Legal
Books and taxes for workers' compensation attorneys.
Fees set or approved by the workers' comp board, paid directly by the insurance carrier, independent medical exam costs, and settlements that pay out over time. Gus sorts it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
April came in at $14,500. The Kowalski fee arrived straight from the carrier once the judge approved it, separate from the client's own award, so I booked it as its own line.
- Kowalski fee, carrier paidBoard-approved fees
- Compromise and release feeSettlement fees
- Independent medical examIME costs
- Vocational rehab expertVocational expert fees
- Court reporter, hearing transcriptHearing and transcript costs
Why your books are different
Workers' comp books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a fee and assumes the firm set the price. Your business is a fee set or approved by the workers' comp board, paid straight from the employer's insurance carrier, on a case that might resolve as a lump sum or as payments stretched over years.
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1
The fee is set by the board, not the firm
Unlike a privately negotiated contingency fee, a workers' comp attorney fee is often capped or approved by the board or a judge as a set percentage or schedule, so the firm cannot simply price a case the way it would in an ordinary negotiation.
What we doBooks the fee as approved and paid, without assuming a percentage that was never actually the firm's to set. -
2
The carrier pays the fee directly, separate from the worker's award
The injured worker's own wage-loss and medical benefits often flow separately from the attorney fee, which the insurance carrier frequently pays straight to the firm once approved, and mixing the two payments up misreads what the firm actually earned.
What we doBooks the carrier-paid fee as its own line, distinct from any client benefits the firm never touches or holds. -
3
A lump-sum settlement and a structured one book differently
Some cases resolve with a one-time compromise and release payment, while others continue paying indemnity benefits over months or years, and a fee tied to a structured case can trickle in on a completely different schedule than a lump-sum one.
What we doTracks each case's fee against how it actually resolved, lump sum or structured, so the timing of income matches how the case really paid out. -
4
IME and vocational costs get advanced with no guarantee of recovery
An independent medical exam or a vocational rehabilitation expert is often needed to build a case, and that cost is usually the firm's to absorb rather than one it recovers from the client, unlike a cost advance in some other contingency work.
What we doKeeps IME and vocational expert costs in their own line, so you can see what a contested case actually costs to run, separate from ordinary overhead. -
5
A quiet stretch is normal on this docket
Cases can sit in front of the board for months waiting on a hearing date or a decision, so a slow deposit month does not mean the practice has stopped working, but it can throw off a set-aside built for a steadier paycheck.
What we doTracks the set-aside against what actually lands, not an assumed average, so a quiet month on the board's calendar does not throw off what is owed.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a workers' comp practice.
Set up once for how fees get approved and paid. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Board-approved feesAttorney fees set or approved by the workers' comp board or a judge, paid by the carrier.
- Settlement feesThe firm's fee from a compromise and release or other lump-sum resolution.
- Structured fee paymentsFee income that arrives in pieces as a structured case continues to pay out.
- Referral fees receivedFees from attorneys who sent the firm a case.
Money out
- IME costsIndependent medical exam fees on contested cases.
- Vocational expert feesVocational rehabilitation experts retained to support a claim.
- Hearing and transcript costsCourt reporter and hearing transcript fees.
- Staff and paralegal wagesThe people who track filings and hearing dates.
- Legal research subscriptionsWorkers' comp specific research services and general legal databases.
- Malpractice insuranceAnnual or quarterly professional liability premiums.
What we watch for you
- Lump sum to structured mix
How much fee income is arriving as one-time settlements versus trickling in from structured cases.
- Case cost outstanding
What has been advanced on IME and vocational costs across open cases.
- Carrier payment lag
How long it typically takes a carrier to pay an approved fee after the board signs off.
- The set-aside
What the firm will owe, tracked every month even through a quiet stretch, so tax season is a number you already know.
Ask Gus
Things workers' comp attorneys 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 booked it as its own line, since the carrier paid the approved fee straight to the firm, apart from any benefits that belong to your client.
Usually not on this kind of case, so I booked it as a cost of running the file rather than a cost advance you would expect reimbursed later.
If you paid them $2,000 or more this year and they are not on your payroll, that is a 1099-NEC due January 31, and I have had them on the list since the case started.
The tax side
The tax side of a workers' compensation practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing between board approval, carrier payment, and how a case actually resolved, plus a set-aside built for a steadier month than this docket usually delivers.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Fee income is counted when the carrier actually paysA board-approved fee counts as income once the carrier actually pays it, which can lag well behind when the case was approved or the hearing was held.
- A wave of carrier payments can hit the deduction ceilingMost owners can deduct up to 20 percent of business profit, but law counts as a specified service trade, so a year with several large carrier-paid fees can push taxable income above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, where the deduction begins to shrink.
- Contractor 1099s for experts and evaluatorsA vocational expert, medical evaluator, or contract paralegal paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Estimated taxes track the board's calendar, not yoursAn owner without steady payroll withholding typically owes estimated payments on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, and a slow stretch waiting on hearings changes that number quarter to quarter.
Deductions workers' compensation attorneys miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Bar dues and CLE
- Malpractice insurance
- Legal research subscriptions
- IME costs on contested cases
- Vocational expert fees
- Court reporter and transcript costs
- Mileage to hearings and medical exams
- E-filing and PACER fees
- Payment processing fees
- Office rent and utilities
- Case management software
- Answering or intake service 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 workers' comp year, kept every month.
Hearings and carrier payments move on the board's calendar, not the season. Gus keeps the set-aside steady either way. 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 experts and contract help is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned around a docket that pays out unevenly.
- April
Filed, carrier payments and all
Your return is filed and signed, whatever pace board approvals and carrier payments set this year. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where the firm stands, how carrier payments have been trending, and whether the set-aside still fits.
- October
Before year end
A look at any equipment or software worth buying before December, and a check on fees approved but not yet paid.
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 workers' compensation attorneys. 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 workers' compensation attorneys ask first.
Why does Gus treat our fee differently than a regular contingency fee?
Because it usually is different. A workers' comp fee is often set or approved by the board rather than freely negotiated, and paid by the carrier rather than the injured worker, so it gets booked as its own kind of income.
Can Gus track the injured worker's wage-loss benefits for us?
No. Those benefits belong to your client, not the firm, and the firm generally never holds or handles them. Gus only books the firm's own approved fee once the carrier actually pays it.
Some of our cases settle lump sum and others pay out over years. Does that change the books?
Yes. Gus tracks each case's fee against how it actually resolved, so a structured case shows fee income arriving in pieces instead of getting confused with a one-time settlement.
We front the cost of IME exams that we rarely get reimbursed for. How does that get tracked?
Those costs are booked as part of running the case, not as a reimbursable advance, so you can see what a contested case actually costs without expecting money back that is not coming.
Our income depends on the board's hearing calendar, not us. Does that hurt our taxes?
No. The set-aside is built around fees as the carrier actually pays them, so a quiet stretch waiting on the board's calendar does not leave the firm owing more than expected.
Can Gus show me whether lump-sum or structured cases are actually paying better?
Yes. Fee income is tracked against how each case actually resolved, so over time you can see whether lump-sum settlements or structured cases are carrying more of the practice.
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