Design & pre-construction
Books and taxes for permit expediters.
A city permit fee you front on the client's behalf, a success fee that only clears once the permit is approved, a courier run to file paperwork in person, and a building department that moves on its own schedule. 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
November came in at $5,700. The Bramwell permit finally cleared after four months at the city, so that success fee counted this month even though the work happened back in July.
- Bramwell permit success feeSuccess fees
- Retainer, Kessler renovationRetainers
- City of Ashford permit feeFronted city fees
- County recorder filing feeFronted city fees
- Courier and mileageFiling and courier costs
Why your books are different
A permit expediting business's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees fees paid out and fees collected. Your business fronts thousands of dollars in city fees before you see a dime back, waits on a success fee that only clears once a building department finally signs off, and drives to a permit counter in person to keep a file moving. When the books do not know that, a busy month can look broke and a quiet one can look flush.
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1
Fronted city fees look like a huge cost
You pay a $3,200 permit fee to the city on a client's behalf, expecting reimbursement within the invoice cycle. Booked as a plain business expense, it makes the month look like a loss when it is really money waiting to come back.
What we doTags fronted city and county fees as reimbursable the day they go out, so they do not read as a real cost until they actually are one. -
2
Success fees land on the city's schedule, not yours
A fee tied to permit approval can sit for months while a building department works through its backlog, so the income from a July job might not clear until November.
What we doFlags success fees tied to a pending approval, so a payment landing months after the work reads as timing, not a slow quarter. -
3
In-person filing costs get lost in general mileage
Some permit offices still require an in-person visit to file or pick up documents, and those trips add up in mileage, parking, and time that a generic 'business expenses' bucket does not capture.
What we doKeeps courier, filing, and permit office trip costs in their own line, so you can see what in-person filing actually costs across your caseload. -
4
A retainer and a success fee on the same job get muddled
One job might collect a small retainer up front and a larger fee only when the permit clears, and treating both the same way makes it hard to tell how much work is paid for versus how much is still pending on the city.
What we doKeeps retainers and success fees in separate lines, so you can see what has been paid against what is still riding on approval.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a permit expediting business.
Set up once for how a job actually gets paid across a long approval cycle. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- RetainersUpfront fees collected before filing begins.
- Success feesFees that clear only once a permit is approved.
- Hourly consulting feesTime-based work for clients navigating zoning or code questions.
- Reimbursed city feesRepayment for permit and filing fees fronted on a client's behalf.
Money out
- Fronted city feesBuilding, planning, and fire department fees paid on a client's behalf.
- Filing and courier costsIn-person permit office trips, mileage, and document delivery.
- Software and case trackingTools used to track multiple permits moving through different departments.
- Notary and document feesCosts for notarizing or certifying submittal paperwork.
- Vehicle costsFuel and maintenance for a vehicle used mainly for permit office visits.
What we watch for you
- Reimbursement lag
How long fronted city fees take to come back once billed to the client.
- Success fee backlog
How much income is tied up waiting on permits still sitting at a building department.
- Filing cost per job
What courier trips and in-person filing actually cost across your current caseload.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things permit expediters 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.
Not really. I tagged that as a reimbursable fee, not a real cost, so once the client pays you back it will not have hit your bottom line at all.
No, that was the building department's timeline, not yours. I flagged it as a pending approval fee back in July, so this payment landing now makes sense.
That depends on your state and I do not want to guess wrong on it. I flagged it for the accountant to confirm, since it is not something the subscription files either way.
The tax side
The tax side of a permit expediting business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Fronted fees and pending success fees can make a good year look uneven if they are not tracked the way the money actually moves.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Reimbursed expenses are not incomeMoney a client sends back to cover a permit fee you already paid is not the same as a fee you earned. Only your actual expediting fee is taxable income.
- Self-employment taxA sole owner pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the $184,500 wage base. It applies to expediting fees whether they arrive quickly or after a long approval wait.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income, once fronted fees are tracked apart from real earnings all year.
- Vehicle deductionsMileage for permit office visits can be deducted using the standard mileage rate, 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents from July on, or by tracking actual vehicle costs.
Deductions permit expediters miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Mileage for permit office visits
- Parking and tolls
- Notary and certification fees
- Case tracking software
- Courier and delivery costs
- Professional liability insurance
- Phone and tablet for field use
- Printing and copying for submittals
- Continuing education on code changes
- Home office expenses
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 permit expediting year, kept every month.
Building department backlogs slow around the holidays and pick back up after. Gus keeps the set-aside steady even when success fees land unevenly. 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 based on what you actually earned, so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, with fronted fees and earned income already sorted apart all year.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how much income is tied up in pending success fees right now.
- October
Before year end
Gus flags outstanding reimbursements and success fees still riding on approval before the December permit office slowdown.
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 permit expediters. 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 permit expediters ask first.
I front thousands in city fees before getting paid back. Does that hurt my numbers?
No. Gus tags fronted fees as reimbursable the day they go out, so they do not count as a real business cost once the client pays you back.
My success fees only clear once a permit is approved. Can Gus handle that timing?
Yes. He flags success fees tied to a pending approval, so a payment landing months after the work still reads correctly as timing, not lost income.
I sometimes have to physically go file paperwork at a permit counter. Does that count as a real cost?
Yes, and Gus keeps courier and in-person filing costs in their own line so you can see what that side of the work actually costs you.
Do I charge sales tax on my expediting fees?
It depends on your state, and that is not something Gus guesses at or files. He flags it so the accountant can confirm what applies to you.
My records are a mix of client checks and fronted fee receipts. Can Gus untangle that?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and Gus starts sorting reimbursements from earned fees, checked by an accountant as it goes.
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