Home maintenance & specialty services
Books and taxes for property caretakers.
Monthly retainers, pool chemicals and lawn supplies bought and reimbursed, vendors you hire and supervise, and a spring opening or fall closing on top of it all. Gus sorts all of it, and an accountant checks every transaction.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
April came in at $4,100. The pool chemicals you bought for Client A got reimbursed, so I kept that separate from your real income instead of counting it twice.
- Monthly retainer, Client ACaretaker retainer
- Pool chemical reimbursementPass-through reimbursements
- Pool Supply CoPass-through purchases
- Mower blade sharpeningTools and equipment
- Shell fuelVehicle and fuel
Why your books are different
Property caretaker books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and a supply bill. Your business runs on a flat retainer, purchases you front and get reimbursed for, and vendors you hire on an owner's behalf. When the books do not separate those, your real income gets buried under money that was never actually yours to keep.
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1
Reimbursed purchases are not your income
Buying pool chemicals or lawn supplies on a property owner's account and getting paid back later is not money you earned, but if it lands in the same bucket as your retainer, your income looks bigger than it is and so does your spending.
What we doKeeps reimbursed pass-through purchases in their own category, separate from your real retainer income. -
2
Vendor coordination fees blur into vendor payments
When you hire and supervise a landscaper or pool tech on an owner's behalf, sometimes you pay the vendor directly and get reimbursed, and sometimes you charge your own coordination fee on top. Mixed together, you cannot see how much of your income actually comes from your own work.
What we doKeeps vendor coordination fees separate from pass-through vendor payments, so your real earnings stay visible. -
3
Seasonal opening and closing fees are not part of the retainer
Spring pool openings and fall pipe winterizing usually come with their own one-time fee, on top of the steady monthly retainer. Folded into one number, you lose track of whether that seasonal work is priced right.
What we doKeeps seasonal opening and closing fees in their own line, apart from the flat monthly retainer. -
4
Multiple properties get mixed into one number
Caring for two or three estates at once means income and reimbursed costs from different owners landing in the same account. Without splitting it out, you cannot tell which property is actually worth the time it takes.
What we doTags income and reimbursed costs by property, so you can see each client separately.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a property caretaker 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
- Caretaker retainerThe flat monthly payment for ongoing property care, by client.
- Vendor coordination feesYour own fee for hiring and supervising outside vendors.
- Seasonal opening and closingPool openings, pipe winterizing, and similar one-time seasonal work.
- Pass-through reimbursementsMoney paid back to you for supplies bought on an owner's behalf.
Money out
- Pass-through purchasesPool chemicals, lawn supplies, and materials bought on an owner's behalf.
- Tools and equipmentMowers, trimmers, and hand tools you own and maintain.
- Vehicle and fuelFuel, repairs, insurance, and loan payments for driving between properties.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for work done on a client's property.
- Subcontracted vendor paymentsLandscapers, pool techs, and contractors paid on an owner's behalf.
- Uniforms and phoneBranded shirts and the phone used to document visits.
What we watch for you
- Real income share
Retainer and coordination fees against total deposits, once pass-through money is set aside.
- Coordination fee rate
What you charge for supervising vendors, tracked apart from what you pay them.
- Property mix
Income and costs by client, so you can see which property is worth the time.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things property caretakers 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.
No, I keep reimbursed purchases separate from your real income, so your books show what you actually earned, not money that just passed through your account.
I keep your coordination fee separate from the vendor payment itself, so you can see exactly what your own work brought in.
Yes, I tag income and costs by property, so you can look at either client on its own whenever you want.
The tax side
The tax side of a property caretaker business.
Most of what goes wrong here is separating what is actually yours: reimbursed purchases, vendor payments made on someone else's behalf, and your own coordination fee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Reimbursed purchases usually are not taxable incomeMoney paid back to you for supplies bought on an owner's behalf generally is not income if it is tracked as a pass-through and not mixed with your earnings.
- Vehicle expensesDriving between properties can be deducted using the standard mileage rate, 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents after, or by tracking actual costs.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, such as help on a big seasonal opening, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions property caretakers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Vehicle mileage or fuel and repairs
- Mower and equipment maintenance
- Hand tools and small equipment
- Liability insurance
- Uniforms and branded materials
- Phone and tablet for documentation
- Continuing education courses
- Card processing fees
- Marketing to property managers and estate agents
- Small tools under the expensing threshold
- Storage rent for equipment
- Background check fees for any hired help
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 property caretaker's year, kept every month.
Spring openings and fall closings bookend your year, and your taxes come on a 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 you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled before spring opening work begins.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring opening fees changed the number.
- October
Before winterizing season
As fall closing work ramps up, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and anything worth doing 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 property caretakers. 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 property caretakers ask first.
Can Gus keep reimbursed purchases from counting as my income?
Yes. Money paid back for supplies bought on an owner's behalf gets its own category, separate from your retainer and coordination fee income.
I coordinate vendors for a fee. Can Gus separate that from what I pay the vendor?
Yes. Your coordination fee stays in its own line, apart from the vendor payment itself, so your real earnings are easy to see.
I care for a few different properties. Can Gus track them separately?
Yes. Income and costs get tagged by property, so you can look at each client's numbers on their own.
Do seasonal opening and closing fees count as part of my regular retainer?
Not if you want to track them separately, and Gus keeps that split so you can see whether that seasonal work is priced right.
My books are a mix of my own account and reimbursements from a few different owners. Can Gus untangle it?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most people know where they stand inside a week.
Do I owe taxes on money I get reimbursed for supplies?
Usually not, as long as it is tracked as a pass-through rather than mixed with your income. Gus keeps it separate, and the accountant can confirm it is handled right for your situation.
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