Aviation & marine services
Books and taxes for aircraft detailing companies.
Ramp washes, interior details, exterior polish contracts, and the FBO that takes a cut for letting you work on its property. 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
June came in at $8,400. The new pressure washer and generator went in as equipment, not supplies, since it will outlast a single job.
- Ramp wash, King AirExterior washes
- Quarterly polish contractPolish contracts
- FBO ramp access feeRamp and access fees
- Aircraft-safe soap and wax orderSupplies and chemicals
- Crew fuel, work vanVehicles and fuel
Why your books are different
Aircraft detailing books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and supply runs. Your business is ramp access fees, polish contracts that bill on a schedule, and chemicals that have to be aircraft-safe. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which contracts pay and the return misses what it should catch.
-
1
Ramp access fees get lumped with supplies
An FBO often charges to let your crew work on its ramp, separate from anything you buy. Filed the same as chemicals and rags, that access cost disappears into a bucket that does not explain itself at tax time.
What we doKeeps ramp and access fees in their own line, so you can see what it costs to work at each airport you service. -
2
A polish contract paid quarterly looks lumpy
A wax and polish contract billed once a quarter makes three months look thin and one month look enormous, even though the work happens steadily across the season.
What we doFlags contract billing cycles so a quiet-looking month is explained by the schedule, not a slow season. -
3
Aircraft-safe chemicals cost more and get mistaken for regular supplies
Aviation-approved soaps, waxes, and de-ionized water systems cost more than what a car detailer buys, and a generalist's books flatten that into ordinary supplies, hiding a real cost driver.
What we doKeeps aircraft-specific chemicals in their own line so you can see what they actually cost against the jobs they cover. -
4
A pressure washer or generator is not a supply run
Mobile detailing equipment like a trailer-mounted pressure washer or a generator can run several thousand dollars. Filed as supplies, it muddies the month it lands in.
What we doFlags big equipment buys the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an aircraft detailing company.
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
- Exterior washesOne-time ramp washes billed by aircraft size.
- Interior detailsCabin and cockpit detailing, billed separate from exterior work.
- Polish contractsScheduled wax and polish work billed monthly or quarterly.
- Fleet accountsCharter operators and flight schools on standing service agreements.
Money out
- Ramp and access feesWhat the FBO or airport charges to work on its property.
- Supplies and chemicalsAircraft-safe soap, wax, and de-ionized water system upkeep.
- EquipmentPressure washers, generators, and lifts, logged so they get written off right.
- Vehicles and fuelThe crew van or trailer that moves between airports.
- Crew wagesDetailing crew pay, tracked apart from ramp fees and supplies.
What we watch for you
- Cost per airport
Ramp fees and drive time against what each airport's jobs bring in.
- Contract share
How much of the month came from standing polish contracts versus one-time washes.
- Chemical cost
What aircraft-safe supplies actually run against the jobs they covered that month.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things aircraft detailing 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.
It is a real cost of doing business there. I logged it as a ramp and access fee, so you can see what each airport actually costs you to work.
The polish contract on the flight school's fleet bills quarterly. I flagged it so a big deposit does not read like a fluke.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of an aircraft detailing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Equipment filed as supplies, ramp fees mixed into everything else, and a contract cycle that makes a month look wrong.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Detailing equipment and rigsPressure washers, generators, and trailer rigs can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Vehicle and travel costsBusiness driving between airports can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents from July, or through actual costs, whichever the accountant finds fits your year.
- Contractor 1099sAny extra crew 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.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions aircraft detailing companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Aircraft-safe soap and wax
- De-ionized water system upkeep
- Microfiber towels and applicators
- Ramp and access fees
- Pressure washer fuel and repairs
- Crew uniforms
- Vehicle fuel and maintenance
- Ladders and access equipment
- Liability insurance
- Booking software subscriptions
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 aircraft detailing year, kept every month.
Ramp work happens whenever an owner wants a clean airplane. 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 ramp washes pick back up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the summer flying season changed the number.
- October
Before slow season
Cooler weather means fewer walk-up washes. Gus looks at equipment worth buying 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 aircraft detailing companies. 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 aircraft detailing owners ask first.
Can Gus handle fleet accounts billed once a month for several tail numbers?
Yes. He tracks the contract as one steady line so you can see what each fleet account brings in against what it costs to service.
Do I need to change how I invoice through my booking app?
No. Keep invoicing the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
My crew gets paid per job, not hourly. Does that change the books?
It changes where the money goes, not what you do. Gus keeps crew pay visible against what each job brought in, whatever the pay structure.
Do I write off the trailer and generator all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
My books are a few months behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most people 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