Plumbing & water

Books and taxes for drain cleaning companies.

Service calls, jetting jobs, grease line contracts, and those financing payouts that land short. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
MarchExample month
$9,250
what you made

March came in at $9,250. The new camera head from Ferguson is in there, so I logged it as equipment, not supplies.

  • Housecall Pro payoutService calls
  • Wisetack payoutFinanced jobs
  • Ferguson #2231Parts and materials
  • Google local servicesLead fees
  • Shell fuel, truck 2Trucks and fuel
Money in$38,400
Money out$29,150
Set aside for taxes$2,300
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Drain cleaning books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is trucks, jetters, techs on commission, and customers who pay three different ways. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which work pays, and the return misses what it should catch.

  1. 1

    Financing payouts land short

    When a customer finances a $4,800 jetting and root cutting job, the lender pays you less than the invoice and keeps its fee. Book the deposit as the sale and both your sales and your costs come out wrong.

    What we doBooks the full job as money in and the lender's cut as a financing fee, so your prices and your costs both show up honest.
  2. 2

    Commissions hide inside wages

    Techs paid a cut of each job look like plain payroll. That buries what the work really costs you, and it is where owners guess wrong on pricing.

    What we doKeeps wages and commissions in their own lines, so you can see labor against what each month brought in.
  3. 3

    The jetter is not a supply run

    A trailer jetter or a sewer camera can cost as much as a truck. Filed as supplies, it muddles the month. Filed as equipment, it can often be written off in the year you buy it.

    What we doFlags big equipment buys the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
  4. 4

    A stock-up wrecks the monthly number

    Cable, blades, cleanout caps, and fittings get bought in bulk and used for months. One big Ferguson order makes a good month look terrible and the next one look great.

    What we doKeeps parts and materials in one steady line and tells you when a stock-up is the reason a month looks thin.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a drain cleaning 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

  • Service callsClogs, backups, and emergency calls, paid in the truck or by invoice.
  • Hydro jetting and root cuttingThe bigger line jobs, kept apart so you can see what they bring in.
  • Camera inspectionsStandalone sewer scopes for home buyers and landlords.
  • Maintenance contractsRestaurant grease lines and apartment buildings that bill every month or quarter.
  • Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.

Money out

  • Tech wages and commissionsKept apart so you can see labor against the work it paid for.
  • Parts and materialsCable, blades, cleanout caps, fittings, and root treatment.
  • Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, insurance, and loan interest for the fleet.
  • EquipmentJetters, cameras, and locators, logged so they get written off right.
  • Lead fees and marketingGoogle local services, Angi leads, and the answering service.
  • Dump and disposal feesGrease, sludge, and debris you pay to get rid of.
  • Financing and card feesWhat the lender, Square, or Stripe kept before you got paid.

What we watch for you

  • Labor share

    Wages and commissions against money in. When it creeps up, prices or scheduling need a look.

  • Financing cost

    What lenders keep on financed jobs. Worth knowing before you offer it on every ticket.

  • Contract income

    Grease line and apartment contracts are the steady money. He tells you if it is growing or leaking.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things drain cleaning 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.

Just bought a $9,000 jetter trailer. Does that all come off this year?

Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

Why does March say less than what I invoiced?

Two financed jobs paid out $410 short. That was the lender's fee. I booked it as a cost, so your sales still show the full amount.

Do I owe the guy who helps on big jobs any paperwork?

If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list as we go, so it is ready.

The tax side

The tax side of a drain cleaning business.

Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Equipment filed as supplies, a helper paid like a contractor who works like an employee, 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.

  • Jetters, cameras, and trucksBusiness equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. Whether to take it all now depends on the year you are having.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
  • Employee or contractorA tech who drives your truck, works your schedule, and runs your jetter is usually an employee. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
  • 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 drain cleaning companies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Truck fuel and repairs
  • Jetter nozzles and hoses
  • Cable and cutter blades
  • Camera and locator repairs
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Google local services ads
  • The answering service
  • Dump and disposal fees
  • Tools that live on the truck
  • Phone and tablet for dispatch
  • Licenses and bonding
  • Card and financing 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 drain cleaning year, kept every month.

Backups come any week of the year. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether that spring run of root calls changed the number.

  4. October

    Before grease season

    Holiday cooking means grease backups. Before the rush, Gus looks at equipment you might buy and anything worth doing before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 drain cleaning 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 drain cleaning owners ask first.

Can Gus handle jobs paid through financing companies?

Yes. He books the full job as money in and the lender's fee as a cost, so your sales are not understated and the fee still counts against your taxes.

I run jobs in Housecall Pro. Do I have to change anything?

No. Keep running jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.

My techs are paid commission. Does that change the books?

It changes where the money goes, not what you do. Commissions paid through payroll stay payroll. Gus keeps them visible so you can see labor against what each month brought in.

Do I write off my jetter all at once?

Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in 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 year behind. Is that a problem?

No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, 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.

More in plumbing & water

We keep books for the business next door too.

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