Insurance agencies
Books and taxes for trucking and contractor insurance agencies.
Commercial auto for owner-operators, builder's risk and wrap-up policies for contractors, coverage placed through the surplus lines market when standard carriers say no, and a surplus lines filing fee that is not your money to keep. 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
August came in at $18,700. Two trucking accounts renewed through the surplus lines market this month, so I kept the filing fee passed through to the state apart from what your agency actually earned.
- MGA commission depositMGA commission
- Wrap-up policy fee, builderWrap-up policy income
- Surplus lines filing fee remitSurplus lines filing fees
- Producer commission splitProducer splits
- State non-resident license renewalLicensing and E&O
Why your books are different
A trucking and contractor agency's books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees premium checks and treats them all the same. Your business places hard-to-insure risk through wholesale brokers and managing general agents, collects filing fees that belong to the state, and sells wrap-up policies that cover a whole construction project instead of one client. When the books do not separate that, you cannot tell what the agency actually kept.
-
1
Surplus lines filing fees look like agency income
Placing coverage with a non-admitted carrier through the surplus lines market usually means collecting a filing fee or tax that gets remitted to the state, and if that passthrough is booked as revenue, the agency's income looks inflated.
What we doBooks surplus lines filing fees as money owed to the state, not agency revenue, so only your actual commission counts as income. -
2
MGA commission and direct carrier commission blur together
Business placed through a managing general agent often pays differently and on a different schedule than business placed straight with an admitted carrier, and mixed together you cannot tell which relationships are actually paying off.
What we doKeeps MGA commission and direct carrier commission on separate lines, so you can see which channel is carrying the book. -
3
A wrap-up policy covers a whole project, not one client
A wrap-up policy for a construction project can bundle coverage for a general contractor and its subcontractors under one placement, and booked like a standard client policy it hides how differently this income behaves.
What we doTracks wrap-up policy income on its own line, tied to the project it covers, so it does not get confused with standard client accounts. -
4
Non-resident licensing costs get lost in general fees
Placing trucking risk across state lines often means holding non-resident licenses in several states, and those renewal costs get buried when filed under a generic fees category.
What we doKeeps non-resident licensing on its own line, so the real cost of operating across states is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a specialty trucking and contractor agency.
Set up once for how the surplus lines market pays you and what the agency spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- MGA commissionCommission paid through a managing general agent for hard-to-place risk.
- Direct carrier commissionCommission on business placed straight with an admitted carrier.
- Wrap-up policy incomeCommission tied to a project-wide policy covering a contractor and its subs.
- Broker feesFees billed straight to the client on top of commission.
Money out
- Surplus lines filing feesFees and taxes owed to the state, passed through on non-admitted placements.
- Producer splitsThe share of commission owed to the producer who placed the account.
- Licensing and E&OResident and non-resident license fees, appointments, and errors and omissions coverage.
- Marketing to fleets and contractorsTrade show, association, and referral costs aimed at trucking and construction clients.
- Office and account managementStaff who service certificates of insurance and renewals.
What we watch for you
- MGA versus direct commission
Which channel of business is actually carrying the agency's income.
- Filing fees passed through
State fees collected but not yet remitted, so it never gets spent like it is the agency's own money.
- Wrap-up policy concentration
How much of the book depends on a small number of large project placements.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things trucking and contractor agency 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.
No, that gets remitted to the state. I book it as money you are holding, not agency income, so your revenue reflects only your actual commission.
I keep it on its own line tied to the project, since it covers the whole job, not a single client, and behaves differently than your standard accounts.
If he is paid outside payroll and clears $2,000 for the year, yes, by January 31. I keep that running total so it is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of a specialty trucking and contractor agency.
Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as agency income, a filing fee mistaken for revenue, MGA and direct commission mixed together, a set-aside built on inflated numbers.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Producer 1099sAny producer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 outside payroll on an MGA or direct placement gets a 1099-NEC by January 31, and Gus keeps that list current as surplus lines business comes in.
- Self-employment tax and estimatesOwner-producers who earn commission through MGAs or direct carriers rather than a W-2 wage pay self-employment tax at 15.3 percent up to the $184,500 wage base, usually in quarterly estimates on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.
- The pass-through deductionMost specialty agency owners can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income, with the deduction narrowing above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, once MGA and direct commission are both counted.
- Surplus lines tax passthroughFees and taxes collected for the state on non-admitted placements are not agency income and should not be reported as revenue, though the details of who owes the tax vary by state.
Deductions specialty insurance agencies serving trucking and contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Errors and omissions insurance
- Resident and non-resident license fees
- Continuing education courses
- Agency management software
- Trade show and association costs
- Mileage for client and site visits
- Office rent or home office share
- Account manager payroll
- Background checks for new producers
- Referral fees to wholesale brokers
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 trucking and contractor agency's year, kept every month.
Fleets and job sites do not slow down for a calendar. Gus keeps the books ready all year. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Chart the year
Producer 1099s go out, last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside that already accounts for held premium and filing fees.
- April
Return on file
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside never counted held premium or state filing fees as the agency's own money.
- July
Midyear audit
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether MGA or direct commission is driving the year.
- October
Before year wraps
Gus looks at agency software or equipment worth buying and anything worth doing before December.
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 specialty insurance agencies serving trucking and contractors. 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 trucking and contractor agency owners ask first.
Can Gus keep surplus lines filing fees separate from what our agency actually earned?
Yes. Filing fees passed through to the state are tracked as money you are holding, not agency revenue, so your income reflects only your commission.
We place business through both a managing general agent and direct with admitted carriers. Can Gus tell those apart?
Yes. MGA commission and direct carrier commission are kept on separate lines, so you can see which channel is carrying your book.
How does Gus handle a wrap-up policy that covers a whole construction project?
It is tracked on its own line tied to the project, since it behaves differently than a standard client account and often bundles several parties under one placement.
We hold non-resident licenses in several states for trucking clients. Does that complicate things?
No. Non-resident licensing costs are kept on their own line, so the real cost of operating across states is visible, not buried in general fees.
Our producers are paid on a negotiated split. Does that change the books?
No. The full commission and each producer's payout are tracked separately, so what the agency actually nets from an MGA or direct placement is never a guess.
Our books mix filing fees, commission, and producer payouts in one account with no labels. Can Gus untangle that?
Yes. Send the statements you have. Gus sorts filing fees, commission, and splits apart, 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.
More in insurance agencies
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Crop insurance agents
- Insurance appraisers & umpires
- Group benefits brokers
- Public adjusters
- Captive insurance agents
- Commercial insurance brokers
- Health insurance brokers
- Independent insurance agencies
- Final expense agents
- Life insurance agencies
- Medicare insurance brokers
- Banner & large-format printers
- Court reporters
- Label printers
- Legal document preparers
- Mailing houses & lettershops
- Mediators
- Private investigators
- Process servers
- Trade show display producers
- 1031 exchange intermediaries
- Answering services
- Apostille services
- Background check companies
- Business valuation firms
- Crypto tax specialists
- Document shredding & records management
- DOT compliance consultants
- Drug testing centers
- Exit planning advisors
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