Restoration & remediation

Books and taxes for foundation repair companies.

Push piers, structural engineer reports, permit fees, and financed contracts running into five figures. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
AugustExample month
$20,000
what you made

August made $20,000. The structural engineer's report fee on the twelve-pier job got billed straight through as a pass-through cost, not folded into labor, so the job's real margin stayed visible.

  • Wisetack payoutFinanced jobs
  • Homeowner checkCash and check jobs
  • Structural engineer report feeEngineering fees
  • Pier rig fuel and maintenanceEquipment
  • Sales commission payoutSales commissions
Money in$72,000
Money out$52,000
Set aside for taxes$4,200
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Foundation repair books go wrong when engineering and equipment costs disappear.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is stamped engineering reports, a pier rig worth more than most trucks, and financed contracts that pay out in pieces. When the books do not know that, a job's real margin stays hidden.

  1. 1

    Structural engineer fees get folded into labor

    A pier job over a certain size often needs a stamped report from a structural engineer, and if that pass-through fee gets buried inside general labor cost, a job's real margin looks worse than it is and pricing the next one gets harder.

    What we doBooks engineering fees as their own pass-through line so they never distort what a job actually earned.
  2. 2

    The pier rig looks like a truck expense

    A hydraulic pier driving rig can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and if it gets bought and logged the same way as a service van, it throws off equipment depreciation and the true cost of running the crew.

    What we doFlags a major equipment purchase the day it shows up and logs it separately for the accountant.
  3. 3

    Permit fees vary by job and get lost

    A foundation job can require a building permit priced by the scope of work, and if that fee gets lumped into a catchall permits category, it is easy to underprice the next similar job by leaving it out.

    What we doKeeps permit fees visible by job so pricing accounts for every real cost.
  4. 4

    Financing payouts land short

    When a homeowner finances a foundation repair running into five figures, the lender pays out less than the invoice and keeps a fee, and booked as the full sale, both revenue and cost come out wrong.

    What we doBooks the full job as money in and the lender's cut as a financing fee, so price and cost both show up honest.
  5. 5

    Warranty visits look like free labor

    A transferable structural warranty can mean a return visit years later to check pier depth or re-level a slab, and if that visit shows no revenue against real labor cost, the books make it look like the crew worked for nothing.

    What we doTags a warranty visit as a service cost against the original job, not a stand-alone loss.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a foundation repair 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

  • Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
  • Cash and check jobsHomeowners who pay directly without financing.
  • Insurance claim paymentsRare, but paid out on sudden events like a sinkhole collapse.
  • Commercial and HOA contractsLarger buildings and shared foundations.
  • Warranty transfer feesSmall fees paid when a home with an existing repair is sold.

Money out

  • Piers and structural materialsSteel piers, brackets, and foam injection supplies.
  • Structural engineering feesThe stamped report required on bigger jobs.
  • EquipmentPier rigs and hydraulic tools, logged so they depreciate right.
  • Sales commissionsWhat closers earn on a signed contract.
  • Permit feesBuilding permits priced by the scope of the job.
  • Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
  • Marketing and lead feesLead services and local advertising.

What we watch for you

  • Financing cost

    What lenders keep on financed jobs. Worth knowing before offering it on every contract.

  • Job margin

    What a job actually made after piers, engineering, and permits.

  • Engineering and permit cost

    What pass-through costs run per job, so pricing never leaves them out.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things foundation repair 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.

Why does this job's margin look thin? We charged $18,000.

The structural engineer's report and permit came to $2,100 combined. I kept those as pass-through costs so you can see they ate into the margin, not the crew's work.

Just bought a $45,000 pier rig. Does that come off this year?

Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not a vehicle expense, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

Do I owe the structural engineer any paperwork?

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 as we go.

The tax side

The tax side of a foundation repair business.

Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Equipment filed like a vehicle, an engineer paid without paperwork, 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.

  • Pier rigs and heavy equipmentHydraulic pier rigs and other equipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Engineer and contractor 1099sA structural engineer or subcontractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 outside of payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
  • Commission versus payrollA salesperson paid straight commission with no set schedule may be a contractor, but one who works your hours and follows your process is usually an employee. Gus flags the pattern 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 foundation repair companies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Truck fuel and repairs
  • Pier rig maintenance
  • Steel piers and brackets
  • Polyurethane foam supplies
  • Structural engineering fees
  • Permit fees
  • Sales training and materials
  • Financing and card fees
  • Tools that live on the rig
  • Phone and tablet for estimates
  • Licenses and bonding
  • Warranty parts inventory

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 foundation repair year, kept every month.

Digging season and the calendar do not always agree. Your taxes still come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for engineers and subs is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the summer digging season changed the number.

  4. October

    Before the ground freezes

    Before frozen ground slows pier jobs, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and anything worth doing before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 foundation repair 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 foundation repair 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.

Every job needs a structural engineer's report. Does that complicate the books?

No. Gus books it as a pass-through cost of its own, so it never gets buried in labor and you can see exactly what it costs on each job.

A warranty job means going back years later for free. How does that get counted?

Gus tags it as a service cost against the original job, not a new sale with no revenue, so your numbers do not make a free visit look like a loss.

Do I write off a pier rig 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.

My sales team works on commission. Does that change the books?

It changes where the money goes, not what you do. Commissions stay in their own line so you can see the sale's cost against what each job actually made.

My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?

No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most people know 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.

More in restoration & remediation

We keep books for the business next door too.

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