Tutoring, test prep & alternative schools

Books and taxes for special education advocates.

Hourly billing for IEP and 504 plan meetings, a flat fee for a full case review, travel to a district office across town, and a caseload that never really has an off season. Gus 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
OctoberExample month
$7,800
what you made

October made $7,800. Two families paid a flat fee for a full case review this month, so I kept that apart from the ongoing hourly meeting work.

  • IEP meeting hours, invoicedHourly advocacy
  • Case review flat feeFlat-fee case reviews
  • Mileage, district office visitsTravel and mileage
  • Advocacy training courseContinuing education
  • Professional liability insuranceLiability insurance
Money in$13,400
Money out$5,600
Set aside for taxes$1,700
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Special education advocate books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees invoices and a home office. Your practice bills a mix of hourly meeting time and flat-fee case reviews, drives to district offices across a wide area, and has almost no classroom or curriculum costs at all. When the books do not know that, the wrong deductions get chased and the right ones get missed.

  1. 1

    Hourly meeting time and flat-fee case reviews get lumped together

    A flat fee for a full record review and IEP planning meeting gets billed very differently than hourly attendance at a series of meetings, and if both land in one category, you cannot see which type of work actually earns more per hour of your time.

    What we doKeeps hourly advocacy and flat-fee case review income in separate categories from the start.
  2. 2

    Mileage to district offices and schools gets missed

    Advocates often drive to multiple district offices and school meetings across a wide service area, and if nobody logs those miles trip by trip, a real and often sizable deduction disappears by tax time.

    What we doKeeps mileage as its own line against the standard rate so it is never lost.
  3. 3

    Continuing education and legal training get filed as a routine cost

    Advanced training in special education law or a certification renewal is a real investment in the practice, and filing it the same as an ordinary subscription understates what it actually represents.

    What we doFlags larger training and continuing education costs as they happen so the accountant can place them correctly.
  4. 4

    No classroom costs does not mean no deductions

    Without a physical location or curriculum materials, it is easy to assume there is little left to deduct, and owners in this line of work often miss the home office, research subscription, and professional membership deductions that do apply.

    What we doTracks the deductions that actually fit a practice with no classroom, rather than defaulting to a generic small-business list.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a special education advocacy practice.

Set up once for how cases and meetings get billed. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Hourly advocacyIEP and 504 plan meeting attendance and preparation, billed by the hour.
  • Flat-fee case reviewsA set fee for a full record review and planning meeting.
  • Document preparationWritten reports, letters, and appeal documents billed apart from meeting time.
  • Consultation callsInitial family consultations billed separately from ongoing case work.

Money out

  • Travel and mileageDriving to district offices, schools, and family meetings.
  • Continuing educationSpecial education law training and certification renewals.
  • Liability insuranceProfessional coverage for advising families in disputes with schools.
  • Research and reference subscriptionsSpecial education law databases and case reference tools.
  • Professional association duesMembership in advocacy and special education law organizations.
  • Marketing and referralsA practice website and the referral relationships built with attorneys and other advocates.

What we watch for you

  • Active caseload

    The base your hourly and flat-fee income rests on. A full caseload matters more than one strong month.

  • Flat-fee share of revenue

    How much of income comes from case review fees versus ongoing hourly meeting work.

  • Mileage logged

    Miles tracked against the standard rate, since travel is one of the biggest deductions in this work.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things special education advocates 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 charge a flat fee for a case review but bill hourly for meetings. Does that get tracked differently?

Yes. Flat-fee case reviews and hourly meeting time each get their own category, so you can see which kind of work is actually paying better.

I drove to four different district offices this month. Is that worth tracking?

Very much so. I log mileage against the standard rate as its own line, and for this kind of work it is often one of the largest deductions of the year.

Do I need to send a 1099 to the advocate who covers cases for me sometimes?

Only once her pay from you crosses $2,000 for the year, and then she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep a running tally so nobody scrambles in January.

The tax side

The tax side of a special education advocacy practice.

Most of what goes wrong here is missed mileage and training costs filed without a second thought. Fix the tracking and the rest follows.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Mileage deductionBusiness mileage for meetings and district office visits is deductible at 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents after, if it is logged as it happens.
  • Continuing education and trainingSpecial education law training and certification renewals are generally deductible business costs, tracked as they happen so the accountant can place them on the right year's return.
  • Self-employment taxA solo advocate taking profit directly, without running payroll, owes self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on top of regular income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
  • The pass-through deductionMost solo practitioners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when hourly and flat-fee income are tracked cleanly all year.

Deductions special education advocates miss

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

  • Mileage to meetings and offices
  • Continuing education courses
  • Special education law research tools
  • Liability insurance
  • Professional association dues
  • Home office for case preparation
  • Document preparation software
  • Business phone plan
  • Marketing and referral gifts
  • Card processing 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 special education advocacy year, kept every month.

IEP meetings run all year with no real off season, but the tax calendar still has its own rhythm. 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

    New year, active caseload

    Meeting requests continue steadily. Last year's return gets started and the monthly set-aside gets planned.

  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

    A halfway check on the year, including whether mileage and case volume changed what you will owe.

  4. October

    Before the fall meeting wave

    Annual IEP review season brings a wave of meetings. Gus looks at any training 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 special education advocates. 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 special education advocates ask first.

I don't have a classroom or curriculum costs like other education businesses. Does Gus still find deductions for me?

Yes. Mileage, continuing education, research subscriptions, and professional dues are the deductions that matter most for this kind of practice, and Gus tracks all of them from day one.

Can Gus tell me whether flat-fee reviews or hourly meetings are more profitable for me?

Yes. Since the two are tracked in separate categories, you can see exactly how each kind of work contributes to your income.

My work has no real slow season. Does that change how the books get handled?

Not really. Gus tracks the set-aside every month regardless of season, so April is never a surprise even without a predictable slow stretch.

I drive constantly between district offices and family meetings. Is mileage really worth tracking that closely?

Yes, it is often one of the biggest deductions in this line of work. Gus keeps it as its own line against the standard rate so nothing gets lost.

My invoicing has been a mix of checks and a spreadsheet for a year. Can Gus untangle that?

Yes. Send what you have and he sorts it into one clean set of books. Most advocates know exactly 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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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