Landscaping & lawn care

Books and taxes for arborists and plant health care companies.

A diagnostic visit billed by the hour, a season of tree injections and soil treatments, certification fees that keep your license current, and clients who pay per visit or on a yearly plan. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
JuneExample month
$10,600
what you made

June came in at $10,600. The injection tools ordered for the season are booked as equipment, not treatment supplies.

  • Plant health care program billingTreatment programs
  • Diagnostic visit feesDiagnostic and consulting
  • Injection tool orderEquipment
  • Fungicide and nutrient orderTreatment supplies
  • ISA certification renewalLicenses and certifications
Money in$31,400
Money out$20,800
Set aside for taxes$2,700
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A plant health care practice's books go wrong around expertise, not equipment.

A generalist sees consulting fees and a supply bill. Your business sells diagnosis and specialized treatment, priced by expertise more than by labor hours, with a certification that has to stay current every year. When the books do not track that, it is hard to see what your knowledge is actually worth.

  1. 1

    Diagnostic visits get priced the same as routine treatment

    A standalone diagnostic visit, where you assess a tree and give a report, takes real expertise and time, but if it is billed and booked the same as a routine injection round, you cannot tell which part of the business pays best for your time.

    What we doKeeps diagnostic and consulting income separate from treatment program billing, so you can see what your assessment work is worth on its own.
  2. 2

    Treatment supplies and injection tools blur together

    Fungicides, nutrients, and growth regulators used up each season get mixed with tree injection equipment that lasts for years, so a single tool purchase distorts a month that should look like a normal treatment cycle.

    What we doKeeps consumable treatment supplies apart from equipment, so a tool purchase does not wreck a routine month.
  3. 3

    Certification renewal costs get lost with general expenses

    An ISA arborist certification and its continuing education requirements are a real, recurring cost of staying licensed to do this work, but buried in general expenses, nobody notices when a renewal is due or what it is costing each year.

    What we doKeeps certification and continuing education costs in their own line, visible against the year they cover.
  4. 4

    Annual plant health care plans get billed ahead of the visits

    A client who pays for a season of scheduled visits and treatments up front looks like a big month of income when most of that work has not happened yet.

    What we doTracks plan payments against the visits owed, so income reflects care actually delivered.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a plant health care practice.

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

  • Treatment programsSeasonal or annual plant health care plans billed per visit or up front.
  • Diagnostic and consultingStandalone assessment visits and written reports.
  • Tree injectionsInjection treatments billed separately from routine spray programs.
  • One-time treatmentsSingle visits outside a standing program.

Money out

  • Treatment suppliesFungicides, nutrients, and growth regulators used per treatment.
  • EquipmentInjection tools and soil sampling gear, logged so they get written off right.
  • Licenses and certificationsISA arborist certification and continuing education.
  • Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the service vehicle.
  • Lab testing feesSoil and tissue samples sent out for analysis.
  • Liability insuranceCoverage for diagnostic and treatment work.

What we watch for you

  • Diagnostic revenue share

    How much income comes from assessment work versus routine treatment, worth tracking against your time.

  • Plan renewal rate

    How many annual plant health care plans renew each year, your steadiest income.

  • Treatment cost per visit

    Supplies used against what a visit billed, so program pricing holds up.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things plant health care 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 spent a whole afternoon just diagnosing a client's oak trees, no treatment. How does that get booked?

As a diagnostic visit, separate from treatment income. That way you can see what your assessment time is actually worth, not just what treatments bring in.

A client paid for the full season plan up front. Does that all count as this month's income?

No. I track it against the visits it covers, so your income shows the care actually delivered, not just the cash that landed.

My ISA certification renewal and continuing education cost a few hundred dollars this year. Is that deductible?

Yes, that is a legitimate business expense. I keep it in its own line so it is easy to find, and the accountant confirms it on your return.

The tax side

The tax side of a plant health care practice.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels: annual plans billed before the work happens, equipment mixed with consumables, and certification costs that get lost.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Injection tools and diagnostic equipmentEquipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Certification and continuing educationCosts to maintain a professional certification like an ISA arborist credential, including continuing education, are a legitimate ongoing business deduction.
  • Standard mileage for the service vehicleA vehicle used mainly for site visits can use the standard mileage rate: 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026, 76 cents after.
  • 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 certified arborists and plant health care companies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Fungicides and nutrient injections
  • Soil and tissue testing fees
  • ISA certification renewal
  • Continuing education courses
  • Injection tools and equipment
  • Truck fuel and repairs
  • Liability insurance
  • Reference materials and field guides
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Card processing fees
  • Professional association dues

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 plant health care year, kept every month.

Your treatments follow the growing season. Your taxes come on a schedule too. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started and you get a monthly set-aside, so the season's first billing does not come with a tax surprise.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed while spring diagnostic visits and treatments are already underway.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand mid-season, what you will owe, and whether program pricing is holding up against treatment costs.

  4. October

    Before dormancy

    Before trees go dormant and the season winds down, Gus looks at equipment you might buy and anything worth doing before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 certified arborists and plant health care 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 plant health care owners ask first.

Can Gus separate my diagnostic work from my treatment income?

Yes. Assessment visits and treatment program billing get their own categories, so you can see what each part of the business is actually worth.

I sell annual plant health care plans paid up front. How does that income get tracked?

Gus tracks a plan payment against the visits it covers, so a big upfront payment does not make one month look inflated while the rest of the season looks thin.

Are my certification and continuing education costs deductible?

Yes, keeping a professional certification current is a legitimate business expense. Gus keeps it in its own line so it is easy to find at tax time.

I send soil samples to a lab for testing. Is that a business expense?

Yes, lab testing tied to diagnostic or treatment work is a real cost of the business. Gus tracks it as its own category.

My books are a season behind. 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 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