Legal
Books and taxes for process servers.
A base serve fee bundled with a rush surcharge and mileage, an unable-to-serve charge when the target dodges you, skip trace add-ons, and law firm clients paying net 30. Gus sorts 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 $5,200. Three law firm invoices from May finally got paid this month, so I matched them back to when the serves actually happened, not when the check arrived.
- Harmon & Reyes, invoice paidServe fees, law firm clients
- Rush serve surcharge, DelgadoRush fees
- Unable to serve, Whitcombe fileUnable to serve fees
- Skip trace database subscriptionSkip trace and locate costs
- Fuel, service vehicleVehicle and fuel
Why your books are different
Process serving books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees an invoice and calls it one job. Your business is a base fee bundled with a rush charge and mileage, a fee owed even when service fails, and law firm clients who pay 30 or 60 days after the serve actually happened.
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1
One invoice is really three different charges
A single invoice to a law firm often bundles the base serve fee, a rush surcharge for an expedited attempt, and mileage, and if those are not split apart, it is hard to see what a standard serve is actually worth compared to a rushed one.
What we doSplits an invoice into the base fee, the rush surcharge, and mileage, so you can see what each part of the job actually earned. -
2
An unable-to-serve charge is not the same as a completed serve
When a target actively avoids service after several attempts, the client is often still billed a fee for the attempts made, even though service never happened, and mixed in with completed serves, it is hard to see your true completion rate.
What we doKeeps unable-to-serve charges in their own line, separate from completed serve fees, so completion rate and billing both stay clear. -
3
Payment lands 30 to 60 days after the work
Most law firm clients pay on net 30 or net 60 terms, so a busy month of serves can look thin in the books until those invoices actually clear, weeks or months later.
What we doTracks income against when invoices are actually paid, so a normal payment lag does not get mistaken for a slow month of work. -
4
Skip trace work gets buried in general costs
Locating a target who is avoiding service means paying for skip trace and locate database access, and if that cost is not tracked apart from ordinary overhead, it is hard to see whether skip trace add-ons are actually worth offering.
What we doKeeps skip trace and locate costs in their own line, so this add-on service shows its own real cost and return. -
5
Vehicle and fuel costs eat into a per-serve fee fast
A per-serve fee has to cover fuel, mileage, and wear on the vehicle across every attempt, including the ones that end in an unable-to-serve charge, and without tracking that cost closely, it is easy to underprice serves in a spread-out territory.
What we doKeeps vehicle and fuel costs in their own line, so you can see what a serve actually costs to complete before setting your rates.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a process serving business.
Set up once for how invoices break down and what recurs every month. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Serve fees, law firm clientsBase fees for completed service of process, billed to law firms.
- Rush feesSurcharges for expedited or same-day service attempts.
- Unable to serve feesFees billed for documented attempts when service could not be completed.
- Skip trace feesAdd-on charges for locating a target who is avoiding service.
Money out
- Vehicle and fuelFuel, maintenance, and insurance for the service vehicle.
- Skip trace and locate costsDatabase subscriptions used to find hard-to-locate targets.
- Bonding and licensingState bonding and licensing fees required to serve process.
- Route and case management softwareSoftware for tracking assignments and generating affidavits.
- GPS and proof-of-service toolsDevices or apps used to document time and location of a serve.
What we watch for you
- Invoice aging
How much law firm invoicing is still outstanding on net 30 or net 60 terms.
- Completion rate
The share of attempts that end in a completed serve versus an unable-to-serve charge.
- Cost per serve
What fuel and vehicle costs actually run per completed serve, so rates stay realistic.
- The set-aside
What the business will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already know.
Ask Gus
Things process servers 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.
It lands as July income since that is when the payment actually came in, but I keep a note that it was for work done in May, so the timing does not confuse your completion picture.
No, I keep unable-to-serve charges in their own category, since the work was real but the service was not completed, and that distinction matters for tracking your completion rate.
If you paid them $2,000 or more this year and they are not on your payroll, that is a 1099-NEC due January 31, and I have had them on the list since their first serve.
The tax side
The tax side of a process serving business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing, since law firm clients pay weeks or months after a serve, and tracking real vehicle costs against a per-serve fee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Income counts when the invoice is actually paidA serve fee becomes income when the payment actually lands, not the day the invoice was sent, which matters when law firm clients run 30 to 60 days behind.
- Mileage adds up fast on a spread-out routeThe business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents from July on, and for a business built on driving to serve documents, that deduction can be significant across a full year of routes.
- Contractor 1099s for backup serversA backup or subcontracted process server paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment tax on serve incomeA process server working as a sole proprietor owes self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on net earnings, on top of regular income tax, which the monthly set-aside plans for as invoices actually clear.
Deductions process servers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Vehicle fuel and maintenance
- Mileage on routes to serve documents
- Skip trace database subscriptions
- State bonding and licensing fees
- Route and case management software
- GPS and proof-of-service equipment
- Vehicle insurance
- Phone and data plan for dispatch
- Printing for affidavits and notices
- Professional association dues
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 process serving year, kept every month.
Serve volume follows court filing activity, not the weather. Gus keeps the set-aside steady through a busy stretch or a slow one. 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 1099 list for backup servers is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned around expected serve volume.
- April
Filed, invoices caught up
Your return is filed and signed, with net 30 and net 60 invoices from the year all reconciled. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where the business stands, how invoice aging looks, and whether the set-aside still fits.
- October
Before year end
A look at any vehicle or equipment purchases worth making before December, and a check on bonding and licensing renewal dates.
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 process servers. 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 process servers ask first.
My law firm clients pay 30 to 60 days after I complete the serve. Does that mess up my books?
No. Gus tracks income against when it is actually paid, so a normal payment lag reads correctly as a lag, not as a slow month of actual work.
Can Gus split a rush fee and mileage out of my regular serve fee?
Yes. He breaks an invoice into the base fee, the rush surcharge, and mileage, so you can see what each part of the job actually brought in.
We charge for attempts even when we cannot complete service. Does that count the same as a completed serve?
No, unable-to-serve charges are kept in their own line, separate from completed serve fees, so your real completion rate stays visible.
How does Gus handle the mileage on my routes?
He tracks vehicle and fuel costs in their own line, and the accountant applies the mileage rate to your actual routes, so the deduction reflects the real driving this work requires.
My income depends on court filing volume I cannot control. Does that hurt my taxes?
No. The set-aside is built from what actually gets paid each month, so a slower stretch of court activity does not leave you owing more than expected.
Can Gus tell me if rush fees are actually worth the extra effort?
Yes. Rush fees stay in their own line, separate from standard serve fees, so over time you can see whether the rush premium is worth the added scheduling pressure.
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