Freight, trucking & delivery
Books and taxes for truck dispatch services.
A commission cut from every owner-operator you book loads for, a clawback when a broker shorts a load, and the invoicing work you do for each client. Your own bookkeeper keeps it sorted by client, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June brought in $7,800 across your clients. One broker shorted a load by $180, so I logged the clawback against that client's commission instead of your revenue.
- Client commission, ZelleDispatch commissions
- Client commission, ACHDispatch commissions
- Broker shortage adjustmentClawbacks
- Contract dispatcher payDispatcher wages
- Facebook lead adsClient marketing
Why your books are different
A dispatch service's books go wrong around one thing: whose money it is.
A generalist sees deposits from several clients and calls it revenue. Your business earns a percentage of what each owner-operator's truck hauls, not the freight itself, and a broker's shortage on one client's load is not your loss to absorb quietly.
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1
A broker shortage looks like a bad month
When a broker pays a client's load short, your commission on that load shrinks too. Without tracking which client and which load it hit, a run of shortages just looks like an unexplained slow month.
What we doLogs each clawback against the client and load it came from, so a pattern with one broker or one client shows up instead of hiding in the total. -
2
Twelve clients on twelve pay schedules blur into one number
Some clients pay commission weekly, some pay when their own factoring clears, and a bank statement full of scattered deposits does not tell you which client is behind.
What we doTags every commission deposit to the client it came from, so you can see who is current and who owes you for last week. -
3
A contract dispatcher's pay looks like a plain bill
Bringing on a second dispatcher to cover overflow clients adds a cost that looks the same as any other bill unless it is tied to what that dispatcher actually managed.
What we doKeeps dispatcher pay in its own line, separate from marketing and software, so you can see what growing the team actually costs against what it brings in. -
4
Client marketing spend disappears into overhead
Ads run to find new owner-operator clients get lumped in with everyday software and phone bills, so you never see what it actually costs to land a new client.
What we doKeeps client acquisition costs in their own category, so you can see what a new client actually costs to bring on.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a dispatch service.
Set up once for how clients pay you and what running the service costs. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Dispatch commissionsYour percentage cut of each client's load, tagged by client.
- Paperwork and setup feesOnboarding or documentation fees billed separately from commission.
- Load booking bonusesAny flat bonus a client pays for booking a hard lane.
- Consulting or coaching feesOne-off fees for helping a new owner-operator set up their authority.
Money out
- Dispatcher wagesPay for anyone booking loads on the team, kept apart from your own draw.
- ClawbacksCommission given back when a broker shorts or disputes a load.
- Client marketingAds and lead spend to find new owner-operator clients.
- Load board accessDAT, Truckstop.com, or other load sourcing subscriptions.
- Phone and dispatch softwareThe tools used to book and track loads for clients.
What we watch for you
- Commission per client
What each client is worth monthly. It shows you who to keep prioritizing on the load board.
- Clawback rate
How often broker shortages eat into commission. A rising rate points to a broker or lane worth dropping.
- Client acquisition cost
What it actually costs in marketing to land a new client, against what they are worth once on board.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so filing season is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things dispatch service 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.
Yes. I log every clawback against the client and load it came from, and this broker has shorted that client three times this quarter.
I keep her pay separate from your other costs, so once she has a full month of clients booked you will be able to see what she brings in against what she costs.
No, they are your clients, not people you pay. If you ever bring on a contract dispatcher, though, that is different, and I track it so it is ready in January.
The tax side
The tax side of running a dispatch service.
Most of what trips up a dispatch service is treating commission income like plain deposits and losing track of what growing the team actually costs.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Commission income and self-employment taxAs a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, your net commission income owes 15.3 percent self-employment tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
- 1099s for contract dispatchersA contract dispatcher not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Worker classification for dispatchersA dispatcher who works your hours, uses your systems, and only books your clients' loads usually counts as an employee, not a contractor.
- The pass-through deductionMost dispatch service owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when commission and clawbacks are tracked cleanly all year.
Deductions truck dispatch services miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Load board subscriptions
- Dispatch and CRM software
- Phone and headset equipment
- Client marketing and ad spend
- Contract dispatcher pay
- Home office space
- Business insurance
- Continuing education and training
- Website and lead form hosting
- Business use of your vehicle for client visits
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 dispatch service's year, kept every month.
Your clients' freight moves on its own schedule all year, and so does your commission and your tax bill. Your team stays on both, not just at filing time. 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, the 1099 list for any contract dispatchers is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether client growth this year changed the number.
- October
Before the fall freight surge
Retail freight volume climbs for your clients' trucks before the holidays. Gus looks at whether adding another dispatcher makes sense 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 truck dispatch services. 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 dispatch service owners ask first.
I have clients on different pay schedules. Can the books keep up?
Yes. Every commission deposit gets tagged to the client it came from, so you can see who paid on time and who is behind without digging through statements yourself.
How do you handle a broker shortage that cuts into my commission?
It gets logged as a clawback against the specific client and load, so it shows up as what it is instead of just looking like a slow month.
Do I need to track my clients' trucks or loads myself?
No. Gus works from your bank statement and what you tell him about each deposit, not your clients' load boards or authority.
My commission rate is different for each client. Is that a problem?
No. Rates can vary client to client. Gus tracks what actually came in from each one, whatever the agreed percentage is.
Am I supposed to be collecting sales tax on my commission?
That depends on your state and Gus does not file it either way. He keeps clean records of what you billed so the accountant can tell you what applies where you operate.
I have never separated my business and personal accounts. Can you still help?
Yes. Send whatever statements you have. Gus sorts out the business activity, 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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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