Staffing, recruiting & HR services
Books and taxes for light industrial staffing agencies.
Weekly payroll for warehouse and assembly crews, factoring advances, workers comp by class code, and a client invoice that already nets your cut. 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
September came in at $25,600. The Titan Fulfillment invoice paid through Fieldglass on net-30, so I flagged it against the factoring advance instead of counting it twice.
- Titan Fulfillment payoutClient billings
- TBS Capital advanceFactoring advance
- ADP payroll runCrew wages
- Zenefits comp premiumWorkers comp
- Indeed sponsored postsSourcing costs
Why your books are different
Light industrial staffing books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and payroll runs. Your business is a weekly headcount that changes by the shift, a comp bill that depends on what the job actually is, and a factoring line standing between an invoice and the cash to cover Friday's payroll. When the books don't know that, the number you see is not the number you kept.
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1
The client check already has your cut baked in
A distribution center pays one weekly invoice that covers every picker's wages, your payroll taxes, and your markup all at once. Book the whole deposit as profit and the crew wages you still have to run this week vanish from the picture.
What we doSplits client billings from crew wage cost so what you actually kept on that week of orders is visible, not just what landed. -
2
A factoring advance is not a sale
When a factoring company pays you against an invoice you haven't collected yet so Friday's payroll clears, that advance is a loan with a fee, not new revenue. Booked as income, it hides the discount fee and inflates the month.
What we doBooks the advance against the receivable it covers and the factor's fee as a cost, so the real margin holds up. -
3
One comp rate for every placement
A forklift operator and a hand packer carry different workers comp class codes and very different premium rates. Lump them into one rate and either you overpay on the safer roles or the carrier flags it at audit time.
What we doKeeps placements coded to the work they actually do so comp premiums track the right class and true labor cost by role stays visible. -
4
A new distribution center means a new state
Winning a contract at a fulfillment center two states over means new unemployment insurance and payroll tax registrations there, even for a short-term ramp-up. Missed, it shows up as a notice months later.
What we doFlags any placement into a state you're not already registered in, so the right registration happens before that first payroll runs.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a light industrial staffing agency.
Set up once for how you bill and how you pay a crew that turns over fast. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Client billingsWeekly or biweekly invoices for order pickers, packers, and forklift operators, often submitted through Fieldglass or Beeline.
- Factoring advancesCash pulled forward against unpaid client invoices, kept apart from real revenue.
- Overtime and shift premiumsSecond and third shift differentials billed on top of the standard rate.
- Temp-to-hire conversion feesWhat a client owes when they hire one of your pickers on permanently.
- Rush placement feesShort-notice fills when a client needs bodies on the floor by tomorrow.
Money out
- Crew wages and payroll taxesWeekly W-2 pay for the whole placed workforce, run through ADP or a similar payroll service.
- Workers comp premiumsBilled by class code: forklift, hand packing, machine operation, all different rates.
- Sourcing and job board costsIndeed sponsored posts, staffing app listings, and recruiter seats.
- Factoring discount feesWhat the factoring company keeps for advancing cash against invoices.
- Background checks and drug screensPer-candidate fees for every worker before dispatch.
- PPE and safety gearSteel-toe boots, hi-vis vests, gloves, and safety glasses supplied to crews.
- Staffing softwareThe system that runs timesheets, dispatch, and client invoicing.
What we watch for you
- Gross margin per client
Billings minus crew wage cost, by client. Shows which contracts actually pay and which just move volume.
- No-show rate cost
Wages paid for shifts that got backfilled last minute. A rising number means sourcing needs to widen.
- Comp rate by class code
Tracked from payroll itself, so a placement coded wrong gets caught before the comp carrier's audit does.
- Days sales outstanding
How long client invoices take to collect. It's what decides whether you need the factoring line at all.
Ask Gus
Things light industrial staffing 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 invoice already covers crew wages and taxes for the whole pack-out team. I split it so you're seeing your actual cut, not the whole deposit.
It usually means new unemployment and payroll tax registrations there. I flagged it so that gets set up before the first crew clocks in.
It's running about 2 percent of what you advance most weeks. I keep it as its own line so you can see it plainly against what it's saving you in cash flow.
The tax side
The tax side of a light industrial staffing agency.
Most of what goes wrong here is speed and headcount. A crew that turns over weekly, comp rates that vary by job, and payroll that follows the worker into whatever state the warehouse sits in.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Worker classificationA picker or forklift operator working a client's schedule with a client's equipment is a W-2 employee, either yours or theirs, never a 1099 vendor. It's the costliest mistake this trade can make.
- Multi-state payroll taxPlacing a crew at a new distribution center usually means new withholding and unemployment insurance registrations in that state, even for a short-term contract.
- Work Opportunity Tax CreditHiring from certain groups, including people who've been out of work a long time, can earn up to $9,600 per qualifying hire. High-volume placement makes this add up fast.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when margin per client is tracked all year, not guessed at in April.
Deductions light industrial staffing agencies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Staffing and dispatch software
- Job board sponsored posts
- Background checks and drug screens
- Factoring discount fees
- PPE and safety gear for crews
- Workers comp premiums
- General liability insurance
- Recruiter mileage to client sites
- Staffing agency bonds
- Phone and tablet for dispatch
- Timesheet or payroll software fees
- Referral bonuses for candidate leads
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 light industrial staffing year, kept every month.
Crews change by the shift and contracts shift with the season. Your taxes still land on a fixed schedule, and 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
Get the year moving
Last year's return gets started, W-2s and any fee-split 1099s go out, and the crew's monthly set-aside starts so April doesn't sneak up on a busy floor.
- April
Return filed, crew unaffected
Your business return is filed and signed while payroll keeps running without a hitch. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Midyear margin check
Where margin by client and comp class stands at the midpoint, and whether new state registrations from spring contracts are keeping pace.
- October
Before the peak ramp
Retail and fulfillment clients start ramping crews for the holiday surge. Gus looks at what that means for comp classes and states before it starts.
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 light industrial staffing 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 light industrial staffing owners ask first.
Can Gus handle payroll funding or factoring?
Yes. He books the advance against the invoice it came from and the factor's fee as a cost, so your real margin stays visible instead of getting buried in one lump deposit.
We place crews at several distribution centers in different states. Is that a problem?
It's common in this trade. Gus flags any new state a placement lands in so the right payroll and unemployment insurance registrations happen before it becomes an issue.
Our crew turns over fast. Does that make the books harder?
It changes the volume, not the approach. Gus works from your payroll runs and bank statement either way, and he keeps wage cost and client billings separate so turnover doesn't blur the numbers.
How does Gus handle different workers comp rates for different roles?
He keeps placements coded to the actual work, forklift, hand packing, or machine tending, so comp premiums track the right class and the accountant can catch a misclassified rate early.
My invoices sit on net-30 or net-60 terms with big clients. Does that mess up the monthly number?
No. Gus tracks what's billed against what's collected, so a slow-paying client shows up as a receivable, not as a bad month.
Do I need to send anything besides my bank statement?
Usually not. Send your payroll reports if they're not obvious from the bank feed, and Gus and your bookkeeper handle sorting the rest.
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