Travel agencies & tour operators
Books and taxes for independent travel agents.
Host agency commission checks, client planning fees, and fam trips that mix business with a few personal days. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
February netted $5,600. Two cruise commissions from fall bookings came in this month, so I matched them to the sailings instead of counting them as new income.
- Nexion commission depositHost agency commissions
- Torres trip planning feeService fees
- TravelJoy subscriptionBooking software
- Cancun fam trip flightFam trip costs
- Nexion monthly desk feeHost agency fees
Why your books are different
An independent agent's books go wrong in the same few places.
As a solo agent, every dollar that lands in your account already passed through a host agency, a supplier, or a client, so the timing rarely matches when you actually earned it. When a commission is booked wrong or a fam trip's personal days get expensed with the rest, your income looks nothing like what you actually kept.
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1
Commissions arrive months late
A cruise you booked in January might not pay commission until after the ship sails in August, and if the client cancels before then, the commission gets clawed back. Booked as income at the time of sale, your numbers never line up with what actually landed.
What we doMatches each commission to the trip it belongs to, holds it until it is actually paid, and backs it out if a supplier claws it back. -
2
Fam trip days get expensed whole
A supplier invites you on a four-night fam trip to preview a resort, then you tack on two personal days at the end. Run the whole trip through the business account and you deduct days that were never business at all.
What we doAsks which days were business and keeps only that share as a deduction, so the fam trip holds up if it is ever questioned. -
3
Host agency fees hide in one lump
A desk fee, an errors and omissions premium, and a software charge often get deducted from the same commission check before it reaches your account. Booked as one number, you cannot see what the host agency actually costs you each month.
What we doBreaks the deductions on your commission statement into their own lines, so you can see fees against what you actually earned. -
4
A deposit collected is not income yet
A client's deposit for a trip leaving next winter sits in your operating account the day it lands, and if it gets booked as income right then, a slow booking month can look flush with money that belongs to a trip nobody has taken yet.
What we doKeeps deposits for future travel visible and separate from commissions actually earned, so the monthly number reflects what got delivered. -
5
Your own 1099 income gets mixed with expenses
A host agency often pays you as an independent contractor, sending your own 1099-NEC each January, while your business account also runs client trip costs and fam trips through it. Left tangled, it is hard to tell your real income from money that just passed through.
What we doKeeps your 1099 income separate from pass-through client money, so your actual earnings are what the return reports.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an independent travel agent.
Set up once for how commissions and fees land and where the money goes. You never sort a deposit. Gus does, and an accountant checks every one.
Money in
- Host agency commissionsChecks from Nexion, KHM, Avoya, or whichever host pays your commissions.
- Client service feesPlanning fees billed straight to the client for research and itinerary work.
- Cruise line commissionsPaid out after the ship sails, kept apart from money you can spend today.
- Travel insurance commissionsWhat Allianz, Travel Guard, or Faye pay when a client buys protection through you.
- Referral feesWhat another agent or supplier pays you for sending business their way.
Money out
- Host agency feesThe desk fee, software charge, and errors and omissions premium taken from your check.
- Booking softwareTravelJoy, ClientBase, or whatever keeps your itineraries and client files.
- Fam trip costsSplit between the business days and the personal days tacked on.
- Continuing educationSupplier certification courses and trade show travel.
- MarketingWebsite hosting, social media ads, and client welcome gifts.
- Home officeThe business share of rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and internet.
- Card processing feesWhat Square or Stripe keeps on client service fee payments.
What we watch for you
- Commission collection rate
What actually got paid against what suppliers owed you this month.
- Fam trip write-off share
How much of each fam trip actually counted as business, tracked so the deduction holds up.
- Client funds held
Deposits sitting in your account for trips that have not happened yet.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things independent travel agents 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 broke out the desk fee and software charge from your check so they show up as their own expenses, not a mystery deduction from your commission.
Just the business days. I split the trip so only the preview days count as a deduction, the personal days do not.
If you paid her $2,000 or more this year, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running so it is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of an independent travel agent's business.
Most of what trips up an independent agent is timing. A deposit booked too early, a commission that has not actually landed, a fam trip run through as one expense.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- When a deposit becomes incomeMoney collected for a trip that has not happened yet is usually not income until the trip is delivered or the commission is actually paid. Getting the timing right changes what the return should show for the year.
- Fam trips split business and personalA familiarization trip is deductible for the business days only. The personal days tacked on at the end are not, and keeping the two apart matters if the trip is ever questioned.
- 1099s for help on big bookingsAnother agent or a subcontracted planner paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for helping on a group booking gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost independent agents can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when commissions and fees are booked correctly all year.
Deductions independent travel agents miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Host agency desk fees
- Errors and omissions insurance
- Consortium or host dues
- Fam trip business days
- Continuing education courses
- Trade show travel
- Booking software subscription
- Client welcome gifts
- Website hosting
- Mileage to client meetings
- Home office square footage
- Phone and internet share
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 agent's year, kept every month.
Wave season books the year. Tax season is just one part of it. 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
New year, new leads
The heaviest cruise and tour booking window of the year opens, last year's return gets started, and your 1099 list for the year gets finalized.
- April
Filed while bookings roll in
Your return is filed and signed while spring break bookings and final payments on winter trips keep coming in.
- July
Midyear commission check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the wave season bookings you made in January are turning into paid commissions yet.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Before the next wave of bookings for holiday and spring travel, Gus looks at software or courses worth buying 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 independent travel agents. 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 travel agents ask first.
I get paid by a host agency, not directly by clients. Does that change the books?
Not really. Gus works from your bank statement and tracks your host agency statements against it, so commissions get matched to the trip they came from whether the client ever touches your account.
How does Gus handle a fam trip with personal days attached?
He asks which days were the supplier's preview and which were yours. Only the business days count as a deduction, so the fam trip holds up if it is ever questioned.
A client canceled and the commission got clawed back. What happens to the books?
Gus reverses the commission against the original booking instead of logging the clawback as a new expense, so the month reflects what you actually kept.
I am not incorporated yet, just a sole proprietor with a host agency 1099. Is that a problem?
No. Most independent agents start this way. Your team keeps your books clean regardless of structure, and the accountant tells you if switching would actually help.
My books are a mess from last year. Can you still take this on?
Yes. Send what you have, even just your host agency statements and bank records. Gus sorts it and the accountant tells you where you stand, usually within a week.
Do you handle the trust account rules some states require for sellers of travel?
No. Setting up or managing a seller of travel trust account is not part of the subscription. Gus tracks client funds held for future trips so you always know what is really yours.
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 travel agencies & tour operators
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Adventure travel companies
- Corporate retreat planners
- Cruise specialists
- Destination management companies (DMCs)
- Destination wedding travel planners
- Domestic tour operators
- Faith-based & pilgrimage travel
- Freelance tour guides
- Group travel organizers
- Hunting & fishing trip booking agents
- Sports tournament travel
- Student & educational travel
- Luxury travel advisors
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