Personal & lifestyle services

Books and taxes for matchmakers.

A six-month membership paid upfront, a singles mixer ticketed at the door, a client who cancels partway through, and a background check fee for every new match. Your own bookkeeper stays on 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
FebruaryExample month
$8,200
what you made

February brought in $8,200, your strongest month this year. One client's partial refund got booked against her membership fee, not as a new expense.

  • Six-month membership paymentMembership retainers
  • Valentine's mixer ticket salesSingles event revenue
  • Background check service invoiceScreening and background checks
  • Client refund, partialMembership refunds
  • Event venue depositEvent costs
Money in$13,400
Money out$5,200
Set aside for taxes$2,000
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Matchmaker books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business runs on long membership retainers paid upfront, ticketed singles events, mandatory background checks on every match, and the occasional refund when a membership does not work out. When the books do not know that, the monthly number is a guess.

  1. 1

    A membership fee gets counted the day it is paid

    A client who pays $6,000 upfront for a year of matchmaking has paid for a service that unfolds over the whole year. Booking the full amount as income the month it lands overstates that month and understates the ones the matching work actually happens in.

    What we doKeeps membership retainers visible against the length of service sold, so one big signup does not make a single month look bigger than the work delivered.
  2. 2

    Refunds get filed like a new business expense

    When a client cancels a membership partway through and gets a partial refund, filing that as a general expense hides that it is actually a reduction of income you already booked, not a new cost.

    What we doBooks refunds against the original membership income, so your revenue reflects what you actually kept, not an inflated number followed by a mystery expense.
  3. 3

    Event revenue and membership income blur together

    A ticketed singles mixer brings in money very differently than a one-on-one membership, and lumped into one line, you cannot tell whether events are worth running or just a break-even marketing cost.

    What we doKeeps event ticket revenue and event costs in their own line, apart from membership income, so you can see if events pay for themselves.
  4. 4

    Background check fees look like a random cost

    Running a background check on every new client or match is a real per-match cost that scales with how many people you are actively working with, but buried in general expenses it is easy to lose track of.

    What we doKeeps background check and screening costs in their own line so you can see what vetting actually costs per client.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a matchmaking business.

Set up once for how memberships and events get paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Membership retainersUpfront fees for multi-month or annual matchmaking memberships.
  • Singles event revenueTicket sales for mixers and group events.
  • Consultation feesInitial paid consultations before a membership starts.
  • Coaching add-onsDating coaching or profile review sold alongside matchmaking.

Money out

  • Screening and background checksPer-client background check and verification services.
  • Event costsVenue rental, catering, and staffing for singles events.
  • Membership refundsPartial refunds when a client cancels a membership early.
  • Marketing and matchmaking softwareClient management tools and advertising for new members.
  • Business insuranceLiability coverage for client-facing and event work.

What we watch for you

  • Membership retention

    How many memberships run their full term versus refund early. It shows whether the service is landing as promised.

  • Event break-even

    Event ticket revenue against event costs. It tells you if mixers pay for themselves or exist purely to bring in new members.

  • Screening cost per client

    Background check spending against active clients. It shows the real cost of vetting as your client list grows.

  • The set-aside

    The tax total building each month, so April is a figure you already know.

Ask Gus

Things matchmakers 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 refunded part of a membership. Does that count as an expense?

I booked it against her original membership payment, not as a new expense. It just means you kept less of what she originally paid.

Did the Valentine's mixer actually make money after the venue and catering?

Ticket sales covered the venue and catering with a bit left over. I kept event revenue and event costs apart so you can see that clearly.

Do background check fees add up to much?

They are running steady against your active client count. I kept that line separate so you can see the real cost of vetting as you grow.

The tax side

The tax side of a matchmaking business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Long memberships counted as income too early, refunds filed wrong, 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.

  • Self-employment tax on membership incomeFor a matchmaking business, self-employment tax runs 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax when the owner is not paid through payroll, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
  • 1099s for event staffA background check service, event staff, or coach paid outside of payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if paid $2,000 or more in 2026.
  • Running the practice like a businessThe IRS looks at whether a practice is run in a businesslike way, with real books and a genuine effort to be profitable. Clear membership and refund records support that a matchmaking practice is a real business, not a hobby.
  • The business income deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. Getting that number right depends on the books being right all year.

Deductions matchmakers miss

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

  • Background check and screening fees
  • Client management software
  • Event venue and catering costs
  • Marketing and advertising
  • Website and profile photography
  • Continuing education in matchmaking
  • Business liability insurance
  • Home office space for client meetings
  • Phone and video call software
  • Travel to meet clients or attend events
  • Business cards and stationery
  • Trade 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 matchmaker's year, kept every month.

Membership signups often spike around the holidays and Valentine's Day, and memberships run for months after. Your team keeps you ahead of both the season and the tax deadlines. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Start the year off

    For a matchmaking business, last year's return gets started in January, and a monthly set-aside means April is already handled.

  2. April

    The return is in

    For a matchmaking business, the return is filed and signed in April, with no surprise bill since the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    The midyear look

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the winter membership surge changed the number.

  4. October

    Before the holiday signup season

    New Year resolution memberships often start ramping up in the fall. Gus looks at any moves worth making 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 matchmakers. 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 matchmakers ask first.

I sell year-long memberships upfront. Does that overstate my income?

Gus keeps membership retainers visible against the length of service sold, so a big upfront payment does not make a single month look bigger than the actual work delivered.

How do refunds get handled in the books?

A refund is booked against the original membership payment, not as a new expense, so your revenue reflects what you actually kept.

Do I need to track background check costs separately?

Yes, and Gus does it automatically. Screening fees are kept in their own line so you can see the real cost of vetting against your active client list.

Is my matchmaking practice treated differently since it started small?

Not once it is run like a business, with real books and a genuine effort to be profitable. Keeping clean records from the start supports that it is a real business.

My books are behind from focusing on client matches. Is that fixable?

No, this is common. Send the statements you have and Gus works through the backlog, with the accountant checking it, usually 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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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