Senior care & aging services
Books and taxes for senior move managers.
Estate sale commissions that pass through more than they keep, subcontracted crews, fronted storage costs, and packing supplies bought job by job. 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
April netted $8,000. The estate sale brought in a lot of cash, but only your commission counted as income, the rest is still owed to the family.
- Client project fee, final paymentMove project fee
- Estate sale proceeds, commission shareEstate sale commission
- U-Haul truck rentalTruck rental
- Subcontracted moving crewSubcontracted crew
- Uline packing suppliesPacking supplies
Why your books are different
A move manager's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees invoices and a truck bill. Your business runs on estate sale proceeds that mostly belong to someone else, crews brought in job by job, and costs that hit before the client's final payment does. When the books do not know that, a big job can look like a loss right before it looks great.
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1
Estate sale proceeds and your commission get mixed together
When your company runs an estate sale, the full proceeds pass through before your commission is taken out, and if the whole amount is booked as income, the number overstates what the business actually earned from that job.
What we doBooks only the commission as revenue and keeps the rest as money owed to the family, so the job's real income is clear. -
2
Subcontracted movers look the same as employees
A crew brought in for a big job through a moving company is a vendor relationship, but paid the same way as regular crew wages, it blurs who is actually on payroll and who is a vendor.
What we doKeeps subcontracted moving costs separate from crew wages, so payroll and vendor costs never get confused. -
3
A big job's costs land before the fee does
Packing supplies, truck rental, and crew hours for a large move often happen days or weeks before the client pays the final invoice, so a month can look expensive right before it looks great.
What we doTracks project costs against the invoice they belong to, so a heavy spend week reads as a job in progress, not a loss. -
4
Fronted storage costs blur into your own overhead
When the company pays for a storage unit upfront and bills the family back later, that payment can look like a business expense instead of money that is owed back.
What we doKeeps fronted client costs separate from the business's own overhead, so reimbursements do not get lost or double counted.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a move management business.
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
- Move project feesA flat or hourly fee for managing the move from start to finish.
- Estate sale commissionsA percentage of proceeds when the company runs or coordinates a sale of remaining belongings.
- Referral feesPaid by or shared with real estate agents and communities that send business your way.
- Storage coordination feesArranging and managing short-term storage for a family.
Money out
- Crew wages or subcontracted moversYour own team, an outside moving company, or both, depending on the job.
- Payroll taxes and workers compThe physical nature of this work makes coverage matter.
- Packing suppliesBoxes, tape, and padding used and bought job by job.
- Truck rental and fuelRenting a vehicle for jobs beyond what your own fits.
- Storage unit rentalWhen the business fronts the cost for a client.
- Donation haul-away and disposal feesGetting rid of what a family does not keep or sell.
- Liability and cargo insuranceCoverage for belongings in transit and on the job.
- Marketing and referral partnershipsBuilding relationships with agents and communities.
What we watch for you
- Cost per job
Crew, supplies, and truck rental against what each move actually bills.
- Estate sale commission rate
What the business actually keeps against total sale proceeds passed through.
- Subcontractor cost
What outside movers cost against using your own crew for a given job.
- Job backlog
Booked jobs not yet invoiced, so cash flow timing does not surprise you.
Ask Gus
Things move managers 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 your commission. The rest belongs to the family, and I keep it booked that way so your real income on that job is clear.
No, that is a vendor cost, not payroll. I keep it separate so it is clear who is actually on your team and who you brought in for one job.
As money owed back to you, not a business expense. I keep it separate so it does not get lost or counted twice when they pay you back.
The tax side
The tax side of a move management business.
Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as your income on an estate sale, and who counts as your crew.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Commission versus pass-through on estate salesOnly the commission you keep from an estate sale is income. What passes through to the family should not be taxed as your revenue.
- Crew wages versus subcontracted moversA crew you direct and schedule is on payroll. A moving company hired for one job is a vendor, and if paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Vehicle and truck rental costsTruck rental for a job is a direct business cost. Using your own vehicle for errands and site visits can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents after.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit, with limits starting above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint taxable income.
Deductions senior move managers and downsizing specialists miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Packing supplies
- Truck rental and fuel
- Cargo and liability insurance
- Workers comp premiums
- Donation haul-away fees
- Mileage for site visits
- Marketing to real estate agents
- Storage fees, business-owned
- Crew uniforms
- Dolly and equipment 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 move manager's year, kept every month.
A family can call about a move any week of the year. 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
Referral partners for the year
The team plans outreach to real estate agents and senior communities for the year, alongside this year's set-aside.
- April
Return filed, done
Your return is filed and signed between jobs. The set-aside built from project fees since January already covers what is owed.
- July
Halfway on job cost
A look at cost per job and estate sale commission rate against the year's bookings so far.
- October
Before the slow season hits
Moving jobs often slow through the colder months in many areas. The team plans crew hours and marketing accordingly 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 senior move managers and downsizing specialists. 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 move managers ask first.
We ran an estate sale. Is the full amount ours?
No, only your commission. Gus books the rest as money you are holding for the family, not your income, so the job's real profit is clear.
I brought in an outside crew for a big move. Does that count as payroll?
No, that is a vendor cost. Gus keeps subcontracted crews separate from your own team's wages so the two never get confused.
I front storage costs for clients sometimes. How does Gus track that?
As money owed back to you, separate from your own overhead, so a reimbursement does not get lost or counted as extra spending.
A big job cost a lot before the client paid the final invoice. Is that a bad sign?
Not on its own. Gus tracks project costs against the invoice they belong to, so a heavy spend week reads as a job in progress, not a loss.
Do I need workers comp for my moving crew?
Yes, given the physical work involved, it usually is not optional. Gus keeps that premium visible as a real cost of running crews, not an afterthought.
My books are behind from a busy moving season. Can you still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus separates estate sale pass-through money from your actual job income as he sorts 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 home safety assessments
- Senior living placement advisors
- 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