Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for garage floor coating companies.
Deposits, a job done in one or two days, epoxy or polyaspartic coating kits, and the color flake blend that makes each floor look different. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March came in at $10,500. The polyaspartic coating kit for the Nunez garage went in as materials for that job, not general supplies.
- Deposit, Nunez garage floorJob deposits
- Final payment, Ferraro garage floorFinal payments
- Polyaspartic coating kitCoating material
- Color flake blend orderFlake and color material
- Diamond grinder rentalSurface prep equipment
Why your books are different
Garage floor coating books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and material bills. Your business finishes most jobs in a day or two, chooses between epoxy and faster-curing polyaspartic systems, and grinds the existing concrete before a coat goes down. When the books blend a one-day job with a slower business's monthly rhythm, you cannot tell whether pricing is actually keeping up.
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1
Epoxy and polyaspartic systems get costed the same way
Polyaspartic coatings cure faster and cost more per kit than standard epoxy, but if both get logged under one general coating category, the owner cannot see which system actually pays better once material cost is accounted for.
What we doTags coating material to the job and the system type, so epoxy margin and polyaspartic margin show up separately. -
2
A one or two day job makes the deposit and final payment collide
When a job goes from grinding to finished coating in a day or two, the deposit and final payment sometimes land in the same week, and it is easy to record the total twice or miss that a chunk was already collected as a deposit.
What we doTracks the deposit against the job so the final payment only counts what is actually still owed. -
3
Grinding equipment rental gets treated as a routine cost
A diamond grinder rented to prep the concrete before coating adds real cost per job, and if it is filed the same as a hand tool bought once and used forever, the owner cannot see how much surface prep actually adds to the bill.
What we doTags grinder rental to the job it served, so prep cost is visible against that job's price. -
4
Flake blend cost gets bundled into the coating material line
Color flake blends are bought and priced separately from the coating itself, and when they are bundled together, the owner cannot see how much of the job's material cost is base coating versus the color and texture upgrade.
What we doKeeps flake and color material on its own line against the job, so both costs are visible on their own.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a garage floor coating 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 at contract signing, tracked against the job it belongs to.
- Final paymentsPayment collected once the coating is cured and inspected.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Change ordersAdded wall coating or a garage cabinet package billed separately.
Money out
- Coating materialEpoxy or polyaspartic kits, kept apart from flake blends.
- Flake and color materialColor flake blends and metallic pigment additives.
- Surface prep equipmentDiamond grinder rental for prepping the concrete before coating.
- Crew wages and subsInstall crew pay.
- Vehicle and fuelTruck fuel and maintenance for job site travel.
- Lead fees and marketingAngi, Google local services, and local advertising.
What we watch for you
- Epoxy versus polyaspartic margin
How the two coating systems compare in cost and price, so you know which to recommend more often.
- Jobs in progress
Deposits collected for coatings not yet applied, so a fast job cycle does not confuse what is actually owed.
- Prep cost per job
Grinder rental cost against job size, so surface prep stays priced into every bid.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things garage floor coating 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 booked the upgrade as a change order on the same job, so the added cost is visible against the original price.
No. I tracked the deposit against that job first, so the final payment only shows what was still owed, not the full price twice.
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 garage floor coating business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A deposit and a final payment colliding in the same week, flake blends filed like plain coating, 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.
- Equipment write-offsAn owned diamond grinder, sprayer, or trailer 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.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like an install crew, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment taxAn owner not on payroll pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on profit, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- 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 epoxy and polyaspartic garage floor coating companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Diamond grinder rental
- Coating kit stock
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Angi and Google local services ads
- Flake blend samples
- Uniforms with your logo
- Tools that live on the truck
- Phone and tablet for job sites
- Trade licenses and bonding
- Card and financing fees
- Job photo software
- 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 garage floor coating year, kept every month.
Demand often climbs after winter salt and slush damage floors, and stays steady through the rest of the year. 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 as spring demand for floor coating picks up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether epoxy or polyaspartic jobs carried the season.
- October
Before winter damage season
A look at any equipment worth buying and anything worth doing before December, timed to when floors take on salt and slush again.
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 epoxy and polyaspartic garage floor coating 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 garage floor coating 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 diamond grinder 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 keep a fast install from double counting the payment?
He tracks the deposit against the job the day it lands, so when the final payment arrives days later he only counts what was still owed, not the full price again.
Do you handle sales tax on the coating and flake 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