Roofing & exterior
Books and taxes for exterior house painters.
Prep and power washing before the first coat, crews paid hourly or by the job, weather pushing a job into next week, and repeat customers on a repaint cycle. Gus sorts it all, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June cleared $19,400. Rain pushed the Turner Ave job two weeks, so I held that deposit against the job instead of counting it before the work happened.
- Homeowner final paymentCompleted jobs
- Repeat customer depositDeposits held
- Sherwin-Williams accountPaint and materials
- Crew payrollCrew wages
- Pressure washer rentalEquipment rental
Why your books are different
Exterior painting books go wrong around labor and weather, not materials.
A generalist bookkeeper assumes materials drive the cost. In your business, paint is cheap and labor is almost everything, and weather can push a job's start date without warning. The books have to track hours and job timing, not just receipts.
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1
Labor cost per job is invisible
Since paint and supplies are a small share of the total cost, most of a job's profit or loss comes down to how many crew hours it actually took versus what was bid. Without tracking labor against the job, a bad bid looks the same as a good one.
What we doTracks crew wages against each job, so you can see whether a bid's labor estimate held up or ran long. -
2
A rain delay moves the deposit into the wrong month
A job scheduled for one month can get pushed by weather into the next, but the deposit was already collected and counted as income before the work started.
What we doHolds the deposit against the job until it's actually completed, so weather delays don't distort which month earned the money. -
3
Power washing prep gets folded into the paint job
Pressure washing the siding before painting is a real labor and equipment cost, but if it's billed and booked as part of the paint job with no separation, you can't see how much prep is actually costing you.
What we doKeeps prep work in its own line so you can see what washing and scraping add to a job before a single coat goes on. -
4
Repeat customers on a repaint cycle look like new business
A customer who repaints every five to seven years is a different kind of job than a first-time customer, but if repeat work isn't tracked separately, you can't tell how much of your business depends on new leads versus loyal customers.
What we doFlags repeat customers so you can see how much of the business is coming back on its own. -
5
Touch-up callbacks eat into the job's margin quietly
A callback to fix peeling or a missed spot a few weeks after the job is a real cost, but if it's not tied back to the original job, that job looks more profitable than it was.
What we doLogs callback labor against the original job so the true margin shows up, not just the invoice total.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an exterior painting 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
- Completed jobsFinal payments once a paint job is done and signed off.
- Deposits heldMoney collected before the job starts, held against that specific job.
- Repeat customer jobsRepaints for customers who've used you before, flagged as returning business.
- Small repair jobsTouch-ups, trim-only jobs, and smaller repaint sections.
Money out
- Paint and materialsPaint, primer, and supplies from a Sherwin-Williams or Benjamin Moore account.
- Crew wagesHourly or per-job crew pay, tracked against the jobs they worked.
- Equipment rentalPressure washers, sprayers, and lifts rented for specific jobs.
- Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
- Lead generationAngi, Google local services ads, and yard signs.
- Insurance and licensingLiability coverage, workers' comp, and contractor license renewals.
What we watch for you
- Labor share
Crew wages against money in, since labor drives most of the cost on a paint job.
- Job margin
What each job actually cleared once paint, prep, and crew hours are counted.
- Repeat customer rate
How much of the business comes from customers on a repaint cycle versus new leads.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so a busy season doesn't turn into a surprise bill.
Ask Gus
Things exterior painting 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 held the deposit against that job until it's actually finished, so the weather delay doesn't change which month the income counts toward.
I track crew wages against each job, so you can see whether the hours it took lined up with what you bid, job by job.
Hourly pay usually means payroll, not a 1099. That distinction matters, so I flagged it for the accountant to confirm how your crew is actually set up.
The tax side
The tax side of an exterior painting business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labor tracking and timing around weather delays, since paint and supplies are a small part of the real cost.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Equipment and sprayersSprayers, pressure washers, and lifts bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Employee or contractorA crew paid hourly and directed on-site by you is almost always an employee relationship, not a 1099 one. Gus flags anything that looks off.
- 1099s for occasional helpAnyone not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like a one-off subcontracted 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 labor and job costs are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions exterior house painters miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Paint, primer, and caulk
- Sprayers and pressure washers
- Drop cloths and masking supplies
- Ladders and extension poles
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Crew safety gear
- Angi and Google local services ads
- Yard signs and door hangers
- License and bonding fees
- Uniforms with your logo
- Phone for scheduling and quotes
- Card processing fees
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 exterior painting year, kept every month.
Weather sets the schedule, but taxes come on their own calendar. 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, any occasional crew 1099s are finalized, and the monthly set-aside is planned before the spring season books up.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, with no surprise bill because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the peak of painting season, and whether crew labor costs this year changed what you'll owe.
- October
Before the slowdown
A look at equipment bought during the busy months and any moves worth making before weather ends the season.
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 exterior house painters. 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 exterior painting owners ask first.
How does Gus handle a job that gets delayed by weather?
He holds the deposit against that job until it's actually completed, so a rain delay doesn't shift income into the wrong month or make a month look busier than it was.
My crew is paid hourly, not by the job. Does that change the books?
It usually means they should be on payroll rather than paid as 1099 contractors. Gus tracks their wages against the jobs they worked and flags anything that looks off.
Can Gus show me if I'm bidding jobs correctly?
He tracks crew hours and material cost against each job, so you can see whether a bid's labor estimate held up, though the bidding decision itself stays with you.
How does Gus separate power washing prep from the paint job itself?
He keeps prep work in its own category, so you can see what washing and scraping cost before the painting even starts.
A lot of my customers are repeat business every five to seven years. Does that matter?
Yes, Gus flags repeat customers so you can see how much of your business is coming back on its own versus needing new leads.
My books are behind from a busy summer. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them by job as best the records allow, and the accountant checks the result.
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