Dental
Books and taxes for dental labs.
Case invoices to dentist clients on net terms, rush fees, remake credits, and the milling materials that are the real cost of every case. Gus sorts every deposit, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
July made $15,600. Two remakes got credited back to client accounts instead of counted as new case revenue, and I kept the zirconia block order apart from your general lab supplies.
- Client invoice paymentCase invoices
- Rush case surchargeRush fees
- Zirconia block orderMilling materials
- Courier delivery serviceShipping and courier
- CAD/CAM technician payLab technician pay
Why your books are different
A dental lab's books go wrong in four familiar places.
Your customers are dentists on net terms, not patients at a chair, and a remake is a credit, not a sale or a refund. A generalist bookkeeper built for a patient-facing practice gets both wrong.
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1
Your customers are dentists, not patients
Every case invoice goes to a dental practice on account, often net 30, not to a patient at the chair. A generalist bookkeeper expecting patient copays and insurance deposits misses how a lab actually gets paid.
What we doTracks case invoices and what dentist clients have paid against what they owe, the way a business-to-business lab actually runs. -
2
A remake is a credit, not a refund
When a crown does not fit and the lab remakes it for free, that is a credit against the client's account, not a cash refund and not a new sale. Booked wrong, remakes either inflate revenue or disappear entirely.
What we doBooks a remake as a credit against the original case, so it neither inflates revenue nor vanishes from the record. -
3
Milling materials are the real cost of goods
Milling blocks, PMMA discs, and metal alloys are the lab's biggest cost and move with case volume, but a generalist bookkeeper often files them the same as office supplies, hiding the real cost of a case.
What we doKeeps milling materials in their own category tied to production, separate from general office and shop supplies. -
4
A slow-paying client looks like a slow month
A single large practice that pays its invoices late can make a busy production month look like a cash-flow problem, when the work was actually done and billed on time.
What we doFlags when a slowdown in deposits lines up with a known client's payment pattern instead of a real drop in cases.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a dental lab.
Set up once for how the lab gets paid and what it spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Case invoicesCrown, bridge, and denture cases billed to dentist clients, usually on net 30 terms.
- Rush feesSurcharges for cases turned around faster than standard production time.
- Digital file and design feesCharges for digital scans, design work, or milling files sent separately from the physical case.
- Remake creditsAdjustments against a client's account for a remade case, tracked apart from new sales.
Money out
- Milling materialsZirconia blocks, PMMA discs, and metal alloys, the lab's biggest cost of production.
- Lab technician payCAD/CAM design and milling staff, kept apart from front office pay.
- Shipping and courierCase pickup and delivery between the lab and its dentist clients.
- Equipment and mill maintenanceMills, 3D printers, and furnaces, along with their service contracts.
- Lab management softwareCase tracking and scheduling software built for a dental lab.
- Quality control and remakesMaterials used to redo a case that did not pass inspection or fit at delivery.
What we watch for you
- Remake rate
How many cases get remade against total cases produced, a direct read on quality and cost.
- Client accounts receivable
How much dentist clients owe against how much has been paid, since net terms mean cash lags production.
- Material cost share
Milling materials against total case invoices, since it moves with the mix of cases in production.
- The set-aside
What the lab owes as client invoices settle on their own schedule, tracked so April holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things dental lab 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 necessarily. Production was steady, the cash is just waiting on that one client. I flagged it so you can see it is a collections issue, not a drop in cases.
As a credit against that client's account, not as three new sales or three refunds. That way your case count and your revenue both stay accurate.
I can show you what outside milling is costing you now and what a second mill would do to your monthly number, but whether it pencils out for your volume is above my pay grade. The accountant can run it with you.
The tax side
The tax side of a dental lab.
Most of what goes wrong here is what counts as production cost versus a flat expense, and how a remake gets booked.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Mills, printers, and furnacesA milling machine, a 3D printer, or a sintering furnace can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Materials as cost of goodsMilling blocks and metal alloys used in production are generally tracked as the cost of the cases they go into, which affects how profit is calculated, not just what counts as an expense.
- Technician classificationA CAD/CAM technician working set hours on lab equipment is usually an employee, not a contractor, regardless of how they are paid.
- Contractor 1099sAn outside milling service or a courier paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions dental labs miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Milling blocks and discs
- Metal alloys
- Mill and printer maintenance
- Shipping and courier costs
- Lab management software
- Continuing education
- Dental lab association dues
- Quality control materials
- Equipment lease payments
- Credit card 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 dental lab's year, kept every month.
Production runs on its own schedule. Your taxes run on the calendar's 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 contractor list for any outside milling service is ready, and a monthly set-aside begins so April is not a scramble.
- April
Filed and signed
Your business return is filed. The set-aside has tracked production since January, so the number due holds no surprise even with client accounts still settling.
- July
Midyear read
A look at where the lab stands, what you will owe, and whether client accounts receivable are staying current.
- October
Before the year-end push
Dentist clients often push to finish cases before year-end. Before that hits, Gus flags 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 dental labs. 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 dental lab owners ask first.
My customers are dentists, not patients. Does Gus handle that kind of billing?
Yes. Gus tracks case invoices to dentist clients and what they have paid against what they owe, the way a business-to-business lab actually runs, rather than expecting patient copays.
How do you handle a remake we did for free?
As a credit against that client's account, not a new sale or a cash refund. That keeps your case count and your revenue both accurate.
One client is chronically slow to pay. Does that mess up my monthly numbers?
It can look that way if you are not watching for it. Gus flags when a cash slowdown lines up with a known client's payment pattern, so it reads as a collections issue, not a drop in production.
Do milling materials count differently than shop supplies for taxes?
They are generally tracked as the cost of the cases they go into rather than a flat expense, which affects how the lab's profit is calculated. The accountant applies the right treatment based on your production.
My books have not been reconciled since we added a second shift. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements from that stretch. Gus sorts through the backlog against your production, and the accountant reviews it once it lines up.
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 dental
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Dental sleep medicine practices
- Denturists & denture clinics
- Mobile dentistry
- Endodontists
- Oral surgeons
- Periodontists
- Orthodontists
- Pediatric dentists
- Cosmetic dentists
- Dental implant centers
- General dentists
- Compounding pharmacies
- Durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers
- Elective 3D/4D ultrasound studios
- Independent pharmacies
- Medical billing companies
- Mobile nursing & concierge nurse services
- Mobile phlebotomy services
- Mobile x-ray & ultrasound services
- Occupational health & DOT physical clinics
- Orthotics & prosthetics providers
- Sleep clinics
- Wound care clinics
- Birth doulas
- Breathwork facilitators
- Herbalists & apothecaries
- Hypnotherapists
- Lactation consultants
- Midwives & birth centers
- Neurofeedback clinics
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