Passenger transportation
Books and taxes for senior and wheelchair transportation companies.
Assisted living facility contracts, private-pay family bookings, recurring dialysis and therapy runs, and lift vans that need constant upkeep. 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
February came in at $9,600. The Willowbrook Assisted Living contract renewed at a higher monthly rate, and I flagged the lift rebuild as equipment, not a repair.
- Willowbrook Assisted LivingFacility contracts
- Private-pay family, DonnellyPrivate-pay trips
- Wheelchair lift rebuildVan maintenance
- Fuel, fleet cardFuel
- Driver payrollDriver wages
Why your books are different
A senior and wheelchair transportation company's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees fares and fuel. Your business runs on standing facility contracts, families paying directly for the same kind of ride, and recurring dialysis and therapy trips that repeat every week. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which relationships are actually worth keeping.
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1
Facility contracts and private-pay rides look identical
A ride booked through an assisted living facility's standing contract and a ride a family books and pays for directly can land in the bank on the same day and look the same, making it hard to tell which part of the business is actually growing.
What we doKeeps facility contract income and private-pay trips in separate categories, so you can see where the business is actually earning. -
2
Recurring appointment trips get billed inconsistently and it goes unnoticed
A rider with a standing weekly dialysis or therapy appointment should generate a predictable trip charge every week, but when billing is inconsistent, a missed or underbilled trip is easy to lose track of among dozens of similar rides.
What we doWatches recurring trip patterns against what actually gets billed, and flags when a regular rider's trips stop showing up as expected. -
3
A lift rebuild looks like a routine repair
Rebuilding or replacing a wheelchair lift or ramp system can cost several thousand dollars, and filed alongside oil changes and tire replacements, it disappears into general upkeep instead of showing as a cost that might be depreciated.
What we doKeeps major lift and ramp work in its own line, separate from routine van maintenance, and flags it for the accountant's review. -
4
A driver trained for mobility assistance still looks like a contractor
A driver trained to secure wheelchairs and assist riders with transfers, paid a flat rate per trip, is usually still an employee if they drive your van on your schedule, whatever the pay arrangement is called.
What we doFlags drivers who work like employees regardless of how the pay is structured, and brings in the accountant before it becomes a habit.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a senior and wheelchair transportation company.
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
- Facility contractsStanding arrangements with assisted living and memory care facilities.
- Private-pay tripsRides paid directly by riders or family members.
- Recurring medical appointment tripsWeekly dialysis, therapy, or clinic runs billed on a repeating schedule.
- Medicaid or insurance tripsRides billed through Medicaid or private insurance where applicable.
Money out
- Driver wagesPayroll for drivers trained in mobility assistance, kept apart from any subcontracted pay.
- Van maintenanceRoutine repairs, tires, and brakes for the fleet.
- Lift and ramp systemsMajor wheelchair lift and ramp work, kept apart from routine maintenance.
- FuelFuel for a fleet running frequent short trips to appointments.
- Van loans and leasesMonthly payments on wheelchair-accessible vans.
- Commercial fleet insuranceCoverage required to transport passengers with mobility needs.
- Driver trainingWheelchair securement and transfer assistance training.
- Dispatch softwareScheduling tools used to manage recurring appointment routes.
What we watch for you
- Facility versus private-pay mix
How much revenue comes from contracts versus families, so you know where growth is coming from.
- Recurring trip consistency
Whether regular riders' weekly trips are billed as expected, so nothing quietly falls off.
- Cost per trip
Fuel, maintenance, and driver pay against trips, so you know what a ride actually costs.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month across every revenue stream.
Ask Gus
Things senior transportation 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 keep them in separate categories from the start, so you can see exactly how much comes from each and which one is actually growing.
I watch recurring trip patterns, so a rider whose usual weekly trip stops showing up gets flagged instead of quietly disappearing.
I keep it separate. Major lift work is its own line, and I flagged it so the accountant can decide how it should be written off.
The tax side
The tax side of a senior and wheelchair transportation business.
Most of what goes wrong here is blending different revenue sources and filing major equipment work like routine upkeep. Keeping facility, private-pay, and recurring trips separate is what makes the rest come out right.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Wheelchair vans and depreciationA wheelchair-accessible van bought for the business can usually be depreciated, and bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for vehicles acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Driver classificationA driver who runs your scheduled trips on your van is usually an employee, not a contractor, even when trained specifically for mobility assistance and paid per trip.
- Contractor 1099sA subcontracted driver or fleet you send overflow trips to, if not on payroll and paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, which comes out right when facility, private-pay, and recurring trip income are tracked separately.
Deductions senior and wheelchair transportation companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Wheelchair lift repairs
- Fuel
- Fleet insurance
- Driver training courses
- Dispatch software fees
- Van detailing
- Securement equipment
- Background check fees
- Vehicle inspections
- Radios and GPS units
- Phone for scheduling
- Uniforms
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 senior and wheelchair transportation year, kept every month.
Recurring medical trips and facility contracts run steady all year, and your team stays on the books through every month of it. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Line up the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any subcontracted drivers is ready, and a monthly set-aside gets planned around your facility contract calendar.
- April
Filed, contracts steady
Your return is filed and signed while recurring appointment trips keep running, with no scramble because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Contract and trip tally
A look at how facility contracts and private-pay trips are tracking, what you will owe, and whether recurring trips are billing consistently.
- October
Before renewals
Facility contracts and driver training certifications often renew around year end. Gus looks at those costs and anything worth doing 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 and wheelchair transportation companies. 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 senior transportation owners ask first.
Can Gus keep our facility contracts separate from private-pay rides?
Yes. He keeps them in their own categories from the start, so you can see how much of the business comes from each and where it is growing.
How would Gus catch a recurring rider whose trip got missed?
He watches recurring trip patterns against what actually gets billed, so a regular rider's trip that stops showing up gets flagged instead of quietly falling through.
Do I write off a wheelchair lift rebuild all at once?
Often you can. Major lift work is usually treated differently than routine repairs, and the accountant decides how it gets written off based on your whole year.
My drivers are trained specifically for mobility assistance and paid per trip. Does that keep them off payroll?
Not on its own. What matters is whether they drive your van on your schedule. Gus flags drivers who look like employees and the accountant sorts out what it means.
We take Medicaid trips along with private pay and facility contracts. Can Gus handle all three?
Yes. Each revenue type gets its own category, so you can see how Medicaid, private-pay, and facility income compare instead of one blended number.
Our books have not been kept in a few months. 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.
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