Insurance agencies
Books and taxes for independent insurance agencies.
New business commissions from a dozen carriers, renewal trails on policies you wrote years ago, agency-bill premium that is not yours to spend, and producer splits owed out. 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
September came in at $16,300. Three carriers paid renewal trails this month, and I kept them separate from the new policies you wrote so you can see both.
- Progressive commission ACHNew business commissions
- Travelers renewal depositRenewal commissions
- Producer payout, J. AlvarezProducer splits
- EZLynx subscriptionAgency management software
- State license renewalLicensing and E&O
Why your books are different
An independent agency's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits from a bunch of different names and calls it all revenue. Your agency writes with a dozen carriers, holds premium that belongs to some of them, and owes a chunk of every commission to the producer who sold it. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what the agency actually kept.
-
1
Agency-bill premium looks like your income
A client pays you $2,400 for a commercial policy on agency bill. You owe the carrier $2,150 of that and keep $250. If the whole $2,400 hits the books as revenue, your top line is inflated and what you owe the carrier disappears.
What we doBooks agency-bill premium as money held for the carrier, not agency revenue, so only your actual commission counts as income. -
2
Producer splits get counted twice
The carrier pays your agency the full commission, then you pay your producer their 60 percent split. Booked as one lump, it looks like the agency earned the whole amount, when a third of it was always owed out.
What we doKeeps the full commission and the producer's split on separate lines, so your agency's real take is visible every month. -
3
A carrier chargeback reads like a lost deposit
A client cancels a policy eight months in, and the carrier claws back part of the commission it already paid you. Without a note tying it to that policy, it just looks like money vanished.
What we doLogs a chargeback against the original sale, so a thin month reads as a specific clawback, not a mystery. -
4
New business and renewals blur together
A renewal check on a policy from three years ago and a commission on a policy you wrote last week land the same way on a bank statement, so you cannot tell if the agency is actually growing.
What we doSplits new business from renewal commissions so growth in your client base is visible on its own.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an independent agency.
Set up once for how your carriers pay you and what the agency spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- New business commissionsPaid by each carrier when a policy is written and bound.
- Renewal commissionsTrail income on policies staying in force, kept apart from new sales.
- Contingency bonusesAnnual or semiannual payments from carriers based on your book's growth and loss ratio.
- Broker feesFees billed straight to the client on top of the carrier's commission.
- Agency-bill premium heldPremium collected for a carrier, tracked apart from what you actually earned.
Money out
- Producer splitsThe share of commission owed to the agent who sold the policy.
- Agency management softwareEZLynx, Applied, or HawkSoft subscriptions.
- Licensing and E&OResident and non-resident license fees, appointments, and errors and omissions coverage.
- Marketing and referralsLocal sponsorships, referral fees, and lead sources.
- Payroll for CSRsStaff who service the existing book of clients.
- Office and travelRent, mileage to client meetings, and site visits.
What we watch for you
- Renewal share
How much of the month is steady trail income versus new sales, so real growth is clear.
- Producer payout share
What producers keep against total commission, so your agency's real take is visible.
- Premium held for carriers
Agency-bill money not yet remitted, so it never gets spent like it is yours.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things independent 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.
That is a chargeback on the policy you wrote in March. I logged it against that sale, so it is not lost, just clawed back the way carriers do when a policy lapses early.
I keep the full commission and her split on separate lines, so you can always see what the agency actually kept before her payout goes out.
If she is paid outside payroll and clears $2,000 for the year, yes, by January 31. I keep that running total so it is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of an independent agency.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels, a chargeback booked wrong, a producer paid without a 1099 plan, 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.
- Producer 1099sAny producer or sub-agent paid $2,000 or more in 2026 outside payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running list all year.
- Self-employment tax and estimatesOwner-producers not on a W-2 pay self-employment tax at 15.3 percent up to the $184,500 wage base, usually in quarterly estimates on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
- The pass-through deductionMost agency owners can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. The benefit narrows above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, so the accountant runs the exact number.
- Office and vehicle write-offsEquipment and a vehicle used mainly for client visits can usually be expensed the year you buy it, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Deductions independent insurance agencies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Errors and omissions insurance
- State license and appointment fees
- Non-resident license fees
- Continuing education courses
- Agency management software
- CRM and marketing tools
- Mileage for client visits
- Trade association dues
- Office rent or home office share
- Business cards and signage
- Background checks for new producers
- Referral fees to other professionals
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 independent agency's year, kept every month.
Renewals come every month, but the return comes once. 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
1099s go out to your producers, last year's return gets started, 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 tracked new business separately from renewals since January, so the number was never a guess.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's mix of new business and renewals changed the number.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at software or equipment worth buying and anything worth doing before December, ahead of contingency bonus season.
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 independent insurance 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 independent agency owners ask first.
I write with a dozen carriers. Can Gus keep that straight?
Yes. He sorts commission by carrier and by whether it is new business or a renewal, so you can see which relationships are carrying the agency.
Can Gus tell agency-bill premium apart from my actual commission?
Yes. Premium you are holding for a carrier is tracked separately from your earned commission, so your revenue reflects what you actually keep.
How does Gus handle a contingency bonus that lands as one big check?
He notes that it reflects last year's whole book, not this month's production, so a single large deposit does not throw off your monthly trend.
My producers are paid on a split. Does that complicate things?
No. Gus keeps the full commission and each producer's split on separate lines, so your net take is always visible before payouts go out.
What happens to the books when a policy lapses and I get charged back?
Gus logs the clawback against the original sale so it reads as a specific chargeback, not a random shortfall in that month's income.
My records are a mess from switching agency management systems. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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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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