Electrical, energy & home tech

Books and taxes for electrical panel upgrade specialists.

Direct panel swaps, subcontracted work for solar and generator companies, utility coordination fees, and referral payouts to other trades. 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
AugustExample month
$12,000
what you made

August came in at $12,000. Three of the panel swaps this month were subcontracted through SunPeak Solar, so I kept them apart from the jobs you booked yourself.

  • SunPeak Solar sub paymentSubcontracted panel jobs
  • Housecall Pro payoutDirect panel jobs
  • City Electric Supply #3315Panels and meter sockets
  • Utility meter pull feeUtility coordination
  • Circle K fuel, service truckTruck and fuel
Money in$46,000
Money out$34,000
Set aside for taxes$2,500
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A panel upgrade specialist's books go wrong around who is really paying.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business runs on direct homeowner jobs, subcontracted work for solar and generator companies, and referral fees paid to other trades. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what is actually paying you.

  1. 1

    A subcontracted job pays through someone else's invoice

    A solar or generator company hires you to do the panel swap on their customer's job and pays you directly, separate from your own direct-to-homeowner sales. Lumped together, you cannot tell whether your own leads or other trades' referrals are paying the bills.

    What we doKeeps subcontracted panel work in its own line from direct homeowner jobs, so you can see which channel is actually paying.
  2. 2

    Referral fees to other trades eat into margin quietly

    Paying a plumber or general contractor a flat fee for every panel job they send you is easy to forget to book, and a season of referral fees can quietly erase what looked like a healthy margin.

    What we doTracks referral payouts against the jobs they produced, so you know what each referral relationship is actually costing you.
  3. 3

    The utility's meter pull fee gets buried in the job cost

    Coordinating a scheduled shutoff and meter pull with the utility usually comes with its own fee, and if it is lumped into materials, you cannot tell your real labor and material cost from what the utility charged to show up.

    What we doKeeps utility coordination fees in their own line, separate from panels, wire, and labor.
  4. 4

    Permit fees swing the number town to town

    A panel swap in one town costs eighty dollars in permit fees and in the next town over it runs four hundred, and if that is not tracked, a slow-looking week in the pricier town gets blamed on the wrong thing.

    What we doKeeps permit and inspection costs visible by job, so a town's fee structure never gets mistaken for a bad week.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a panel upgrade specialist.

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

  • Direct panel jobsPanel and meter socket upgrades booked and paid directly by the homeowner.
  • Subcontracted panel jobsWork paid by a solar, generator, or EV company that hired you for the panel portion.
  • Insurance-mandated upgradesPanel swaps required by a homeowner's insurer, such as replacing an old Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel.
  • Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
  • Rush scheduling feesWhat a customer pays to jump the queue for an urgent swap.

Money out

  • Crew wagesKept apart from referral payouts so labor cost stays clear.
  • Panels and meter socketsPanels, meter sockets, and service mast hardware from City Electric Supply or a local house.
  • Utility coordination feesWhat the utility charges to schedule a shutoff and meter pull.
  • Permits and inspectionsMunicipal fees, which vary widely town to town.
  • Referral payoutsFees paid to plumbers, HVAC companies, or GCs who send panel work.
  • Truck and fuelFuel, repairs, insurance, and loan payments for the service truck.
  • Lead fees and marketingGoogle local services and Angi leads for direct homeowner work.

What we watch for you

  • Referral cost

    What you pay other trades for sending panel work, measured against what those jobs bring in.

  • Sub versus direct mix

    How much of the month came from your own leads against work sent by other trades.

  • Permit cost per job

    How much town-to-town permit fees vary, so a thin-looking job is not blamed on the wrong thing.

  • The set-aside

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

Ask Gus

Things panel upgrade specialists 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.

A solar company hired me to do the panel swap on one of their jobs. Where does that money go?

Into subcontracted panel jobs, kept apart from work you booked yourself, so you can see which channel is actually paying.

I pay the plumber down the street fifty bucks for every panel job he sends me. Is that worth tracking?

Yes. I keep those payouts against the jobs they produced, so you know what that relationship is really costing you.

Permits in one town run four hundred dollars and another town runs eighty. Does that mess up my numbers?

No, I keep permit costs visible by job, so a pricier town's fees never get mistaken for a slow week.

The tax side

The tax side of a panel upgrade business.

Most of what goes wrong here is mixing income sources and costs together. A subcontracted job blended with direct work, a referral fee forgotten, 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.

  • Panel and testing equipmentMeters, service equipment, and shop tools can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll, including a helper you bring on for a big swap, gets a 1099-NEC if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. The form is due January 31.
  • Employee or contractorA helper who uses your tools and works your schedule is usually an employee, not a subcontractor, no matter how the pay is set up.
  • 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 electrical panel upgrade specialists miss

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

  • Panel load testers
  • Meter socket stock
  • Service mast hardware
  • Truck signage and wraps
  • Liability and bonding insurance
  • Referral payouts to other trades
  • Phone for permits and photos
  • Dump fees for old panels
  • Home office for scheduling
  • Vehicle registration
  • Background check fees
  • Permit drawing software

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 panel upgrade specialist's year, kept every month.

Panel swaps come from your own leads and other trades' referrals alike. 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 summer's AC-driven upgrade rush changed the number.

  4. October

    Before winter

    Cold weather load brings its own wave of panel calls. Before it hits, 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 electrical panel upgrade specialists. 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 panel upgrade specialists 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.

A solar or generator company hires me as their panel guy. Does Gus separate that income?

Yes. Subcontracted jobs are kept apart from the work you book yourself, so you can see which channel is actually paying the bills.

I pay other trades a referral fee for sending me work. Does that count anywhere?

Yes. Gus tracks referral payouts against the jobs they produced, so you can see what each relationship is really costing you.

Permit fees are wildly different from town to town. Does that skew my monthly number?

No. Permit and inspection costs are tracked by job, so a pricier town's fees never get mistaken for a slow week.

Do I write off my testing equipment 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.

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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