Pest & wildlife control
Books and taxes for bird control companies.
Commercial netting jobs billed in stages, lift rentals, geese patrol contracts, and the wildlife permit fees you collect and pass along. Gus sorts 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 $21,000. The scaffolding rental for the parking garage netting job went in as its own cost, not folded into crew labor.
- Netting install, progress pmtCommercial netting installs
- Goose patrol contract, HOAGeese patrol contracts
- Skyline Scaffold rentalLift and scaffolding rental
- Bird-B-Gone netting orderNetting and spike materials
- Fuel, truck 2Trucks and equipment
Why your books are different
Bird control books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is progress-billed netting installs, rented lifts, patrol dogs on the payroll, and permit fees you collect for someone else. When the books do not know that, a big job can look thinner than it really is.
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1
A netting job gets billed in three payments
A big warehouse netting install often gets paid as a deposit, a progress payment, and a final payment once the crew finishes, sometimes over several months. Booked as separate one-off jobs, the numbers hide that it is really one large project.
What we doKeeps every payment tied to the same job so you can see total revenue against total cost once the whole install is done. -
2
Lift and scaffolding rental hides inside labor
A high building netting or spike job usually needs a rented lift or scaffolding crew, and if that rental invoice gets lumped in with your own labor cost, you cannot tell what the job actually cost you versus what you paid someone else.
What we doBooks lift and scaffolding rental as its own job cost, so labor and equipment rental show up separately on every install. -
3
Maintenance contracts and installs look the same
A one-time netting install for a new warehouse and the recurring inspection fee for a building you serviced two years ago both land as deposits, but one is new project revenue and the other is the steady base of the business.
What we doKeeps install revenue and maintenance contract revenue on separate lines, so you can see how much of the business is new work versus repeat contracts. -
4
The patrol dog is a year-round cost, not a job cost
A trained dog used for goose patrol at golf courses and corporate campuses needs food, vet care, and training whether or not it worked a job that week, so charging its upkeep against a single contract understates what patrol work really costs to run.
What we doKeeps dog care and training as its own overhead line, spread across every patrol contract instead of dumped on one invoice. -
5
A permit fee is not your revenue
An egg addling or goose management program sometimes requires a wildlife agency permit fee that gets collected from the customer and passed straight to the agency, so counting that fee as company income overstates what the job actually earned you.
What we doKeeps permit fees paid on a customer's behalf separate from service income, so your real revenue on the job is not inflated.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a bird control 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
- Commercial netting installsWarehouse, garage, and facade netting jobs, often paid in stages.
- Spike and wire installsLedge and rooftop deterrent installs for buildings large and small.
- Maintenance contractsRecurring netting and deterrent inspection fees for past clients.
- Geese patrol contractsOngoing goose management for golf courses and corporate campuses.
- Cleanup and biohazard jobsDroppings removal and sanitizing after a long-term infestation.
- Deterrent device salesSonic, visual, and gel repellent products sold on their own.
Money out
- Netting and spike materialsNetting, spikes, wire, and mounting hardware from a bird control supplier.
- Lift and scaffolding rentalEquipment rented for tall buildings and hard-to-reach installs.
- Deterrent devicesSonic and visual units purchased to install or resell.
- Patrol dog careFood, vet care, and training for a working goose patrol dog.
- Wildlife agency permit feesFees collected from a customer and paid to a wildlife agency.
- Height work insuranceFall protection and liability coverage for elevated jobs.
- Trucks and equipmentFuel, maintenance, and gear for the service fleet.
What we watch for you
- Install vs contract mix
New installation revenue against recurring maintenance contracts, showing how much repeat business you have.
- Equipment rental cost
Lift and scaffolding spend against job revenue. Rising cost can mean pricing needs a look.
- Labor share
Wages against money in. Height work costs more per hour than ground-level jobs.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things bird control 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.
I keep every payment tied to the same job, so once it is done you can see the whole project's revenue against everything it cost.
No. I keep lift and scaffolding rental as its own cost, so your labor and your equipment rental each show up clearly.
As overhead, not tied to one contract. Dog care spreads across every patrol job you run, so no single invoice carries the whole cost.
The tax side
The tax side of a bird control business.
Most of what trips up this business is timing on big jobs: a progress-billed install, a subcontracted rigging crew, and rented equipment that could be labeled as your own cost.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- High-access equipment and vehiclesLifts, scaffolding you own, and service trucks 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.
- Rigging subcontractor 1099sA certified high-access rigger or scaffolding crew you subcontract gets a 1099-NEC if you pay them $2,000 or more in 2026 and they are not your employee.
- Employee or contractorA crew member who works your schedule with your gear is usually an employee. A specialty rigger who brings their own equipment and sets their own hours may be a legitimate contractor.
- 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 bird control companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Bird netting and spike hardware
- Sonic and visual deterrent devices
- Lift and scaffolding rental
- Patrol dog food and vet care
- Wildlife agency permit fees
- Fall protection gear and harnesses
- Height work liability insurance
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Rigging subcontractor fees
- Continuing education courses
- Commercial marketing and proposals
- Phone and tablet for site surveys
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 bird control year, kept every month.
Nesting season fills spring, big commercial installs run through summer, and your taxes come on a schedule either way. 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, any rigging subcontractor 1099s are ready, and a monthly set-aside means April holds no surprises.
- April
Filed and signed
Your return is filed and signed while spring nesting season brings new netting and spike calls, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Midyear check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer's big commercial install jobs changed the number.
- October
Before winter roosting season
As birds settle into winter roosts on buildings and ledges, Gus looks at 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 bird control 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 bird control owners ask first.
My biggest netting jobs get paid over several months. Does that confuse the books?
No. Gus ties every payment on a job back to the same project, so once it wraps up you can see total revenue against total cost for the whole install.
I rent a lift for tall building jobs. How is that tracked separately from labor?
It gets its own cost line, so you can see what the rental cost against what your crew's labor cost on that same job.
I run a geese patrol program with a trained dog. How does the dog's upkeep get handled?
As overhead spread across your patrol contracts, not charged against a single job, since the dog needs care whether or not it worked that week.
A customer's egg addling program requires a wildlife permit fee. Is that my income?
If you collect it and pass it straight to the agency, Gus keeps it separate from your service income so your real revenue on the job is not overstated.
Do you handle the wildlife agency permit applications themselves?
No. Your team keeps your books and files your return. Permit applications and agency compliance stay with you, since the rules vary by state and by species.
My books mix one-time installs with recurring maintenance contracts and I cannot tell them apart.
Gus keeps install revenue and maintenance contract revenue on separate lines, so you can see how much of the business is new work versus repeat contracts.
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