Pet services

Books and taxes for service dog trainers.

Multi-month program fees, task training milestones, owner-trainer coaching, and the occasional grant or scholarship. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
SeptemberExample month
$9,500
what you made

September came in at $9,500. A scholarship fund covered part of one client's program, so I split that payment between the client and the scholarship source.

  • Program milestone paymentProgram fees
  • Scholarship fund, partialGrants and scholarships
  • Puppy raiser stipendPuppy raiser costs
  • Vet clinic, health screeningVeterinary and health
  • PetSmart gear orderTraining equipment
Money in$22,600
Money out$13,100
Set aside for taxes$2,700
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Service dog training books go wrong in the same five places.

A generalist sees payments and expenses. Your business is a 12 to 18 month program billed in milestones, grants that only cover part of a client's cost, and public access training that takes months to certify. The books need to track all of it.

  1. 1

    Milestone payments get counted as one lump sale

    A client pays for a program in stages tied to training milestones over a year or more. Book the first payment as the full program price and every later month looks like it earned nothing on that client.

    What we doCounts each milestone payment as its own piece of income when it is earned, so a long program shows real progress month to month.
  2. 2

    Grant and scholarship money gets mixed with client fees

    When a scholarship fund covers part of a client's program, the deposit looks identical to a regular client payment in the bank feed, and you lose track of which funding source paid for what.

    What we doSplits a program payment between the client and the grant or scholarship source, so you can see exactly who paid for what.
  3. 3

    Puppy raiser stipends look like personal transfers

    Money paid to volunteer puppy raisers to cover food and vet visits during a dog's early months can look like a personal Venmo transfer with no business purpose attached.

    What we doLogs puppy raiser payments as a program cost, so they are not mistaken for a personal transfer or lost from the books.
  4. 4

    Veterinary and health screening costs get buried

    Health testing, vaccinations, and screening for dogs in the program get lumped in with general supplies, hiding how much a single dog's early care actually costs before it is placed.

    What we doKeeps veterinary and health costs on their own line so you can see what it takes to bring a dog to placement.
  5. 5

    Public access prep hours are hard to see

    The last months of a program, focused on public access outings and certification prep, cost real time and travel but rarely show up as a distinct expense anywhere in the books.

    What we doKeeps travel and prep costs for public access work visible, so the true cost of the final stretch of a program is not hidden in general expenses.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a service dog training program.

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

  • Program feesMilestone payments across a long training program.
  • Grants and scholarshipsFunding from nonprofits or scholarship programs covering part of a client's cost.
  • Owner-trainer coachingSessions coaching a client through training their own dog.
  • DonationsGifts to the program not tied to a specific client.

Money out

  • Puppy raiser costsStipends and reimbursements for volunteers raising dogs early on.
  • Veterinary and healthScreening, vaccinations, and vet visits for dogs in the program.
  • Training equipmentVests, harnesses, and task training tools.
  • Travel for public access prepMileage and costs for outings during certification prep.
  • Facility rentSpace used for group training sessions.
  • InsuranceLiability coverage for dogs in public training environments.

What we watch for you

  • Milestone balance

    How much of an active program's fee is still owed for work not yet delivered.

  • Grant coverage

    How much of your revenue comes from grants versus direct client fees, tracked separately.

  • Per-dog cost

    What it costs from screening through placement, so pricing reflects real cost.

  • Public access hours cost

    What the final certification stretch costs in travel and time, to see if pricing covers it.

Ask Gus

Things service dog trainers 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.

A scholarship fund paid half of a client's program fee today. How do I log that?

I split it. Half shows as the client's payment, half as a grant, so you can always see who funded what for that dog.

I sent my puppy raiser $150 for vet visits this month. Is that a business expense?

Yes. I log stipends to raisers as a program cost, not a personal transfer, so it counts toward what placing a dog actually costs you.

I'm thinking about applying for nonprofit status for the program. Does that change my books?

That's above my pay grade to call alone. It would change your tax filing structure entirely, so bring the accountant in before you file anything.

The tax side

The tax side of a service dog training program.

Long programs, mixed funding sources, and volunteer stipends make timing and classification the two things worth getting right here.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Milestone income counted as earnedA program billed in stages is earned as each milestone is delivered, not the day the first payment clears. Gus tracks the balance so a long program shows real progress.
  • Grants and donations need their own trailMoney from a scholarship fund or a donor should be traceable separately from client fees, since it may carry its own reporting requirements depending on the source.
  • Puppy raiser stipendsPayments to volunteer raisers are a program cost. Whether a raiser is treated as a contractor for tax purposes depends on the arrangement, and Gus flags it so the accountant can weigh in.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when milestone income and program costs are tracked correctly all year.

Deductions service dog trainers miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Task training equipment
  • Vests and public access gear
  • Veterinary screening costs
  • Puppy raiser stipends
  • Travel for public access outings
  • Facility rent for group sessions
  • Liability insurance
  • Continuing education and certification
  • Phone plan for client updates
  • Printed program materials

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 service dog training year, kept every month.

Programs run well over a year and payments trickle in on milestones. Your taxes come on a fixed 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, and a set-aside is planned around the milestones you expect to bill this year.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Midyear check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether grant funding this year changed the number.

  4. October

    Before year end

    Gus looks at equipment worth buying and any donor gifts that need their own paper trail before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 service dog trainers. 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 service dog trainers ask first.

How does a milestone-based program get counted as income?

Each payment is counted as income when that stage of training is delivered, not all at once at the start. That keeps your books showing real progress across a program that can run well over a year.

Does grant money get taxed the same as client fees?

It depends on the source and the terms, so Gus keeps grants and donations traceable separately from client fees. The accountant is the one who determines how each is treated.

Are stipends to my puppy raisers a business expense?

Yes, they are a program cost tied to raising a future working dog. Gus logs them separately from client fees so you can see the true cost of getting a dog to placement.

Can I deduct travel for public access certification outings?

Usually yes, since it is training-related travel tied directly to the program. Gus keeps it on its own line so the cost of that final stretch is visible, not buried in general expenses.

My program funding is a mix of client fees, grants, and donations. Can Gus handle that?

Yes. He splits each payment by source so you always know who funded what for a given dog, which matters if a grant or donor asks for an accounting later.

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 pet services

We keep books for the business next door too.

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