HVAC, insulation & chimney
Books and taxes for commercial HVAC and refrigeration companies.
Rooftop unit installs, walk-in cooler service, net-30 property management contracts, and after-hours emergency premiums. 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
June came in at $19,700. Three net-30 invoices from May finally cleared, so I matched that cash to the month the work happened, not the month it got paid.
- Check, Riverside Plaza LLCProperty management contracts
- ACH, Delgado's GrillRefrigeration service
- Baker DistributingEquipment and parts
- Refrigerant supplierRefrigerant
- Fleet fuel cardTrucks and fuel
Why your books are different
Commercial HVAC books go wrong around contracts and timing.
You bill net 30 to property managers and restaurants, run rooftop units and walk-in coolers that carry more refrigerant than a house system, and charge a premium for the 2 a.m. call. When the books do not track when work happened versus when it got paid, cash flow looks wrong even when the business is fine.
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1
Net-30 invoicing separates the work from the cash
A service call in May often does not get paid until June or later, since most commercial customers pay on their own schedule. Looking at bank deposits alone makes a busy month look slow and a quiet month look strong.
What we doTracks income against the work it came from, so a late-paying invoice does not distort the month the job actually happened. -
2
Refrigeration service and HVAC service blur together
A walk-in cooler compressor job and a rooftop unit repair use different parts, different refrigerant volumes, and often different pricing, but lumped into one service category you cannot tell which side of the business is actually growing.
What we doKeeps refrigeration and HVAC service revenue in separate lines, so each side of the business is visible on its own. -
3
After-hours premiums get buried in regular service revenue
A 2 a.m. call on a failed walk-in cooler at a restaurant often carries a real premium rate, but booked the same as a daytime tune-up, that premium disappears into the average.
What we doKeeps emergency and after-hours calls in their own category, so the premium work is visible. -
4
Refrigerant volume on commercial systems runs heavier than residential
A rooftop unit or a supermarket rack system holds far more refrigerant than a home system, and a price swing on refrigerant can eat a job's margin fast if it is not tracked apart from other parts.
What we doKeeps refrigerant in its own category so a cost spike shows up before it eats a quarter's profit. -
5
A big installation job spans more than one billing cycle
A rooftop unit replacement on a strip mall might involve a deposit, a progress payment, and a final invoice weeks apart, and treated as separate unrelated deposits, the job's real margin is invisible.
What we doTies every payment on a job to that job, so the full picture is there even when the billing stretches out.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a commercial HVAC and refrigeration 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
- Property management contractsRecurring service billed net 30 to property managers.
- Refrigeration serviceWalk-in coolers, ice machines, and rack systems, kept apart from HVAC.
- Rooftop unit installsFull system replacements, kept apart from smaller repairs.
- After-hours and emergency callsPremium-rate calls outside normal business hours.
- Restaurant and retail service contractsRecurring tune-up agreements billed monthly or quarterly.
Money out
- EquipmentRooftop units and compressors, logged so they get written off right.
- RefrigerantTracked apart because volume and price both run heavier than residential work.
- Parts and controlsSheet metal, controls, and electrical components for commercial systems.
- Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the service fleet.
- Subcontracted laborCrane rental and electrical work for rooftop installs.
- Licensing and insuranceCommercial contractor license and liability coverage.
- Lead fees and marketingReferral fees from property managers and directory listings.
What we watch for you
- Accounts receivable aging
How long net-30 invoices are actually taking to get paid, so cash gets planned right.
- Refrigeration versus HVAC share
Which side of the business is bringing in more, so you know where to focus.
- Emergency call share
How much of your revenue comes from premium after-hours work.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things commercial HVAC 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.
Three invoices from May finally cleared. I track income against the work it came from, so a late payment does not make one month look off.
I keep them separate. Walk-in cooler and rack work runs different margins than rooftop unit service, and you want to see which one is actually carrying the business.
Yes, in its own category. Emergency calls are kept apart from regular service, so that premium is visible instead of getting averaged away.
The tax side
The tax side of a commercial HVAC and refrigeration business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing between work and payment, and refrigerant costs that carry more weight than they do on the residential side.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Trucks and shop equipmentService vehicles and shop equipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. A heavy truck over 6,000 pounds has its own cap.
- Subcontractor 1099sA crane operator, electrician, or helper you pay $2,000 or more in 2026, outside of payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Employee or contractorA technician who drives your truck, works your schedule, and services your contracts is usually an employee, not a contractor, whatever he is called on paper.
- 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 commercial HVAC and refrigeration companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Refrigerant and recovery equipment
- Rooftop unit components and controls
- Crane and lift rental
- Truck fuel and repairs
- EPA 608 certification renewal
- Commercial contractor license
- Liability insurance
- Uniforms with your logo
- Phone and tablet for dispatch
- Tools that live on the truck
- Answering service for emergency calls
- Card and processing fees
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 commercial HVAC year, kept every month.
Cooling season drives your busiest calls, and net-30 payments arrive on their own schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both and of the return. 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, right before cooling season calls start climbing.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer's rooftop unit calls changed the number.
- October
Before the heating swap
Before restaurants and retailers switch systems over for winter, 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 commercial HVAC and refrigeration 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 commercial HVAC owners ask first.
How does Gus handle net-30 invoices that get paid weeks after the work is done?
He tracks income against the job it came from, so a late payment does not make the month the work happened look weaker than it was.
Can Gus keep refrigeration and HVAC service separate?
Yes. Walk-in coolers and rack systems get their own category, apart from rooftop units and general HVAC service, so you can see each side clearly.
My refrigerant costs jumped this quarter. Would Gus catch that?
Yes. Refrigerant is tracked in its own line, so a price spike shows up right away instead of getting lost in general parts spending.
Do I write off a rooftop unit crane rental as part of the job?
Yes, it gets tracked against that specific installation, along with the equipment and any subcontracted labor, so the job's real margin is visible.
My books are behind because invoices come in on their own timeline. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them by job, 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.
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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