Pet services
Books and taxes for pet sitters.
Overnight house-sitting stays, drop-in visits booked through Rover, multi-pet household fees, and mileage between client homes. 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
July came in at $7,800. Three clients booked overnight stays for their whole vacation, so I counted the nights as they happened, not the day the booking was confirmed.
- Rover, overnight payoutApp-booked visits
- Zelle, direct clientDirect-book visits
- Costco gas, client visitsVehicle and mileage
- Waste bags and suppliesSitting supplies
- Bonding insurance premiumInsurance
Why your books are different
A pet sitter's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees app payouts and a fuel receipt. Your business is overnight stays booked weeks ahead, multi-pet households that pay differently than a single cat, and driving between homes you do not own. The books need to track all of it.
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1
A vacation-week booking gets counted the day it is confirmed
A client books you for ten days of overnight stays while they travel, and if that whole booking counts as income the day it is confirmed, the actual week you are working in their home gets lost in the timing.
What we doCounts nights as they happen, so income lines up with the actual days you were caring for someone's pets. -
2
Multi-pet fees blur into the standard visit rate
A household with three cats and a dog pays more per visit than a single-pet home, but if that extra fee gets folded into one general visit category, you cannot see which bookings are actually worth the extra time.
What we doKeeps multi-pet fees visible against standard visit rates, so you can see what larger households are really worth. -
3
Mileage between client homes goes untracked
Driving to a different house for every visit adds up fast across a week, but without a log it never turns into a deduction, and owners guess at year end and leave real money on the table.
What we doTallies your logged miles month by month, so a string of quick stops across town adds up to a deduction instead of getting waved off as too small to matter. -
4
Key deposits and lockbox fees look like random income
A refundable key deposit or a one-time lockbox setup fee shows up in the bank feed looking identical to a regular visit payment, with no note about what it actually was.
What we doTags key deposits and one-time setup fees separately from ongoing visit income, so your regular earnings stay accurate.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a pet sitting 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
- App-booked visitsRover payouts for drop-ins and overnight stays, after the app's fee.
- Direct-book visitsRegulars who pay you straight through Venmo, Zelle, or card.
- Multi-pet household feesExtra charges for homes with more than one or two animals.
- Key deposits and setup feesOne-time charges kept apart from ongoing visit income.
Money out
- Vehicle and mileageFuel and wear on the car used to reach client homes.
- Sitting suppliesWaste bags, litter, and feeding supplies you provide.
- InsuranceLiability and bonding coverage for entering client homes.
- App feesWhat Rover keeps before paying you out.
- Phone planUsed for client updates and scheduling.
What we watch for you
- Direct-book share
How much of your income comes from regulars paying you directly versus through an app that takes a cut.
- Mileage total
A running count of the miles between visits, since a string of short hops adds up more than it looks like day to day.
- Multi-pet revenue
How much extra multi-pet households actually bring in against standard visits.
- Booking lead time
How far ahead vacations get booked, tracked from your calendar so income timing makes sense.
Ask Gus
Things pet sitters 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.
Only the nights that have actually happened so far. I count it as you go, so your income lines up with the days you were really in their home.
It is. Six stops in a day looks small until a month of them is added up, and I would rather have the total than have you guess in April.
That's above my pay grade to settle alone. Whether they end up a contractor or an employee depends on how the work is structured, so bring the accountant in before you set it up.
The tax side
The tax side of a pet sitting business.
Vacation bookings and driving between homes make timing and mileage the two things that matter most here.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Mileage between client homesTrips to feed, walk, or check in on pets across town add up over a week. The standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile after, and Gus keeps a running total from what you log.
- Vacation booking income counted as deliveredA ten-day overnight booking is not fully earned the day it is confirmed. Gus tracks the balance so income reflects nights of care actually completed.
- Backup sitters and 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you pay $2,000 or more in 2026 for covering visits gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when app fees, mileage, and multi-pet fees are tracked accurately all year.
Deductions pet sitters miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Waste bags and litter supplies
- Feeding and treat supplies
- Vehicle mileage between clients
- Liability and bonding insurance
- Phone plan for scheduling and updates
- App booking fees
- GPS tracking app subscription
- Backup sitter pay
- Key and lockbox equipment
- Local advertising and referral cards
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 pet sitting year, kept every month.
Vacation season fills your calendar and your taxes come on a schedule of their own. 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, the backup sitter 1099 list is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned.
- 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 summer vacation bookings changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Holiday travel bookings usually start filling your calendar. Gus looks at what to prep before December and any moves worth making.
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 pet sitters. 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 sitters ask first.
A client books me weeks ahead for a vacation stay. When does that count as my income?
As the nights actually happen, not the day the booking is confirmed or paid. That keeps a busy booking week from making your books look stronger than the care you have actually delivered so far.
Can I deduct mileage for short trips between nearby client homes?
Usually yes. Even a handful of quick stops on the same street count toward the mileage total, and small trips add up over a full week of drop-ins more than most sitters expect.
I charge more for households with several pets. Does that need its own category?
Yes, Gus keeps multi-pet fees visible against standard visit rates, so you can see which bookings are actually worth the extra time they take.
I occasionally pay a backup sitter to cover a double-booked week. What do I need to know?
Gus logs those payments as a cost, and if you pay someone $2,000 or more in a year, they generally need a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list ready as the year goes.
I've never kept clean records between what Rover pays me and what regulars pay me directly. Is it too late to fix?
No. Hand over your statements from both sides and Gus builds the split going forward from there. It will not reconstruct history perfectly overnight, but your real earnings become clear within a few weeks of visits.
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