Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for driveway paving and sealcoating companies.
New paving priced by the square foot, quick sealcoating jobs run in volume all summer, and asphalt bought by the ton on a schedule that will not wait. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August came in at $15,500. Asphalt tonnage for the Hobart driveway repave got booked against that job, not general material cost.
- Deposit, Hobart driveway repaveJob deposits
- Sealcoating route batchSealcoating jobs
- Asphalt plant deliveryAsphalt material
- Sealcoat and crack filler orderSealcoat materials
- Roller and paver rentalEquipment rental
Why your books are different
Paving and sealcoating books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and material bills. Your business runs full driveway repaving jobs priced by the square foot alongside a volume of quick sealcoating jobs done in a single afternoon, and asphalt has to be bought and used the same day it is delivered. When the books blend all that, you cannot tell which side of the business actually pays.
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1
Repaving jobs and sealcoating jobs get logged the same way
A full asphalt repaving job and a same-day sealcoating job use completely different material and labor amounts, but when both get filed under one general paving category, the owner cannot see which one is really carrying the season.
What we doSplits repaving income from sealcoating income, so each shows up as its own number. -
2
Asphalt tonnage cost gets averaged across the month instead of tracked per job
Asphalt is bought by the ton and has to be used the day it is delivered, so tonnage cost swings with each job's size, and if it is only tracked as a monthly total, the owner cannot see whether a specific job's price actually covered its asphalt cost.
What we doTags asphalt tonnage cost to the job it was delivered for, so per-job material cost is visible against per-job price. -
3
A sealcoating route's volume hides in one lump number
Running ten or fifteen quick sealcoating jobs in a week produces a lot of small transactions that, if not tracked individually, blend into one number that hides whether route pricing per driveway is actually profitable.
What we doKeeps sealcoating job counts and revenue visible by batch, so route-level pricing can be checked against what each stop actually costs in material and time. -
4
Weather-driven schedule shifts scatter costs unevenly
Rain can push a week of sealcoating or paving into the following week, so material bought for one week's schedule sometimes gets used in the next, making one month look thin and the next unusually strong.
What we doKeeps material costs tagged to the jobs they were used for, regardless of which week the weather actually allowed the work.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a paving and sealcoating 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
- Job depositsCollected on larger repaving jobs, tracked against the job.
- Repaving final paymentsPayment collected once a full repave is finished.
- Sealcoating jobsSame-day sealcoating and crack filling jobs, paid on completion.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
Money out
- Asphalt materialHot mix asphalt bought by the ton, tracked per job.
- Sealcoat materialsSealcoat, crack filler, and striping paint.
- Equipment rentalPavers, rollers, and sealcoat sprayers.
- Crew wages and subsPaving and sealcoating crew pay, tracked apart by job type.
- Vehicle and fuelTrucks and equipment transport fuel and maintenance.
- Lead fees and marketingAngi, Google local services, and door hangers.
What we watch for you
- Repave versus sealcoat split
How much of the month came from full repaves versus sealcoating volume, so pricing decisions use the right number.
- Asphalt cost per job
Tonnage cost against job size, so pricing per square foot actually covers material cost.
- Weather-adjusted schedule
How rain delays shift costs between weeks, so a rained-out week is not mistaken for a slow one.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things paving and sealcoating 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. I keep material costs tagged to the jobs they were bought for, so the delay just shifts when a job shows up, not what it actually cost.
Asphalt tonnage ran a bit over what was priced. I flagged it so you can check the quote against what that size job actually took.
If you pay them $2,000 or more this year and they are not on payroll, they get a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running.
The tax side
The tax side of a paving and sealcoating business.
Most of what goes wrong here is blending two different kinds of jobs and losing track of per-job material cost. Here is what actually matters at tax time.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Equipment write-offsA paver, roller, or sealcoat sprayer bought for the business can usually be written off in the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Heavy vehicle depreciation capA heavy truck over 6,000 pounds used to haul equipment gets a Section 179 cap of $32,000, lower than the general equipment limit.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like a paving crew, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- 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 driveway paving and sealcoating companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Paver and roller rental
- Sealcoat sprayer maintenance
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Angi and Google local services ads
- Door hanger printing
- Uniforms with your logo
- Tools that live on the truck
- Phone and tablet for scheduling
- Trade licenses and bonding
- Card and financing fees
- Crack filler and striping paint stock
- Truck signage
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 paving and sealcoating year, kept every month.
Warm, dry weather drives the whole season, and rain can reshuffle a week's schedule without warning. Your taxes come on a schedule either way. 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 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 before the paving season ramps up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how asphalt cost per job compared to what you priced.
- October
Before the season ends
A look at any equipment worth buying before winter, 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 driveway paving and sealcoating 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 paving and sealcoating 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 scheduling in Jobber. Do I have to change how I work?
No. Keep running jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit or payout is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I write off a new paver or roller all at once?
Often, yes. Business equipment can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, though 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 behind from last season. 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.
How does Gus tell repaving jobs apart from sealcoating volume?
He splits the two by category as jobs are billed, so your bigger repaving jobs and your sealcoating route each show up as their own number.
Do you handle sales tax on the asphalt and sealcoat I buy?
No. Sales tax on materials and contracts varies by state and Gus does not file it. He keeps your books clean so whoever files your sales tax has accurate numbers to work from.
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