Performance marketing & lead gen

Books and taxes for LinkedIn outreach agencies.

Retainers plus a bonus per booked meeting, Sales Navigator seats you sometimes front for a client, and overseas virtual assistants running outreach on a client's own profile. Gus sorts all of it, 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
AprilExample month
$6,300
what you made

April came in at $6,300. The Sales Navigator seat you fronted for Halloran Coaching got billed back separately from your management fee, so your real margin on that account is clear.

  • Retainer, Halloran CoachingRetainers
  • Sales Navigator seat reimbursementSeat cost reimbursements
  • Meeting bonus, April batchPer-meeting bonus
  • VA wages, contractContractor VAs
  • Expandi subscriptionSoftware
Money in$19,500
Money out$13,200
Set aside for taxes$1,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

LinkedIn outreach agency books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees a retainer and a subscription bill. Your business runs campaigns through a client's own personal profile, sometimes fronts the Sales Navigator seat that profile needs, pays a bonus per meeting a client has to confirm, and often leans on overseas virtual assistants managing several client accounts at once.

  1. 1

    A fronted Sales Navigator seat gets buried in your own software costs

    Paying for a client's Sales Navigator seat and billing it back separately is a passthrough, not your own software expense, and mixing the two makes it look like your tool costs are higher than they really are.

    What we doKeeps seat costs you front for a client in their own line, separate from software you use for your own business, so each is accurate.
  2. 2

    A meeting bonus gets booked before the client confirms it

    Clients often only pay full price once a meeting is confirmed as held, not just booked, and counting the bonus the day a calendar invite goes out can overstate a month that gets adjusted once a no-show surfaces.

    What we doHolds a meeting bonus back until the client confirms it actually took place, and flags any month that leaned on a scheduled-but-unconfirmed count.
  3. 3

    Unused InMail credits look like a wasted cost

    A monthly allotment of InMail credits that goes unused does not roll over, and if that is treated as a straight loss every time, it hides whether a client's targeting needs adjusting or the credits were simply not the bottleneck.

    What we doTracks InMail credit usage against outreach volume, so an unused allotment reads as a targeting question, not just a loss.
  4. 4

    A VA managing several client accounts gets one flat pay rate

    A virtual assistant running outreach across four different client profiles at once still gets paid one number, and without splitting that cost by client, you cannot tell whether one account is actually worth the hours it takes.

    What we doSplits VA cost across the client accounts they manage, so labor cost against results is visible account by account.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a LinkedIn outreach agency.

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

  • RetainersMonthly fees for running a client's outreach on their own profile.
  • Per-meeting bonusesPaid once a client confirms a booked meeting actually happened.
  • Seat cost reimbursementsWhat a client repays for a Sales Navigator seat you fronted.
  • Onboarding and profile setup feesOne-time charges for rewriting a client's profile before outreach starts.

Money out

  • Contractor VAsOverseas or domestic help running outreach across client accounts.
  • Sales Navigator seatsSeats fronted on a client's behalf, tracked apart from your own tools.
  • Outreach sequencing softwareExpandi, Dripify, or similar tools used to run campaigns.
  • Data and list subscriptionsTools used to build target lists beyond LinkedIn search.
  • Payment processing feesWhat a processor keeps before a payment lands.

What we watch for you

  • Seat margin

    Your management fee against seat and tool costs you front, kept apart from what a client reimburses.

  • Cost per account

    VA and tool cost split by client, so you can see which accounts are actually worth the effort.

  • Bonus collection lag

    How long it takes a client to confirm a scheduled meeting actually happened before that bonus counts as income.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked against retainers and confirmed bonuses every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things LinkedIn outreach 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.

I paid for a client's Sales Navigator seat and billed it back to her. Does that count as my software cost?

No. I keep seats you front for a client in their own line, separate from your own tools, so your real software cost stays accurate.

A client hasn't said whether last week's scheduled meetings actually happened. Do I count that bonus yet?

Not yet. I hold the bonus out of income until the client confirms the meeting took place, so a no-show later doesn't force you to walk back a number.

My VA in Colombia manages outreach on four different client profiles. How do I know which one is worth it?

I split her pay across the four accounts she manages, so you can see labor cost against results for each one instead of one lump number.

The tax side

The tax side of a LinkedIn outreach agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as your cost and when income is really earned. A fronted seat treated as your own expense, and a meeting bonus counted before it's confirmed.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Fronted seats are a passthroughA Sales Navigator seat paid for a client and billed back is not your own software cost. Keeping it separate keeps your real tool spend and your margin readable.
  • Contractor 1099sAny US-based VA or specialist not on payroll who you pay $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current all year.
  • Foreign contractorsA VA working outside the US usually does not get a 1099-NEC. A signed W-8BEN is generally the paperwork instead, and the accountant confirms exactly what applies.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when seat costs and meeting bonuses are sorted correctly all year.

Deductions LinkedIn outreach agencies miss

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

  • Expandi or Dripify subscriptions
  • Sales Navigator seats you cover yourself
  • Data and list subscriptions
  • Contractor VAs and specialists
  • Home office or coworking desk
  • Laptop and monitors
  • Payment processing fees
  • Business phone and internet
  • Continuing education and courses
  • Industry conference travel

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 LinkedIn outreach agency year, kept every month.

B2B inboxes and profiles go quiet around the holidays more than they follow the weather. Your team keeps you ahead of both the calendar and taxes. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, your 1099 list for domestic VAs is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has tracked retainers and seat reimbursements every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer slowed meeting volume.

  4. October

    Before response rates dip

    Response rates typically fall through December as profiles and inboxes quiet down for the holidays. Before that happens, Gus looks at what's worth setting aside before year end.

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 LinkedIn outreach 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 LinkedIn outreach agency owners ask first.

I front a client's Sales Navigator seat and bill it back. Does that count as my own software expense?

No. Gus keeps seats you front for a client in their own line, separate from your own tools, so your real software spend and margin both stay accurate.

Do I owe tax on a meeting bonus before the client confirms it actually happened?

No. Gus waits for the client to confirm a meeting actually took place before counting the bonus, so a later no-show does not leave an inflated number in a month you already closed.

My InMail credits went unused last month. Is that just wasted money?

Gus tracks credit usage against your outreach volume, so an unused allotment reads as a question about targeting or list size, not automatically a loss.

My VA manages four client accounts at once. Can Gus tell me which ones are actually worth it?

Yes. Her pay gets split across the accounts she manages, so you can see labor cost against meetings booked for each client separately.

My VA works from outside the US. Does she get a 1099?

Probably not a 1099-NEC, since she is not a US person. Gus flags overseas VAs separately from domestic contractors so the accountant can confirm the right paperwork on file for each.

My books are behind since I added a second VA and three new clients this year. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts out pay and account costs across your team and client roster, the accountant checks it, 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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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