Vehicle sales & auto services

Books and taxes for independent used car dealers.

Auction buys, reconditioning bills, trade-ins, and F&I commissions all hit the bank differently. Gus sorts every dollar by the vehicle it belongs to, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle

From $197 a month
An accountant on every transaction
Cancel whenever

JuneExample month

$13,600

what you made

June netted $13,600. The Silverado you took as a trade went in as inventory at its real value, not a write-off, so it only counts once it sells.

Westlake Financial payoutRetail vehicle sales
Manheim auction buyVehicle inventory
Joe's Detail ShopReconditioning
CarGurus listing feeAdvertising and listings
County DMV title feesTitle and registration

Money in$61,800

Money out$48,200

Set aside for taxes$3,200

An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A used car lot's books go wrong in the same handful of places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is units bought, reconditioned, and sold one at a time, sometimes with a trade-in and a service contract mixed into the same deal. When the books do not track by vehicle, gross profit per unit is a guess.

1
Trade-ins get written off like a loss

You take a trade-in worth less than the customer expected and the shortfall gets booked as a loss the day of the deal, when the trade should just sit on your lot as inventory at its real value.

What we doLogs the trade-in as inventory at what it is actually worth, so profit only shows up once that specific car resells.
2
Reconditioning gets lost in one supply bucket

Detailing, a transmission fix, and a new set of tires on three different cars all land in one general repairs line, so you cannot tell which unit actually made money after recon.

What we doTies every reconditioning dollar to the vehicle it belongs to, so cost per unit is real, not a guess.
3
F&I commissions blur into the sale price

You sell a service contract or a GAP waiver alongside the car, and the commission gets buried inside the vehicle sale, hiding what your F&I products actually contribute.

What we doKeeps F&I commissions in their own line, separate from the vehicle sale, so you can see what add-ons really earn.
4
Auction fees hide inside the sticker cost

Manheim buy fees, arbitration charges, and transport get lumped into a unit's cost or forgotten, so the price tag on the lot does not reflect what the car actually cost you to get there.

What we doAdds auction and transport fees to each unit's true cost, so gross profit per car is honest.
5
A restock week makes the month look like a loss

You buy four cars at one Manheim sale near the end of the month, so cash out spikes while none of those units have sold, and the month looks terrible even though your lot is worth more.

What we doFlags a restock month and separates unsold inventory spending from the month's real operating result.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a used car dealer.

Set up once for how you buy, recondition, and sell. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

Retail vehicle salesCars sold off the lot for cash or financed through a bank like Westlake or CarMax Auto Finance.
F&I commissionsService contracts, GAP waivers, and other add-ons sold at the point of sale.
Doc and title feesThe flat fee charged on every retail deal.
Wholesale salesUnits sold to another dealer or run through an auction instead of retailed.

Money out

Vehicle inventoryWhat was paid at auction or to a private seller for each unit on the lot.
ReconditioningDetailing, tires, and mechanical work before a car goes up for sale.
Auction and transport feesBuy fees, arbitration charges, and hauling from Manheim or ADESA.
Lot rent and utilitiesThe space the cars sit on and the lights that stay on after dark.
Advertising and listingsCarGurus, Cars.com, and Facebook Marketplace fees.
Dealer licensing and bondingThe state dealer license, surety bond, and dealer plates.
Title and registrationWhat gets paid to the DMV or a title service on every unit sold.

What we watch for you

Gross per unit
What is left on each car after the buy price and recon, tracked from the books alone.
Days in inventory
How long cash sits tied up in a car before it sells.
F&I attach rate
How often an add-on gets sold, since it is close to straight profit when it does.
Ad cost per sale
What is spent on listings against how many cars actually sell each month.

Ask Gus

Things used car dealers 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.

Just bought four cars at the Manheim sale. Does that hit this month as an expense?

Not yet. I booked each one as inventory at its landed cost, and it only shows as a cost the month that specific car sells.

Why does this month look thin when I sold six cars?

Two of the six went wholesale at a slim margin to clear older stock. I kept wholesale and retail separate so you can see both.

Do I need to send you the auction invoices too, or just the bank statement?

The bank statement covers most months. If a charge like a big Manheim buy is unclear, I ask you once and remember the answer.

The tax side

The tax side of an independent used car lot.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing and what counts as inventory versus a straight expense. Getting units, recon, and add-ons in the right buckets is what makes the return come out right.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

Inventory versus a write-offA car held for resale is inventory, not an expense. Its cost only counts against income the year that specific unit sells, including what you spent reconditioning it.
Trade-ins carry their own basisA trade-in goes onto your lot at its real value, not the number quoted on the deal, so profit lands correctly when it resells later.
F&I income is ordinary incomeCommissions on service contracts and GAP waivers count as regular business income the month they are earned, same as a vehicle sale.
The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It only comes out right when inventory and recon costs are tracked correctly all year.

Deductions independent used car dealers miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

Auction buy fees
Transport and haul-away
Detailing supplies
CarGurus and Cars.com listings
Dealer license and bond
Vehicle history reports
Lot lighting and security cameras
Title and lien search fees
Shop tools for recon work
Phone and internet for the office
Bank wire fees on auction buys
Uniforms with the dealership logo

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 used car lot's year, kept every month.

Auction runs happen every week. Your taxes come on a 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, the 1099 list for detailers and contract help is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned before spring buying picks up.
April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed while refund season keeps buyers walking onto the lot. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been running since January.
July
Halfway check
Where you stand at midyear, what you will owe, and whether the units bought so far are pricing out the way you expected.
October
Before year end
Before the push to clear aged inventory, Gus looks at units worth moving at a loss on purpose and what that does to the year's number.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 used car dealers. 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 used car dealers ask first.

Do you handle the paperwork when I buy a car at auction?

No. Gus works from your bank statement and any receipts you send, sorting the buy price, fees, and transport into the right vehicle. Title work and DMV paperwork stay with you or your title clerk.

How does Gus know which recon costs go with which car?

Send him what you have, an invoice, a text, a note on the deposit. He asks once if a charge is unclear and remembers your answer after that.

I sell a few cars wholesale too. Does that change anything?

No. Gus keeps wholesale and retail sales in separate lines so you can see both, since wholesale margins usually run thinner.

What happens to a trade-in I take on a deal?

It goes onto your inventory at its real value, not the number you quoted the customer. When it sells, the profit shows up correctly instead of getting buried in the original deal.

Can Gus tell me if I am pricing cars right?

He shows you gross profit per unit and how long each car sat before it sold. Pricing calls stay yours, but the numbers behind them are solid.

My last bookkeeper never separated F&I income. Can that be fixed?

Yes. Send what you have and Gus rebuilds the months so service contract and GAP commissions show up on their own, not buried inside vehicle sales.

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.

We keep books for the business next door too.

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

Books and taxes for independent used car dealers.

A used car lot's books go wrong in the same handful of places.

Trade-ins get written off like a loss

Reconditioning gets lost in one supply bucket

F&I commissions blur into the sale price

Auction fees hide inside the sticker cost

A restock week makes the month look like a loss