Vehicle sales & auto services

Books and taxes for towing and roadside assistance companies.

Motor club payouts, private pay tows, storage fees on a sitting vehicle, and driver commissions all move through the bank on their own terms. Gus sorts every dollar into its own line, 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
JanuaryExample month
$12,500
what you made

January netted $12,500. The ice storm week alone brought in what we normally see in three weeks, so I flagged it as a spike, not the new normal.

  • Agero dispatch payoutMotor club tows
  • Private pay tow, cardPrivate and accident tows
  • Pilot fuel stopFuel
  • Driver pay, per-towDriver wages and commissions
  • Storage lot rentStorage and impound lot
Money in$52,000
Money out$39,500
Set aside for taxes$3,000
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A towing company's books go wrong around who is paying, not the tow.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business gets paid five different ways for the same kind of job, sometimes months after a vehicle first gets hooked up. When the books do not track the pay source, you cannot tell which work is actually carrying you.

  1. 1

    Motor club tows pay less than the ticket says

    AAA or Agero dispatches a tow and pays a flat contracted rate that is often less than what you would charge a private customer for the same job, and if a full retail price gets logged instead of what actually got paid, revenue looks inflated.

    What we doBooks the actual motor club payout as the sale, not an assumed retail price, so revenue matches what really came in.
  2. 2

    Storage and impound fees get missed

    An unclaimed vehicle can sit on the lot racking up daily storage fees that are legally owed before it can be released or sold, and if nobody tracks the running total, that income gets forgotten or under-billed.

    What we doKeeps storage and impound fees in their own line so what is owed on a sitting vehicle does not get lost.
  3. 3

    Driver commissions hide inside wages

    Drivers paid a percentage of each tow look like plain payroll, which buries what a single tow actually costs you in labor and makes it hard to price accident recovery jobs correctly.

    What we doKeeps commissions separate from base wages, so labor cost against each type of tow is visible.
  4. 4

    A lien sale looks like a random deposit

    After the legal hold period, an unclaimed vehicle can be sold at a lien sale, and that payout can land in the account looking like an ordinary tow fee instead of what it is, a vehicle sale with its own accounting.

    What we doBooks a lien sale as its own kind of income, separate from towing fees.
  5. 5

    A storm week distorts the whole year

    A single week of ice can bring in more calls than a normal slow month, and without context that spike makes the rest of the year look weak by comparison.

    What we doTracks storm-driven spikes against the month so a big week reads as weather, not the new normal.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a towing company.

Set up once for how each kind of tow gets paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Motor club towsDispatch payouts from AAA, Agero, or a similar roadside network at their contracted rate.
  • Private and accident towsTows paid directly by the vehicle owner or billed to an insurance company.
  • Rotation and municipal contractsPolice rotation or city contract tows paid on their own schedule.
  • Storage and impound feesDaily fees owed on a vehicle before it is released or sold.
  • Lien sale proceedsWhat an unclaimed vehicle brings when it is legally sold after the hold period.

Money out

  • FuelDiesel and gas for the tow fleet.
  • Driver wages and commissionsBase pay and per-tow commissions kept in their own lines.
  • Truck payments and repairsLoan or lease payments, tires, and wrecker maintenance.
  • Storage and impound lotRent, fencing, and lighting for where vehicles sit.
  • Dispatch software and GPS trackingWhat keeps trucks routed and motor club jobs assigned.
  • InsuranceGarage liability, cargo, and fleet coverage.
  • Licensing and permitsState towing licenses, non-consent tow permits, and rotation contract fees.

What we watch for you

  • Motor club versus private mix

    How much of the month's tows paid contracted rates versus full private pay.

  • Revenue per tow

    What an average call actually nets once fuel and driver pay are considered.

  • Storage receivable

    What is owed on vehicles still sitting on the lot, tracked from the books.

  • Fuel cost per tow

    Fuel spend against number of calls, since a bad month for prices eats into every job.

Ask Gus

Things towing company 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.

Agero paid less than what I would have charged that customer directly. Is that a mistake?

No, that's their contracted rate. I booked what actually got paid, not a private-pay estimate, so your numbers match reality.

We finally did a lien sale on a car that sat for four months. How does that count?

That's its own kind of income, not a tow fee. I booked it separately so your regular towing revenue stays accurate.

The ice storm week alone brought in what we normally make in three weeks. Does that skew everything?

I flagged that week against the month, so it reads as a storm spike, not your new normal. The rest of the year still tells the real story.

The tax side

The tax side of a towing and roadside business.

Most of what goes wrong here is keeping pay sources straight and knowing what counts as a driver versus a contractor. Getting both right is what makes the return come out clean.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Trucks and Section 179A wrecker or flatbed bought for the business can usually be expensed the year you buy it, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179. A true work truck is not subject to the $32,000 heavy SUV cap.
  • Worker classification for driversA driver who runs your truck, works your dispatch schedule, and takes motor club calls under your contract is usually an employee, not a contractor. Getting that wrong gets expensive.
  • 1099s for contract driversAnyone not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, with limits starting above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint taxable income.

Deductions towing and roadside assistance companies miss

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

  • Wrecker and flatbed maintenance
  • Dispatch software and GPS fees
  • Winch cables and straps
  • Storage lot fencing and lighting
  • Driver uniforms and safety gear
  • Non-consent tow permits
  • Rotation contract fees
  • Fuel for the fleet
  • Truck tires and brakes
  • Insurance on the fleet
  • Two-way radios and communication gear
  • Vehicle inspection and compliance costs

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 towing company's year, kept every month.

Storms bring the calls whenever they show up. Your taxes come on a schedule. 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

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, and the set-aside is planned before the first winter storm brings the year's busiest week.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed once storm season winds down. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand at midyear, what you will owe, and how summer travel breakdowns compare to the winter surge Gus already tracked.

  4. October

    Before the next storm

    Before the next round of winter weather, Gus looks at any truck or equipment worth buying and what the year's number looks like so far.

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 towing and roadside assistance companies. 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 towing company owners ask first.

Motor club pay is lower than what I'd normally charge. Does Gus know that?

Yes. He books the actual contracted payout from AAA or Agero, not an assumed retail price, so your revenue always matches what was really paid.

How do you track vehicles sitting in storage?

Gus keeps storage and impound fees in their own line, so what is owed on a sitting vehicle is visible instead of getting lost until release day.

What happens on the books when we do a lien sale?

It gets booked as its own kind of income, separate from towing fees, since selling an abandoned vehicle is a different transaction entirely.

My drivers get a percentage of each tow. Does that complicate payroll?

No. Gus keeps base wages and commissions in separate lines so you can see labor cost against the work it paid for.

A storm week doubled our normal revenue. Will that throw off my whole year?

No. Gus flags storm-driven spikes against the month they happened, so the rest of the year still reads honestly.

I run a mix of AAA calls, private tows, and one city rotation contract. Can Gus keep those separate?

Yes. Each pay source gets its own category, so you can see which kind of work is actually carrying the business.

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 vehicle sales & auto services

We keep books for the business next door too.

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