Cleaning services
Books and taxes for biohazard and crime scene cleanup companies.
A 2 a.m. call, an insurance claim that pays out 60 days later, regulated medical waste hauling fees, and certification renewals that keep you eligible for the work. 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
November came in at $11,700. The insurance payout for the October job finally cleared, so this month looks bigger than the actual work done in November.
- Homeowners insurance payoutInsurance-billed jobs
- Direct-pay cleanup jobDirect-pay jobs
- On-call crew payrollCrew wages
- Stericycle medical waste pickupMedical waste disposal
- Bloodborne pathogen recertificationCertification and training
Why your books are different
Biohazard and crime scene cleanup books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business runs on insurance claims that pay out months after the job, regulated waste hauling, and a crew on call at all hours. When the books do not know that, you cannot see whether a slow-looking month was actually a slow month.
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1
Insurance payouts land months after the job
A homeowners or property insurance claim for a biohazard job can take 30, 60, or even 90 days to pay out, so the work you did in September might not show up in the bank account until November or December.
What we doNotes which jobs are waiting on an insurance claim so a payment lag does not get mistaken for a slow month of actual work. -
2
On-call pay does not look like a normal payroll pattern
A crew paid extra for being on call overnight or on weekends, on top of the hours for a job itself, can make payroll look inconsistent from month to month if it is not tracked separately.
What we doKeeps on-call pay and job-hour pay in view together, so a spike in payroll can be matched to the calls that actually came in. -
3
Regulated medical waste fees vary a lot by job
The cost to legally transport and dispose of biohazard waste depends heavily on the volume and type of material, so one job's disposal cost can be several times another's, and averaging them hides which jobs are actually profitable.
What we doKeeps medical waste disposal fees tied to the job they came from so the real cost of each call is visible. -
4
Certification renewal costs get treated as a one-time expense
Bloodborne pathogen and biohazard remediation certifications need regular renewal to keep the business eligible for insurance-billed work, and treating that as a random yearly expense hides a real, recurring cost of staying in business.
What we doKeeps certification and training costs in their own line so the ongoing cost of staying qualified is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a biohazard and crime scene cleanup 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
- Insurance-billed jobsWork billed to a homeowners or property insurance policy, often paid on a delay.
- Direct-pay jobsJobs paid straight by a property owner or landlord without an insurance claim.
- County and coroner referralsWork referred through a coroner's office or county program.
- Property manager contractsStanding relationships with property managers who call for recurring incidents.
Money out
- Crew wagesJob-hour pay and on-call pay, kept apart so both are visible.
- Medical waste disposalRegulated hauling and disposal fees tied to the job they came from.
- PPE and safety suppliesHazmat suits, respirators, and single-use protective gear.
- Vehicles and fuelThe response vehicle kept ready for calls at any hour.
- Insurance and bondingLiability coverage reflecting the specialized nature of the work.
- Certification and trainingBloodborne pathogen and biohazard remediation certification renewals.
What we watch for you
- Insurance payment lag
How long insurance-billed jobs take to pay out. It tells you how much cash cushion you actually need to run on-call work.
- Disposal cost per job
Medical waste fees against jobs run. It shows which calls are actually profitable at the price quoted.
- Labor share
Wages, including on-call pay, against money in. It shows whether pricing still covers being ready at all hours.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things biohazard cleanup 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.
No. I flagged that job as waiting on the insurance claim, so October still shows the real work you did, and November just shows the cash landing.
I kept that cost tied to the specific job, so you can see whether it was a one-time heavy job or a sign that job type needs a higher price.
Just the receipt when you pay it. I keep certification costs in their own line so you can see what staying qualified costs every year.
The tax side
The tax side of a biohazard and crime scene cleanup business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on insurance-billed work and tracking a crew paid for being on call. Get those two right and the rest tends to be steady.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Vehicle costsA response vehicle used for calls can deduct business mileage at 72.5 cents a mile from January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026, or actual vehicle costs instead.
- Employee or contractorA crew member on call, paid on your schedule with your equipment, is usually an employee. Gus flags it if a pay pattern starts looking like that.
- Equipment write-offsSpecialized decontamination equipment can usually be written off in the year it is bought, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- 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 biohazard and crime scene cleanup companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Hazmat suits and respirators
- Single-use PPE
- Medical waste disposal fees
- Vehicle fuel and repairs
- Liability insurance
- Bloodborne pathogen certification
- Continuing education and training
- Phone for on-call dispatch
- Decontamination equipment
- Uniforms and safety gear
- Business licenses
- Workers compensation premiums
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 biohazard cleanup year, kept every month.
Calls come at any hour, any 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
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started 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.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether insurance payouts finally caught up with the work.
- October
Before certifications renew
Gus looks at certification renewals and equipment worth buying before December, so nothing lapses.
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 biohazard and crime scene cleanup 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 biohazard cleanup owners ask first.
An insurance claim takes months to pay out. How does Gus handle that gap?
He notes which jobs are waiting on an insurance payout, so the month you did the work still shows the real activity, and the payment gets matched to it when it finally clears.
My crew gets extra pay for being on call. Does that complicate my payroll numbers?
No. Gus keeps on-call pay visible alongside job-hour pay, so a spike in payroll can be traced back to the calls that actually came in.
Medical waste disposal costs a lot more on some jobs than others. Is that normal?
Yes, it depends on volume and material. Gus keeps disposal fees tied to the specific job so you can see if a job type needs a higher price.
Do I need to keep separate records for county referrals versus insurance-billed jobs?
You do not have to do anything differently. Gus keeps them in separate categories on his end so you can see how each source of work is doing.
My books are behind because calls come in unpredictably. Can you still help?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners 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