Consulting & business services
Books and taxes for virtual office providers.
A hundred and twenty clients paying for a business address, a smaller group who add phone answering on top, one receptionist covering every one of them, and the rare meeting room booking from a client who almost never comes in. 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
March came in at $7,600. About a third of your address clients also pay for phone answering, so I kept that add-on revenue in its own line instead of blending it into the base plan.
- Virtual address plans, 120 clientsVirtual address plan income
- Phone answering add-onsPhone answering add-on fees
- Shared receptionist payrollReceptionist payroll
- Suite lease, shared officeOffice lease
- Mail scanning subscriptionMail handling software
Why your books are different
A virtual office provider's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and a small lease bill. Your business is a base address plan, a smaller set of clients who pay extra for phone answering or mail scanning, and one receptionist whose time is spread across every single client. When the books do not know that, it is hard to tell which add-ons are actually worth offering.
-
1
Add-on services blend into the base address plan
A client on the base address plan who later adds phone answering pays more than a client who only wants the address, and if that extra fee is not tracked apart from the base plan, you cannot tell which add-ons clients actually value.
What we doKeeps phone answering and mail scanning add-ons in their own lines, separate from the base address plan fee. -
2
One receptionist's cost is hard to see against hundreds of clients
A single receptionist answering calls for every client makes the cost of that role easy to lose track of against a large client base, since it is a shared cost rather than tied to any one client.
What we doKeeps receptionist payroll visible against total client count, so you can see what that shared service actually costs per client. -
3
Rare meeting room use looks like a growing revenue stream
A virtual-only client who books a meeting room once every few months brings in occasional income that is easy to mistake for a steady, growing part of the business.
What we doKeeps occasional meeting room income separate from recurring plan fees, so it does not get mistaken for steady growth. -
4
A one-time setup fee reads as recurring plan income
A fee charged once to set up a new client's mail forwarding and address registration looks like it belongs with the ongoing monthly plan, overstating how much steady recurring income the business actually has.
What we doBooks setup fees as one-time income, apart from the recurring plan fee, so your steady monthly base stays honest.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a virtual office provider.
Set up once for how you bill and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Virtual address plan incomeBase monthly fees for a business mailing address.
- Phone answering add-on feesClients paying extra for call answering under their business name.
- Mail scanning add-on feesClients paying extra to have mail scanned and forwarded.
- Meeting room and day-pass incomeOccasional bookings by clients who do not use a desk regularly.
Money out
- Receptionist payrollWages for shared staff answering calls across all clients.
- Office leaseRent for the shared physical suite behind the address.
- Mail handling softwareSystems for scanning and routing client mail.
- Phone system softwareCall routing and answering technology used for client accounts.
- Address compliance costsVerifying commercial use of the address for clients who need it for licensing.
What we watch for you
- Add-on attach rate
What share of address clients also pay for phone answering or mail scanning.
- Receptionist cost per client
What shared receptionist payroll costs when spread across your total client count.
- Recurring versus occasional mix
How much of your income is steady plan fees versus occasional meeting room bookings.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things virtual office provider 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. Phone answering add-ons are kept separate from the base address plan, so you can see exactly what share of clients pay for it.
I keep her payroll visible against your total client count, so you can see what that shared service costs per client.
I keep that kind of occasional income separate from your recurring plan fees, so a one-off booking doesn't get mistaken for steady growth.
The tax side
The tax side of a virtual office provider.
Most of what goes wrong here is keeping add-on income visible on its own and tracking a shared cost across many clients. Handled right, the year does not surprise you.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Payroll tax depositsWages for a shared receptionist carry payroll tax obligations that run on their own schedule, separate from the business's income tax.
- Equipment and software write-offsPhone systems and mail handling equipment bought for the business can usually be written off in the year they are purchased. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Self-employment taxProfit that comes to you as the owner, not a paycheck, carries a 15.3 percent self-employment tax up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- The pass-through deductionA virtual office business's profit can often be reduced by up to 20 percent before it's taxed, with the accountant confirming the real figure at filing time.
Deductions virtual office providers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Phone system and call routing software
- Mail scanning and forwarding software
- Office lease for the shared suite
- Receptionist payroll
- Business liability insurance
- Marketing and local advertising
- Client management software
- Address compliance and verification costs
- Office equipment and furniture
- Continuing education courses
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 virtual office provider's year, checked in four times.
New client signups and add-on upgrades trickle in all year with little seasonal pattern. Gus keeps your own taxes on schedule alongside them. 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, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled, no matter how many address plans came and went last year.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. The set-aside running since January means there's no surprise bill to cover.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether add-on attach rates are growing.
- October
Before year end
A look at phone and mail handling software worth upgrading before December closes out the year.
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 virtual office providers. 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 virtual office provider owners ask first.
Can Gus tell me how many of my address clients also pay for phone answering?
Yes. Phone answering and mail scanning add-ons are kept in their own categories, apart from the base address plan, so that mix is easy to see.
My receptionist serves hundreds of clients at once. How do I know if that's still a good cost?
Gus keeps her payroll visible against your total client count, so you can see what that shared service actually costs per client.
A rarely active client booked a meeting room this month. Does that count as growth?
No. Gus keeps occasional meeting room income separate from your recurring plan fees, so a one-off booking doesn't get mistaken for steady growth.
I charge a setup fee for new clients. Is that the same as their monthly plan?
No. It gets booked as a one-time fee, separate from the recurring plan, so your steady monthly base isn't overstated by a signup charge.
My books are behind after a stretch of new client signups. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have from your address and phone plan clients. Gus sorts them out, 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