Pet health
Books and taxes for independent veterinary clinics.
Exam fees, pharmacy sales, wellness plan dues, and financed surgeries that land short of the invoice. 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
May came in at $17,200. Your new digital x-ray unit from Sound came through, so I logged it as equipment, not supplies.
- ezyVet daily depositClient visits
- CareCredit payoutFinanced procedures
- Covetrus invoicePharmacy and drug stock
- IDEXX Reference LabsOutside lab fees
- Stericycle pickupMedical waste
Why your books are different
An independent clinic's books go wrong in the same handful of places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your practice is two doctors on production pay, a pharmacy that turns over every week, and clients who pay four different ways. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell whether either doctor is covering their own pay, and the return misses what it should catch.
-
1
Production pay looks like plain wages
When your associate is paid a base plus a percentage of what they bill, a bank feed just shows a payroll deposit. That hides whether the doctor's production is actually covering what you pay them, which is the number you built the schedule around.
What we doSplits base pay, production bonus, and any guarantee shortfall into their own lines, so pay and production sit side by side. -
2
A financed surgery deposits short
A client finances a $2,400 dental with CareCredit, and the deposit lands at $2,230 after the fee. Booked as the deposit, your revenue looks $170 lower than what you actually did, and the real cost of offering financing disappears.
What we doBooks the full procedure as revenue and CareCredit's cut as its own fee, so your numbers and your real financing cost both show up honest. -
3
The digital x-ray unit is not a supply run
A new digital x-ray, an ultrasound, or an in-house blood analyzer can run five figures. Filed as supplies, it wrecks the month you bought it and muddles what you can write off.
What we doFlags big equipment buys the day they clear, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how much to write off this year. -
4
A vaccine and drug order swings the month
Heartworm preventatives and core vaccines get ordered in bulk ahead of spring, and one large Covetrus invoice can make April look thin and May look flush for no real reason.
What we doKeeps pharmacy and drug stock in one steady line and tells you when a stock-up, not slower business, is why a month looks off. -
5
Retail and pharmacy sales blend into visit fees
Prescription diets, flea and tick preventatives, and supplements sold at checkout get lumped into the same total as the exam, so you cannot see whether retail is worth the shelf space.
What we doKeeps retail and pharmacy sales in their own line, apart from visit fees, so you can see what each part of the front desk actually brings in.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an independent clinic.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Client visitsExams, vaccines, and sick visits, paid at checkout through your practice software's terminal.
- Pharmacy and retailPrescription diets, flea and tick preventatives, and supplements sold over the counter.
- Wellness plan duesMonthly membership fees for clients on a preventive care plan.
- Financed proceduresThe full procedure amount, with CareCredit or Scratchpay's cut booked as a fee.
- Trupanion direct payFor enrolled clients whose insurance pays your clinic straight, instead of reimbursing them later.
Money out
- Doctor and staff payKept apart from production bonuses so you can see labor against what each month brought in.
- Pharmacy and drug stockVaccines, parasite preventatives, and controlled substances from Covetrus or Patterson Veterinary.
- Outside lab feesBloodwork and pathology sent to IDEXX or Antech.
- EquipmentX-ray units, ultrasound, and analyzers, logged so they get written off right.
- Facility and utilitiesRent or mortgage, power, water, and building upkeep.
- Medical wasteSharps and biohazard pickup from a hauler like Stericycle.
- Financing and card feesWhat CareCredit, Scratchpay, or the card terminal kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Production per doctor
What each vet brings in against what you pay them. It tells you if the schedule is working.
- Pharmacy cost share
Drug and product cost against revenue. Watch it after a stock-up or a price change from Covetrus.
- Financing volume
How much runs through CareCredit or Scratchpay, and what those fees actually cost you.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things independent clinic 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.
Three CareCredit surgeries paid out $410 short total. That was the financing fee. I booked it as a cost, so your visit revenue still shows the full amount.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
That is a question worth a real look at your whole pay structure, so I flagged it for the accountant rather than guessing at a number that affects her paycheck.
The tax side
The tax side of an independent veterinary clinic.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Equipment filed as supplies, an associate paid like a contractor who works like an employee, 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.
- Equipment write-offsA digital x-ray unit, an ultrasound, or an analyzer can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. How much to take now depends on the year you are having.
- Associate classificationA doctor on your schedule, using your equipment, and following your protocols is usually an employee even if paid on production. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
- Contractor 1099sA locum vet, a cleaning service, or an IT contractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-veterinarians can take up to 20 percent of profit off their taxable income. It works a little differently once your income climbs, and it comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions independent veterinary clinics miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pharmacy and drug stock
- Reference lab fees
- Scrubs and clinical uniforms
- Malpractice insurance
- Equipment lease payments
- Practice software subscriptions
- Client reminder software
- Biohazard disposal
- Continuing education travel
- State license renewal
- Marketing and website costs
- Card and financing fees
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 clinic's year, kept every month.
Spring brings the wellness rush. Your taxes come on a schedule either way. 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 is ready, 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 spring wellness push changed the number.
- October
Before the slow season
Before caseload eases up for the year, Gus looks at any equipment you might buy and anything 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 independent veterinary clinics. 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 clinic owners ask first.
Can Gus handle visits paid through CareCredit or Scratchpay?
Yes. He books the full visit as money in and the financing company's fee as a cost, so your revenue is not understated and the fee still counts against your taxes.
We run our practice in ezyVet. Do we have to change anything?
No. Keep running the clinic the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
My associate is paid on production. Does that change the books?
It changes where the money is tracked, not what you do day to day. Gus keeps base pay and production bonuses in their own lines, so you can see labor against what each month brought in.
Do we write off new equipment all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the practice can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
Can Gus tell us if we're overstaffed for our caseload?
That is above his pay grade. He can show you labor cost against production clearly, and a real accountant can help you read what it means for staffing.
Our books are a mess from the last two years. 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.
More in pet health
We keep books for the business next door too.
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- Holistic & integrative vets
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- Emergency veterinary hospitals
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- Canine fitness & dog swimming pools
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- Cat breeders
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- Dog behaviorists
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- Pet photographers
- Pet relocation services (international)
- Pet taxi & pet transport
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- Protection dog trainers
- Raw pet food brands & stores
- Reptile shops & breeders
- Service dog trainers
- Board-and-train programs
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