Personal & lifestyle services

Books and taxes for personal assistants and lifestyle concierges.

A monthly retainer, a one-off event planning project, client expenses you front and get paid back for, and hours that do not fit a nine-to-five. 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
MarchExample month
$4,800
what you made

March brought in $4,800. The client dinner you fronted and got reimbursed for went in as a pass-through, not income, so it does not inflate what you actually earned.

  • Retainer payment, Client AMonthly retainers
  • Event planning project feeOne-time project fees
  • Client dinner reimbursementClient expense pass-through
  • Assistant software subscriptionScheduling and task tools
  • Professional liability premiumInsurance
Money in$7,400
Money out$2,600
Set aside for taxes$1,150
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Personal assistant books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is a mix of standing retainers, one-off projects, and money you front for a client and get paid back for. When the books do not know the difference, your real income gets buried under client reimbursements.

  1. 1

    Client reimbursements get counted as income

    Booking a client's flight or fronting cash for an event and getting paid back later is not money you earned, it is money that passed through your account. Counted as income, it makes your revenue look bigger than what you actually kept.

    What we doKeeps reimbursed client expenses in their own pass-through line, separate from what you actually charge for your time.
  2. 2

    Retainers and project work blur into one number

    A standing monthly retainer pays differently than a one-time event or move-planning project, and lumped together you cannot tell how much of your income is steady versus one-off.

    What we doKeeps retainer income and project fees in separate lines so you can see how much of next month is already guaranteed.
  3. 3

    Irregular hours make income look inconsistent

    A month with a wedding to plan or a big move to coordinate looks nothing like a quiet month of standard task work, and an owner comparing the two thinks something has gone wrong when it is just the work.

    What we doTracks retainer and project income against your own pattern, so a heavier project month reads as normal, not a warning sign.
  4. 4

    Mileage and errand costs go untracked

    Driving to run a client's errands, pick up dry cleaning, or handle in-person tasks racks up real mileage that is a legitimate write-off, but if nobody logs it, it disappears every year.

    What we doChecks in for mileage or fuel records on a regular basis and keeps vehicle costs in their own line so nothing gets missed.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a personal assistant or concierge business.

Set up once for how clients pay and what keeps the work running. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Monthly retainersStanding fees for ongoing clients, billed monthly.
  • One-time project feesEvent planning, move coordination, or other single projects.
  • Client expense pass-throughMoney you front for a client and get reimbursed for, kept separate from earned income.
  • Referral or agency feesPayments through a placement agency if you work through one.

Money out

  • Scheduling and task toolsApps used to manage calendars, travel, and client tasks.
  • Vehicle and mileageFuel and maintenance for running client errands and tasks.
  • InsuranceProfessional liability coverage for client-facing work.
  • Marketing and referralsWebsite, networking, and referral costs for new clients.
  • Continuing educationCourses or certifications specific to concierge or assistant work.

What we watch for you

  • Retainer share

    How much of the month is standing retainers versus one-time projects. It shows how much of next month is already guaranteed.

  • Pass-through volume

    How much client reimbursement money moves through your account against what you actually earn. It keeps your real income clear.

  • Mileage cost

    Fuel and vehicle cost against client tasks run. It flags when travel is eating into a retainer's real value.

  • The set-aside

    The running total of what you will owe, tracked monthly, so April is not a surprise.

Ask Gus

Things personal assistants 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.

My income looks huge this month but I barely kept any of it.

That is the client dinner and flight you fronted, showing up as a pass-through, not earnings. Your actual retainer and project fees are the number that matters.

Is it a problem that some months are retainers and some are one-off events?

Not at all. I keep both in their own lines so you can see how much is steady work versus a big project month like this one.

Do I need a separate account for client expense money?

It helps a lot, but it is not required. If it runs through one account, tell me which charges are reimbursed and I will keep them separate.

The tax side

The tax side of a personal assistant business.

Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as income. Client reimbursements read like earnings, mileage goes untracked, 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 retainer incomeFor a personal assistant 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.
  • Mileage for client errandsDriving to run client errands or handle in-person tasks can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile from January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026.
  • What counts as incomeMoney a client reimburses you for, like a flight you booked or an event deposit you fronted, generally is not taxable income to you if it passes straight through. Keeping it separate matters for an accurate return.
  • The 20 percent deductionFor a personal assistant business, the pass-through deduction lets an owner take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income, a figure that only comes out right when the books are kept right all year.

Deductions personal assistants and lifestyle concierges miss

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

  • Scheduling and task management software
  • Vehicle mileage or fuel and repairs
  • Professional liability insurance
  • Continuing education and certifications
  • Phone and data plan for client work
  • Home office space used for planning
  • Networking and association dues
  • Website and marketing materials
  • Travel booking or membership fees
  • Business cards and stationery
  • Client gifts within reasonable limits
  • Parking and tolls for client tasks

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 personal assistant's year, kept every month.

Retainers run steady, and event and move season brings heavier project work. Your team keeps you ahead of both the workload 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 new year

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

  2. April

    Filed, no surprises

    For a personal assistant 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 summer look

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a big project season changed the number.

  4. October

    Before the holiday travel rush

    Holiday events and travel planning bring in more project work. 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 personal assistants and lifestyle concierges. 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 personal assistants ask first.

Client reimbursements make my deposits look huge. Does that mean I owe more tax?

No. Gus keeps money you front and get paid back for in its own pass-through line, separate from your retainer and project income, so your real earnings stay clear.

Can Gus tell my retainer clients apart from one-time projects?

Yes. Standing retainers and one-off project fees are kept in separate lines, so you can see how much of next month is already guaranteed.

I work through a placement agency sometimes. Does that complicate things?

No. Send the statement as it comes in and Gus sorts agency-paid work the same way as direct client income.

Do I need to log mileage for every errand?

A running estimate works fine. Gus keeps vehicle costs in their own line so the mileage deduction does not slip through.

My books are behind because client work always comes first. Is that fixable?

It is fixable. Send the statements you have and Gus works through what is behind, 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