Pet health
Books and taxes for veterinary rehab and hydrotherapy practices.
Underwater treadmill sessions, laser therapy add-ons, prepaid packages, and referrals from surgeons across town. 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
February came in at $8,500. Two clients paid for ten-session packages, so I flagged those for the accountant instead of counting the full amount now.
- Client checkout, session feesRehab session fees
- Package payment, ten sessionsPrepaid packages
- Pool chemical and filter supplierPool and equipment upkeep
- Utility bill, water heatingFacility and utilities
- CareCredit payoutFinanced packages
Why your books are different
A rehab practice's books go wrong in places a general clinic never sees.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your practice runs on session packages a client buys upfront, a pool or treadmill that costs real money to keep running, and referrals from surgeons rather than walk-in clients. When the books do not know that, a good month and a bad month look identical.
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1
A prepaid package inflates the wrong month
A client pays $1,800 upfront for ten underwater treadmill sessions, and if the whole amount is counted as revenue the day it lands, that one payment can make a slow month look busy when only one session has actually happened.
What we doLogs the package payment as it lands, flags it as prepaid, and lets the accountant decide how much of it counts as income for the year. -
2
Pool and equipment upkeep hides inside general expenses
Chemicals, filtration, water heating, and treadmill maintenance are real recurring costs unique to a hydrotherapy practice, and lumped in with rent and utilities, they hide what it actually costs to keep the pool running.
What we doKeeps pool and equipment upkeep in its own line so you can see it as its own real cost, not buried in the facility bill. -
3
Surgeon referrals disappear into general revenue
Most of your caseload arrives because a surgeon or a specialty hospital sent them for post-surgical rehab, and booking those payments like any walk-in hides how much of your business depends on those relationships.
What we doTracks referral-sourced sessions as their own line, so you can see which relationships are actually filling your schedule. -
4
The underwater treadmill is not a supply run
An underwater treadmill or a therapeutic pool system can cost more than most equipment a small practice buys, and filed as supplies it wrecks the month you bought it and muddles what you can write off.
What we doCatches large equipment purchases the day they clear, books them as equipment rather than a supply cost, and leaves how much to deduct this year to the accountant.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a rehab and hydrotherapy practice.
A package sale and a single session look nothing alike on a bank statement, so Gus tells them apart from day one.
Money in
- Rehab session feesSingle treadmill and laser therapy sessions paid at checkout.
- Prepaid packagesMulti-session packages paid upfront, tracked apart from single sessions.
- Referral casesPost-surgical and orthopedic cases sent by a surgeon or specialty hospital.
- Financed packagesWhat CareCredit deposited on a package sale, after its own fee came out.
Money out
- Rehab staff payWages for certified rehab practitioners and technicians.
- Pool and equipment upkeepChemicals, filtration, and water heating for the treadmill or pool.
- EquipmentThe underwater treadmill and laser therapy unit, logged so they get written off right.
- Facility and utilitiesRent or mortgage, power, and water for the practice.
- InsuranceMalpractice and general liability coverage.
- Continuing educationCertified rehab practitioner and canine rehabilitation credential renewal.
- Financing and card feesThe share CareCredit or the card reader kept on package and session payments.
What we watch for you
- Package revenue outstanding
Prepaid sessions clients have not yet used, so a busy-looking month is not double counted.
- Pool upkeep cost
Chemical, filtration, and heating cost against revenue. It creeps up in cold months.
- Referral case share
How much of your caseload comes from other practices, so you can see how much the relationships matter.
- The set-aside
What to hold back for taxes, updated as package and session revenue come in.
Ask Gus
Things rehab practice 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.
That is because I flagged those packages rather than counting them all now. Once the sessions get used, the revenue shows up as it is actually earned.
I keep pool and equipment upkeep in its own line, so you can see that it is running higher than last winter. Worth a look if it keeps climbing.
I track referral cases separately, so I can show you the share. Whether to lean on that relationship more is a call worth talking through with the accountant.
The tax side
The tax side of a rehab and hydrotherapy practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing. Packages counted too early, pool upkeep buried in general costs, 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.
- Equipment write-offsAn underwater treadmill or a therapeutic pool system can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA guest practitioner or a pool maintenance contractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Self-employment taxA solo practitioner not paid through payroll owes 15.3 percent of profit toward Social Security and Medicare, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- The pass-through deductionPackage sales and single sessions both count as ordinary business profit, and most owners can deduct up to 20 percent of that profit before it is taxed.
Deductions veterinary rehab and hydrotherapy practices miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pool chemicals and filtration
- Water heating costs
- Laser therapy consumables
- Certification renewal
- Malpractice insurance
- Equipment lease payments
- Practice software subscriptions
- Marketing and website costs
- Card and financing fees
- Scrubs and clinical supplies
- Continuing education travel
- State license renewal
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 rehab practice's year, kept every month.
Referrals and packages move on their own schedule. Your taxes come on a schedule too. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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, contractor 1099s for guest practitioners are listed, and a monthly set-aside begins so April holds no surprise.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return goes in filed and signed, built on a set-aside that has already accounted for the packages sold since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how much of the year's revenue is still sitting in unused package sessions.
- October
Before winter pool costs
Before water heating costs climb for the season, Gus looks at pool upkeep spending 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 veterinary rehab and hydrotherapy practices. 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 rehab practice owners ask first.
A client just paid for a ten-session package. Does that count as this month's revenue?
Only as the deposit that landed. Gus flags it as a prepaid package so the accountant can decide how much should count as income for the year, rather than counting all ten sessions the day the client pays.
Can Gus separate pool upkeep from our other facility costs?
Yes. Chemicals, filtration, and water heating stay in their own category, apart from rent and general utilities, so you can see what the pool actually costs.
Most of our clients come from a referring surgeon. Does that matter for the books?
Gus tracks referral-sourced sessions as their own line, so you can see how much of your schedule depends on those relationships.
Do we write off the underwater treadmill all at once?
Frequently, yes. A treadmill or pool system bought for the practice can usually be deducted the year it is purchased, though spreading the deduction out sometimes works out better. Gus flags the purchase and leaves that call to the accountant.
Our fees are mostly packages, not single visits. Does Gus need anything different from us?
No. Send the bank statement the way you always would. Gus sorts packages from single sessions on his end and asks once if a deposit is unclear.
Our books have been mixed with the surgeon's practice we spun out from. Can Gus untangle that?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts out what belongs to your practice, 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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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