Performance marketing & lead gen

Books and taxes for pay-per-call networks.

What buyers pay per qualified call, what publishers are owed for sending it, the spread you keep in between, and disputes over calls that did not meet the duration bar. 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
JulyExample month
$12,500
what you made

July came in at $12,500. The forty calls under sixty seconds that Meridian Insurance disputed got matched to the publisher payouts they affect, so both sides of the spread stayed honest.

  • Buyer billing, Meridian InsuranceBuyer billing
  • Publisher payout batchPublisher payouts
  • Short call credit, buyer sideCall quality credits
  • Short call clawback, publisher sideCall quality clawbacks
  • Ringba subscriptionSoftware
Money in$92,000
Money out$79,500
Set aside for taxes$3,800
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Pay-per-call network books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees a pile of deposits and payouts and calls the difference profit. Your business sits between buyers who pay per qualified call and the publishers who send them, with a spread that only shows up clean when both sides are tracked apart, and disputes over call quality that ripple to both.

  1. 1

    Buyer billing and publisher payouts get netted into one number

    If only the difference between what a buyer paid and what a publisher earned ever gets recorded, you cannot see whether a slow month came from fewer calls, a lower buyer price, or a change in what publishers were owed.

    What we doBooks buyer billing and publisher payouts as their own full amounts, so your real spread is a number you can see, not just infer.
  2. 2

    A short call dispute only gets recorded on one side

    A call a buyer disputes as under the duration bar usually means a credit to the buyer and a matching clawback from the publisher who sent it, and recording only one side leaves the other looking like a gap with no explanation.

    What we doMatches a call quality credit on the buyer side to the clawback it triggers on the publisher side, so both halves of the correction are visible.
  3. 3

    Real-time per-call pricing makes a payout batch look inconsistent

    When the price paid per call shifts through the day based on demand, a batch of a hundred calls can carry a dozen different rates, and without that detail, a payout total looks arbitrary instead of the sum it actually is.

    What we doKeeps per-call pricing detail behind each payout batch, so a total that looks odd can always be traced back to what actually happened.
  4. 4

    Dozens of publisher 1099s get missed or duplicated

    A network paying fifty or more publishers a year has a much bigger 1099 list than a typical small business, and without one running list kept current, some publishers get missed and others get counted twice.

    What we doKeeps one running list of every publisher paid $2,000 or more in the year, so nobody gets missed and nobody gets double counted.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a pay-per-call network.

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

  • Buyer billingWhat advertisers pay per qualified call delivered.
  • Call quality creditsAdjustments buyers receive for calls that did not meet the quality bar.
  • Setup and integration feesOne-time charges for onboarding a new buyer's call routing.
  • Volume bonusesExtra pay from a buyer for delivering above a monthly call target.

Money out

  • Publisher payoutsWhat traffic sources are paid for calls they sent, at the agreed per-call rate.
  • Call quality clawbacksAmounts recovered from publishers when a call is disputed by a buyer.
  • Call tracking softwareRingba, Retreaver, or similar tools used to route and measure calls.
  • Compliance and consent toolsSoftware used to document consent for outbound and inbound calls.
  • Contractor account managersFreelance help managing buyer and publisher relationships.
  • Payment processing feesWhat a processor keeps before a payment lands.

What we watch for you

  • Spread margin

    Buyer billing against publisher payouts, tracked as full numbers so the real margin is visible.

  • Dispute rate

    What share of calls get credited back for quality, so a vertical or publisher can be caught early.

  • Days to collect from buyers

    How far behind cash runs from calls already paid out to publishers.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked against your real spread every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things pay-per-call network 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.

I only ever look at the difference between what buyers pay and what I pay publishers. Is that enough?

It hides too much. I book both sides in full, so you can see whether a thin month came from buyer pricing, publisher cost, or fewer calls.

A buyer disputed forty short calls this month and I clawed back the matching publisher pay.

I tied the buyer credit to the publisher clawback it caused, so both sides of that correction are visible instead of one looking like an unexplained gap.

I pay over fifty publishers a year. How do I keep track of who needs a 1099?

I keep one running list all year of every publisher paid $2,000 or more, so nobody gets missed and nobody gets counted twice in January.

The tax side

The tax side of a pay-per-call network.

Most of what goes wrong here is volume and where a correction belongs. Netted numbers that hide the real spread, and a 1099 list that grows faster than a typical small business.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Publisher 1099 volumeAny US-based publisher paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. A network's list is often much longer than a typical small business, so Gus keeps it current all year rather than reconstructing it in January.
  • Foreign publishersA publisher based outside the US usually does not get a 1099-NEC. A signed W-8BEN is generally the paperwork instead, and the accountant confirms exactly what applies.
  • Gross billing versus your real marginBuyer billing and publisher payouts are both real numbers in full. Your spread is what is left after both, not a number you should ever net together before it hits the books.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when buyer billing and publisher payouts are both tracked as full, separate numbers all year.

Deductions pay-per-call networks miss

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

  • Ringba or Retreaver subscriptions
  • Compliance and consent tools
  • Contractor account managers
  • Home office or coworking desk
  • Laptop and monitors
  • Payment processing fees
  • Business phone and internet
  • Data and reporting tools
  • Industry conference travel
  • Continuing education and courses

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 pay-per-call network year, on the books every month.

Call volume tracks buyer demand by vertical more than the season, but taxes still run on a calendar. 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 year

    Last year's return gets started, your full publisher 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has tracked the real spread between buyer billing and publisher payouts every month since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether call volume shifted with buyer demand this quarter.

  4. October

    Before year-end volume

    Insurance and legal call volume often shifts heading into open enrollment and year end. Before it hits, Gus looks at what's worth buying or setting aside 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 pay-per-call networks. 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 pay-per-call network owners ask first.

Should I just track the spread between what buyers pay and what I pay publishers?

No. Gus books both as full, separate numbers, so you can see exactly where a thin month came from instead of one blended figure that hides the cause.

A call quality dispute affects both a buyer credit and a publisher clawback. How does that get recorded?

As two matched entries, one on each side, so both halves of the correction are visible instead of one side looking like an unexplained gap.

I pay dozens of publishers a year. How do I make sure 1099s are right?

Gus keeps one running list all year of every publisher paid $2,000 or more, so January is a matter of confirming the list, not rebuilding it from scratch.

Some of my publishers are overseas. Do they get 1099s too?

Usually not a 1099-NEC. A signed W-8BEN is generally the paperwork instead for a publisher who is not a US person, and Gus flags who is overseas so the accountant can confirm what applies.

Does Gus handle TCPA or call consent compliance?

No. That is above what the subscription covers. Your team keeps your books straight and flags anything that looks off, but compliance review for call consent is on you and your counsel.

My books are a mess from switching call tracking tools mid-year. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank and call tracking statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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.

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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