Creative & production services
Books and taxes for mobile app marketing agencies.
A user acquisition budget running through your account, a cost-per-install performance fee, app store screenshot creative, and an attribution tool tracking every install. 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 $10,800. Client user acquisition spend across Apple Search Ads and Google ran through your account this month, real client money that is not your revenue, so I kept it as a pass-through cost.
- User acquisition budgets x3Client user acquisition spend
- CPI performance fee, App ClientPerformance fee income
- Apple Search Ads spendClient user acquisition spend
- AppsFlyer subscriptionAttribution and analytics tools
- App store screenshot creativeCreative production costs
Why your books are different
Mobile app marketing books go wrong at the install spend and the performance fee.
A generalist sees deposits and calls it all revenue. Your business runs client user acquisition budgets through your account for the app stores and ad networks, gets paid partly on performance per install, and depends on attribution tools that cost real money every month. When the books blend those, the top line lies.
-
1
Client user acquisition spend gets counted as agency revenue
When a client hands you $20,000 to run install campaigns across Apple Search Ads and Google and you keep a management fee, booking the full $20,000 as sales makes the business look far bigger than it is and overstates what is owed at tax time.
What we doBooks your management fee as income and user acquisition spend as a client pass-through cost, so the top line reflects what you actually keep. -
2
A cost-per-install performance fee looks like flat retainer income
Getting paid per install, rather than a fixed monthly amount, means income swings with campaign performance, and if it is booked the same as a flat retainer, you cannot see how exposed your income really is to campaign results.
What we doKeeps performance fee income in its own line, separate from flat retainers, so you can see how much of your income depends on campaign outcomes. -
3
Attribution tool costs get missed as a real overhead line
Tools like AppsFlyer or Adjust that track where an install actually came from carry a real monthly cost that scales with client volume, and if it is buried in general software, you cannot see what tracking installs actually costs you.
What we doKeeps attribution and analytics tool costs in their own line so this real, scaling overhead stays visible. -
4
App store screenshot and video creative gets billed like ad spend
Producing app store screenshots, preview videos, and icon variations for testing is creative production work, not media spend, and mixing the two hides what creative production actually costs per client.
What we doKeeps creative production costs separate from ad spend passed through to the app stores and networks. -
5
A revenue share deal gets treated like a flat fee
Some clients pay a percentage of in-app revenue instead of a flat fee or per-install rate, and that kind of deal needs its own tracking since it moves with a number you do not fully control.
What we doKeeps revenue share income in its own category so you can see how that arrangement performs over time.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a mobile app marketing 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
- Retainer incomeFlat monthly fees for ongoing user acquisition management.
- Performance fee incomeCost-per-install or cost-per-action fees, kept apart from flat retainers.
- Revenue share incomeA percentage of client in-app revenue, tracked separately.
- Creative production feesApp store screenshots, videos, and icon testing billed apart from ad spend.
Money out
- Client user acquisition spendAd dollars placed on Apple Search Ads, Google, or Meta, not your revenue.
- Attribution and analytics toolsAppsFlyer, Adjust, or similar install-tracking subscriptions.
- Creative production costsDesign and video work for app store listings and ad creative.
- Freelance designers and editorsContractors brought in for creative testing and iteration.
- SoftwareReporting dashboards and campaign management tools.
What we watch for you
- Real revenue share
Your fees against total money moved, so client ad spend never gets mistaken for your income.
- Performance income share
How much of your income depends on install or revenue performance versus flat retainers.
- Attribution tool cost
What tracking tools actually cost as client volume grows, worth watching before adding a new app.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on your real fees, not client acquisition spend, tracked monthly ahead of April.
Ask Gus
Things mobile app marketing 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.
No, I book your management fee as income and the ad spend as a pass-through cost, so your real revenue and your tax bill both stay accurate.
Yes, performance fee income stays in its own line, separate from flat retainers, so you can see how much of your income depends on campaign results.
It is an ordinary and growing overhead line. I keep attribution tool costs separate so you can see clearly what tracking installs actually costs you.
The tax side
The tax side of a mobile app marketing agency.
Most of what goes wrong here is client ad spend counted as revenue and performance fees mixed with flat retainers.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099s for creative helpAny designer or freelancer not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus tracks the total across every creative testing cycle.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated app marketing agencies can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when fees are tracked apart from user acquisition spend.
- Equipment and software write-offsComputers, monitors, and attribution or analytics tool licenses can usually be written off the year they are bought.
- Self-employment tax for solo ownersA one-person agency pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the set-aside covers both, calculated only against your real fees, not acquisition spend.
Deductions mobile app marketing agencies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Attribution and analytics tools
- Freelance designer fees
- Creative production software
- Reporting and dashboard tools
- Computer and monitor upgrades
- Continuing education courses
- Coworking or home office share
- Payment processor fees
- Client contract tools
- Business association dues
- Marketing and self-promotion
- 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 mobile app marketing agency's year, kept every month.
Install campaigns and client budgets shift constantly. Your books stay current no matter the timing, and the return follows. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
New year budgets land
Last year's return gets started, the designer 1099 list is ready, and clients set new-year user acquisition budgets.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, based on your real fees, not client user acquisition spend. The set-aside has covered it since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how performance and retainer income have moved since January.
- October
Before Q4 spend increases
Clients push install budgets up before year-end app store rankings matter most. Gus looks at software or equipment worth buying 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 mobile app marketing 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 mobile app marketing agency owners ask first.
Does client user acquisition spend running through my account count as my taxable income?
Only your management or performance fee counts as income. Gus books the client's ad spend as a pass-through cost, so your real revenue and your tax bill both stay accurate.
One of my clients pays a percentage of their in-app revenue instead of a flat fee. Is that hard to track?
No, Gus keeps revenue share income in its own category so you can see how that specific arrangement performs over time compared to your flat-fee clients.
My attribution tool costs keep climbing as I add clients. Is that normal?
Yes, that is an ordinary and often growing cost of doing this work. Gus keeps it in its own line so it is always visible, not buried in general software.
I bill some clients per install and others a flat monthly rate. Does that complicate the books?
No, Gus keeps performance fee income and retainer income in separate lines, so you can see how much of your income depends on results versus steady work.
My books have never separated ad spend from my own agency fees. Can Gus fix that?
Yes. Send what you have, even a year of user acquisition spend mixed with your own fees. Gus separates the two within 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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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