Creators, coaches & info products

Books and taxes for Skool community owners.

Monthly membership fees, affiliate commissions paid to members who bring in new ones, a moderator to pay, and churn that eats into next month before it happens. Your own bookkeeper 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
AugustExample month
$12,000
what you made

August came in at $12,000. Membership growth outpaced the members who canceled, so I flagged the net gain instead of just the gross number.

  • Skool membership payoutMembership fees
  • Affiliate commission payoutMember referral payouts
  • Moderator payment, VenmoCommunity moderation
  • Canva subscription, content designContent tools
  • Bonus course saleCourse sales
Money in$18,000
Money out$6,000
Set aside for taxes$2,800
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A paid community's books go wrong in a few specific spots.

A generalist sees one monthly deposit and calls it revenue. Yours is a membership number that moves every week as people join and cancel, a referral program that pays members to bring in more members, and a moderator who needs paying whether the community grows that month or not.

  1. 1

    Gross membership revenue hides real churn

    A community with 400 paying members that gains 50 and loses 45 in the same month looks like it grew by 50 if only new signups get counted, when the real growth was 5.

    What we doTracks new members against cancellations so the number you see is what the community actually gained, not just what came in.
  2. 2

    Referral payouts to members look like a plain expense

    Paying a member 30 to 40 percent of what a new signup pays for bringing them in is a real cost of growth, but if it just sits in one expense line, it is hard to tell whether the referral program is worth running.

    What we doKeeps referral payouts in their own line next to the members they brought in, so the real cost of that growth is visible.
  3. 3

    A moderator paid casually has no running total

    A member who helps moderate discussions or answer questions gets paid through Venmo or PayPal with no set schedule, and by year end nobody can say for certain what they were paid in total.

    What we doTracks every payment to a moderator in one line, so the year-end contractor total is ready instead of guessed at.
  4. 4

    A bonus course sale inside the community gets lost in membership fees

    Selling a one-time course or template pack to existing members brings in money that looks the same as a subscription renewal, so it is hard to tell recurring membership income from a one-time bump.

    What we doKeeps one-time product sales in their own line, separate from the recurring membership fee, so the steady part of the business stands out.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a paid community.

Set up once for how the community gets paid and what it spends on. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Membership feesMonthly or annual recurring payments from members.
  • Course salesOne-time courses or template packs sold inside the community.
  • Affiliate income earnedCommissions earned promoting other communities or products.
  • SponsorshipsA brand paying to reach the community's members.

Money out

  • Member referral payoutsCommissions paid to members who refer new signups.
  • Community moderationPayments to anyone helping moderate or run events.
  • Content toolsCanva, video editing, and template design software.
  • Payment processor feesWhat Stripe or Skool's own processor keeps before payout.
  • Marketing and adsPaid promotion run to bring in new members.

What we watch for you

  • Net member growth

    New members against cancellations, since gross signups alone hide how many left.

  • Referral payout share

    How much of new member revenue goes right back out in referral commissions.

  • Moderator cost

    What community moderation costs against total membership income for the month.

  • The set-aside

    What will be owed, tracked every month, so a strong growth month does not turn into a surprise bill.

Ask Gus

Things community 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 gained 50 members this month. Why does it feel like the community barely grew?

Because 45 canceled in the same month. I track both sides so you see the real number, which was a net gain of 5.

Is my member referral program actually worth what I pay out?

I keep referral payouts next to the new members they brought in, so the real cost per member is visible. Whether to keep the rate is your call.

My moderator is a member I pay through Venmo. Do I need to track that differently?

Just keep the payments consistent. I track her running total, and if it clears $2,000 this year she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.

The tax side

The tax side of running a paid community.

Most of what trips people up here is treating gross signups like the whole picture, and paying moderators and referrers with no clean running total.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Paying a moderator $2,000 or moreA moderator or helper not on payroll, paid $2,000 or more in 2026, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that running total across the year.
  • Self-employment taxA community owner not on payroll owes 15.3 percent in self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
  • Form 1099-K from payment appsStripe and similar apps send a 1099-K once you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year. Membership income is taxable whether or not a form arrives.
  • The pass-through deductionMost community businesses can take up to 20 percent of profit off their taxable income. Above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, the accountant checks how much applies.

Deductions Skool and paid community owners miss

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

  • Content design software
  • Video and editing tools
  • Moderator and helper pay
  • Referral commissions paid
  • Payment processor fees
  • Marketing and ad spend
  • Business phone and internet
  • Website and landing pages
  • Business liability insurance
  • Accounting and legal fees

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 paid community's year, kept every month.

Members join and cancel every week of the year, not on a tax schedule. Your team keeps the books closed every month, all year. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Set the community's pace

    Last year's return gets started, the moderator's 1099 is prepared, and a monthly set-aside is planned so April is no scramble.

  2. April

    Filed, community intact

    Filed and signed, with no scramble for cash, since a slice of every month's dues has been set aside since January.

  3. July

    Membership pulse check

    Where the community stands, what it will owe, and whether summer growth or churn changed the number.

  4. October

    Before year-end promotions

    Many communities run a fall or winter membership push. Gus looks at referral payout plans and anything worth doing 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 Skool and paid community owners. 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 Skool community owners ask first.

Do I owe tax on membership income even in months members cancel?

Yes, on what was actually collected. Gus tracks new signups and cancellations separately so the accountant works from real monthly income.

I run two communities under one business. Can Gus keep them separate?

Yes. He tracks membership revenue and costs by community so you can see what each one actually earns on its own.

My referral payouts go straight from Skool to the member. Does Gus still see that?

Yes. Gus works from your bank and payout statements to keep a running total for each member paid, so the year-end list is ready.

A sponsor paid me to post in my own community. How does that get booked?

As sponsorship income, kept apart from membership fees, so you can see it as the one-time money it is rather than part of the recurring base.

My books have never separated membership fees from course sales. Can Gus fix that?

Yes. Send the bank and payout statements you have. Gus sorts recurring fees from one-time sales, the accountant checks it, 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