Aviation & marine services
Books and taxes for boat detailing and bottom cleaning companies.
Monthly dive cleanings, gelcoat compounding jobs, zinc anode swaps, and a boat show prep rush every spring. 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
March came in at $7,600. The new scuba compressor for the crew went in as equipment, not supplies, since it will run for years.
- Monthly dive cleaning contractsRecurring bottom cleaning
- Boat show prep, wax and buffOne-time detailing jobs
- Zinc anodes, bulk orderZincs and hardware
- Marine wax and compound orderSupplies and chemicals
- Scuba gear serviceDive equipment
Why your books are different
A boat detailing business's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and a supply run. Your business is monthly dive contracts, zinc anodes bought in bulk, and a spring rush before every boat show. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which contracts pay and which jobs are worth the dive time.
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1
Monthly dive contracts get billed unevenly
A marina's fleet of standing bottom-cleaning contracts often gets billed in batches rather than one clean date each month, and if the timing is not tracked, some months look padded and others look empty for no real reason.
What we doKeeps recurring dive contracts in their own line so the billing pattern is visible instead of confused with one-time jobs. -
2
Zinc anodes get bought in bulk and used slowly
A box of zinc anodes bought at once gets installed across weeks of different cleaning jobs, and if the whole order lands as a cost on one invoice, that job looks overpriced while others look free.
What we doKeeps zincs and hardware in one steady line and flags a bulk buy so it does not distort which job actually used them. -
3
A boat show prep rush looks like a normal month
Every owner wants gelcoat compounding and a fresh wax job before the same spring boat show, and that seasonal spike gets averaged into the year as if it were typical, hiding how much of your income depends on that one window.
What we doKeeps show-season detailing visible on its own so the spring rush is not diluted into looking like an ordinary month. -
4
Dive gear looks like a routine supply cost
Scuba tanks, regulators, and a compressor for the crew are specialized equipment, not the same as wax and rags, and lumping them together hides a real cost of running a dive-based cleaning operation.
What we doKeeps dive equipment in its own line, separate from wax, compound, and hand tools.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a boat 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
- Recurring bottom cleaningMonthly dive cleaning contracts, billed on a schedule.
- One-time detailing jobsWax, buff, and interior detailing billed per visit.
- Zinc and hardware replacementAnode swaps billed separate from a cleaning visit.
- Marina fleet accountsStanding agreements with marinas for multiple boats.
Money out
- Supplies and chemicalsMarine wax, compound, and cleaning fluid.
- Zincs and hardwareAnodes and mounting hardware bought in bulk.
- Dive equipmentTanks, regulators, wetsuits, and compressor upkeep.
- Crew wagesDive crew pay, tracked apart from zincs, gear, and supplies.
- Vehicles and fuelThe truck and trailer that move gear between marinas.
What we watch for you
- Contract renewal rate
How many monthly dive customers renew, the number that tells you if recurring income is steady.
- Cost per dive
Zincs, gear upkeep, and crew time against what each cleaning visit bills.
- Show-season share
How much of the year's income lands in the spring rush, useful for planning cash through the slower months.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things boat 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.
No. I keep zincs in one steady line, so a bulk buy reads as what it is, not a cost dumped on whichever job happened first.
I keep show-season work visible on its own, so that rush shows up as the real pattern of your year instead of getting flattened out.
That one is going in as equipment, not a supply purchase. I flagged it for the accountant, who will weigh how much of it to write off against the rest of your year.
The tax side
The tax side of a boat detailing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Dive gear filed as supplies, zincs dumped on one job, and a seasonal rush that reads like an ordinary month.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Dive and detailing equipmentCompressors, buffers, and dive gear 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 1099sA dive helper or second crew member you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, and who is not on payroll, needs a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running all year so it is ready.
- Vehicle and travel costsBusiness driving between marinas 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.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, with limits that start above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint. Keeping zincs, gear, and dive time labeled right all year is what makes that number land correctly.
Deductions boat detailing and bottom cleaning companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Marine wax and compound
- Zinc anodes and mounting hardware
- Scuba tanks and regulator service
- Wetsuits and dive safety gear
- Compressor maintenance
- Buffers and hand tools
- Vehicle fuel and maintenance
- Liability and dive operation insurance
- Marina slip access fees
- Uniforms with your logo
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 boat detailing year, kept every month.
Bottoms need cleaning whenever growth builds up. 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 the show-season rush hits.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring boat show rush changed the number more than usual.
- October
Before slow season
Cooler water means fewer dive jobs. 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 boat detailing and bottom cleaning 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 boat detailing owners ask first.
Can Gus track monthly dive contracts separate from one-time jobs?
Yes. Recurring bottom cleaning contracts and one-time wax or buff jobs each get their own line, so you can see which kind of work is carrying the business.
Do I need to change how I bill marina fleet accounts?
No. Keep billing the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement and keeps fleet accounts visible on their own so a batch of boats billed together does not read as one strange month.
My crew gets paid per dive, not hourly. Does that change the books?
The pay structure does not change what Gus does. He keeps crew pay lined up against dive volume so you can see labor cost per cleaning, whether your divers are salaried or paid by the job.
Do I write off the dive compressor and gear all at once?
In most years, yes. Dive and detailing equipment usually qualifies to be written off the year it is bought, though the accountant looks at your whole year before deciding whether spreading the deduction out actually serves you better.
My books are behind from a busy show season. Is that a problem?
Not for long. Gather up the bank statements from the months you missed and hand them over. Gus works through the backlog, the accountant checks it, and most owners are caught up 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.
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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