin.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a family daycare.
Set up once for how tuition and subsidy money come in and what the house and the kids cost you. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Private tuitionWeekly cash, Zelle, or Venmo payments from parents.
- Subsidy vouchersCounty or state CCAP payments, kept apart since they land weeks late.
- CACFP meal reimbursementFederal meal program payments for family child care homes that serve meals.
- Registration feesA small one-time fee some providers charge to hold a spot.
Money out
- Food and mealsGrocery runs split between the daycare's share and your own household.
- Curriculum and suppliesDiscount School Supply orders, art materials, and diapers.
- Home and liabilityThe business share of homeowners insurance and any daycare liability rider.
- Toys and classroom furniturePlay equipment and furniture used for the kids in your care.
- Background check and licensing feesState licensing renewal and your own background check.
- CPR and First Aid certificationRequired renewal to keep your license active.
What we watch for you
- Home-use share
The percentage of your home and hours claimed for daycare. Worth knowing it is being tracked, not guessed at in April.
- Subsidy share
How much of tuition is voucher families versus private pay, since the two arrive on different clocks.
- Food cost per child
Grocery spend against how many kids you fed. It tells you if CACFP reimbursement is keeping pace.
- The set-aside
What you will owe in taxes, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things family daycare providers 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, based on the rooms and hours your house runs as a daycare. Tell me which rooms you use and I will keep the log the accountant needs.
It counts the same as any other tuition. Tell me what came in each week and I will book it, since it is taxable whether or not it hits a bank account.
No, that is the county's reimbursement rate, not a mistake. I booked it as subsidy income at the rate they actually pay, separate from your private tuition.
The tax side
The tax side of a family daycare.
Most of what a solo provider misses lives at the line between the house and the business: the home write-off, the grocery split, and the set-aside for self-employment tax.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Business use of your homeA provider running care out of her own home can usually deduct a share of rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and repairs, based on the rooms and hours the home is used for daycare. The exact share depends on the records you keep.
- Self-employment taxAs a sole proprietor, you owe self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500. The set-aside is built around this from month one.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit before it is taxed. It comes out right when tuition, subsidy, and food costs are all booked correctly all year.
- Form 1099-NEC for helpersIf you pay an occasional helper or substitute $2,000 or more in 2026 and they are not on your payroll, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions in-home family daycare providers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- A share of rent or mortgage interest
- A share of utilities and home repairs
- Groceries for the kids in care
- Diapers and wipes
- Toys and classroom furniture
- Art and craft supplies
- CPR and First Aid renewal
- Background check fees
- State licensing fees
- Liability insurance rider
- Cleaning supplies for the daycare space
- Mileage for field trips or supply runs
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 family daycare year, kept every month.
Your day runs on nap time and pickup. Your taxes 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, any helper's 1099 gets sent, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the home-use tracking still matches how the house is actually being used.
- October
Before the winter waitlist
A look at anything worth buying before December, ahead of the winter waitlist that usually follows the holidays.
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 in-home family daycare providers. 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 family daycare providers ask first.
Do I need receipts for every grocery run to claim food as a deduction?
Keeping receipts helps, but Gus can also work from what you tell him about a trip. Just let him know what portion fed the kids in your care versus your own family.
I take some kids on subsidy and some private pay. Can Gus keep that straight?
Yes. He keeps subsidy deposits in their own line and matches each one to the month it covers, so a late county check never makes a normal month look weak.
How do I prove how much of my house is used for daycare?
Tell Gus which rooms and how many hours a week the house operates as a daycare. He keeps that log so the accountant can apply the home-use deduction with real numbers behind it.
I'm behind on tracking everything. Is it too late to start?
No. Send whatever bank and cash records you have, even for past months. Gus sorts them and the accountant works from what is actually there.
Do I have to report subsidy payments if they're paid straight to me by the state?
Yes, subsidy and voucher payments are taxable income the same as private tuition. Gus books them as they come in so nothing is missed at filing time.
Can Gus help me figure out if I should hire a helper as an employee?
He can flag the pattern. If a helper works set hours under your direction, that usually makes her an employee, and the accountant can walk through what that means for payroll.
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.
More in childcare & youth programs
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Baby & toddler classes (music, sensory)
- Babysitting agencies
- Before & after school programs
- Drop-in & hourly childcare
- Overnight summer camps
- Parents' night out programs
- Specialty camps (STEM, arts, sports)
- Summer day camps
- Tutoring-plus-childcare hybrids
- Kids birthday party venues
- Kids gyms & play programs
- Nanny agencies
- Childcare & daycare centers
- Preschools
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