Site work & heavy civil
Books and taxes for grading contractors.
Rough grade draws, fine grade draws, a failed compaction test, and fill dirt hauled in from a borrow pit. Gus sorts every dollar, 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 $19,000. The GPS machine control upgrade for the dozer got logged as equipment, not a software bill.
- Meridian Developers drawProgress draws
- Retainage, Oakview EstatesRetainage
- Caterpillar dealerEquipment
- Shell fuel accountFuel
- Compaction testing labTesting and rework
Why your books are different
Grading books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. Your business is elevations to the tenth of a foot, dirt that has to balance on site, and developers who pay in phases. When the books do not know that, a normal cost of the trade looks like a loss.
-
1
A failed compaction test looks like a loss
A pad fails its compaction test and the crew has to rework and retest it before the builder will accept it. Booked as an unexplained cost on a fixed-price job, it looks like the site lost money instead of a normal part of getting a pad certified.
What we doKeeps testing and rework costs in their own line, so a retest shows up as a known cost of the job, not a mystery. -
2
Cut and fill hides inside one dirt line
Moving dirt that is already on the site costs almost nothing next to hauling in fill dirt from a borrow pit. Lumped into one dirt line, nobody can see whether a site's cut and fill actually balanced.
What we doSeparates on-site dirt moving from imported fill and hauling, so the real cost of an unbalanced site is visible. -
3
The GPS system is not a software bill
A GPS machine control upgrade for a grader or dozer can run into five figures. Filed as a software subscription because it comes with a data plan, it never gets treated like the equipment it is.
What we doFlags a machine control purchase as equipment tied to that machine, and keeps any monthly data plan in its own small line. -
4
Draws land out of order with the work
A developer pays rough grade, fine grade, and certified pad as separate draws that clear weeks after the crew finished each phase. A late draw makes last month's finished work look like this month's income.
What we doTracks which phase a draw belongs to, so cash timing never gets confused with which job actually earned it. -
5
One operator's pay covers three subdivisions
A grader operator working three developments in a week gets paid one flat check, and the books cannot tell which subdivision actually carried that labor cost.
What we doSplits wages across the jobs worked that pay period, so cost per acre is a real number, not a guess.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a grading 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
- Progress drawsRough grade, fine grade, and certified pad, paid as the developer's schedule releases them.
- RetainageThe percentage held back until the final pad is inspected and accepted.
- Change ordersRock removal or unsuitable soil found once the cut started, added to the original scope.
- Government and DOT contractsSubgrade and roadbed work paid on a public agency's schedule.
- Direct developer contractsSubdivision and commercial pad work billed straight to the developer.
Money out
- FuelDiesel for the dozer, grader, and scraper.
- EquipmentDozers, graders, and GPS machine control systems, logged so they get written off right.
- Equipment rentalA compactor or scraper rented for one job, from Caterpillar or a local dealer.
- Fill dirt and haulingImported fill and the trucks that bring it in when a site does not balance.
- Testing and reworkCompaction labs, retesting, and the rework a failed test requires.
- Insurance and bondingGeneral liability, equipment coverage, and the bond that let you bid the job.
- Permits and erosion controlGrading permits, silt fence, and stormwater fees on disturbed ground.
- Repairs and undercarriageBlades, tracks, and the wear that comes with moving dirt all day.
What we watch for you
- Retainage owed
What developers are holding back. Left untracked, it hides how much cash is really coming.
- Cost per acre
Fuel, labor, and rework against acres graded, so the next bid is built on a real number.
- Fuel share
Diesel against revenue. When it climbs, a bid needs to move with it.
- Rework cost
What failed tests and retesting are costing across the year, not just one bad site.
Ask Gus
Things grading 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.
No. I keep testing and rework in its own line, so it shows up as a known cost, not a hole in the job.
The base unit is equipment, tied to the dozer. The monthly data plan that comes with it stays separate. I flagged both for the accountant.
Developers pay by phase, and that release was slow. I logged it against the phase it belongs to, so it does not look like new work.
The tax side
The tax side of a grading business.
Most of what goes wrong here is equipment timing and rework nobody labeled. Get those right and the set-aside was already running.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Graders, dozers, and GPS systemsHeavy equipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year it goes to work. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, but whether to take it all now depends on the year you are having.
- Contractor 1099sA testing lab, a hired hauler, or an operator not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31 if you paid them $2,000 or more in 2026. Gus keeps that list running all year.
- Employee or contractorAn operator who runs your grader, works your hours, and takes direction on site is usually an employee, not a sub. 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 only when draws, retainage, and rework were tracked correctly all year.
Deductions grading contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Diesel and DEF
- GPS system data plans
- Laser level calibration
- Compaction testing fees
- Undercarriage repairs
- Silt fence and erosion barriers
- Equipment insurance
- Bond premiums
- CDL renewal fees
- Safety gear and PPE
- Survey stakes and flagging
- Shop and yard rent
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 grading year, kept every month.
Frozen ground shuts most sites down for months. Your team keeps you ahead of the calendar and the tax deadlines 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, the 1099 list for testing labs and haulers is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January, through the slow months and into the spring push.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the summer's run of pad and subdivision work changed the number for the year.
- October
Before the ground freezes
The last weeks before frozen ground shuts down grading. Gus looks at equipment worth buying before December and gets retainage on finished pads chased down.
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 grading 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 grading contractors ask first.
Can Gus track retainage a developer is holding back?
Yes. He keeps retainage as its own line, separate from what has already cleared the bank, so you can see what is finished, what is billed, and what is still owed on every phase.
I bid jobs through estimating software. Does that change anything?
No. Keep bidding the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear, he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I write off a dozer all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
My books are behind after a busy season. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.
How does Gus handle a phase that spans two tax years?
He tracks what was billed and collected in each year separately, so income lands where it actually belongs and nothing gets double counted at tax time.
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