Software, SaaS & apps

Books and taxes for micro-SaaS founders.

One product, a Stripe or Paddle payout, a Vercel bill, and a part-time contractor invoice. Your own bookkeeper 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
MayExample month
$17,700
what you made

May made $17,700. Three customers paid for the year up front, so I flagged those for the accountant to spread instead of counting it all in May.

  • Stripe payoutSubscription revenue
  • VercelHosting
  • Fiverr, logo refreshContract design
  • ConvertKitEmail and marketing tools
  • Namecheap renewalDomains and SSL
Money in$27,500
Money out$9,800
Set aside for taxes$4,200
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A one-person SaaS goes wrong in the same handful of places.

A generalist bookkeeper sees a Stripe deposit and a stack of software bills. Your business is a product one person built, sold to strangers on the internet, who pay monthly or all at once. When the books do not know the difference, the monthly number lies to you.

  1. 1

    A year-long plan looks like one great month

    A customer pays $600 for an annual plan and the whole amount lands in one Stripe payout. Counted as that month's income, it makes May look like your best month ever and the following eleven look thin by comparison.

    What we doBooks the deposit when it lands but flags annual charges so the accountant can spread them correctly on the return instead of overstating one month.
  2. 2

    Stripe's cut hides inside the payout

    Stripe takes its processing fee before the money ever reaches your bank, so the payout you see is already smaller than what customers actually paid.

    What we doAdds the processing fee back as its own cost line, so you can see what customers paid and what the fee actually cost you.
  3. 3

    A contractor invoice looks like a subscription bill

    A freelance developer or designer paid through Stripe or PayPal for a one-off project sits in the same feed as your recurring software bills, and by year end nobody remembers who crossed the line for a 1099.

    What we doTracks every contractor's running total through the year so the 1099-NEC list is ready in January, not rebuilt from twelve statements.
  4. 4

    The personal card quietly funds the business

    A solo founder puts a domain renewal, a course, or a conference ticket on a personal card because it is already open, and that spending never shows up in the business's real month.

    What we doAsks for those receipts when they surface and books them to the business, so the monthly number reflects what actually went into running it.
  5. 5

    A refund quietly shrinks next month's payout

    Stripe nets a refund against a future payout instead of showing it as its own line, so a cancellation from March can make May's deposit look smaller with no obvious reason why.

    What we doSeparates refunds from processing fees so you can tell a one-off cancellation from a pattern worth a second look.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a micro-SaaS founder.

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

  • Subscription revenueMonthly and annual Stripe or Paddle charges from your product.
  • One-time purchasesLifetime deals or add-ons sold outside the regular plan.
  • Affiliate payoutsReferral commissions from tools you recommend inside your product.
  • Consulting or servicesCustom work or implementation help billed on the side.

Money out

  • Hosting and infrastructureVercel, Railway, DigitalOcean, or a database provider.
  • Developer toolsGitHub, Sentry, and other tools that run the product day to day.
  • Contract design and developmentFreelancers on Fiverr, Upwork, or a direct invoice.
  • Marketing toolsConvertKit, ads, and the newsletter you send to trial users.
  • Domains and SSLNamecheap, Cloudflare, and renewal fees.
  • Processing feesWhat Stripe or Paddle kept before you got paid.

What we watch for you

  • Payout trend

    Total Stripe or Paddle money in month over month, the clearest read on whether the product is growing.

  • Processing fee share

    What the payment processor keeps out of every dollar customers pay.

  • Contractor spend

    What has gone to freelancers this year, so the 1099 list builds itself before January.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month from your Stripe and Paddle payouts, so the spring deadline never comes as a surprise.

Ask Gus

Things micro-SaaS founders 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.

Someone just paid $600 for the whole year. Does that all count as May income?

It landed in May, but I flagged it as an annual charge. The accountant spreads it the right way on the return so one good month does not skew things.

Why is my payout always less than what customers actually paid?

Stripe takes its processing fee before it ever reaches you. I book that fee as its own cost so you can see the real gap.

I paid a freelancer on Upwork for a redesign. Do I owe them a 1099?

If it is $2,000 or more this year and they are not on payroll, yes, by January 31. I have been tracking the running total since the first invoice.

The tax side

The tax side of running a micro-SaaS on your own.

Most of what trips up a solo founder is timing and labels, not big mistakes. Annual plans counted wrong, a contractor missed for a 1099, and a set-aside nobody starts until the bill arrives.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Self-employment tax on your profitRunning the product as a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC means paying 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, since there is no employer splitting it with you.
  • The pass-through deductionMost solo founders can deduct up to 20 percent of qualified business income before it hits the personal return, as long as the business stays under the higher income limits.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, whether through Stripe, PayPal, or a direct invoice, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running total all year.
  • Solo 401(k) contributionsWith no employees besides yourself, you can defer up to $24,500 into a solo 401(k), plus an $8,000 catch-up at 50 and over, lowering what you owe while you save.

Deductions micro-SaaS founders miss

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

  • Hosting and server bills
  • Domain and SSL renewals
  • Developer tool subscriptions
  • Contract design and development
  • Email and marketing tools
  • Home office, business share
  • Business phone and internet share
  • Course and community memberships
  • Conference tickets
  • Processing fees
  • Business insurance
  • Accounting and legal fees

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 micro-SaaS year, kept every month.

Customers sign up any week of the year. Your taxes come on a schedule. 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

    Plan the solo year

    Last year's return gets started, the contractor 1099 list is finalized, and a monthly set-aside is planned so a one-person team is never caught off guard in spring.

  2. April

    Solo return, filed

    Your return is filed and signed, on time, because the set-aside built from your Stripe and Paddle payouts has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway growth check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new signups picked up enough this spring to adjust what gets set aside each month.

  4. October

    Before the year closes

    A look at any tools or contractor help worth buying before December, and whether the set-aside still matches how the product is actually growing.

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 micro-SaaS founders. 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 micro-SaaS founders ask first.

I run everything myself. Do I still need a real bookkeeper?

Yes, and you get one. A person is assigned to your books by name and stays on them all year, even if your product only has a few hundred customers.

Can Gus tell the difference between my Stripe income and a refund?

Yes. Refunds and chargebacks get pulled out of the fee line so you can see whether a bad month was a real trend or one customer canceling.

My revenue is mostly through Paddle, not Stripe. Does that change anything?

No. Gus works from your bank deposits regardless of which processor sent them, and keeps Paddle's cut separate the same way he would for Stripe.

I have not tracked expenses carefully. Is it too late to start?

No. Send the bank and processor statements you have. Gus sorts what is there, the accountant checks it, and you will know where you stand within a week.

Do side projects that do not make much money still need to be tracked?

Usually yes, since all income is taxable whether or not a 1099-K arrives. Gus keeps every product's money in one clear picture so nothing gets missed.

I might raise a small amount of outside money. Does that change my books?

It can change what your accountant needs to track, and that conversation is above what Gus handles alone. He flags it and the accountant walks you through it.

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