IT & tech services

Books and taxes for small office IT support businesses.

An hourly site visit, a flat monthly check-in fee for a dentist's office, a router replaced at cost, and a slow-paying client from three months back. Your own bookkeeper sorts 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
AprilExample month
$9,600
what you made

April came in at $9,600. Two invoices from January finally cleared, so I dated that income to when the work happened, not when the check showed up, so your months still make sense.

  • Monthly check-in fees x9Small retainers
  • Hourly site visitsHourly support
  • Ubiquiti networking gearHardware for clients
  • ScreenConnect subscriptionRemote access tools
  • Vehicle fuel and repairsVehicle costs
Money in$27,800
Money out$18,200
Set aside for taxes$2,200
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Small office IT support books go wrong at the flat fee and the slow payer.

A generalist sees a deposit and a bill. Your business runs on a mix of small flat monthly check-ins, hourly site visits, and the occasional slow-paying client. When the books blend those, you cannot tell which clients are actually worth the drive.

  1. 1

    A flat monthly fee looks the same whether the visit took one hour or five

    A small office paying a flat monthly check-in fee might take a quick call one month and a half-day network rebuild the next, and if hours worked are not tracked against that flat fee, you cannot tell which clients are actually profitable.

    What we doKeeps flat-fee retainer income separate from hourly work, so a client whose fee no longer covers the time it takes stands out.
  2. 2

    A slow-paying invoice lands in the wrong month

    A client who pays an invoice three months late makes that later month look artificially strong and the original month look thin, when the work and the cost both happened back then.

    What we doDates income to when the work happened, not when the check arrived, so the months tell the truth.
  3. 3

    A router bought at cost looks like a markup you never charged

    Replacing a client's failed router or switch at your own cost, with no markup, can get logged the same as hardware you resell for a profit, hiding that this particular sale earned you nothing.

    What we doFlags hardware passed through at cost separately from marked-up resale, so you can see which sales actually pay you.
  4. 4

    Mileage between small offices gets forgotten

    A day spent driving between five small office visits racks up real vehicle cost and time, but without tracking it against what each visit billed, it is easy to keep serving a client whose site visits cost more in gas and time than the invoice covers.

    What we doKeeps vehicle costs visible against site visit income so a client's real cost to serve is not a guess.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a small office IT support 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

  • Small retainersFlat monthly check-in fees for ongoing small office clients.
  • Hourly supportSite visits and remote help billed by the hour.
  • Hardware pass-throughRouters, switches, and small gear resold or replaced at cost.
  • Setup projectsOne-time office moves, new client onboarding, and network builds.

Money out

  • Hardware for clientsNetworking gear like routers and switches bought to install or resell.
  • Remote access toolsSoftware like ScreenConnect used to support clients without a visit.
  • Vehicle costsFuel, insurance, and repairs for driving between client sites.
  • Business insuranceGeneral liability and errors-and-omissions coverage.
  • Business phone and data planKept separate from personal use.

What we watch for you

  • Retainer coverage

    Hours worked against a flat monthly fee, so you can see which clients still pay for the time they take.

  • Days past due

    How long invoices sit unpaid, since late payers can quietly cost you the most.

  • Vehicle cost per visit

    Fuel and drive time against what each visit bills, so a client's true cost to serve is not a guess.

  • The set-aside

    The set-aside covers both retainer and hourly income, tracked monthly so April never needs a scramble.

Ask Gus

Things small office IT support 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.

A client finally paid an invoice from three months ago. Does that make this month look better than it was?

No, I dated it back to when the work happened, so this month still reflects what actually happened here.

I replaced a failed router for a client at my own cost, no markup. Does that count as a sale?

I flagged it as hardware passed through at cost, so it does not read like a sale that earned you anything.

One client's flat fee barely covers the time I spend there anymore. Can you show me that?

Yes, I track hours against retainer fees, so a client whose fee no longer covers the time will show up clearly.

The tax side

The tax side of a small office IT support business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing: income booked when the check clears instead of when the work happened, and vehicle costs that never get tracked against the visits they served.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Vehicle mileage or actual costsDriving between client sites is deductible, either as a per-mile rate of 72.5 cents through June 2026 and 76 cents from July, or as your actual vehicle costs.
  • Self-employment tax for solo ownersA one-person support business pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the set-aside has to cover both.
  • The pass-through deductionMost solo owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when retainer and hourly income are tracked cleanly all year.
  • Equipment write-offsDiagnostic tools, spare networking gear, and a work laptop can usually be written off the year they are bought.

Deductions small office IT support businesses miss

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

  • Vehicle mileage or costs
  • Remote access software
  • Diagnostic tools and cables
  • Spare routers and switches
  • Business phone and data plan
  • Errors-and-omissions insurance
  • Continuing education courses
  • Home office costs
  • Business cards and local marketing
  • Laptop and testing equipment
  • Client scheduling software
  • Professional association dues

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 small office IT support year, kept every month.

Small businesses call when something breaks, any week of the year. Your team stays on the books every month, not just at tax time. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    A fresh route

    Last year's return gets started, and a monthly set-aside is planned around retainer and hourly income so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Signed and sent

    Your return is filed and signed, with retainer and hourly income already sorted apart.

  3. July

    Halfway down the road

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether any client's flat fee still covers the hours it takes.

  4. October

    Before the year winds down

    Gus looks at spare hardware or tools worth buying before December and flags any slow-paying clients worth a conversation.

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 small office IT support businesses. 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 small office IT support owners ask first.

Some clients pay a flat monthly fee and others pay hourly. Can Gus keep those apart?

Yes. Small retainers and hourly support get their own lines, so you can see which clients are actually worth the drive.

A client is chronically slow to pay. Does that throw off my books?

Gus dates income to when the work happened, not when the check clears, so a late payment does not make an old month look wrong or a new one look artificially strong.

I sometimes replace hardware for a client at cost, no markup. Does that get counted as profit?

No. Gus flags hardware passed through at cost separately, so it does not look like a sale that earned you anything.

Do I need to track mileage between client offices?

It helps. Gus keeps vehicle costs visible against what each visit billed, and the mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents after.

My books are behind because I never separated retainers from hourly work. Can Gus fix that?

Yes. Send what you have. Gus sorts retainer income from hourly visits, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand 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.

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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