Staffing, recruiting & HR services
Books and taxes for professional employer organizations.
Co-employment admin fees per worksite employee, a master workers comp and benefits policy spread across every client, and payroll funded ahead of client payment. 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
August came in at $40,200. One client renewed their health plan mid-month, so I flagged the change against the master benefits policy line to keep per-client cost accurate.
- Client A payroll funding and admin feeClient billings
- Client B payroll funding and admin feeClient billings
- Worksite employee payroll runClient payroll pass-through
- Master workers comp policy premiumMaster comp policy
- Group health plan remittanceMaster benefits policy
Why your books are different
PEO books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees one big deposit and one big payroll run. Your business is co-employer for dozens of small businesses at once, each with its own headcount, its own benefit elections, and its own share of a master insurance policy. When the books don't know that, per-client cost and true admin margin both disappear.
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1
Client payroll pass-through gets counted as revenue
A client's payment covers their own employees' wages, taxes, and benefits, with your admin fee as just a small slice on top. Booking the whole client payment as agency revenue massively overstates income and hides what the business actually earns.
What we doKeeps client payroll pass-through and the agency's own admin fee in separate lines so real revenue reflects only what the business keeps. -
2
The master policy cost gets spread evenly instead of by headcount
Workers comp and benefits run under one master policy covering every client, but each client's actual headcount and claims history drive their real share of that cost. A flat split either overcharges a small, safe client or undercharges a large, riskier one.
What we doTracks master policy costs against each client's worksite employee count so per-client cost stays accurate, not evenly guessed. -
3
Payroll funding runs ahead of client payment
Worksite employees often need to be paid on a fixed schedule, while a client's payment for that payroll can lag by days. The business fronts real cash before it's reimbursed.
What we doTracks payroll funded on a client's behalf as a receivable, so a timing gap doesn't look like the business is losing money on that client. -
4
Admin fee margin gets buried in total volume
With so much money moving through as pass-through payroll, the actual admin fee, the part the business keeps, is easy to lose sight of against the sheer size of total deposits and disbursements.
What we doKeeps admin fee income visible on its own, separate from the payroll volume passing through, so true profitability stays clear.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a professional employer organization.
Set up once for co-employment billing and master policy costs. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Admin feesThe per-employee or percentage fee that is the agency's actual earned revenue.
- Client payroll fundingClient payments covering their own worksite employees' wages, kept apart from admin fee income.
- Benefits plan contributionsClient and employee contributions toward the master health and benefits plan.
- Onboarding and setup feesOne-time fees for bringing a new client onto the co-employment agreement.
Money out
- Client payroll pass-throughWages and payroll taxes paid on behalf of worksite employees, tracked apart from agency revenue.
- Master workers comp policy premiumThe single policy covering all client worksite employees, allocated by headcount.
- Master benefits policy costsGroup health, dental, and retirement plan costs spread across client accounts.
- Payroll processing softwareThe system running multi-client payroll and benefits administration.
- State PEO registration and licensing feesRegistration required in states that regulate PEOs directly.
- Compliance and HR support costsLegal and compliance resources supporting client HR questions.
What we watch for you
- Admin fee margin
Earned fee income against the cost of running it. The real measure of profitability, separate from payroll volume.
- Cost per worksite employee
Master policy and admin cost divided by total worksite headcount across all clients.
- Client payroll funding gap
Payroll fronted for clients against what's been reimbursed. A growing gap needs a collections look.
- The set-aside
What you'll owe on admin fee income, kept apart from client payroll volume, tracked every month.
Ask Gus
Things PEO 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.
Most of that is client payroll passing through, not your revenue. Your actual admin fee income this month is a small slice of it, and I keep that visible on its own.
Yes, and I've adjusted their share of the master comp policy to reflect it, so their true cost stays accurate instead of getting spread evenly across every client.
It's tracked as money owed back to you, not a loss. I'll flag it if any client's funding gap starts stretching out longer than it should.
The tax side
The tax side of a professional employer organization.
Most of what goes wrong here is separating true revenue from pass-through payroll, and getting each client's share of shared costs right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Client fund reportingWages and taxes paid on a client's behalf as co-employer are generally the client's payroll cost passing through the business, not agency revenue, and need to be tracked that way for accurate reporting.
- State PEO registrationA number of states require PEOs to register or hold a license before operating there, separate from ordinary business licensing.
- Worker classification within co-employmentCo-employment doesn't change whether a worksite employee is properly classified as an employee versus a contractor in the first place; that determination still applies to each client's workforce.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, a benefit that comes out right when admin fee revenue is tracked separately from client payroll pass-through all year.
Deductions professional employer organizations miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Payroll and benefits administration software
- State PEO registration and licensing fees
- Compliance and HR support resources
- Professional liability insurance
- Client onboarding and account management costs
- Trade association dues
- Continuing education for HR and compliance staff
- Phone and software for client support teams
- Card processing and ACH fees
- Legal review of client service agreements
- Office overhead for administrative staff
- Referral bonuses for new client leads
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 PEO year, kept every month.
Client health plans renew on their own cycle and payroll runs every pay period regardless. Your taxes still land on a fixed schedule, and your team keeps you ahead of all three. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Start the year on admin fees
Last year's return gets started, and a monthly set-aside begins on admin fee income while client renewals start ramping up.
- April
Filed without a payroll gap
Your return is filed and signed while every client's payroll keeps running on schedule. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Admin margin at the midpoint
Where admin fee margin and cost per worksite employee stand at the midpoint of the year.
- October
Before open enrollment
Many client benefit plans renew around year end. Gus looks at master policy cost allocation before the renewal cycle hits.
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 professional employer organizations. 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 PEO owners ask first.
Does all the client payroll we run count as our revenue?
No. Gus keeps client payroll pass-through separate from your actual admin fee income, so your real revenue reflects only what the business earns, not the full volume moving through.
How does Gus split the master workers comp policy across clients?
By each client's actual worksite employee headcount and role mix, not an even split, so each client's true cost stays accurate.
We front payroll for a couple of clients before they pay us. Does that hurt our numbers?
No. Gus tracks funded payroll as a receivable owed back to you, so a short timing gap doesn't look like a loss on a particular client.
Do we need to register as a PEO in every state we have clients in?
Some states require it and some don't, so this varies by where your clients' worksite employees actually work. The accountant can confirm what applies as you expand.
Can Gus tell us which clients are actually profitable?
Yes. He tracks admin fee income and each client's share of master policy costs separately, so per-client margin stays visible instead of buried in total payroll volume.
Our books are behind after onboarding several new clients fast. Can we catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements and client billing records you have. Gus separates admin fee income from payroll pass-through, and most owners see where they stand within 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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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