Senior care & aging services
Books and taxes for senior home safety assessments.
An assessment fee split from any product installed, contractor referral fees that arrive months later, and mileage across home visits. 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
February netted $6,300. A ramp referral fee from a contractor finally came in, tied back to a visit from two months ago.
- Home safety assessment feeAssessment fees
- Grab bar installationProduct sales
- Contractor referral fee, ramp jobReferral fee
- Assessment tools and testing kitAssessment tools
- Grab bar and railing stock orderSafety product inventory
Why your books are different
A home safety assessor's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a visit fee and mileage. Your business blends an assessment fee with product sales, waits on referral fees from contractors, and buys safety products in bulk for jobs not yet scheduled. When the books do not know that, it is hard to see what each part of the work actually earns.
-
1
Product sales get mixed with the assessment fee
A visit that includes a flat assessment fee plus selling and installing a grab bar gets billed as one number, and if it is all booked as one assessment fee, it is hard to see how much of your income is really the assessment versus product markup.
What we doSplits the assessment fee from any product sold or installed, so you can see what each part of the visit actually earns. -
2
A contractor referral fee arrives disconnected from the job
When a bigger modification, a full ramp or bathroom remodel, gets referred out to a contractor, the referral fee sometimes comes weeks or months after the original assessment, so it is easy to lose track of which visit it was tied to.
What we doKeeps referral fees linked to the visit that generated them, so a delayed payment does not get lost or mistaken for unrelated income. -
3
Inventory for installs sits unaccounted for
Grab bars, railings, and mats bought in bulk to install on future visits are real inventory, and if a big supply order is booked as a one-time expense instead of stock on hand, it is unclear how much product is actually available for upcoming jobs.
What we doTracks safety product inventory separately, so a bulk order reads as stock on hand, not a spending spree. -
4
Mileage across scattered home visits goes untracked
Assessments happen at addresses spread across a wide area, often one visit per home with real driving time between them, and without tracking it, a legitimate deduction and a true sense of what a visit actually costs both get missed.
What we doKeeps mileage for each home visit in its own line, so both the deduction and the real cost per visit are visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a home safety assessor.
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
- Assessment feesA flat fee for the initial in-home safety evaluation and report.
- Installation feesFor assessors who also install grab bars, ramps, or other minor modifications.
- Product salesSelling safety equipment directly, non-slip mats, raised toilet seats, or basic railings.
- Contractor referral feesA fee for referring a bigger modification job, like a full ramp build or bathroom remodel.
- Re-assessment feesA follow-up visit after modifications are made or a health change occurs.
Money out
- Mileage for home visitsDriving to assessments spread across a wide territory.
- Assessment tools and equipmentMeasuring devices, checklists, and safety testing tools.
- Safety product inventoryGrab bars, mats, and railings bought to install or resell.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage for the recommendations you make.
- Continuing education and certificationTraining that keeps your credentials current.
What we watch for you
- Cost per assessment
Mileage, tools, and time against what each visit actually bills.
- Referral fees pending
What contractors owe for jobs referred out but not yet paid.
- Product margin
What safety products cost against what they sell for, separate from the assessment fee itself.
- Referral source mix
Which occupational therapists, hospitals, or discharge planners are actually sending business your way.
Ask Gus
Things home safety assessors 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.
Into two pieces, the assessment fee and the product sale, so you can see what each part of that visit actually earned you.
No, I tie it back to the original visit, so a delayed referral fee still shows up connected to the job that generated it.
It is stock on hand, not a one-time cost. I track it as inventory so you know what is available for the next few installs.
The tax side
The tax side of a home safety assessment business.
Most of what goes wrong here is telling inventory apart from a one-time expense, and keeping mileage tracked as it happens.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Mileage for scattered home visitsMiles driven to each assessment, often at addresses spread across a wide area, can be deducted at 72.5 cents through June 2026 and 76 cents after.
- Inventory versus a one-time expenseSafety products bought in bulk to install on future visits are inventory, tracked as stock on hand, not deducted all at once the day they are purchased.
- Self-employment tax for a solo assessorMost home safety assessors work as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, paying 15.3 percent self-employment tax on net earnings unless an S corp election changes that.
- 1099s for referral partnersA contractor or professional you pay a referral fee to, or one who pays you, that totals $2,000 or more in 2026 for a genuinely independent relationship, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions senior home safety assessments miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Mileage for home visits
- Assessment tools and equipment
- Safety product inventory
- Professional liability insurance
- Continuing education and certification
- Marketing to referral sources
- Report software or templates
- Phone plan for scheduling
- Business cards and materials
- Vehicle maintenance
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 home safety assessor's year, kept every month.
A referral can come in any week of the year. Outreach 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
New year outreach begins
The team reconnects with occupational therapists, hospitals, and discharge planners for the new year, while this year's set-aside gets planned.
- April
The return is filed
Your return is filed and signed between home visits. The set-aside built since January already covers what is owed, no scramble in April.
- July
Halfway on cost per visit
A look at mileage, tools, and time against what assessments actually bill.
- October
Before winter fall season
Many falls happen in icy or dark winter conditions, and families often schedule an assessment before then. The team looks at capacity before that seasonal wave of calls.
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 senior home safety assessments. 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 home safety assessors ask first.
A visit included both the assessment and a grab bar installation. How is that split in the books?
Into the assessment fee and the product sale, so you can see what each part of the visit actually earned.
A referral fee for a job I sent to a contractor came in two months late. Will Gus lose track of it?
No, Gus ties it back to the original visit, so a delayed fee still shows up connected to the job that generated it.
I bought a bulk order of grab bars and railings. Is that just an expense?
It is stock on hand. Gus tracks it as inventory so you know what is available for upcoming jobs, not just a lump expense.
Do I need to track mileage between assessments?
Yes, it is a real deduction and a real cost. Gus keeps it in its own line so both are visible when the return is prepared.
Most of my income depends on referrals from occupational therapists and hospitals. Can Gus track which ones actually work?
Yes. Gus tracks referral source mix so you can see which relationships are actually sending business your way.
My books are a mix of assessment fees, product sales, and referral fees with no real system. Can you still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts assessment fees, product sales, and referral fees into their own categories as he works through it, 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
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Adult day care centers
- Geriatric care managers
- Medical alert system dealers
- Residential care homes (board & care)
- Respite care providers
- Senior dental & mobile care
- Senior living placement advisors
- Senior move managers & downsizing specialists
- Companion care services
- Memory care communities
- Small assisted living facilities
- 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