Organic, social & brand marketing

Books and taxes for UGC creator agencies.

Brand orders billed per finished video, a roster of creators paid once a clip is approved, reshoot costs when a brand asks for a redo, and a batch of gear shipped out to new creators. Gus sorts all of 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
MarchExample month
$9,400
what you made

March came in at $9,400. Two videos got sent back for a reshoot, so I held the creator pay on those until the brand approved the redo.

  • Video order, skincare brandContent order revenue
  • Video order, app clientContent order revenue
  • Creator payout batchCreator payouts
  • Ring light and mic kitsCreator gear and shipping
  • Insense subscriptionCreator marketplace fees
Money in$33,500
Money out$24,100
Set aside for taxes$2,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

UGC agency books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees a brand payment and a pile of creator checks. Your business is content billed per finished video, creator pay that should not go out until a brand approves the deliverable, and reshoots that cost money without bringing in a new order. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell what a single video actually costs to deliver.

  1. 1

    Creator pay goes out before the video is approved

    A creator gets paid the moment they submit a video, but the brand rejects it and asks for a reshoot. The agency now owes a second round of pay for one order, and nothing in the books shows that one video ended up costing double.

    What we doTies creator pay to the order it belongs to, so a reshoot's extra cost shows up against that specific video, not as a mystery expense.
  2. 2

    A batch payout hides which creator got what

    Paying fifteen creators in one transfer for a week's worth of orders looks like a single expense line, so it is hard to catch when a creator was paid for a video that was never actually delivered.

    What we doKeeps payout batches broken out by creator and order, so a mismatch between what was delivered and what was paid gets caught.
  3. 3

    Gear sent to new creators looks like a supply run

    Ring lights, microphones, and phone mounts shipped out to onboard a new creator get logged as generic supplies, so it is hard to see what it actually costs to bring a new creator onto the roster.

    What we doKeeps creator gear and shipping in its own line, so onboarding cost per creator stays visible.
  4. 4

    Marketplace fees eat into the order before anyone notices

    Billo, Insense, or JoinBrands take a cut of every order that runs through their marketplace, and that fee often gets buried inside the payment itself instead of tracked as its own cost.

    What we doBooks marketplace fees separately from creator pay, so you can see what each order actually nets after the marketplace's cut.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a UGC creator agency.

Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Content order revenuePer-video fees billed to brands once a deliverable is approved.
  • Retainer revenueOngoing monthly orders for brands that need a steady stream of videos.
  • Rush and reshoot feesExtra charges when a brand needs a faster turnaround or a specific redo.
  • Roster placement feesOne-time fees for matching a brand with creators for a new campaign.

Money out

  • Creator payoutsPer-video pay to the creators on the roster, tied to the order delivered.
  • Creator marketplace feesBillo, Insense, or JoinBrands fees on orders run through their marketplace.
  • Creator gear and shippingRing lights, microphones, and mounts sent to onboard new creators.
  • Video review softwareTools used to collect, review, and approve creator submissions.
  • Coworking and officeShared office space or a home office setup.
  • Business developmentThe agency's own outreach and proposal tools.

What we watch for you

  • Cost per video

    What a finished, approved video actually costs once reshoots and fees are counted.

  • Reshoot rate

    How often orders need a redo, since it eats margin without new revenue.

  • Marketplace fee share

    How much of each order the marketplace keeps before the agency or creator sees it.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month so a busy order schedule never turns into a April scramble.

Ask Gus

Things UGC 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.

A creator got paid for a video that ended up needing a full reshoot. How does that get tracked?

I tied both payments to that one order, so you can see it cost double instead of it looking like a random extra expense.

Do the creators on our roster need 1099s?

Anyone based in the US, not on payroll, paid $2,000 or more this year gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list across the whole roster.

I shipped gear to five new creators this month and it feels like it disappeared into supplies. Can that be tracked?

Yes, I moved it into its own line for creator gear, so you can see what onboarding a new creator actually costs you.

The tax side

The tax side of a UGC creator agency.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing and who counts as what. Creator pay tied to an order instead of a date, a roster full of people who need forms, and a set-aside nobody started until April.

What your return has to get right

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

  • 1099s for US creatorsAnyone based in the US, not on payroll, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list across the whole roster.
  • Creators outside the USA creator on the roster who works outside the US usually does not get a 1099-NEC. The accountant collects a different form and decides what applies.
  • Equipment sent to creatorsGear bought for creators to use, kept as the agency's property, can usually be written off as a business expense in the year it is bought.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated agencies can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, with the accountant confirming how much survives once income passes roughly $200,000 single.

Deductions UGC creator agencies miss

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

  • Creator gear and shipping
  • Insense or Billo marketplace fees
  • Video review software
  • Ring lights and microphones
  • Business liability insurance
  • Coworking space
  • Business phone and internet
  • Conference tickets and travel
  • Website hosting for the agency
  • Accounting and legal fees
  • Proposal and outreach software

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 UGC agency's year, kept every month.

Orders come in whenever a brand needs new ad content, but tax deadlines do not move. 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

    Set up the year

    Last year's return gets started, the roster's 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed and done

    Your return is filed and signed, with the set-aside already covering it since January.

  3. July

    Check where things stand

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether cost per video is holding steady as the roster grows.

  4. October

    Before holiday orders

    Brands ramp up holiday ad content orders. Gus looks at roster capacity and anything 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 UGC creator agencies. 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 UGC agency owners ask first.

A creator gets paid before a brand approves the video. What if it gets rejected?

Gus ties creator pay to the specific order, so if a reshoot is needed, the extra cost shows up against that same video instead of looking like an unrelated expense.

We pay fifteen or twenty creators in one batch. Can Gus tell if someone got paid twice by mistake?

Yes. Gus keeps payout batches broken out by creator and order, so a mismatch between what was delivered and what was paid gets caught instead of buried in the batch.

Do we need 1099s for every creator on our roster?

Anyone based in the US, not on payroll, paid $2,000 or more this year gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Creators outside the US usually need a different form, which the accountant sorts out.

Billo and Insense take a cut of every order. Does that get tracked separately?

Yes. Marketplace fees sit in their own category apart from creator pay, so you can see what an order actually nets after the marketplace keeps its share.

Our books mix creator pay, gear costs, and marketplace fees together right now. Can that get sorted out?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus separates creator payouts, gear, and fees into their own lines, the accountant checks it, 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.

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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