Software, SaaS & apps

Books and taxes for vertical SaaS companies.

A multi-year contract with a clinic chain, a wire from a distributor, a seat-based renewal, and an implementation fee that is not really revenue yet. Your own bookkeeper 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
SeptemberExample month
$22,500
what you made

September made $22,500. A three-year contract with a regional clinic chain paid in full up front, so I flagged it for the accountant to spread across the years it actually covers.

  • Wire, clinic group contractMulti-year contract revenue
  • ACH, seat renewal batchSubscription renewals
  • AWSHosting
  • Contract dev, Toptal invoiceContract development
  • SalesforceSales and support tools
Money in$71,000
Money out$48,500
Set aside for taxes$5,500
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Vertical SaaS books go wrong where general small business books never look.

A generalist bookkeeper sees a wire transfer and calls it income. Your customers are clinics, contractors, or distributors who sign multi-year deals, pay by seat count, and negotiate implementation fees. When the books do not track what each payment is actually for, the monthly number is close to meaningless.

  1. 1

    A multi-year contract lands as one month's revenue

    A regional customer signs a three-year deal and wires the full amount up front to lock in a discount. Counted as one month's income, it makes that month look enormous and every following month look like a collapse.

    What we doBooks the wire when it lands but flags multi-year and multi-month contracts so the accountant can spread them across the period they actually cover.
  2. 2

    Implementation fees get mixed with subscription revenue

    A one-time setup or data migration fee charged alongside the first subscription payment looks identical to recurring revenue on a bank statement, and that muddles which part of the business is actually growing.

    What we doKeeps one-time implementation and onboarding fees in their own line, separate from ongoing subscription revenue.
  3. 3

    Seat-based renewals arrive in batches, unlabeled

    When customers renew by seat count on different anniversaries, a single ACH batch can bundle a dozen unrelated renewals with no obvious way to tell which customer paid what.

    What we doMatches renewal batches back to your billing records so seat revenue is tracked accurately, not lumped into one mystery deposit.
  4. 4

    A custom feature build looks like a routine dev bill

    Paying a contract developer to build a feature one large customer specifically requested looks the same as a routine bug fix invoice, and that hides which customers are actually driving your costs.

    What we doFlags larger, customer-specific development work separately so you can see what it actually costs to win and keep a big account.
  5. 5

    A single large deal skews the whole month

    Landing or losing one large industry customer can swing a month's numbers more than every small customer combined, and without context that swing looks like the business itself changed.

    What we doNotes when one contract is driving a month's numbers so a single deal is not mistaken for a trend.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a vertical SaaS company.

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

  • Subscription renewalsSeat-based or per-location recurring revenue from existing customers.
  • New contract revenueFirst payments from new customers, including multi-year deals.
  • Implementation and onboarding feesOne-time setup or data migration charges, kept apart from subscriptions.
  • Add-on and upsell revenueExtra modules or usage tiers sold to existing customers.

Money out

  • Hosting and infrastructureAWS, Azure, or Google Cloud running the product for every customer.
  • Contract developmentToptal, an agency, or a direct freelance invoice for feature work.
  • Sales and support toolsSalesforce, HubSpot, or a help desk built for business customers.
  • Compliance and securityAudits, certifications, and tools required to sell into a regulated industry.
  • Industry conferences and trade showsBooths, travel, and sponsorships aimed at your one industry's buyers.
  • Legal and contract reviewReviewing multi-year agreements and data handling terms.

What we watch for you

  • New contract value

    Total new money committed by new customers, separate from renewals, the clearest read on growth.

  • Renewal rate

    How much of what was billed for renewal actually came in, tracked from the deposits themselves.

  • Contract dev spend

    What is going to custom feature work for specific customers, worth knowing against what those accounts pay.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month against wire payments and renewals, so the number is already known well before the return is due.

Ask Gus

Things vertical SaaS founders 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 clinic group just wired us the full three-year contract amount. Is that all this month's revenue?

It landed this month, but I flagged it as a multi-year contract. The accountant spreads it across the years it actually covers instead of overstating this one.

Why does one ACH batch have twelve different renewal amounts in it?

That is a seat renewal batch. I match each amount back to your billing records so you can see which customer renewed at what, not just a lump sum.

We hired a contractor to build a feature one big customer specifically asked for. Does that matter for the books?

It does. I keep customer-specific dev work separate from routine maintenance so you can see what it costs to keep that account happy.

The tax side

The tax side of a vertical SaaS business.

Most of what matters here is timing large contracts correctly and keeping the entity structure clean as revenue grows past what one owner can casually track.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Multi-year contract revenueMoney paid up front for a multi-year deal usually needs to be recognized over the period it covers rather than all in the year it was received. The accountant handles how it lands on the return.
  • The pass-through deductionAn LLC or S corporation structure can usually deduct up to 20 percent of qualified business income before it hits the owners' personal returns, with limits starting at higher income levels.
  • Equipment and software written off in the year boughtServers and other depreciable equipment bought outright, rather than rented monthly from a cloud provider, can usually be expensed in full the year they are bought.
  • 1099-NEC for contract developersA contract developer or agency paid $2,000 or more in 2026, and not on payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that running total all year.

Deductions vertical SaaS companies miss

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

  • Cloud hosting and infrastructure
  • Contract development
  • Sales and CRM tools
  • Support desk software
  • Industry conference travel
  • Compliance audits and certifications
  • Legal and contract review
  • Business insurance
  • Errors and omissions coverage
  • Employee training on the product
  • Trade association dues
  • Accounting and tax preparation 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 vertical SaaS year, kept every month.

Contracts renew on their own schedule all year, not just at tax time. Your team keeps you ahead of both the deals and the deadlines. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the contract year

    Last year's return gets started, the contract developer 1099 list is finalized, and a monthly set-aside is planned around the renewals expected this year.

  2. April

    Filed, contracts and all

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has tracked every wire and renewal payment since January.

  3. July

    Halfway into renewals

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a large contract signed earlier this year changed the number enough to matter.

  4. October

    Before the next contract

    A look at any equipment, certifications, or licenses worth buying before December, timed around the renewal cycle your industry customers actually run on.

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 vertical SaaS 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 vertical SaaS founders ask first.

Our customers pay by wire, not by card. Does Gus still handle that?

Yes. Gus works from your bank statements regardless of how the money arrived, whether it is a wire, an ACH transfer, or a card payment.

We just signed a five-year contract with a big customer. How does that affect this month's number?

It gets flagged as a multi-year deal so the accountant can spread it across the years it covers, rather than one month showing revenue that really belongs to the next four years.

We sell to a regulated industry. Does that change our books?

The bookkeeping itself stays the same, but Gus keeps compliance and certification costs in their own category so you can see what staying compliant actually costs.

One customer makes up a large share of our revenue. Is that a problem for the books?

It is not a bookkeeping problem, but Gus notes when one contract is driving a month's numbers so you are not surprised if that account changes.

We are considering raising a round to grow faster. Does that change what Gus does?

Fundraising accounting and investor reporting go beyond what the subscription covers. Gus flags it and the accountant talks you through what changes.

Our books are messy from switching billing systems last year. Can you still take this on?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have from both systems. Gus sorts through it and the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand within a couple weeks.

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