Security & life safety
Books and taxes for access control integrators.
A deposit on a badge reader install, a hardware order from the distributor, a progress payment, and a maintenance contract that starts once the job is done. 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
June came in at $16,600. The Brannon office job wrapped and moved to a service contract, so I moved its billing out of project revenue.
- Brannon office, final paymentProject billing
- Delacroix warehouse, depositProject billing
- Brannon office, monthly serviceMaintenance contract revenue
- Genea hardware orderHardware and materials
- Crew payrollInstaller wages
Why your books are different
Access control integrator books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees job deposits and a supplier invoice. Your business is projects billed in stages, hardware bought at one price and marked up, and a job that turns into a standing service contract the day it finishes. When the books do not track a job from deposit to service handoff, you cannot tell which projects actually made money.
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1
A project's stages get mixed with other jobs
A deposit, a progress payment, and a final payment on the same job can land weeks apart and get logged next to payments from other projects, so nobody can look back and see what one job actually earned.
What we doKeeps each project's deposit, progress, and final payments tied together, so you can see a job's full picture. -
2
Hardware margin disappears into one supply line
Badge readers, panels, and controllers get bought at a distributor price and billed to the client at a markup, but lumped in with labor costs, you cannot see whether the hardware markup or the install labor is actually paying the bills.
What we doKeeps hardware cost separate from labor cost, so the margin on materials is visible on its own. -
3
A finished job's service contract gets missed
When an install wraps and turns into a monthly maintenance contract, that new recurring fee often keeps landing in the same bucket as one-time project revenue, hiding how much steady income the business has built up.
What we doMoves a job's billing into maintenance contract revenue the month it converts, so recurring income is visible apart from new project work. -
4
Warranty callbacks get billed like a new job
A reader that fails under warranty gets a technician sent out for free, but if that visit is not tracked, you lose sight of how much warranty work is actually costing you in labor.
What we doFlags warranty and callback labor as its own cost, so you know what free service work is really running you.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an access control integrator.
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
- Project billingDeposits, progress payments, and final payments on installation jobs.
- Maintenance contract revenueMonthly or annual service fees for completed installs.
- Hardware upgrade salesNew readers, panels, or credentials sold to existing clients.
- Emergency service callsOne-off repair visits outside a standing contract.
Money out
- Hardware and materialsReaders, panels, controllers, and wiring bought from a distributor.
- Installer wagesPay for crews running installation jobs.
- Software licensingAccess control system fees for tools like Genea, Kisi, or Brivo.
- Vehicle costsFuel, maintenance, and insurance for service trucks.
- Liability and workers' comp insuranceCoverage for install crews on client sites.
- Subcontracted low-voltage laborOutside electricians or cabling crews brought in for larger jobs.
What we watch for you
- Hardware margin
What clients pay for hardware against what you paid the distributor. Tells you whether markup pricing still holds up.
- Maintenance contract share
Recurring service revenue against total revenue. Shows how much steady income the business has built.
- Project labor cost
Crew wages against project revenue. High and rising means a job's pricing needs a look.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on project and service income, tracked monthly so April is already handled.
Ask Gus
Things access control integrator 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.
Once I add up its deposit, progress, and final payments against the hardware and crew hours, it cleared a solid margin. I can show you the same view on any job.
I moved their billing into maintenance contract revenue starting this month, so it stops showing up as new project income.
I keep warranty and callback labor on its own line. Right now it is a small share of your total hours, but I will flag it if that changes.
The tax side
The tax side of an access control integrator.
Most of what goes wrong here is job costing and worker classification. Get a project's full cost tracked and the rest is timing.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Equipment and vehicle write-offsService vehicles and larger installation equipment can often be written off in the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for install crewsAn installer who works your schedule, uses your tools, and follows your job assignments is usually an employee. A subcontracted low-voltage crew that sets its own hours may be a legitimate contractor.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, such as a subcontracted low-voltage crew, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when project revenue, hardware cost, and labor are tracked apart all year.
Deductions access control integrators miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Access control hardware and readers
- Wiring and mounting materials
- Access control software licensing
- Service vehicle fuel and repairs
- Installer tools and equipment
- Liability and workers' comp insurance
- Subcontracted low-voltage labor
- Warranty and callback labor costs
- Phone and tablet for dispatch
- State low-voltage contractor licensing
- Continuing education for technicians
- Uniforms with your logo
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
An access control integrator's year, kept every month.
Projects wrap and service contracts start every week of the year. Your taxes come on a schedule. 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
Projects planned for the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for subcontracted low-voltage crews is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed while jobs keep closing
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since project and service revenue have been tracked apart all year.
- July
A midyear project check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how many projects have converted to standing service contracts so far.
- October
Before year-end projects close
Clients often push to finish projects before their own fiscal year ends. Gus looks at equipment worth buying and moves worth making 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 access control integrators. 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 access control integrator owners ask first.
Can Gus track a project from deposit to final payment?
Yes. He keeps each project's deposit, progress payments, and final payment tied together, so you can see what a job actually earned once it is done.
How does Gus separate hardware cost from labor cost?
He keeps distributor hardware purchases on their own line, apart from crew wages, so you can see the margin on materials and labor separately.
We just converted a project into a monthly service contract. Does that change anything?
Gus moves the billing into maintenance contract revenue starting the month it converts, so recurring income does not get mistaken for a new project.
Do warranty callback visits count as a cost?
Usually yes, in the labor hours spent, even if the client is not billed. Gus tracks that time separately so you know what free service work runs you.
My books are behind after a big project push. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever statements you have, even mid-project. Gus works through it and ties each job's deposits and payments back together, usually within 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