Restoration & remediation
Books and taxes for basement waterproofing companies.
Financed jobs, in-home sales commissions, warranty callbacks years later, and deposits collected before the crew ever shows up. 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
September made $15,000. The financing company's fee on two jobs got booked as a cost, not a discount, so the full sale still shows in revenue.
- Wisetack payoutFinanced jobs
- Homeowner checkCash and check jobs
- Sales commission payoutSales commissions
- Sump pump supplier orderMaterials and supplies
- HomeAdvisor lead feesMarketing and lead fees
Why your books are different
Basement waterproofing books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is a sales floor, financing companies that keep a cut, and warranties that mean going back to a job for free years later. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which jobs actually paid.
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1
Financing payouts land short
When a homeowner finances an interior drain system, the lender pays out less than the invoice and keeps a fee, and if the deposit is booked as the full sale, both revenue and cost come out wrong.
What we doBooks the full job as money in and the lender's cut as a financing fee, so price and cost both show up honest. -
2
Sales commissions hide the real cost of a job
A salesperson who closes an in-home consultation often earns a straight commission on the contract price, and if that payout gets buried in general wages, there is no way to tell how much of a job's price actually went to the sale itself.
What we doKeeps sales commissions in their own line, separate from crew wages, so a job's real cost breaks down clearly. -
3
Warranty callbacks look like new jobs
A transferable lifetime warranty means going back to reseal a crack or swap a sump pump years after the original install, often for free, and if that visit gets logged as a new sale with no revenue, the books show a job that made nothing.
What we doTags a warranty visit as a service cost against the original install, not a stand-alone loss. -
4
Excavation costs vary wildly by job
An exterior waterproofing job might need a small trench or a full foundation dig, and if excavation costs get spread evenly across every job instead of tracked per job, a cheap interior fix and an expensive exterior dig both look the same on paper.
What we doKeeps excavation and materials tied to the specific job so each one shows its true cost. -
5
Deposits collected up front outrun the work
A deposit taken at contract signing can sit in the bank for weeks before the crew ever shows up, and counted as income the day it lands, a slow scheduling month can look like a great one.
What we doKeeps deposits separate until the job is actually done, so income reflects work finished, not just money collected.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a basement waterproofing 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
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Cash and check jobsHomeowners who pay directly without financing.
- Warranty transfer feesSmall fees paid when a home with an existing system is sold.
- HOA and commercial contractsShared foundations and common areas with recurring seepage.
- Deposits collectedMoney taken at contract signing, kept separate until the job is done.
Money out
- Materials and suppliesDrain tile, gravel, sump pumps, and battery backups.
- Sales commissionsWhat closers earn on a signed contract.
- Crew wagesInstall labor, kept apart from what the sale itself cost.
- Excavation and equipment rentalTrenching and digging equipment for exterior jobs.
- Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
- Financing and card feesWhat the lender or card processor kept before you got paid.
- Marketing and lead feesHomeAdvisor, home shows, and local advertising.
What we watch for you
- Financing cost
What lenders keep on financed jobs. Worth knowing before offering it on every contract.
- Commission share
What sales commissions cost against total revenue. When it creeps up, pricing needs a look.
- Job margin
What a job actually made after materials, excavation, and labor.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things basement waterproofing 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.
Three financed jobs paid out $1,200 short combined. That was the lender's fee. I booked it as a cost, so your sales still show the full amount.
Yes, I keep commissions in their own line so you can see what closing a sale costs against what the crew earns doing the work.
If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a basement waterproofing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Equipment filed as supplies, a closer paid like a contractor who works like an employee, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Equipment and trucksExcavation equipment, pumps, and trucks bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, including an excavation sub or an independent closer, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Commission versus payrollA salesperson paid straight commission with no set schedule may be a contractor, but one who works your hours and follows your process is usually an employee. Gus flags the pattern before it becomes a habit.
- 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 basement waterproofing companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Sump pump and battery backup stock
- Drain tile and gravel
- Crack injection materials
- Excavation equipment rental
- HomeAdvisor and lead fees
- Sales training and materials
- Financing and card fees
- Tools that live on the truck
- Phone and tablet for estimates
- Licenses and bonding
- Warranty parts inventory
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 basement waterproofing year, kept every month.
Wet basement calls come with the rain, any month 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
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for excavation subs is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned 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.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring melt and storm season changed the number.
- October
Before the fall rain rush
Before fall rains bring the next wave of wet basement calls, 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 basement waterproofing 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 basement waterproofing owners ask first.
Can Gus handle jobs paid through financing companies?
Yes. He books the full job as money in and the lender's fee as a cost, so your sales are not understated and the fee still counts against your taxes.
My sales team works on commission. Does that change the books?
It changes where the money goes, not what you do. Commissions stay in their own line so you can see the sale's cost against what each job actually made.
A homeowner's warranty system needs a free repair years later. How does that get booked?
Gus tags it as a service cost against the original job, not a new sale with no revenue, so your numbers do not make a free repair look like a loss.
I take a deposit weeks before the crew shows up. Does that mess up my months?
No. Gus keeps deposits separate until the work is actually finished, so a month's income reflects jobs completed, not just money collected.
Do I write off excavation equipment 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 year 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