Mental & behavioral health
Books and taxes for sober living homes.
A resident's weekly program fee, a house manager's stipend, a bulk grocery run for a full house, and a bed that sat empty for ten days between residents. 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
December came in at $5,400. One bed sat empty for ten days between residents, so I flagged that gap instead of letting it read as a bad month.
- Resident program feesResident fees
- House manager stipendHouse staff pay
- Grocery run, full houseHousehold costs
- Property lease paymentHousing costs
- Referral partner paymentReferral fees
Why your books are different
A sober living home's books go wrong around beds and turnover.
A generalist sees rent income and a grocery bill. Your house charges residents a weekly or monthly program fee, pays a house manager to keep order, and runs household costs that swing with how many beds are filled. When the books flatten all of that, an empty bed hides until the month looks thin.
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1
An empty bed looks like a bad month instead of a vacancy
When a resident leaves and a bed sits open for a week or two before the next one moves in, revenue drops but the lease payment and most household costs stay the same, and without a vacancy note the month just looks like it went badly.
What we doTracks resident fee income against a rough bed count, so an empty bed reads as a vacancy, not a mystery. -
2
House manager pay gets treated like a regular bill
A resident house manager paid a stipend or reduced rent in exchange for oversight duties is compensation, and if it is not tracked as such, the real cost of running the house is understated.
What we doKeeps house manager pay in its own line, whether paid in cash or as a rent reduction, so the true cost of staffing the house is visible. -
3
Referral fees to sober living networks or treatment centers blur into marketing
Some houses pay a fee to a referral source or a placement network for filling beds, and lumped into general marketing, it is hard to see what it actually costs to keep the house full.
What we doKeeps referral fees in their own line so the real cost of filling a bed is visible against what that resident pays. -
4
Bulk grocery and supply runs distort a single month
Buying two or three weeks of groceries and household supplies in one large trip makes that week look expensive and the next couple of weeks look artificially cheap.
What we doKeeps household costs in one steady line and flags a stock-up as the reason a week looks heavier than usual.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a sober living home.
Set up once for how the house gets paid and what it spends. Nobody hand-sorts a category. Gus does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Resident feesWeekly or monthly program fees paid by residents or their families.
- Scholarship or subsidy incomePartial payment support from a treatment center partner or nonprofit fund, if the house accepts it.
- Deposit and move-in feesOne-time fees collected when a resident moves in, tracked apart from ongoing rent.
- Family or third-party paymentsFees paid on a resident's behalf by a family member rather than the resident directly.
Money out
- House staff payHouse manager stipends or wages, whether paid in cash or as reduced rent.
- Housing costsLease or mortgage payment, utilities, and property maintenance.
- Household costsGroceries, cleaning supplies, and linens for the house.
- Referral feesPayments to a placement network or referral partner for filling beds.
- Drug testing suppliesTesting kits and lab fees used to monitor sobriety.
- Liability insuranceProperty and general liability coverage for the house.
What we watch for you
- Bed occupancy
How many beds are filled against total capacity, so a revenue dip reads as a vacancy, not a mystery.
- Household cost per resident
Groceries and supplies against how many people are actually in the house.
- Referral cost per bed filled
What it actually costs to fill an empty bed through a referral partner.
- The set-aside
What the house will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things sober living home operators 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.
One bed sat open for about ten days between residents. Your fixed costs do not move much when a bed is empty, so a short vacancy shows up fast on the revenue side.
Yes. That reduced rent is real compensation, so I keep it in its own line as house staff pay, not just a discount, so the house's real costs stay honest.
I keep that cost separate from general marketing so you can see what it costs per bed filled against what that resident pays. Whether it is worth it is your call to make with that number in hand.
The tax side
The tax side of a sober living home.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing: staff pay disguised as a rent discount, and a set-aside sized for a house with real, if uneven, profit.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- House manager compensationA house manager paid a stipend or given reduced rent for real duties is compensation, not a discount, and should generally flow through payroll like any other worker.
- Worker classificationA house manager who follows your rules, your schedule, and reports to you is usually an employee, not a contractor, no matter how the pay is structured.
- Self-employment taxAn owner taking profit directly rather than through payroll owes 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit before it is taxed, with limits starting above $201,750 for a single filer or $403,500 for a joint filer.
Deductions sober living homes miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Property liability insurance
- House maintenance and repairs
- Drug testing kits and lab fees
- Household cleaning supplies
- Furniture and linens
- Referral or placement fees
- Vehicle costs for resident transport
- Background check fees for staff
- Utilities for the house
- House manager stipend or wages
- Business insurance
- Bookkeeping and accounting 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 sober living home's year, kept every month.
Bed turnover can happen any week of the year, with little real seasonality. Gus keeps the house ahead of the calendar and the tax deadlines regardless. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, and the monthly set-aside is planned around typical occupancy.
- April
Filed. Done.
The business return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where the house stands, what it will owe, and whether occupancy this year has run higher or lower than planned.
- October
Before year-end
Gus looks at any repairs or house improvements worth making before December, and whether staffing costs need a second look.
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 sober living homes. 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 sober living operators ask first.
Can Gus track which beds are filled and which are empty?
Gus books your resident fee income and can keep a rough occupancy note if you provide it, so a revenue dip reads as a vacancy rather than a mystery.
My house manager gets free rent instead of a paycheck. Does that count as an expense?
Yes. Reduced or free rent given in exchange for real duties is compensation, and Gus tracks it as house staff pay so your costs stay accurate.
Do I need to run this like a business, or can I keep it informal?
If residents pay you and you cover house costs, it is a business for tax purposes regardless of how formal it feels. Gus keeps the books honest either way.
A referral partner wants a HIPAA-style agreement before sending us residents. Does Gus handle that?
No. That kind of compliance paperwork stays with your legal counsel or the referral partner. Your team keeps your books and taxes in order, not clinical or compliance documents.
Some months I barely break even. Is that normal for this business?
It can be, especially with vacancy and referral costs factored in. Gus keeps enough detail that you can see whether a thin month is vacancy, cost, or something worth changing.
My books have been kept on paper in a notebook. Can Gus work from that?
Send Gus your bank statements and whatever records you have, and he sorts them into clean digital books going forward. Most operators know where they stand within a couple of weeks.
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