Specialty subcontractors
Books and taxes for fire alarm and suppression contractors.
Install pay applications, recurring monitoring contracts, kitchen hood and clean agent inspections, and service calls. 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
May came in at $13,000. The fee you pay the central station got kept separate from what you bill customers for monitoring, so your real margin on that contract shows clean.
- GC pay app #3 payoutInstall progress billing
- Monitoring contract batchMonitoring service contracts
- ADI Global DistributionPanels and devices
- Central station feesMonitoring fees paid out
- Suppression agent refillSuppression system materials
Why your books are different
A fire alarm and suppression contractor's books go wrong in a few specific spots.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is install jobs billed like construction, a recurring monitoring base, and suppression systems with their own materials and inspection schedule. Blend those together and you cannot see what actually holds the business up.
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1
Monitoring revenue hides inside install jobs
Recurring monitoring fees billed monthly or annually are the steady income that carries you through slow install months, but lumped in with one-time install billing, you cannot see how much of the business runs on that base.
What we doKeeps monitoring service contracts in their own income category, separate from install jobs. -
2
What you pay the monitoring company gets confused with what you bill
The central station charges you a per-account fee, and you bill the building owner more than that. Netted together, the sale looks smaller than it is and the real margin on monitoring disappears.
What we doKeeps what you pay the central station separate from what you bill customers, so the true margin on monitoring stays visible. -
3
A held-back percentage stops looking like your money
A general contractor holds back 10 percent on a $60,000 alarm and suppression install until the fire marshal signs off on final testing, which can run months past substantial completion.
What we doTracks that held-back amount by job, so it stays visible as money you are owed rather than money that already came and went. -
4
A suppression refill looks like a small supply buy
A clean agent cylinder refill for a data center system can run into the thousands, but filed as general supplies it just muddies the month and the true cost of that job gets lost.
What we doKeeps suppression system materials in their own category, tied to the job that needed them. -
5
A device recall creates an unplanned cost
A recalled smoke detector or notification device forces a return trip to swap it out at no charge to the building owner, a cost that is easy to lose track of if it is not tied to the job it came from.
What we doFlags recall-driven replacement labor and parts as their own cost, separate from paid service calls.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a fire alarm and suppression contractor.
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
- Install progress billingGeneral contractor pay applications on new alarm and suppression system installs.
- Monitoring service contractsMonthly or annual fees billed to building owners for central station monitoring.
- Inspection and testingSemi-annual kitchen hood suppression checks and annual alarm panel testing.
- Retainage releasesHeld-back money on install jobs, paid out at final sign-off.
- Service and repair callsPanel troubleshooting and device replacement outside a scheduled contract.
Money out
- Field technician wagesTechs and installers, including certified payroll on public jobs.
- Panels and devicesADI, Anixter, and manufacturer orders for panels, detectors, and notification devices.
- Suppression system materialsClean agent and kitchen hood cylinder refills.
- Central station monitoring feesWhat you pay the monitoring company, kept separate from what you bill customers.
- Trucks and fuelService trucks running inspection and repair routes.
- Bonding and insurancePerformance bonds and liability coverage for larger installs.
- Certification and trainingFire protection certification renewal and continuing education.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
What each install job actually made after devices, agent, and labor.
- Monitoring margin
What you bill customers against what the central station charges you.
- Retainage owed
Money general contractors are holding on install jobs right now.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things fire alarm and suppression contractors 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.
It is a job cost tied to that suppression system, so I logged it under suppression materials, not general supplies. Keeps that job's real margin visible.
The central station charges you a per-account fee. I keep what you pay them separate from what you bill, so your real margin on monitoring stays visible.
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 so it is ready.
The tax side
The tax side of a fire alarm and suppression business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Suppression materials filed as supplies, a tech paid like a contractor who works like an employee, 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 and vehicle write-offsPanel programming tools and service trucks can often be written off the year you buy them, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. Heavier trucks carry a separate cap.
- Sub-subcontractor 1099sAny outside technician not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Employee or contractorA technician who works your schedule, uses your tools, and takes direction from your foreman is usually an employee. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
- 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 fire alarm and suppression contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Panel programming tools
- Suppression cylinder refills
- Fire protection cert renewal
- Continuing education
- Bonding premiums
- Liability insurance
- Service truck fuel and repairs
- Permit and alarm registration fees
- Safety gear and PPE
- Job costing software
- Uniforms with your logo
- Central station account setup 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
A fire alarm and suppression year, kept every month.
Install bids, inspection renewals, and tax season each run on their own clock. Your team keeps you ahead of all three. 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 and the 1099 list for outside technicians is ready. New monitoring accounts and install bids start rolling in, so your monthly set-aside gets planned before things pick up.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed while alarm registration renewals come due across your customer list. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a big install or a batch of new monitoring accounts changed the number.
- October
Before year end
As kitchen hood systems come up for their required fall inspection, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and anything else worth doing before the year ends.
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 fire alarm and suppression contractors. 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 fire alarm and suppression contractors ask first.
Can Gus separate what we bill for monitoring from what the central station charges us?
Yes. Monitoring fees you pay out and monitoring income you bill are kept in separate lines, so your real margin on those accounts stays visible instead of getting netted together.
We do kitchen hood suppression inspections. Does that change the books?
Mostly it changes what gets its own category. Suppression system materials and refills stay separate from general supplies, so they do not hide a job's real cost inside an ordinary month.
Do I write off a new panel programming kit 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.
A recalled device meant a free swap-out for a customer. Does that get tracked?
Yes. Gus logs the replacement labor and part as a recall cost tied to that job, so it does not look like a random service call with no invoice attached.
Our books are behind after a growth year. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know exactly 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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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