HVAC, insulation & chimney
Books and taxes for geothermal heat pump installers.
Loop field drilling paid to a subcontractor, progress-billed installs that run for weeks, and manufacturer or utility incentives that pay out on their own schedule. 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
September came in at $13,300. The Reyes install closed out this month, and I kept the well drilling subcontractor's invoice apart from your equipment cost so the job's true margin is visible.
- Progress payment, Reyes jobInstallation billing
- WaterFurnace distributorEquipment
- Miller Well DrillingSubcontracted loop drilling
- Wisetack payoutFinanced installs
- Excavation rental, Cat dealerEquipment rental
Why your books are different
Geothermal books go wrong around a project that runs for weeks.
A single install can run $25,000 or more, take a month from drilling to startup, and involve a subcontractor, a lender, and a rebate all paying on different schedules. When the books cannot track a job across that timeline, you cannot tell which installs actually made money.
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1
Progress payments blur into one number
A big install gets billed in stages, a deposit, a payment after the loop field is drilled, and a final payment at startup. Booked as separate deposits with no job attached, you lose track of how much of a $30,000 job is actually collected.
What we doTies every progress payment to the job it belongs to, so you can see collected versus owed on each install. -
2
Loop drilling looks like your own labor cost
Well drilling for the loop field is almost always subcontracted, and paid as one large invoice it can look like an equipment purchase or get lost in general job costs.
What we doKeeps subcontracted drilling in its own category, tied to the job, so you can see it against what that install actually charged. -
3
A rebate or incentive lands after the job is closed
Utility and manufacturer incentives on geothermal systems often take months to pay out, sometimes to the homeowner and sometimes to you. Untracked, that money either disappears or gets counted against the wrong month.
What we doTies each rebate or incentive to the install it came from and books it when it actually lands. -
4
One long job spans two calendar months of cost
Drilling might happen in August and startup in September, with expenses landing all through the project while the big payments cluster at the end.
What we doKeeps job costs tied to the project, not just the calendar month they happened to post, so one job does not make two normal months look wrong. -
5
Equipment rental gets mixed with owned tools
Excavation equipment rented for a specific loop field job is a cost of that job, not a standing business expense, and lumped together it hides what drilling access actually costs per install.
What we doTracks rental equipment against the job it served, separate from tools the business owns.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a geothermal installer.
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
- Installation billingDeposits and progress payments, tied to the job they belong to.
- Financed installsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Manufacturer and utility incentivesRebates matched to the install they came from, booked when they land.
- Service and maintenance callsSmaller repair and tune-up visits, kept apart from full installs.
Money out
- EquipmentGround source heat pumps and system components, logged so they get written off right.
- Subcontracted loop drillingWell drilling invoices, tracked by the job they served.
- Excavation and rental equipmentRented machinery for a specific job's loop field.
- Refrigerant and system partsTracked apart because prices swing.
- Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the install fleet.
- Financing and card feesWhat the lender, Square, or Stripe kept before you got paid.
- Licensing and bondingState contractor license and liability coverage.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
What each install clears after equipment, drilling, and rental costs.
- Collected versus owed
How much of an active job's progress billing is actually in the bank.
- Incentive backlog
Rebates promised but not yet landed, so they are not forgotten or double counted.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things geothermal installers 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.
Because it was. I keep the deposit, the drilling payment, and the final payment all tied to that one job, so you can see the whole thing add up right, even split across the calendar.
Yes, and I already do. Subcontracted drilling stays in its own line, tied to the job, so you can see it against what the install actually charged.
It does, and I matched it back to the June job so it does not look like a random deposit or get counted against the wrong install.
The tax side
The tax side of a geothermal installation business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on a long project. A progress payment booked wrong, a subcontractor treated like an employee, and equipment filed the wrong way.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Trucks and shop equipmentVehicles and equipment bought for the business, not the equipment installed at a customer's home, can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Subcontractor 1099sA well drilling company or crew you pay $2,000 or more in 2026, outside of payroll, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Employee or contractorA helper who drives your truck, works your schedule, and installs on your jobs is usually an employee, not a contractor, regardless of what he is called on paper.
- 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 geothermal heat pump installers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Subcontracted drilling costs
- Excavation equipment rental
- Refrigerant and system parts
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Contractor licensing and bonding
- Liability insurance
- Uniforms with your logo
- Manufacturer certification classes
- Tools that live on the truck
- Phone and tablet for job tracking
- Card and financing fees
- Site survey and permitting 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 geothermal year, kept every month.
One big job can shape a whole quarter. Your team keeps you ahead of the swings and the return. 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 for subcontracted drilling is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right as the ground softens and drilling season picks back up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the current job's progress billing changed the number.
- October
Before the ground freezes
Drilling gets harder once the ground hardens. Before that, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and anything worth doing before December.
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 geothermal heat pump installers. 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 geothermal installers ask first.
How does Gus handle progress billing on a job that spans several weeks?
Every payment, from deposit to final startup, gets tied to the same job, so you can see the full picture of what was collected against what the install actually charged.
Do I need to keep my drilling subcontractor's invoices separate from equipment costs?
Yes, and Gus does it automatically. Subcontracted loop drilling stays in its own category, tied to the job, separate from the heat pump equipment itself.
A utility incentive on a job from months ago just paid out. Does that still count as income?
Yes. Gus matches it back to the install it came from and books it the month it actually lands, so it is not lost or double counted.
Can Gus handle installs financed through a lender?
Yes. He books the full job as money in and the lender's fee as a cost, so your revenue and your job costs both show up honest.
My books are behind because jobs run so long. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them by job, 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.
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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