Remodeling & interiors
Books and taxes for countertop fabricators.
A slab bought from an importer, template deposits, a breakage on the shop floor, and remnants sold off to another job. Gus sorts every dollar to the slab and the job it belongs to, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $26,000. Two slabs from the Whitmore order cracked on the saw, so I logged the loss against that job instead of letting it hide in the material line.
- Client payment, Whitmore installRetail installs
- Cabinet dealer payoutWholesale and trade jobs
- Slab order, importerSlab inventory
- Remnant sale, offcutRemnant sales
- Saw blade and polishing padsFabrication supplies
Why your books are different
Countertop fabrication books go wrong the moment slab inventory sits on the rack.
A generalist sees a deposit and a bill. Your shop buys slabs in bulk from an importer, holds them as inventory until a job claims one, and sells to both homeowners and cabinet dealers on trade pricing. When the books do not track a slab from purchase to install, a cracked piece or a slow-moving color quietly eats your margin.
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1
A slab purchase looks like a bad month before any job uses it
You buy slabs from an importer in bulk, sometimes a full container at a time, well before a specific job is assigned to any one piece. Booked as a plain expense the month it is bought, a slab order can make an otherwise solid month look like a loss.
What we doTracks slab purchases as inventory rather than a monthly cost, so a bulk buy does not read as a bad month until a slab is actually used on a job. -
2
A cracked or broken slab disappears into the material line
A slab that cracks on the saw or during transport is a real loss, but if it just gets absorbed into general material costs, you never see how much breakage is actually costing the shop over a year.
What we doFlags breakage as its own loss on the job it happened on, so you can see the real cost instead of a blurry material number. -
3
Wholesale jobs for cabinet dealers get priced like retail
Work sold at trade pricing to a cabinet shop or kitchen designer runs at a different margin than a direct homeowner job, and if both land in the same revenue line, you cannot tell which side of the business is actually more profitable.
What we doKeeps wholesale and trade jobs separate from retail installs, so each channel's real margin is visible. -
4
Remnant sales get treated as free money
Selling a leftover piece for a vanity top or small project brings in real income, but if it is not tracked, it looks like the shop is more profitable on a full slab than it actually is, and the remnant's own cost never gets counted.
What we doBooks remnant sales as their own income line, so you can see what offcuts are really adding on top of full-slab jobs. -
5
The gap between templating and install spans weeks
A job is templated, then fabricated in the shop, then installed, often two to three weeks later. A deposit collected at templating and the cost of the slab used weeks later can land in different months and confuse what a single job actually earned.
What we doTies the deposit, the slab cost, and the install payment to the same job, no matter how the timing spreads across months.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a countertop fabrication 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
- Retail installsJobs sold and installed directly for homeowners.
- Wholesale and trade jobsWork sold at trade pricing to cabinet dealers and kitchen designers.
- Remnant salesLeftover slab pieces sold for vanities or small projects.
- Template depositsCollected before fabrication begins, tied to the job.
Money out
- Slab inventoryGranite and quartz purchased from importers or slab yards, tracked until used.
- Fabrication suppliesSaw blades, polishing pads, adhesives, and seam kits.
- Install crew and subcontractorsLabor for template, cutting, and install, kept apart from slab cost.
- Equipment and shop maintenanceCNC saws, polishers, and gantry equipment upkeep.
- Truck and deliveryFuel and repairs for the vehicles that move slabs and finished tops.
- Lead feesAngi, Houzz Pro, and paid leads that turn into signed jobs.
What we watch for you
- Slab yield
How much usable countertop comes out of each slab against what it cost, tracked over time.
- Breakage cost
What cracked or wasted slabs are actually costing the shop, not buried in materials.
- Wholesale margin
Whether trade-priced jobs for dealers are still worth the volume they bring in.
- Job margin
What each install actually cleared after slab, labor, and fabrication supplies.
Ask Gus
Things countertop fabricators 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.
No, I tracked it as inventory rather than a monthly cost, so it will not show up as a loss until a slab actually gets used on a job.
I flagged that as a breakage loss on the job it happened on, so you can see the real cost instead of it hiding inside your material line.
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 countertop fabrication business.
Most of what trips up this business is inventory and timing: slabs booked as a monthly cost too early, breakage buried in materials, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Slab inventory and cost of goods soldSlabs bought and held until used are inventory, not a monthly expense. The cost of a slab counts against income when it is actually used on a job, and the accountant can walk you through how that shows up on the return.
- Install crew 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like an install sub, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list as the year goes.
- Shop equipmentCNC saws, polishers, and other shop 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 slab inventory correctly all year.
Deductions countertop fabricators miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Saw blades and polishing pads
- Seam kits and adhesives
- Shop equipment maintenance
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Angi and Houzz Pro lead fees
- Liability insurance
- Dust and slurry disposal
- Small tool replacement
- Continuing education and certifications
- Branded uniforms
- Phone and tablet for scheduling
- Delivery vehicle mileage
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 countertop fabrication year, kept every month.
Slab orders and installs run all year at their own pace. Gus keeps taxes on a separate, steadier 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 wholesale or retail work is driving the year's numbers.
- October
Before year-end
Gus looks at whether a bulk slab order or new equipment before December makes sense, 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 countertop fabricators. 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 countertop fabricators ask first.
How does Gus handle slabs I buy in bulk before any job is assigned?
He tracks slab purchases as inventory rather than a monthly cost, so a large order does not make an unrelated month look like a loss until a slab is actually used.
A slab cracked on the saw this week. Does that count as a normal cost?
Gus flags it as a breakage loss tied to that job, so you can see what it actually cost instead of it disappearing into your general material line.
I sell to cabinet dealers at trade pricing and to homeowners at retail. Can Gus keep those separate?
Yes. Wholesale and retail work get their own categories, so you can see which side of the business is actually more profitable.
Do I need to track remnant sales?
It helps a lot. Gus books remnant sales as their own income line, so you can see what offcuts add on top of full-slab jobs.
Do I write off a new CNC saw 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. 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.
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