Aviation & marine services
Books and taxes for aerial applicators and crop dusters.
Per-acre spray contracts, chemical loads bought by the drum, a turbine on an hourly overhaul clock, and a season that runs in two short bursts. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $18,700. The turbine hot section inspection got flagged as a major overhaul cost, not a regular repair, so the accountant can look at how it gets written off.
- Co-op spray contract, cornPer-acre contracts
- Independent farm jobPer-acre contracts
- Chemical distributor orderChemical and product cost
- Jet fuel, turbine aircraftFuel
- Turbine hot section inspectionEngine and overhaul reserve
Why your books are different
An aerial applicator's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees fuel bills and farm payments. Your business is per-acre contracts, chemical bought by the drum, and a turbine that runs on an hourly clock toward its next overhaul. When the books do not know that, a strong planting season looks the same as a thin one.
-
1
Chemical cost gets billed to the wrong job
A drum of fungicide or a tote of liquid fertilizer often covers several farms in one buying trip, and if the whole cost lands against a single contract, that job looks unprofitable while the others look free.
What we doKeeps chemical and product cost in one steady line and flags a bulk buy so it does not distort which contract actually paid for it. -
2
Turbine overhaul reserves get missed entirely
A turbine engine runs toward an hourly overhaul limit that can cost well over a hundred thousand dollars when it comes due, and a generalist's books never set anything aside for it because nothing gets billed until the year it happens.
What we doFlags engine hours and overhaul costs as their own category, so a coming overhaul is not a surprise the year it lands. -
3
Two short seasons look like one long slow year
Most of the year's income lands in two tight windows, planting season and pre-harvest fungicide runs, with long stretches of little flying between them. Averaged out, a generalist's books make a great spring look mediocre.
What we doKeeps the two application windows visible on their own so a strong season is not diluted by the months around it. -
4
A co-op contract and a cash job get mixed together
Work billed through a farm co-op on terms and a cash job paid the day of the flight settle very differently, and lumping them together hides which kind of customer actually pays fastest and best.
What we doKeeps co-op contracts and direct farm jobs in separate lines so you can see which kind of work is carrying the season.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an aerial application business.
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
- Per-acre contractsCo-op and independent farm spray jobs, billed by the acre.
- Seeding and spreading jobsAerial seeding and dry spreading work, kept apart from spray contracts.
- Fungicide and pre-harvest runsLate-season application work billed on its own short window.
- Charter and photo flightsOff-season flying work that is not agricultural application.
Money out
- Chemical and product costFungicide, herbicide, and fertilizer bought by the drum or tote.
- FuelTurbine or piston fuel for the application aircraft.
- Engine and overhaul reserveSet aside against the turbine's next scheduled overhaul.
- Loader and ground crew wagesKept apart so you can see labor against what each season brought in.
- Hangar and strip feesRent for the hangar and any private strip you operate from.
- InsuranceAircraft hull and aerial application liability coverage.
What we watch for you
- Cost per acre
Chemical, fuel, and labor against acres flown, the number that tells you if a contract price still works.
- Engine hours to overhaul
Where the turbine sits against its next scheduled overhaul, so the reserve keeps pace.
- Season concentration
How much of the year landed in the spring and pre-harvest windows, useful for planning cash through the gaps.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things aerial applicators 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.
I keep chemical cost in one line instead of splitting it job by job, so a bulk buy does not make one contract look like it lost money.
I flagged it as a coming overhaul cost. The accountant can help you think about setting money aside before it lands as one big bill.
No. I keep your spring and pre-harvest windows visible on their own, so the slow months read as the normal shape of your year, not a problem.
The tax side
The tax side of an aerial application business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on big costs and a season that does not look like a calendar year. The accountant sorts out what applies to your aircraft and your acres.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Aircraft and turbine depreciationApplication aircraft and engines can often be depreciated, with bonus depreciation currently 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. How much to take in one year depends on the year you are having, so the accountant makes that call.
- Contractor 1099sAny loader or ground crew help you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Section 179 on ground equipmentLoaders, spray equipment, and shop tools can often be expensed the year you buy them under Section 179, up to $2,560,000.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when chemical cost, fuel, and reserves are booked right all year.
Deductions aerial applicators and crop dusters miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Chemical and product cost
- Turbine or piston fuel
- Hangar and strip rent
- Loader equipment repairs
- Aircraft hull insurance
- Aerial application liability coverage
- GPS and application mapping systems
- Ground crew safety gear
- Pilot recurrent training
- Nozzle and boom parts
- Chemical storage and containment
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 aerial application year, kept every month.
Your busy weeks are set by the crop, not the calendar. 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
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January, right as planting season gets underway.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand after the planting rush, and what the pre-harvest fungicide window is likely to bring.
- October
After the season
With flying mostly done for the year, Gus looks at the turbine's overhaul clock and any equipment worth buying 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 aerial applicators and crop dusters. 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 aerial applicators ask first.
Can Gus track cost per acre across different chemical mixes?
Yes. He keeps chemical and product cost visible against acres flown, so you can see whether a per-acre price still covers what a job actually costs.
Do I need to change how I bill co-ops versus cash farm jobs?
No. Keep billing the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement and keeps co-op and direct jobs in separate lines so you can see which kind of work is carrying the season.
How does a coming turbine overhaul get handled on the books?
Gus flags engine hours and overhaul costs as their own category so a six-figure overhaul is not a shock the year it lands. The accountant helps you think through setting money aside ahead of it.
My season is only a few weeks in spring and a few in late summer. Does that confuse the books?
No. Gus keeps those windows visible on their own, so the months in between read as the normal shape of an aerial application year, not a slump.
Do you handle chemical licensing or applicator certification?
No. Gus keeps the money side sorted. Pesticide applicator licensing and any state agricultural reporting stay with you and your certifying agency.
My books are behind from a busy planting season. Is that a problem?
Not at all. Once the flying slows down, send along the bank statements you have been sitting on. Gus works through the pile and most operators know where they stand 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.
More in aviation & marine services
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Aircraft detailing
- Aircraft maintenance shops (MRO)
- Aircraft sales brokers
- Boat detailing & bottom cleaning
- Boat repair & marine mechanics
- Boat shrink wrapping services
- Boat transport companies
- Drone inspection & mapping services
- Fixed-base operators (FBOs)
- Marine canvas & upholstery shops
- Marine electronics installers
- Mobile marine mechanics
- Yacht & sailboat charters
- Yacht brokers
- Box truck businesses
- Car haulers
- Cold storage warehouses
- Customs brokers
- Expedited freight (sprinter vans)
- Final-mile delivery companies
- Freight forwarders
- Furniture delivery & white glove delivery
- Heavy haul & oversize transport
- Hot shot trucking
- Livestock haulers
- Local courier services
- Medical courier services
- Airport shuttle services
- Charter bus companies
- Pedicab companies
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