Cleaning services
Books and taxes for carpet cleaning companies.
Per-room jobs, pet stain add-ons, a hotel contract that pays net-30, and a truck-mounted rig that cost more than the van it rides in. 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
April came in at $8,500. The Scotchgard add-on you started offering in March is already showing up as real money.
- Square daily batchResidential jobs
- Riverside Inn invoiceCommercial contracts
- Chem-Dry chemical orderChemicals and treatments
- Truck mount loan paymentEquipment
- Google local services adsLead fees
Why your books are different
Carpet cleaning books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is per-room pricing, add-on treatments, a hotel or apartment contract that pays slow, and one very expensive machine bolted into a van. When the books do not know that, the return misses what it should catch.
-
1
The truck mount is not a supply purchase
A truck-mounted cleaning system can cost as much as the van it rides in, sometimes $15,000 or more. Filed as a supply or repair expense, it flattens a month and misses out on how the tax code treats real equipment.
What we doFlags the purchase the day it shows up, logs it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how it gets written off. -
2
Add-on treatments disappear into the base job price
Pet stain treatment, deodorizer, and Scotchgard protection are usually billed as one number with the base cleaning. Lumped together, you cannot tell how much of your revenue is coming from the upsells you worked to add.
What we doKeeps add-on treatments visible against the base job so you can see whether the upsell push is actually paying off. -
3
Hotel and apartment contracts pay weeks after the job
A property management contract or a hotel account often pays on 30-day terms, so a job finished in March might not clear the bank until April or May, making March look worse than it was.
What we doNotes which jobs are waiting on a commercial account's payment terms so a payment lag does not read as a slow month. -
4
Chemical and treatment costs get grouped with everything else
Pretreatment, extraction chemical, and stain removers are bought regularly and in different amounts, and if they land in one general supplies bucket, it is hard to see the real chemical cost per job.
What we doKeeps chemicals and treatments in their own line so cost per job stays visible as chemical prices change.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a carpet cleaning 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
- Residential jobsPer-room or per-job cleanings paid by card or cash at the door.
- Commercial contractsStanding agreements with hotels, apartment buildings, or offices.
- Add-on treatmentsPet stain treatment, deodorizer, and Scotchgard protection billed on top.
- Upholstery and rug cleansFurniture and area rug jobs booked alongside carpet work.
Money out
- Chemicals and treatmentsPretreatment, extraction chemical, and stain and odor removers.
- EquipmentThe truck-mounted rig, wands, and hoses, logged so they get written off right.
- Vehicles and fuelFuel, repairs, and loan or lease payments for the van the rig rides in.
- Lead fees and marketingGoogle local services, direct mail coupons, and the answering service.
- Insurance and bondingLiability coverage and the bonding some commercial accounts require.
- Certifications and trainingIICRC certification and continuing education for stain and fiber handling.
What we watch for you
- Add-on rate
How much of your job revenue comes from treatments and upsells, not just the base clean.
- Chemical cost per job
Chemical and treatment costs against jobs run. Worth watching when supplier prices move.
- Commercial share
How much of the month is contract work that pays slower versus residential jobs that pay same-day.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things carpet cleaning 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.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not a repair or supply cost, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
That job is on their 30-day terms, so the payment lands in April. I noted it as pending so March still reflects the real work you did.
I keep add-on treatments in their own line against the base job, so you can see exactly what the upsell is worth to you.
The tax side
The tax side of a carpet cleaning business.
Most of what goes wrong here is one big machine and slow-paying commercial accounts. Get the truck mount classified 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.
- The truck mount and other equipmentBusiness equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Vehicle costsThe van carrying the rig between jobs 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.
- Contractor 1099sAny subcontracted technician or helper paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- 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 carpet cleaning companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pretreatment and extraction chemical
- Stain and odor removers
- Wands, hoses, and truck mount parts
- Vehicle fuel and repairs
- IICRC certification and training
- Liability and bonding insurance
- Google local services ads
- Uniforms and shoe covers
- Phone for scheduling
- Storage for chemicals and equipment
- Direct mail marketing costs
- 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 carpet cleaning year, kept every month.
Spring and fall bring the busiest weeks. 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, any contractor 1099s are 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.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring cleaning rush changed the number.
- October
Before the fall rush
Holiday hosting means more carpet cleaning calls. Before the rush, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and moves worth making 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 carpet 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 carpet cleaning owners ask first.
Do I write off my truck mount 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 with your whole year in view.
I run jobs through Square. Do I have to change anything about how I invoice?
No. Keep running jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank deposits, and when one is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
My hotel contract pays 30 days late every time. Does that throw off my numbers?
No. Gus notes which jobs are waiting on that account's payment terms, so a slow-paying month does not get mistaken for a slow-working one.
How do I know if my Scotchgard and pet treatment upsells are worth pushing?
Gus keeps add-on revenue visible against the base job price, so you can see the real dollar value of those upsells instead of guessing.
My books are a mess from last season. Can you still help?
Yes. 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.
More in cleaning services
We keep books for the business next door too.
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- Window cleaning
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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