Small manufacturers & fabricators
Books and taxes for electronics assembly shops.
A client's NRE setup fee, a turnkey production run, a reel of components bought to spec, and customer-supplied parts held on consignment. 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
September came in at $20,500. The Kestrel Devices NRE fee for the new board setup is billed apart from the production run, so it doesn't inflate this month's per-unit margin.
- Kestrel Devices, NRE setup feeNRE and setup fees
- Ashgrove Electronics, turnkey runTurnkey production runs
- Component reel orderComponents sourced by shop
- Solder paste and stencilsAssembly consumables
- Reflow oven maintenanceEquipment maintenance
Why your books are different
Electronics assembly books go wrong at the line between who owns the parts.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your shop sources components for some clients and assembles customer-supplied parts on consignment for others, charges a one-time fee to set up a new board before any units run, and watches component prices and lead times shift under long-planned jobs. When the books do not separate these, one client's parts risk gets tangled with another's and setup work looks like production.
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1
Customer-supplied parts get mixed with shop-owned components
A client who ships their own components for assembly still owns those parts even while they sit on your shelf, but if that inventory is tracked the same as parts the shop bought and owns, it is easy to lose track of whose risk a shortage or defect actually falls on.
What we doKeeps consignment components in their own category, separate from parts the shop sourced and owns, so it is always clear whose material is whose. -
2
NRE setup fees look like part of the per-unit price
A one-time fee to engineer a stencil, program the pick and place line, and run a first article for a new board is real work done before any units ship, and if it is blended into production revenue, the true per-unit margin on the run looks wrong.
What we doKeeps NRE and setup fees in their own category, separate from turnkey production billing. -
3
A component price jump never reaches an old quote
Component prices and availability can swing hard between when a job is quoted and when it actually runs, and a board quoted months ago can cost noticeably more to build by the time parts are finally in hand.
What we doTracks component cost as a share of what came in, so a price or shortage swing gets caught before a year of quotes falls behind it. -
4
Excess component inventory hides an aging risk
Reels bought in minimum order quantities for one run can sit unused long after that job ends, and electronic components can become obsolete, so that stock is a real risk that is easy to ignore until it is a write-off.
What we doKeeps excess component stock visible by client and job, so aging inventory gets flagged before it becomes dead stock.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an electronics assembly shop.
Set up once for how NRE fees and production runs get paid and whose components are whose. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- NRE and setup feesOne-time charges for stencils, programming, and first article builds.
- Turnkey production runsRuns where the shop sources and owns the components.
- Consignment assembly feesAssembly labor billed on customer-supplied components.
- Prototype and low-volume buildsSmall batch runs billed apart from full production.
Money out
- Components sourced by shopParts bought and owned by the shop for turnkey jobs.
- Assembly consumablesSolder paste, stencils, and flux.
- Equipment loan or leasePayments on SMT lines, reflow ovens, and pick and place equipment.
- Shop rent and utilitiesBuilding costs including ESD-controlled floor space.
- Calibration and testingIn-circuit test fixtures and inspection equipment upkeep.
- PayrollLine operators, programmers, and quality inspectors.
- FreightIncoming component shipments and outbound finished boards.
What we watch for you
- NRE recovery
Whether setup fees actually cover the engineering time a new board takes before it runs.
- Margin by client type
Turnkey jobs against consignment assembly, so pricing reflects what each really earns.
- Component cost share
Parts cost as a percent of sales on turnkey jobs. A jump means a shortage or price move needs a look.
- Excess inventory by client
Reels left over after a run ends, tracked before they become a write-off.
Ask Gus
Things electronics assembly 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, and I keep it tracked that way. Consignment parts stay in their own category so it is always clear whose material is whose if something runs short.
It would if I blended them. I keep NRE fees separate from the production billing, so the run's real per-unit margin stays accurate.
If she is not on payroll and you pay her $2,000 or more this year, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of an electronics assembly business.
Most of what trips up this return is whose components are whose and what shop-owned parts and equipment are worth at year end.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- SMT lines and reflow ovensAssembly line equipment can usually be written off, often in the year it is bought. Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000 and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Components on handShop-owned components bought ahead and sitting on the shelf at year end get valued and matched to what actually sold, rather than expensed the day they were bought. Customer-supplied parts held on consignment usually stay off your own inventory.
- Credit for board bring-up workTime spent engineering a new stencil, tuning a reflow profile, or solving a real assembly problem for a new board can sometimes earn a credit. The accountant looks at what the work actually involved.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated shops can take up to 20 percent of profit off taxable income. It comes out right when NRE fees and component inventory are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions electronics assembly shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Solder paste and flux
- Stencils and squeegees
- Reflow oven maintenance
- In-circuit test fixtures
- ESD flooring and wrist straps
- Calibration for test equipment
- Freight on component shipments
- Safety glasses and gloves
- Shop uniforms
- Trade show and sample costs
- Small hand tools
- Software for pick and place programming
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
An electronics assembly year, kept every month.
Runs and NRE work land all year on customer product schedules, not a season. Your taxes still run on their own schedule. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Boards planned
Year end component stock gets valued, last year's return gets started, and your monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Board year filed
The accountant files and signs your return. Since the set-aside has been running since January, a quarter juggling several client boards does not turn into a scramble.
- July
Midyear board check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new client boards this year changed the number.
- October
Ahead of the close
Gus looks at any SMT line or oven buy worth making before December and flags it for the accountant's call on depreciation.
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 electronics assembly shops. 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 electronics assembly owners ask first.
How does Gus handle parts a client ships us for assembly?
He keeps consignment components in their own category, separate from parts the shop sources and owns, so whose material is whose is always clear.
Do we have to change how we bill an NRE setup fee?
No. Keep billing the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a payment is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Can Gus flag component inventory that's been sitting since a run ended?
Yes. Excess stock gets tracked by client and job, so aging reels get flagged before they turn into a write-off.
We do both turnkey production and consignment assembly. Should those be tracked differently?
Yes, and Gus does that automatically. They carry different margins, so keeping them apart shows which kind of work is actually paying for the shop.
Our books are behind after a component shortage delayed several runs. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts NRE fees and production runs apart, the accountant checks the result, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
Do I write off a new SMT line all at once?
Often you can. Line equipment such as a reflow oven or pick and place machine can usually be deducted the year it is bought, though sometimes spreading it out fits the shop's year better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
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