Waste, recycling & environmental services
Books and taxes for dirt and fill brokers.
A receiving fee from the site with too much dirt, a delivery fee from the site that needs it, a subcontracted hauler paid per load, and a soil test to prove the fill is clean. Your bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June cleared $10,500. A big grading job needed to unload extra dirt fast, so I kept that receiving fee apart from the delivery fees you charged fill customers.
- Site receiving feeReceiving fees
- Landscaper delivery feeDelivery fees
- Subcontracted hauler payoutHauling payments
- Soil test, clean fillCompliance testing
- Stockpile yard leaseStorage costs
Why your books are different
Dirt and fill brokering books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and a hauling bill. Your business gets paid twice on the same load, once by the site with too much dirt and once by the site that needs it, then pays a subcontracted hauler to actually move it. Blend all of that and you cannot tell what a match actually earned you.
-
1
Receiving fees and delivery fees get blended
A site with excess dirt pays you a receiving fee, and a site that needs fill pays you a delivery fee, sometimes for the very same load. Lumped into one revenue line, you cannot tell which side of the match is actually worth more to your business.
What we doKeeps receiving fees and delivery fees in separate lines, so you can see which side of a match is carrying the business. -
2
Hauler payouts hide the real brokerage margin
Paying a subcontracted hauler per load looks like a simple pass-through cost, but your actual profit is the spread between what you charge and what you pay the hauler. Blended together, that spread disappears.
What we doTracks what is charged against what is paid to the hauler on each load, so your real brokerage margin is always visible. -
3
Soil testing costs get lost in general expenses
Confirming a load is clean fill, not contaminated soil, is a real compliance cost with its own bill, but it often gets buried in general operating expenses.
What we doKeeps soil testing costs on their own line, so the real cost of confirming clean fill is visible. -
4
Stockpiled dirt sitting at the yard goes untracked
Dirt taken in from an excess site but not yet matched to a fill customer is real material sitting on the property. Left untracked, a big intake month can look like a loss until that dirt gets matched and moved.
What we doKeeps a running sense of dirt on hand awaiting a match, so an intake month reads as inventory, not a loss.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a dirt and fill brokerage.
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
- Receiving feesWhat a site with excess dirt pays to have it hauled away.
- Delivery feesWhat a site needing fill pays to have dirt brought in.
- Brokerage matching feesYour fee for coordinating a direct match between two sites.
- Stockpile storage feesCharges for temporarily holding dirt at your own yard.
Money out
- Subcontracted hauler paymentsPer-load payments to independent truckers moving the dirt.
- Company truck fuel and maintenanceFuel and upkeep for any trucks you run yourself.
- Soil testingConfirming a load is clean fill before it moves.
- Stockpile yard costsLease or site costs for storing dirt awaiting a match.
- Dispatch and load ticket softwareWhat keeps loads, matches, and payouts organized.
What we watch for you
- Brokerage margin per load
What you charge against what you pay the hauler, the real profit on each match.
- Receiving versus delivery mix
Which side of the business, excess sites or fill customers, is actually driving revenue.
- Dirt on hand
How much stockpiled material is still waiting for a match at month end.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on brokerage margin, tracked every month so April is never a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things dirt and fill broker 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.
No, it is two real fees for two real services. Receiving and delivery fees sit in separate lines, so you can see what each side is actually worth.
I track what you charge against what you pay the hauler on that same load, so your real brokerage margin is always visible.
It should not, and I keep it from reading that way. Dirt on hand is tracked as inventory awaiting a match, not a loss.
The tax side
The tax side of a dirt and fill brokerage.
Most of what goes wrong here is blending. Receiving and delivery fees mixed together, and a hauler payout hiding the real margin.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Subcontracted hauler paymentsAn independent hauler paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31, the same as any other contractor.
- Company truck equipmentA dump truck or trailer you own and run yourself can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Driver worker classificationA driver running your own truck on your schedule is almost always an employee, while an independent hauler running their own truck on their own schedule is usually a genuine contractor.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated brokerages 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 dirt and fill brokers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Subcontracted hauler payments
- Truck fuel and maintenance
- Soil testing fees
- Stockpile yard lease
- Dispatch software subscriptions
- Scale and load ticket costs
- General liability insurance
- Phone for coordinating loads
- Business licenses and permits
- Vehicle registration and inspection
- Uniforms and safety gear
- Site access and right-of-way 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 dirt and fill brokerage year, kept every month.
Construction season drives the loads, and frozen ground slows them down. 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 broker year
Last year's return gets started and you get a monthly set-aside, so April is already handled before frozen ground thaws and hauling picks back up.
- April
The return lands
Signed and filed, whatever the construction season brought in. The set-aside was tracking brokerage margin all along, so nothing is owed as a surprise.
- July
Midyear broker check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer construction volume changed the number.
- October
Before winter halts hauling
Frozen ground slows dirt hauling for the season. Gus looks at equipment you might need 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 dirt and fill brokers. 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 dirt and fill broker owners ask first.
We get paid by both the site giving dirt and the site taking it. Is that tracked as double income?
No. Receiving fees and delivery fees are two real, separate fees, kept in their own lines so you can see what each side is worth.
How do I see what I am really making after paying the subcontracted hauler?
Gus tracks what you charge against what you pay the hauler on that same load, so your real brokerage margin is always visible.
We have dirt sitting at the yard waiting to be matched. Does that hurt the month's numbers?
It should not, and Gus keeps it from reading that way. Dirt on hand is tracked as inventory awaiting a match, not a loss.
Does soil testing to confirm clean fill count as a real cost?
Yes. It sits on its own line, so the real cost of confirming a load is clean is always visible.
My books have never separated receiving fees from delivery fees. Is that fixable?
Yes. Hand over whatever bank statements you have, both fees blended together. Gus works through the backlog, the accountant checks it, and you will know where you 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.
More in waste, recycling & environmental services
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Air quality & mold inspectors
- Composting services
- Hazardous waste haulers
- Independent residential trash haulers
- Medical waste disposal
- Oilfield service companies
- Phase I environmental site assessment firms
- Recycling centers
- Scrap metal recyclers
- Stormwater compliance services
- Tire recycling
- Used cooking oil collection
- Water testing labs
- Wetland & environmental permitting consultants
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