Remodeling & interiors
Books and taxes for cabinet refacing and cabinet painting companies.
A deposit at booking, new doors and veneer ordered ahead of the job, hardware, and the paint and spray supplies that eat into a small job's margin. Gus sorts every dollar to the job it came from, 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 $11,500. The door order for the Castellano job went out before the paint prep even started, so it's booked against that job.
- Client deposit, Castellano jobDeposits
- Final payment, Ruiz jobJob completion payments
- Door and veneer orderDoors and refacing materials
- Sherwin-Williams paint orderPaint and spray supplies
- Cabinet hardware orderHardware
Why your books are different
Cabinet refacing and painting books go wrong on the small stuff, over and over.
A generalist sees a deposit and a bill. Your jobs are quick, often a few days start to finish, but the door order, the hardware, and the paint chemistry all land at different points and different suppliers. When the books do not track each job, small mistakes stack up fast across a high volume of jobs.
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1
A door order lands before the job is even scheduled
You order refacing doors and veneer as soon as a contract is signed, often a couple of weeks before the crew shows up on site. Booked as a plain expense the week it is placed, it can make a slow booking month look worse than it is.
What we doTies the door and veneer order to the job it belongs to, so an early purchase does not read as a bad month. -
2
Paint and spray supplies get bought in bulk, not per job
Lacquer, primer, and sprayer supplies are often bought in larger batches to save money, used across several jobs over the following weeks. One big supply order can make one month look thin and the next few look artificially strong.
What we doKeeps paint and spray supplies in one steady line and tells you when a stock-up, not a slow month, is behind a thin number. -
3
Hardware costs disappear into the door order
New hinges, pulls, and soft-close hardware are a real cost that homeowners often upgrade mid-job, and if they blend into the door order you cannot see how much hardware upsells are actually adding to your margin.
What we doKeeps hardware in its own line, separate from doors and veneer, so upsells show up as the profit they are. -
4
A high volume of small jobs makes one bad month easy to miss
Running many quick jobs a month means a single underpriced job or a supply price jump can get lost in the noise, since no one job is big enough on its own to raise a flag.
What we doTracks material cost against revenue every month, so a creeping cost or an underpriced job gets caught early, not at year end.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a cabinet refacing and painting business.
Set up once for how your jobs get paid and what they cost. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- DepositsCollected at booking, before doors or paint supplies are ordered.
- Job completion paymentsThe balance collected when the job is finished.
- Hardware upgradesUpsells like soft-close hinges or new pulls, billed on top of the base job.
- Commercial and property manager jobsMulti-unit or rental refacing work billed separately from residential jobs.
Money out
- Doors and refacing materialsNew doors, drawer fronts, and veneer, tied to the job.
- Paint and spray suppliesLacquer, primer, and sprayer consumables, tracked as a steady cost.
- HardwareHinges, pulls, and soft-close hardware, kept apart from doors.
- Truck and equipmentThe spray booth setup, sanders, and the vehicle that carries them.
- Dust containment and prep suppliesPlastic sheeting, tape, and degreasers used on every job.
- Lead feesAngi, Houzz Pro, and paid leads that turn into signed jobs.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
What each job actually cleared after doors, paint, and hardware, not just the price you quoted.
- Material cost share
Doors, paint, and hardware against revenue, watched so a supplier price jump gets caught early.
- Hardware upsell rate
How much hardware upgrades add on top of the base job, since it is often pure margin.
- Jobs per month
Volume against income, so a busy-feeling month that is not actually more profitable gets noticed.
Ask Gus
Things cabinet refacing 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 tied both orders to the jobs they belong to, so once those jobs finish and get paid, the full picture will show, not just this month's timing.
No, I kept it in your steady paint and supplies line and flagged the stock-up, so it does not look like one bad month.
If you paid him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, yes, by January 31. I have been keeping that list all year so it is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of a cabinet refacing and painting business.
Most of what trips up this business is timing on small purchases: a door order booked too early, a bulk paint buy, and a helper who should get a 1099.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Helper and subcontractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like a part-time helper or a sprayer you bring in for busy weeks, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list as the year goes.
- Employee or subcontractorA helper who works your schedule and uses your spray equipment usually looks like an employee, not a sub, no matter what the invoice says. Getting this wrong gets expensive, so Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
- Spray equipment and toolsA spray booth setup, sanders, and other equipment can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought 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 only when the books track material costs correctly all year.
Deductions cabinet refacing and cabinet painting companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sprayer maintenance and tips
- Sandpaper and prep supplies
- Respirators and safety gear
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Angi and Houzz Pro lead fees
- Liability insurance
- Dust containment supplies
- Small tool replacement
- Continuing education and certifications
- Branded uniforms
- Phone and tablet for scheduling
- Mileage between jobs
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 cabinet refacing and painting year, kept every month.
Quick jobs mean a steady stream of bookings most of the year. Gus keeps taxes on a separate, predictable schedule. 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, since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether booking pace or material costs changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday push
Homeowners want kitchens refreshed before hosting. Gus looks at any equipment worth buying before December and where the year is landing.
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 cabinet refacing and cabinet painting 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 cabinet refacing owners ask first.
I order doors before a job is scheduled. Does that hurt my monthly number?
It would if it sat as a plain expense. Gus ties the order to the job it belongs to, so an early purchase does not make an unrelated month look thin.
I buy paint and spray supplies in bulk. Will that throw off my books?
No. Gus keeps paint and supplies in a steady line and tells you when a stock-up, not a slow month, is behind a thin number.
Do hardware upgrades need to be tracked separately from the base job?
It helps a lot. Gus keeps hardware in its own line, so upsells like soft-close hinges show up as the extra margin they are.
Do I write off my spray booth setup all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
My books are a few months behind from a busy season. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
I do both residential and commercial refacing jobs. Can Gus keep those separate?
Yes. Residential and commercial or property manager work get their own categories, so you can see which side of the business is actually driving your income.
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.
More in remodeling & interiors
We keep books for the business next door too.
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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