Aviation & marine services
Books and taxes for drone inspection and mapping services.
Utility tower inspections, construction site mapping flights, hours of data processing after every job, and a drone fleet that ages fast. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
August came in at $13,300. The replacement drone body after the crash on the tower job went in as equipment, and the insurance reimbursement got booked against it.
- Utility tower inspection contractInspection contracts
- Construction site mapping projectMapping projects
- Replacement drone bodyDrone fleet and equipment
- Mapping software subscriptionData processing and software
- Batteries and propsDrone fleet and equipment
Why your books are different
A drone inspection business's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a flight fee and a software bill. Your business bills for flight time and hours of data processing separately, replaces expensive drone bodies more often than most equipment, and carries insurance that actually pays out sometimes. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell what a project truly cost to deliver.
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1
Data processing time gets billed but never tracked as a cost
A mapping project often takes as many hours to process the imagery as it did to fly, and if that processing time and the software behind it are not tracked, you cannot tell whether the project fee actually covers the real work.
What we doKeeps data processing and software costs in their own line against project income, so the true cost of delivering a finished map is visible. -
2
A crashed drone looks like a straight loss
Drones get damaged on the job more often than most equipment, and if an insurance reimbursement for a replacement is not tracked against the loss, a bad week looks worse than it actually was.
What we doBooks the replacement cost and any insurance reimbursement as connected, so you can see the real cost after coverage kicks in. -
3
Airspace authorization fees get lost in general costs
Flying near controlled airspace can require paid authorization or waivers on top of the job itself, and if that cost is buried in general expenses, you cannot tell which projects actually needed it and whether you priced for it.
What we doKeeps airspace authorization and waiver costs tied to the projects that needed them, so pricing can account for it next time. -
4
Recurring inspection contracts look like one-off projects
A utility's quarterly tower inspection contract pays very differently than a one-time construction mapping job, and mixing them together hides which kind of work is actually providing steady income.
What we doKeeps recurring inspection contracts separate from one-time mapping projects, so you can see which is carrying the business.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a drone inspection business.
Set up once for how you bill and what you buy. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Inspection contractsRecurring utility, tower, and infrastructure inspection work.
- Mapping projectsOne-time construction, agriculture, or survey mapping jobs.
- Data processing and deliverablesBilled for finished maps, reports, and processed imagery.
- Insurance reimbursementsPayouts for damaged drones, tracked against the replacement cost.
Money out
- Drone fleet and equipmentDrone bodies, batteries, props, and camera payloads.
- Data processing and softwareMapping software subscriptions and cloud storage for imagery.
- Airspace authorization feesWaivers and authorizations for controlled airspace jobs.
- Pilot wagesKept apart so you can see labor against what each project brought in.
- InsuranceDrone hull and liability coverage.
What we watch for you
- Processing hours per project
How much data processing time a project actually takes against what it billed.
- Equipment replacement rate
How often drones need replacing, tracked against insurance reimbursements received.
- Contract versus project share
How much of the month came from recurring contracts versus one-time mapping jobs.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things drone inspection 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.
Yes. I keep data processing time and software costs against the project, so the real work behind a finished map is visible, not just the flight.
I book the replacement cost and the reimbursement together, so the real hit after insurance kicks in is what shows up, not the full sticker price.
I keep that cost tied to the job that needed it, so you can see it and price for it the next time a similar site comes up.
The tax side
The tax side of a drone inspection business.
Most of what goes wrong here is tracking equipment losses and processing costs against the right project. Getting that right matters more than any single deduction.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Drone equipment depreciationDrones, cameras, and sensors can often be expensed the year you buy them under Section 179, up to $2,560,000, with bonus depreciation currently 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAny outside pilots or processing help you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Software and subscription costsMapping software and cloud storage subscriptions used for the business are generally deductible as ordinary operating costs.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when equipment, processing, and project fees are booked right all year.
Deductions drone inspection and mapping services miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Drone bodies, batteries, and props
- Camera and sensor payloads
- Mapping software subscriptions
- Cloud storage for imagery
- Airspace authorization fees
- Drone hull and liability insurance
- Remote pilot certificate renewal
- Field laptops and processing hardware
- Case and transport equipment
- Vehicle mileage to job sites
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 drone inspection year, kept every month.
Projects come whenever a client needs eyes in the air. 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 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. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January, right as construction season ramps up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer construction and inspection season changed the number.
- October
Before winter slows flying
Cold weather cuts into flight days in some regions. Gus looks at 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 drone inspection and mapping services. 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 drone inspection owners ask first.
Can Gus separate flight time from data processing time on a project?
Yes. He keeps data processing and software costs against project income, so you can see whether a project fee actually covers both the flight and the hours it takes to turn imagery into a finished deliverable.
Do I need to change how I invoice inspection contracts?
No. Keep invoicing the way you do. Gus keeps recurring contracts and one-time mapping projects in separate lines so you can see which kind of work is carrying the business.
How does an insurance payout on a crashed drone get handled?
It gets booked against the replacement cost, so the real hit to the business after coverage kicks in is what shows up, not the full price of the new drone.
Do I write off a new drone and camera payload all at once?
Frequently, yes. Drones and sensor payloads usually qualify for a full write-off the year you buy them, though the accountant looks at your whole year before deciding if spreading it out actually fits better.
My books are behind from back-to-back projects this summer. Is that a problem?
No. Export or forward the bank statements you have been meaning to deal with. Gus works through the backlog and most operators know where they 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.
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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