Site work & heavy civil
Books and taxes for demolition contractors.
Teardown contracts, scrap metal payouts, landfill tipping fees, and a hazmat crew brought in before the crew starts. Gus sorts every dollar, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August cleared $14,000. The scrap metal payout from the Meridian teardown got logged as income, not a stray deposit.
- GC demo paymentDemolition contracts
- Scrap yard payoutScrap metal sales
- Waste Management tippingLandfill and disposal
- Hazmat sub invoiceAbatement subcontractor
- Shell fuel accountFuel
Why your books are different
Demolition books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. Your business is teardowns, tonnage, scrap that pays cash, and a hazmat crew that goes in before you do. When the books do not know that, real income slips past and real costs get buried together.
-
1
Scrap metal payouts look like stray cash
A scrap yard pays cash or a same-day check for rebar and structural steel pulled off a teardown, and without a clear trail it looks like a random deposit instead of income tied to a job.
What we doBooks every scrap and salvage payout as income against the job it came from, so nothing slips past the return. -
2
The hammer attachment gets filed as a repair
A hydraulic hammer or shear attachment for the excavator can cost as much as a small truck, and coded as a repair it never gets treated like the equipment purchase it actually is.
What we doFlags large attachment and tool purchases as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on writing it off. -
3
Tipping fees hide inside one hauling bill
Landfill tipping fees are billed by the ton and change a lot between a clean wood-frame teardown and a job full of concrete and masonry, but lumped in with hauling nobody can see disposal cost creeping up.
What we doKeeps tipping fees separate from hauling and container rental, so disposal cost by job is visible. -
4
A hazmat sub blends into the job cost
An asbestos or lead abatement crew brought in before the demo starts gets paid like any other line item, and the paperwork that comes with hiring them gets missed until it is overdue.
What we doKeeps abatement subcontractor payments in their own line and flags the 1099 the sub is owed. -
5
Salvage sales never make it to the bank
Reclaimed brick, lumber, and fixtures sold off a job site for cash are easy to pocket and easy to forget, and that income counts whether or not it ever gets deposited.
What we doAsks about salvage and scrap sales every month, so nothing off the books becomes a problem later.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a demolition contractor.
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
- Demolition contractsThe teardown payment from the general contractor or property owner.
- Scrap metal salesRebar, steel, and copper wire sold to the scrap yard off a job.
- Salvage salesReclaimed brick, lumber, and fixtures sold before or after the teardown.
- Change ordersExtra scope added once hazmat or unexpected structure turns up.
- Interior soft-strip contractsGut jobs that clear a building before the structural demo starts.
Money out
- FuelDiesel for the excavator and support equipment.
- EquipmentExcavators, hammers, and shears, logged so they get written off right.
- Equipment rentalA shear or grapple rented for one job you do not own outright.
- Landfill and disposalTipping fees billed by the ton at the landfill or recycling yard.
- Dumpster and roll-off rentalContainers pulled and swapped through the job.
- Abatement subcontractorsThe asbestos or lead crew brought in ahead of the demo.
- Insurance and bondingGeneral liability, equipment coverage, and the bond that let you bid the job.
- Dust control and water trucksWater for dust suppression on a busy or regulated site.
What we watch for you
- Scrap income
What scrap and salvage actually bring in across the year, tracked so it counts.
- Disposal cost
Tipping fees per job. When it climbs, the next bid needs to price it in.
- Fuel share
Diesel against revenue. When it climbs, a bid needs to move with it.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things demolition contractors 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.
Yes, that counts as income. I logged it against the Meridian job so your numbers and your taxes both stay honest.
Equipment. I logged it that way and flagged it so the accountant decides how to write it off with your whole year in view.
If you pay them $2,000 or more this year outside payroll, they get a 1099 by January 31. I have been keeping that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a demolition business.
Most of what goes wrong here is scrap income nobody tracked and equipment filed as a repair. Get those right and the set-aside was already running.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Excavators, hammers, and shearsEquipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year it goes to work. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, but whether to take it all now depends on the year you are having.
- Contractor 1099sAn abatement crew, a hauler, or an operator not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if you paid them $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list running all year.
- Scrap and salvage incomeMoney from a scrap yard or a salvage sale is taxable income whether it comes as cash, a check, or an app payment, and whether or not a form ever arrives to prove it.
- 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 scrap income and job costs were tracked correctly all year.
Deductions demolition contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Diesel and DEF
- Landfill tipping fees
- Dumpster rental
- Hammer and shear wear parts
- Dust control water
- Equipment insurance
- Bond premiums
- Safety gear and PPE
- Respirator and hazmat gear
- CDL renewal fees
- Shop and yard rent
- Small tools
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 demolition year, kept every month.
Teardowns come in bursts tied to what builders are starting next. Your team keeps you ahead of the calendar and the tax deadlines 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 haulers and abatement crews 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, because the set-aside has been running since January, no matter how the teardown schedule moved.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's mix of teardowns and soft-strip jobs changed the number.
- October
Before the slow stretch
New starts tend to slow going into winter. Gus looks at equipment worth buying before December and gets final payments on finished teardowns chased down.
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 demolition contractors. 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 demolition contractors ask first.
Does scrap metal money actually count as income?
Yes. Whether the scrap yard pays cash, check, or through an app, that money is taxable income. Gus logs it against the job it came from so it shows up honest on both the books and the return.
I bid jobs through my own estimating software. Does that change anything?
No. Keep bidding the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear, he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I write off a hydraulic hammer 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 mess after a busy year of teardowns. 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.
What if part of a job is paid in scrap rights instead of cash?
That is still worth tracking as income once the scrap sells. Gus asks about it and books the sale when the money actually comes in, so nothing gets missed at tax time.
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 site work & heavy civil
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- Home plan & house design sellers
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