Organic, social & brand marketing

Books and taxes for local SEO and Google Business Profile specialists.

Per-location retainers, one-time citation cleanups, review campaign fees, and a client with twelve storefronts who pays on one invoice. 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
JuneExample month
$9,300
what you made

June came in at $9,300. The dental franchise's twelve-location invoice landed as one payment, so I split the note across their locations for you, not the accountant.

  • Dental franchise, 12 locationsMulti-location retainer
  • Citation cleanup, new clientOne-time project fees
  • BrightLocal subscriptionListing management tools
  • Freelance citation builderContractor payouts
  • Podium subscriptionReview management tools
Money in$27,500
Money out$18,200
Set aside for taxes$2,100
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Local SEO books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees one invoice from a client. Your business is a single franchise account that covers twelve storefronts, a one-time citation cleanup that looks nothing like a monthly retainer, and review campaigns billed by the location. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which accounts actually pay.

  1. 1

    One invoice hides twelve locations

    A franchise client pays one lump sum that covers work across a dozen storefronts. Booked as a single retainer, you lose the per-location number that tells you whether the account is actually profitable to run.

    What we doNotes the location count behind a multi-location invoice so you can see what the account earns per storefront, not just the total.
  2. 2

    A cleanup project looks like a retainer

    A one-time citation cleanup and a monthly Google Business Profile retainer both show up as client payments, so a slow month with no new cleanup projects can look like the recurring business shrank when it did not.

    What we doKeeps one-time project fees separate from monthly retainer income, so the recurring number stays the one you trust.
  3. 3

    Review campaign fees hide inside software costs

    Podium, Birdeye, or a review request tool gets billed alongside the software you use for citations, so it is hard to tell what running review campaigns actually costs against what clients pay for them.

    What we doKeeps review management tools in their own line, apart from citation and listing software, so campaign cost stays visible.
  4. 4

    A directory listing fee looks like a subscription

    Paid placements on local directories get billed like recurring software, but they are really a cost tied to a specific client's campaign and should move with that account, not sit in overhead.

    What we doTies directory and listing spend to the client it serves, so account profitability does not get buried in general software costs.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a local SEO specialist.

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

  • Single-location retainersMonthly Google Business Profile and citation work for one storefront.
  • Multi-location retainersFranchise and multi-storefront accounts billed on one invoice.
  • One-time project feesCitation cleanups, listing audits, and directory corrections.
  • Review campaign feesOngoing review generation billed apart from ranking work.

Money out

  • Listing management toolsBrightLocal, Yext, and citation tracking software.
  • Review management toolsPodium, Birdeye, and other review request tools.
  • Contractor payoutsFreelance citation builders and listing specialists.
  • Directory and listing feesPaid placements tied to a specific client's campaign.
  • Client reporting softwareRank tracking and dashboards billed monthly or yearly.
  • Coworking and officeShared office space or a home office setup.

What we watch for you

  • Per-location revenue

    What each storefront in a multi-location account is worth, since one bad invoice hides the real number.

  • Retainer revenue

    The recurring piece of income, separate from one-off cleanup projects.

  • Contractor cost

    What citation builders and specialists cost against revenue.

  • The set-aside

    What you owe stacking up month by month, so April lands as a number you have already seen.

Ask Gus

Things local SEO specialists 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.

The franchise account paid one invoice for all twelve locations. How do I know if it is actually worth keeping?

I split the note across the twelve storefronts so you can see revenue per location, not just one big number that hides whether it is worth the work.

Do I need a 1099 for the freelancer who does my citation cleanups?

If you pay her $2,000 or more this year and she is not on payroll, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.

A cleanup project made this month look huge. Is that going to keep happening?

Probably not every month. I kept the project fee separate from your retainer income so you can see the recurring number underneath the spike.

The tax side

The tax side of a local SEO specialist.

Most of what goes wrong here is labels, not big rules. A franchise invoice that hides location profit, a project fee that looks recurring, 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.

  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, a freelance citation builder or listing specialist, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated specialists can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. Above roughly $200,000 single, the accountant checks how much of it still applies.
  • Self-employment taxA solo owner not paid through payroll owes 15.3 percent in self-employment tax on top of income tax, capped at the Social Security wage base.
  • Quarterly estimated taxesTaxes are due as the money is made. Payments fall on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, and Gus tracks the set-aside toward each one.

Deductions local SEO and Google Business Profile specialists miss

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

  • BrightLocal or Yext subscription
  • Podium or Birdeye license
  • Directory listing fees
  • Freelance citation builders
  • Rank tracking software
  • Business phone and internet
  • Client meeting mileage
  • Coworking space
  • Conference tickets and travel
  • Website hosting for the agency
  • Accounting and legal fees
  • Reporting dashboard software

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 local SEO specialist's year, kept every month.

Franchise clients renew contracts on their own schedule, but tax deadlines do not move. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Start the year clean

    Last year's return gets started, the citation builder and listing specialist 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed and signed

    Your return is filed and signed. The set-aside covered it, since it has been building since January.

  3. July

    Midyear look

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a new multi-location account changed the number.

  4. October

    Before contract renewals

    Franchise clients often renegotiate contracts near year end. Gus looks at per-location profit before those talks and anything worth doing before December.

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 local SEO and Google Business Profile specialists. 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 local SEO specialists ask first.

One client covers eight storefronts on a single invoice. Can Gus track profit by location?

Yes. Gus notes the location count behind a multi-location invoice so you can see revenue per storefront, not just one lump total that hides whether the account is worth it.

A citation cleanup project made one month look great. Does that skew my numbers?

No. Gus keeps one-time project fees separate from monthly retainer income, so your recurring revenue stays the number you can trust from month to month.

I use BrightLocal for citations and Podium for reviews. Do those need to be tracked differently?

Yes, and Gus already does it. Listing tools and review tools sit in their own categories, so you can see what each part of the work actually costs.

Do I need to collect anything from the freelancer who does my citation audits?

If you pay her $2,000 or more this year and she is not on payroll, she needs a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current so it is ready.

My books have been a mix of personal and business accounts for a year. Is that fixable?

Yes. Send the statements you have. Gus sorts what belongs to the business, 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.

More in organic, social & brand marketing

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