Wellness & recovery services
Books and taxes for lymphatic drainage specialists.
Post-surgical drainage packages bought before recovery even starts, compression garments sold and sometimes exchanged, and referrals that come from a handful of plastic surgeons. 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
March came in at $6,700. Three new post-op packages were booked, so I kept those as owed sessions since most clients need the full series over several weeks.
- Post-op recovery packagePost-surgical packages
- Compression garment saleGarment retail
- Single session, general drainageSingle sessions
- Garment wholesale orderRetail inventory
- Vacuum therapy device serviceEquipment maintenance
Why your books are different
A drainage specialist's income follows someone else's surgery schedule.
Most clients arrive because a plastic surgeon or med spa sent them, and they buy a full recovery package before they have used a single session. A generalist bookkeeper who has never worked with post-surgical clients treats this like an ordinary session business, and the books stop matching reality.
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1
A post-op package is bought before the recovery has even started
A client books a ten-session package right after surgery, often paying for the whole series up front, and if that full amount is booked as income the day it is sold, the weeks of actual sessions that follow go untracked.
What we doTracks how many sessions are still owed on open post-op packages and counts each one as income only as it happens. -
2
Compression garments are inventory with sizing and exchanges
Garments get sold, sometimes exchanged for a different size as swelling changes during recovery, which behaves nothing like a simple retail sale and can confuse a bookkeeper unfamiliar with the exchange pattern.
What we doTracks garment sales and exchanges as retail inventory, kept apart from session income, so margin on garments stays clear. -
3
Referral sources shape income more than marketing does
New clients often arrive in waves tied to a surgeon's own booking calendar, so a slow month might have nothing to do with your business and everything to do with a referring practice's schedule.
What we doTracks new client volume alongside session income, so a dip reads as a referral pattern, not a sign something is wrong. -
4
A vacuum therapy device is equipment, not a routine repair
Specialized lymphatic drainage machines cost real money to buy and maintain, and treated like ordinary supplies, their upkeep and eventual replacement disappear from the picture of what the business owns.
What we doLogs drainage equipment as an asset, so its cost and maintenance are tracked correctly over time.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a lymphatic drainage practice.
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
- Post-surgical packagesMulti-session recovery packages, tracked as owed sessions until used.
- Single sessionsGeneral drainage sessions not tied to a surgical package.
- Garment retailCompression garments sold, tracked with exchanges.
- Maintenance sessionsOngoing sessions for clients past the initial recovery period.
Money out
- Retail inventoryCompression garments bought wholesale in multiple sizes.
- Equipment maintenanceVacuum therapy or drainage device servicing.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for the sessions you perform.
- Continuing educationCertification and specialty training in post-surgical care.
- Booking softwareScheduling for post-op packages and single sessions.
What we watch for you
- Owed post-op sessions
How many sessions are still unused on open packages, so income timing makes sense.
- Garment margin
What garments cost against what they sell for, tracked apart from session revenue.
- New client volume
How many post-op clients arrive each month, so a referral slowdown shows up early.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things lymphatic drainage 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.
Only as each session happens. I am tracking the sessions still owed, so income lands as the recovery work is actually delivered over the coming weeks.
I logged that as an exchange within retail inventory, not a new sale, so your garment numbers stay accurate.
Not necessarily. New client volume looks tied to referral timing more than anything you did differently. Worth checking in with your referring practices.
The tax side
The tax side of a lymphatic drainage practice.
Most of what trips up a drainage specialist is timing post-op package income and treating garments like ordinary supplies instead of inventory.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goodsCompression garments bought wholesale for resale are inventory, and their cost is deducted as they sell, not all at once when you buy them.
- Self-employment taxWorking for yourself means paying both halves of Social Security and Medicare, 15.3 percent total, on top of income tax. The set-aside is built to cover it.
- Equipment write-offsVacuum therapy and drainage devices can usually be written off the year they are bought, depending on the year you are having.
- The pass-through deductionMost solo practitioners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions lymphatic drainage specialists miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Compression garment inventory
- Vacuum therapy device maintenance
- Liability insurance
- Continuing education and certification
- Massage table and linens
- Booking software
- Marketing to referring practices
- Uniforms and scrubs
- License renewal fees
- Professional association dues
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 lymphatic drainage practice's year, kept every month.
Post-surgical demand follows surgery seasons more than a calendar. Your team keeps you ahead of the tax calendar through the swings. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled, even with income tied to referral timing rather than the season.
- 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 referral volume shifted the number.
- October
Before the year closes
Gus looks at whether garment inventory or equipment upkeep is worth handling 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 lymphatic drainage 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 lymphatic drainage specialists ask first.
How does Gus handle post-op packages sold up front?
He tracks how many sessions are still owed and counts each one as income only as it happens, so a big package sale does not inflate the week it was sold.
Do garment exchanges mess up my retail numbers?
No. Gus logs an exchange as an exchange, not a new sale, so your garment sales and inventory stay accurate through sizing changes.
My clients come almost entirely from a few surgeons who refer them. Does that change my books?
Not the bookkeeping itself, but Gus tracks new client volume so you can see whether a slow month is about referrals rather than your own business.
Can I write off a new vacuum therapy device all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business 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.
My income is uneven since it depends on surgery schedules I don't control. Is that normal?
Yes. Gus tracks income as it comes in rather than expecting an even month, so a slow or busy stretch tied to referral timing still reads honestly.
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