Auto repair & maintenance
Books and taxes for classic car restoration shops.
Multi-month restoration projects, deposits, hard-to-find parts from specialty suppliers, and storage fees for cars waiting their turn. 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
November came in at $11,000. A deposit landed on a new Chevelle build, but I kept it as owed work, not income, until the project actually gets underway.
- Progress payment, Mustang buildProject billing
- NPD sheet metal orderParts and materials
- Powder coat subletSublet work
- Storage fee, customer carStorage income
- Shop rent, NovemberRent and utilities
Why your books are different
Restoration shop books go wrong on projects that outlast the calendar.
A full restoration can run six months or two years, billed in stages with parts sourced from swap meets and specialty suppliers months before they're installed. A generalist bookkeeper wants one clean sale on one clean day, and a project like this never gives it that.
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1
A deposit isn't income the day it lands
A customer paying a deposit to start a build is paying for work that hasn't happened yet, sometimes months before the car is even torn down. Booked as a sale the day it arrives, one big deposit month looks inflated and the months of actual labor after it look like they earned nothing.
What we doTracks a project from deposit through each progress payment, so income lands in the months the work actually happens, not the month the check cleared. -
2
Sourced parts get bought long before they're installed
A hard-to-find trim piece or a reproduction panel from a supplier like NPD, Eckler's, or a swap meet find often gets bought as soon as it turns up, sometimes for a project still months from needing it, and expensed that day it skews a slow month.
What we doKeeps sourced parts as inventory tied to the project they're for, not that month's expense, until the build actually uses them. -
3
Sublet work like paint and upholstery blurs into labor
Powder coating, chrome plating, and upholstery are almost always sent to outside specialists, and paid through the shop's account, that cost can blend into ordinary labor and hide what you're actually paying other businesses to finish a car.
What we doKeeps sublet work in its own category, separate from in-house labor, so you can see what outside specialists are costing each project. -
4
Storage fees for waiting cars are their own income
A customer's car sitting in the shop waiting for parts or its turn in the schedule sometimes carries a storage fee, income that has nothing to do with restoration labor and gets lost if it's dumped into the same line as project billing.
What we doKeeps storage income on its own line, apart from restoration billing, so you can see what space itself is worth to the shop.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a restoration shop.
Set up once for multi-month projects, you never pick a category, an accountant checks every one.
Money in
- Project billingDeposits and progress payments, tracked from start to finish on each build.
- Storage incomeFees for cars waiting on parts or their place in the schedule.
- Parts and appraisal workStandalone sourcing or valuation jobs, not tied to a full build.
- Show and consignment salesCars sold on the shop's behalf or from its own stock.
Money out
- Sourced parts and panelsPurchases from NPD, Eckler's, and swap meet finds.
- Sublet workPowder coating, chrome plating, and upholstery sent to outside specialists.
- Shop laborIn-house restoration hours, kept apart from sublet costs.
- EquipmentLifts, frame machines, and paint booths, logged so they get written off right.
- Storage and insuranceCoverage for customer vehicles held on-site.
- Shop suppliesFasteners, gaskets, and finishing materials.
What we watch for you
- Project margin
What a build nets after parts and sublet costs, tracked project to project.
- Deposits held
Money collected for work not yet done, watched so it isn't spent as if it were profit.
- Sublet cost share
How much of a project's cost is outside work versus in-house labor.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things restoration shop 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.
Not yet. I'm holding it as owed work until the labor actually happens, so the month it's booked doesn't look bigger than the shop's real progress.
No. I kept it as inventory for that project, not this month's cost, so buying ahead won't make a quiet month look like a loss.
As sublet work, separate from your in-house labor, so you can see exactly what outside specialists are costing each build.
The tax side
The tax side of a restoration shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is a long project's income landing in the wrong month and sourced parts filed like an ordinary supply run.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Sourced parts as inventoryA panel or trim piece bought ahead of the project that needs it is inventory, and its cost only counts against income once the build actually uses it, not the day it arrived.
- Shop equipment and frame machinesA frame machine, paint booth, or specialty lift can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for sublet workA powder coating, chrome, or upholstery shop paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list running all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operator shops can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, and it comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions classic car restoration shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fasteners and finishing materials
- Paint booth filters
- Frame machine maintenance
- Sourcing trips and shipping
- Storage building insurance
- Garagekeepers insurance
- Shop towel service
- Uniform rental service
- Show entry and display fees
- Specialty socket sets
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 restoration shop's year, kept every month.
Long builds run across the calendar with no fixed season. 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 for sublet vendors is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April isn't a surprise.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January and matched what the shop actually made.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer show season deposits changed the number this year.
- October
Before winter builds
Winter is a common time for owners to start a build indoors. Before it hits, 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 classic car restoration shops. 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 restoration shop owners ask first.
How does Gus handle a big deposit on a new build?
He holds it as work owed, not income, until the labor actually happens. That way a large deposit month doesn't look inflated and the months of real work after it show what was actually earned.
I buy hard-to-find parts long before a project needs them. Does that hurt the books?
No. Gus keeps sourced parts as inventory tied to the project they're for, not that month's expense, so buying ahead of a build won't make a quiet month look like a loss.
Can Gus separate sublet work like chrome plating from my own labor?
Yes. Sublet work stays in its own category, apart from in-house labor, so you can see exactly what outside specialists are costing each build.
We charge storage fees for cars waiting on parts. Where does that go?
On its own line, separate from restoration billing, so you can see what storage itself is worth to the shop instead of it blending into project income.
My books are a mess from doing them myself. 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