Senior care & aging services
Books and taxes for respite care providers.
Short respite stays, facility beds rented from a partner community, rush pricing, and bookings that swing by season. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one clear number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
December netted $5,500. A rush booking two days before Christmas came with a premium, so I kept that separate from your regular stay rate.
- Family respite stay paymentRespite stay fee
- Rush booking premiumRush booking fee
- Partner facility bed rentalFacility bed rental
- Payroll, stay coverage staffStaff wages
- Grocery run for stayMeals and supplies
Why your books are different
A respite care provider's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees stays and payroll. Your business rents beds from partner communities, charges a premium for last-minute calls, and swings hard with the calendar. When the books do not know that, a busy holiday month and a quiet one right after both get misread.
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1
Facility bed rental blurs with your own revenue
When a respite stay uses a spare bed rented from a partner assisted living community, what the family pays and what you owe the facility for the bed both land in the same transaction, and booking the whole amount as your income overstates what you actually kept.
What we doSplits what a family pays from what is owed to a partner facility, so the real income from a stay is clear. -
2
Short-notice bookings hide how much rush pricing is worth
A family calling with two days' notice for an emergency respite stay often pays a premium over a planned booking, and if every stay is booked at the same rate in the system, it is hard to see whether that premium is actually being charged or worth what it takes to staff on short notice.
What we doKeeps rush and planned bookings visible separately, so you can see if last-minute pricing is covering what it costs to staff. -
3
Revenue swings hard around holidays and family travel
Respite bookings cluster around the weeks families travel or need extra help, so a slow month can look alarming next to a holiday month that is unusually busy, when it is really just the normal shape of this business.
What we doTracks bookings against the time of year, so a seasonal swing reads as expected demand, not a business problem. -
4
A short stay's real cost is easy to underprice
A two-night respite stay needs the same paperwork, staffing coordination, and supplies as a much longer stay, and if pricing is based only on the number of nights, short stays can quietly lose money.
What we doTracks cost per stay regardless of length, so you can see whether short stays are priced to cover what they actually take to run.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a respite care provider.
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
- Per-stay respite feesPrivate-pay families booking a short break for their own caregiving.
- VA respite benefit paymentsFor caregivers of qualifying veterans.
- Facility partnership feesA shared rate when a bed is rented from a partner community for the stay.
- Rush booking feesA premium charged for short-notice stays.
Money out
- Staff wages per stay or shiftCoverage staffed for the length of each individual stay.
- Payroll taxes and workers compThe cost of employing staff, not just paying them.
- Facility bed rentalWhen a stay uses a partner facility's spare room instead of your own space.
- Meals and suppliesWhat a short stay needs, bought as it comes up.
- Marketing to caregiver support groupsReaching families before they need a stay booked.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for stays wherever they happen.
What we watch for you
- Cost per stay
Staffing, supplies, and any facility rental against what each stay bills, regardless of length.
- Rush booking share
How many stays come in on short notice, and whether the premium covers what it costs to staff them.
- Facility rental owed
What is owed back to a partner community for beds used during a stay.
- Bookings by season
How demand clusters around holidays and travel weeks, so a slow month reads correctly.
Ask Gus
Things respite care providers 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.
Only what is left after you pay the facility for the bed. I split the two so you can see what you actually kept from that stay.
Many providers do charge more for short notice. I keep rush and planned bookings visible separately so you can see if that premium covers the scramble.
Not on its own. Respite bookings cluster around the holidays and travel season. I track it against the calendar so a quiet month reads as normal, not a warning sign.
The tax side
The tax side of a respite care provider.
Most of what goes wrong here is separating a facility's cut from your own income and pricing a short stay honestly.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Facility rental is a pass-through costWhat you pay a partner community for a bed used during a stay is a direct cost of that job, not part of your own taxable revenue once it is paid out.
- Staff paid per stay or per shiftDirect care staff working a scheduled shift for a stay are employees, even if the work is short term or irregular.
- 1099s for fill-in or on-call staffA caregiver who genuinely sets her own availability and works for more than one provider, paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionThe pass-through deduction can shelter up to 20 percent of business profit, though personal-care businesses see it phase down once taxable income passes $201,750 single or $403,500 joint.
Deductions respite care providers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Facility bed rental costs
- Meals and supplies per stay
- Background checks per hire
- Liability insurance
- Marketing to caregiver support groups
- Staff on-call stipends
- Workers comp premiums
- Phone plan for booking calls
- Scheduling software
- Transportation for stay essentials
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 respite care provider's year, kept every month.
A booking can come in with two days' notice any week of the year. Your taxes and your staffing plans 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
Booking calendar for the year
The team reviews last year's seasonal patterns to plan staffing for expected busy weeks, while this year's set-aside gets planned.
- April
Return closed out
Your return is filed and signed between stays. The set-aside built since January already covers what is owed, no scramble in April.
- July
Halfway on stay pricing
A look at cost per stay against what rush and planned bookings actually bring in.
- October
Before the holiday rush
The busiest respite season of the year approaches as families travel or host for the holidays. The team looks at staffing capacity before it 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 respite care providers. 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 respite care providers ask first.
We rented a bed at a partner facility for a stay. Is that all our income?
No, only what is left after paying the facility. Gus splits the two so you can see what a stay actually netted you.
Should I charge more for a last-minute emergency stay?
Many providers do. Gus keeps rush and planned bookings visible separately so you can see if that premium is being charged and covering the scramble.
Our bookings swing a lot around the holidays. Is that normal?
Yes, that is typical for this business. Gus tracks bookings against the calendar so a seasonal swing reads as expected, not a problem.
A two-night stay takes almost as much work as a longer one. Should it cost less?
Maybe not as much less as it seems. Gus tracks cost per stay regardless of length, so you can see if short stays are actually priced to cover what they take.
Does the VA ever help pay for a caregiver's respite stay?
Yes, the VA offers a respite benefit for caregivers of qualifying veterans. Gus tracks that payment the same as any other payer.
My books are behind after a stretch of back-to-back stays. Can you still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus separates facility rental pass-throughs from your own stay income as he works through the backlog, usually 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.
More in senior care & aging services
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- Senior living placement advisors
- Senior move managers & downsizing specialists
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- Home health agencies (skilled)
- Hospice providers
- Non-medical home care agencies
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