Consulting & business services
Books and taxes for proposal and RFP writers.
A deposit paid at kickoff, a final payment due the day of submission, a subcontracted technical writer for the tough sections, and a courier bill to make a hard drop-dead deadline. 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 $8,700. The Titan Aerospace proposal paid half at kickoff and half on submission, so I tied both payments to the one project instead of two.
- Titan Aerospace depositProject income
- Titan Aerospace final paymentProject income
- FedEx overnight, hard copyPrinting and courier
- K. Delgado, technical writerSubcontracted writers
- Loopio subscriptionProposal software
Why your books are different
A proposal writing firm's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is a project split between a kickoff deposit and a final payment, a hard deadline that does not move, and a subject matter expert you bring in for the technical sections. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which proposals actually paid for the work they took.
-
1
A deposit and a final payment look like two separate jobs
A client pays half at kickoff and half on the day the proposal ships. Booked as unrelated deposits, it is hard to see the full value of one project or whether it was actually worth the deadline pressure.
What we doTies a kickoff deposit and its final payment to the same project, so you can see the full picture for each proposal. -
2
Rush printing and courier costs get buried in supplies
A hard-copy submission requirement means overnight printing, binding, and courier fees on a tight deadline, and filed as generic supplies those costs disappear into the noise.
What we doKeeps printing and courier costs tied to the proposal that needed them, so you can see what a rushed hard-copy deadline really costs. -
3
A technical writer becomes a standing subcontractor
A subject matter expert you bring in for every technical volume, using your templates and compliance matrix, starts to look like an employee rather than a project hire.
What we doFlags a technical writer who looks employee-like and gets the accountant's read before the pattern is a year old. -
4
Overlapping deadlines hide which proposals actually pay
Three proposals due in the same week can make the month look busy without showing which ones were profitable after subcontractor fees and rush costs.
What we doTracks income and cost by project, so you can see which proposals were worth taking on and which were not.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a proposal writing firm.
Set up once for how you bill and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Project incomeFlat fees for individual proposals, deposits and final payments tied together.
- Hourly writing feesWork billed by the hour for shorter or ongoing engagements.
- Capture and proposal management retainerOngoing support ahead of a formal RFP release.
- Expedited feesPremiums charged for compressed turnaround deadlines.
Money out
- Subcontracted writersSubject matter experts brought in for technical or past-performance sections.
- Printing and courierBinding, color printing, and overnight delivery for hard-copy submissions.
- Proposal softwareLoopio, RFPIO, or a compliance matrix tool.
- Registration and portal feesGovernment portal registration and maintenance costs.
- Continuing educationProposal management certification and training.
What we watch for you
- Project margin
What a proposal nets after subcontractor fees and rush printing costs.
- Subcontractor cost share
What outside writers cost against total project income.
- Days to get paid
Final payments sometimes lag past a submission date, and a slipping number is worth watching.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things proposal writers 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.
I tie both payments to the same project instead, so you can see the full value of that proposal in one place.
I keep it tied to the specific proposal that needed it, so you can see what a rushed hard-copy deadline actually costs you.
Worth a look. That pattern is starting to resemble an employee relationship, so I flagged it for the accountant to weigh in.
The tax side
The tax side of a proposal writing firm.
Most of what goes wrong here is tracking each project's real cost and classifying the specialists you bring in. Handled right, the year does not surprise you.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Contractor 1099sA subcontracted writer paid $2,000 or more over the year, off your payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that running total current.
- Employee or contractorA subcontracted writer who works on every proposal, using your templates and your compliance matrix, is starting to look like an employee. Gus flags the pattern.
- The pass-through deductionOwner-operators can typically deduct up to 20 percent of profit from what gets taxed, though it phases down at higher income. The accountant works out the real number at filing time.
- Self-employment tax and estimatesProfit you take home as the owner carries a 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 wage base, and it's usually paid in quarterly chunks instead of one lump sum.
Deductions proposal and RFP writers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Loopio or RFPIO subscription
- Printing and binding costs
- Overnight courier fees
- Government portal registration
- Subcontracted writer fees
- Laptop and reference materials
- Home office space
- Proposal management certification
- Compliance matrix software
- Professional liability insurance
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 proposal writing year, on Gus's quarterly radar.
Government and corporate RFP cycles cluster in their own patterns, and your taxes run on a schedule of their own. Gus keeps up with 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, 1099s go out to your subcontracted writers, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Filed and signed, with nothing left to figure out, since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether project margins are holding up after subcontractor and rush costs.
- October
Before the fiscal year push
Government proposal volume often picks up before the federal fiscal year ends in September. Gus looks at software or equipment worth buying 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 proposal and RFP writers. 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 proposal and RFP writers ask first.
My clients pay a deposit and a final payment for the same proposal. Does Gus keep those tied together?
Yes. Both payments are linked to the same project, so you can see the full value of a proposal instead of two unrelated deposits.
Do rush printing and courier fees count against the specific project?
Yes. Gus ties those costs to the proposal that needed them, so you can see what a compressed deadline actually cost you to deliver.
I bring in a subject matter expert for technical sections. Does that change my taxes?
It might. If that writer works on every proposal using your templates, the pattern can start to look like an employee relationship, and Gus flags it for the accountant.
Can Gus tell me which proposals were actually worth taking on?
Yes. Income and cost are tracked by project, so you can see which proposals were profitable after subcontractor fees and rush costs, and which were not.
My books are behind after a heavy RFP season. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements and invoices you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most people know where they stand inside 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