Pet services
Books and taxes for international pet relocation services.
Large one-time relocation fees, deposits held months before a flight, foreign airline and customs broker payments, and USDA paperwork tied to each move. 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
June came in at $19,400. Two relocations finally flew this month after months of paperwork, so I moved their deposits out of the holding balance and counted them as earned.
- Wire, relocation fee balanceRelocation fees
- Deposit, upcoming moveRelocation deposits
- Airline cargo paymentAirline and cargo costs
- Customs broker, destination countryCustoms and broker fees
- USDA endorsement courier feePaperwork and permits
Why your books are different
International pet relocation books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a large wire transfer and calls it a good month. Your business is deposits held for moves that take months to clear paperwork, foreign vendors paid in ways a normal bank feed does not explain, and fees that vary wildly by destination country. The books need to track the whole arc of a move.
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1
Deposits get counted before the pet actually flies
A client pays a deposit to start the process for a move that will not happen for four months while permits and health certificates clear, and if that deposit counts as income right away, the month the move actually completes looks understated.
What we doHolds relocation deposits as owed work until the move is complete, so income reflects relocations actually finished. -
2
Foreign vendor payments look like unexplained withdrawals
Wires to an overseas customs broker or a destination-country agent show up in the bank feed with little detail, and without context they look like random large withdrawals instead of pass-through costs tied to a specific client's move.
What we doTies foreign vendor and broker payments back to the specific relocation they belong to, so large withdrawals make sense against the fee they support. -
3
Airline and destination costs get billed separately from your fee
Airline cargo fees and destination handling charges often get paid by you and passed through to the client, and if that pass-through gets mixed with your actual service fee, your real margin on a move is hidden.
What we doSeparates pass-through airline and destination costs from your service fee, so your real margin on each relocation is visible. -
4
Paperwork and permit costs vary by country but get averaged
A move to one country needs a simple health certificate while another needs weeks of USDA endorsement and an import permit, and if those costs get averaged into one general expense line, you cannot see which destinations actually cost more to serve.
What we doKeeps paperwork and permit costs tied to the country and the move they belong to, so destination-specific costs stay visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an international pet relocation business.
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
- Relocation feesYour service fee for managing a move, counted when the relocation is complete.
- Relocation depositsHeld as owed work until the move actually happens.
- Pass-through reimbursementsAirline and destination costs billed to the client at your cost.
- Consulting feesPaid guidance for owners handling parts of a move themselves.
Money out
- Airline and cargo costsFlight and cargo handling fees paid on the client's behalf.
- Customs and broker feesOrigin and destination country broker and clearance costs.
- Paperwork and permitsUSDA endorsements, health certificates, and import permits.
- Boarding and layover careCare for pets during required layovers or quarantine periods.
- InsuranceLiability and cargo coverage for pets in transit.
- MarketingRelocation company partnerships and international outreach.
What we watch for you
- Deposit balance
Money held for moves that have not completed yet, so you know what is truly owed.
- Margin per relocation
Your service fee against pass-through costs, so you know what each move actually earns you.
- Cost per destination
How paperwork and broker costs vary by country, so pricing reflects where a move is actually going.
- Move completion time
How long deposits sit before a relocation actually finishes, tracked from your case files.
Ask Gus
Things pet relocation 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.
Not yet. I hold it as owed work until the relocation is actually complete, so your income reflects moves that have really finished, not just deposits collected.
I tie it back to that specific relocation, so a large wire to an overseas broker makes sense as a pass-through cost instead of looking like an unexplained withdrawal.
That's above my pay grade to settle alone. Paying someone overseas for regular work raises questions the accountant needs to weigh in on before you set up that arrangement.
The tax side
The tax side of an international pet relocation business.
Foreign payments and long timelines between deposit and completion are the two things that matter most for a business built around international moves.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Deposits are not income yetA deposit taken months before a relocation is complete is money you owe work for, not profit you have earned. Gus tracks the balance so income reflects moves actually finished.
- Pass-through costs versus your feeAirline and destination costs billed to a client at your cost are generally not your taxable income, while your service fee is. Keeping the two separate matters for an accurate return.
- Paying foreign vendors and coordinatorsPayments to overseas brokers or coordinators may carry different reporting requirements than a domestic 1099, and that is worth confirming with the accountant before setting up a regular arrangement.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when fees, pass-through costs, and deposits are tracked accurately all year.
Deductions international pet relocation services miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Customs broker and clearance fees
- USDA endorsement and permit costs
- Health certificate courier fees
- Layover boarding and pet care
- Cargo and transit insurance
- Travel to accompany moves
- Phone and video consult tools
- Continuing education on import rules
- International outreach and marketing
- Office and case management software
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
An international pet relocation year, kept every month.
Moves can take months to clear paperwork on their own timeline. Your taxes come on a fixed 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, and a set-aside is planned around the relocations you expect to complete this year.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Midyear check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a busy relocation season changed the number.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at deposits still open for moves not yet complete and flags anything worth reviewing 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 international pet relocation services. 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 pet relocation owners ask first.
A client's move takes months to complete. When does the deposit count as my income?
When the relocation is actually finished, not the day the deposit is paid. That keeps a deposit taken during a slow month from making your books look stronger than the moves you have actually completed.
How does Gus handle large wires to foreign customs brokers?
He ties each payment back to the specific relocation it supports, so a large wire to an overseas broker reads as a pass-through cost tied to a client's move, not an unexplained withdrawal.
Do airline and destination fees I bill back to clients count as my income?
Generally the pass-through amount is not treated the same as your service fee, so Gus keeps the two separate to help the return reflect your real income accurately.
Costs vary a lot depending on the destination country. Can Gus track that?
Yes, paperwork and broker costs stay tied to the country and move they belong to, so you can see which destinations actually cost more to serve before you quote the next one.
My books are a mix of wires, client payments, and reimbursements. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send what you have and Gus sorts deposits, fees, and pass-through costs by the relocation they belong to. Most owners get a clear picture of their real margin within a couple of completed moves.
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