Consulting & business services
Books and taxes for registered agent services.
An annual fee that covers a full year of service, a state annual report fee you pay on a client's behalf, a law firm reselling your service under its own name, and the scanned mail that has to get to the right inbox. 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
November came in at $5,300. Forty entities renewed their annual agent fee this month, and I'm spreading that income across the year of service it actually covers instead of counting it all now.
- Annual fees, 40 entitiesRegistered agent fees
- Harlow & Voss Law, wholesaleWholesale partner fees
- State annual report fees, paid throughPass-through state filings
- Mail scanning softwareMail handling software
- E&O insuranceProfessional liability insurance
Why your books are different
A registered agent service's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and state filing bills. Your business is an annual fee that covers twelve months of service, a state filing fee paid on a client's behalf, and a law firm that resells your service at its own rate. When the books do not know the difference, one busy renewal month can look like the whole year's income.
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1
A year's fee gets counted the day it is paid
A client pays $150 upfront for a full year of registered agent service, and booked entirely the month it lands, that month looks unusually strong while the rest of the year looks thin.
What we doSpreads annual fee income across the twelve months of service it covers, so the monthly number reflects the ongoing service, not just the renewal date. -
2
A state filing fee looks like your income and your expense
You collect $95 from a client to cover their state's annual report fee, then pay that $95 to the state. Booked as both income and an expense, it inflates your numbers without changing what you actually earned.
What we doKeeps state filing fees collected and paid on a client's behalf out of your income and expenses, since that money only ever passed through. -
3
Wholesale partner fees blur your real margin
A law firm reselling your service under its own name pays you a wholesale rate lower than what you charge direct clients, and blended together it is hard to see whether that channel is actually worth the volume.
What we doKeeps wholesale partner fees separate from direct client fees, so you can see your real margin from each channel. -
4
Mail scanning fees hide inside the base agent fee
An add-on fee for scanning and forwarding mail is a different service than simply being the registered agent of record, and folded into one flat charge, it is hard to see how much of your revenue comes from each.
What we doKeeps mail handling fees in their own line, apart from the base registered agent fee.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a registered agent service.
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
- Registered agent feesAnnual fees, spread across the year of service they cover.
- Mail handling feesScanning and forwarding add-ons, apart from the base agent fee.
- Wholesale partner feesRates charged to law firms and accountants reselling your service.
- Entity formation add-onsExtra fees for helping a client form a new entity.
Money out
- Mail handling softwareSystems for scanning and routing incoming mail to clients.
- Compliance calendar softwareTools tracking renewal and filing deadlines across entities.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage for missed filings or mishandled documents.
- Office and mailroom spaceSpace for receiving and processing physical mail.
- State registration feesFees to maintain your own standing to act as an agent in each state.
What we watch for you
- Renewal rate
What share of entities renew their annual agent fee each year.
- Direct versus wholesale mix
How much of your income comes from full-rate direct clients versus lower wholesale partner rates.
- Pass-through reconciliation
Whether state filing fees collected match what actually got paid out on clients' behalf.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things registered agent service 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.
I spread it across the year of service it covers instead, so a big renewal month doesn't make the rest of the year look thin by comparison.
No, and I keep it that way. That fee passes straight through, so it never touches your real income or expenses.
Yes. Wholesale partner fees are kept separate from direct client fees, so you can see your real margin from each channel.
The tax side
The tax side of a registered agent service.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing annual fees right and keeping pass-through filings out of your real income. 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.
- Pass-through fees are not your incomeA state filing fee collected from a client and paid straight to the state is not revenue, and it should never be reported as such. Gus keeps it out of your books entirely.
- Recognizing annual fee incomeAn annual fee paid upfront covers a full year of service, and spreading that income across the months it covers usually gives a more accurate picture than counting it all at once.
- Self-employment taxOwner profit that never runs through a W-2 carries a 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 wage base.
- The pass-through deductionYour real service income, apart from pass-through filing fees, can often qualify for up to a 20 percent deduction off taxable profit. The accountant confirms the actual number at filing time.
Deductions registered agent services miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Mail scanning software
- Compliance calendar software
- Professional liability insurance
- Office and mailroom space
- State registration fees
- Website and client portal costs
- Laptop and scanner equipment
- Home office space
- Continuing education courses
- Marketing to law firms and accountants
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 registered agent year, tallied every quarter.
Entity renewals and state filing deadlines cluster differently across twelve months. Gus keeps your own taxes on schedule alongside them. 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, as entity renewals start rolling in for the new year.
- April
Filed. Done.
The return is filed and signed. No last-minute scramble, since the set-aside has been building steadily since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether renewal rates are holding steady across your entity roster.
- October
Before year end
A look at software and insurance renewals worth doing before December closes out the year.
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 registered agent services. 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 registered agent service owners ask first.
Clients pay a year upfront for registered agent service. Does that all count as income right away?
Gus spreads it across the months of service it actually covers, so the monthly number reflects the ongoing work rather than just the renewal date.
I collect a state filing fee from clients and pay it to the state directly. Is that revenue?
No. That money passes straight through your books to the state, so Gus never counts it as your revenue or your cost.
A law firm resells my service under their own name at a different rate. Can Gus track that separately?
Yes. Wholesale partner income is kept apart from direct client fees, so you can see your real margin from each channel.
I charge extra for scanning and forwarding mail. Is that the same as my base agent fee?
No. Mail handling fees are kept in their own category, so you can see how much of your revenue comes from that add-on versus the base service.
My books mix up pass-through state fees with my own income across hundreds of entities. Can that get untangled?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus separates pass-through filing fees from your real income, and most owners 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