Vocational & certification training
Books and taxes for real estate licensing schools.
Pre-licensing course sales, continuing education bundles, exam prep add-ons, and brokerage-sponsored seats all come in on their own schedule. 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
January came in at $15,000. The new course hosting license went in as software, not an ordinary fee.
- Pre-licensing course salesPre-licensing tuition
- CE bundle salesContinuing education
- State course approval feeState approval fees
- Course hosting licenseCourse software
- Facebook and Google adsMarketing and leads
Why your books are different
Real estate school books go wrong around approvals and renewals.
A generalist sees course sales and a website bill. Your school runs pre-licensing courses and continuing education under separate state approvals, each renewed on its own clock. When the books do not track that, a renewal fee looks like a bad month instead of the cost of staying licensed.
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1
Each course carries its own state approval cost
A state real estate commission often approves pre-licensing and continuing education courses separately, and each approval renews and costs money on its own schedule. Lumped into one fee line, an owner cannot tell which courses are actually worth keeping current.
What we doKeeps course approval costs tagged by course, so you can see what each one costs to keep licensed. -
2
CE bundle sales get counted before the credit hours are delivered
A student who buys a bundle of continuing education hours in December to use throughout the year has not earned the school that revenue in December. Counted all at once, the sale looks bigger than the teaching that backs it.
What we doTracks bundle sales against the hours actually delivered, so income lines up with the courses taught. -
3
Instructors who are also active brokers get paid two different ways
A broker who teaches a few pre-licensing classes a month and also earns commissions elsewhere often gets paid as a flat contractor fee for teaching, which is usually correct, but the line blurs when the school also pays them referral fees.
What we doKeeps teaching pay and any referral or affiliate pay in separate lines, so neither one hides in the other. -
4
Exam prep add-ons blur into the course price
A practice exam bundle sold alongside a pre-licensing course is often rolled into one price, so the school cannot see whether the add-on is actually profitable on its own.
What we doKeeps exam prep sales apart from course tuition, so you can see what each side is really worth. -
5
Refunds for dropped courses get mixed with tuition
A student who withdraws from a pre-licensing course partway through often gets a partial refund under the school's own policy or a state rule. Counted as a straight loss against tuition, the books cannot tell a slow enrollment month from a wave of refunds.
What we doKeeps refunds owed in their own category, so tuition income and refund liability never get tangled together.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a real estate licensing school.
Set up once for how the school gets paid and what state approvals cost to keep. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Pre-licensing tuitionCourse fees for students studying for their first license.
- Continuing educationCE bundle and single-course sales for licensed agents.
- Exam prep add-onsPractice exam and test-prep products sold alongside a course.
- Brokerage-sponsored seatsA brokerage paying tuition for a group of new agents.
- Course access renewalsFees to extend access to an online course past its window.
Money out
- Instructor payPayroll wages and per-class pay for licensed instructors, kept in its own line.
- State course approval feesWhat the state real estate commission charges to approve and renew each course.
- Course hosting softwareThe learning management system that hosts and tracks course completion.
- Printed course materialsWorkbooks and study guides for in-person sessions.
- Marketing and leadsFacebook and Google ads, and any lead-generation spend.
- Facility rentClassroom space for in-person course sessions.
- InsuranceGeneral liability and professional liability coverage.
What we watch for you
- CE hours earned vs. sold
How many bundle hours have been delivered against how many were sold.
- Cost per course approval
State approval and renewal fees against what each course actually brings in.
- Refund liability
What is owed back to withdrawn students, tracked apart from tuition earned.
- The set-aside
What the school will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is not a surprise.
Ask Gus
Things real estate school 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.
No, and I did not book it that way. I track it against the hours students actually complete, so it shows up as they take the courses, not the day they bought the bundle.
It just looks that way. I keep approval fees on their own line so a renewal month does not read like a bad month, it is just the cost of staying licensed.
That is worth a real look. Teaching pay and referral pay are different kinds of money, so I flagged it for the accountant to keep them separate.
The tax side
The tax side of a real estate licensing school.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels around approvals and bundles. A CE sale counted too early, an instructor paid two different ways, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Instructor classificationA broker who teaches on your schedule and curriculum is usually an employee for that teaching work, even if paid per class and self-employed as an agent otherwise.
- Contractor 1099sA guest instructor or outside help paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated schools can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
- Self-employment tax for owner-operatorsAn owner running the school as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
Deductions real estate licensing schools miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- State course approval fees
- Course hosting software
- Printed study guides
- Exam prep licensing
- Marketing and lead ads
- Classroom rent
- Instructor continuing education
- Professional liability insurance
- Website and enrollment software
- Certificate printing
- Trade association dues
- Recording and video equipment
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 real estate school year, kept every month.
Course approvals renew on their own clock. 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, the 1099 list is ready, and the school gets a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
The return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where the school stands, what it will owe, and whether spring licensing season changed the number.
- October
Before renewal season
Gus looks at upcoming state approval renewals and any 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 real estate licensing schools. 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 real estate school owners ask first.
Can Gus track CE bundle income as students actually use it?
Yes. He tracks bundle sales against the hours delivered, so income lines up with the courses students actually take, not the day they bought the bundle.
We run courses through an online course system. Do we have to change anything?
No. Keep running the school the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
One of our instructors is also a broker earning commissions. Does that change the books?
It changes where the money goes, not what you do. Gus keeps teaching pay and any referral pay in separate lines so the accountant can weigh in on how each should be handled.
Our books are a year behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.
Does Gus handle our state course approval renewals?
No. Gus keeps the books ready and flags when a renewal cost is coming, but the approval paperwork itself stays with the school and the state real estate commission.
Do refunds for dropped courses affect our tax return?
Usually they reduce tuition income for the year, not count as a separate loss. Gus keeps refunds in their own category so the accountant applies them correctly.
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