Specialty subcontractors
Books and taxes for fire sprinkler contractors.
Install pay applications, retainage held until final inspection, recurring testing contracts, and fire watch fees. 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
August came in at $17,000. The new pipe threader got logged as shop equipment, not fabrication supplies, so it will get written off the right way.
- GC pay app #6 payoutInstall progress billing
- Quarterly inspection batchInspection and testing
- Ferguson Fire & FabricationPipe and fittings
- Fire protection cert renewalCertification and training
- Fleet fuel, service trucksTrucks and fuel
Why your books are different
A fire sprinkler 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 fabrication shop, and a base of recurring inspection contracts that behave nothing like a one-time job. When the books blend those together, you lose sight of what actually holds the business up.
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1
Recurring testing hides inside install revenue
Quarterly and annual inspection contracts 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 your business actually stands on that base.
What we doKeeps inspection and testing contracts in their own income category, separate from install jobs. -
2
Retainage on install jobs disappears
A general contractor holds back 10 percent on an $85,000 system install and does not release it until the system passes final inspection, sometimes a year later. It looks gone, but it is still owed.
What we doKeeps retainage on its own line by job, so you can see what is still owed and roughly when it should land. -
3
The pipe threader looks like shop supplies
A groover, threader, or cutting saw for the fab shop can run into the thousands, but filed as fabrication supplies it just muddies the month and the deduction gets missed.
What we doFlags big equipment buys the day they show up and logs them as equipment, not supplies. -
4
Fire watch fees get lost in service calls
When a system goes out of service, you bill a fire watch fee for standing coverage, sometimes for days at a stretch, but it gets buried in the same bucket as a five-minute head replacement.
What we doKeeps fire watch and emergency billing visible on its own line. -
5
Certified payroll blurs with private jobs
Fitters on a public hospital install run certified payroll with fringe amounts on top of wages, while your private jobs down the street pay straight time. Mixed together, neither number tells you much.
What we doSeparates certified payroll and its fringe amounts from standard wages, so a public job's true labor cost stays visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a fire sprinkler 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 sprinkler system installs.
- Inspection and testing contractsQuarterly and annual testing billed directly to building owners.
- Retainage releasesHeld-back money on install jobs, paid out at final closeout.
- Fire pump service and repairPump room repairs and emergency calls.
- Fire watch feesStandby coverage billed while a system is out of service.
Money out
- Field crew wagesFitters and techs, including certified payroll on public jobs.
- Pipe, fittings, and headsViking, Tyco, and Ferguson Fire & Fabrication orders.
- Fabrication shop equipmentThreaders, groovers, and cutting saws.
- Trucks and fuelService trucks running inspection routes.
- Bonding and insurancePerformance bonds and liability coverage for larger installs.
- Certification and trainingFire protection certification renewal and backflow testing certification.
- Union trust fund contributionsDues and benefits where the crew is union affiliated.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
What each install job actually made after pipe, heads, and labor.
- Recurring contract base
How much steady inspection income is booked against one-time install work.
- 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 sprinkler 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.
Usually it can. I logged it as shop equipment, not fabrication supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The hospital is holding 10 percent retainage until the system passes final inspection. I keep that on its own line so you can see it is still yours.
If they are on payroll, yes. If you use outside inspectors paid $2,000 or more who are not on payroll, they get a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running.
The tax side
The tax side of a fire sprinkler business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Shop equipment filed as supplies, an outside inspector 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-offsThreaders, groovers, 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 inspector or fitter 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 fitter 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 sprinkler contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Pipe threaders and groovers
- Fire protection cert renewal
- Backflow testing certification
- Continuing education hours
- Union trust fund dues
- Bonding premiums
- Liability insurance
- Service truck fuel and repairs
- Permit and inspection fees
- Safety gear and PPE
- Job costing software
- Uniforms with your logo
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 sprinkler year, kept every month.
Install season, 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 inspectors is ready. Install bids are picking up, so your monthly set-aside gets planned before the season fills in.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed while inspection contracts come up for renewal 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 hospital or school install changed the number.
- October
Before year end
As general contractors push install jobs toward closeout before December, Gus looks at shop 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 sprinkler 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 sprinkler contractors ask first.
Can Gus keep our recurring inspection contracts separate from install jobs?
Yes. Testing and inspection income gets its own category from day one, so you can always see how much of your business runs on that steady base versus one-time install work.
We run a small fabrication shop. Does that change the books?
It changes what gets flagged, not how the books work. Shop equipment like threaders and groovers gets logged as equipment rather than fabrication supplies, so it does not distort a normal month.
Do I write off a new pipe threader 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.
Some of our fitters work public jobs with certified payroll. Does that complicate things?
It changes how labor gets sorted, not what you pay them. Fringe amounts on certified payroll jobs are kept apart from standard wages, so a public job's real labor cost never blends into a private one.
Our books are a year behind after a growth year. Is that a problem?
No. 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