Landscaping & lawn care
Books and taxes for grading and drainage contractors.
A yard that floods every spring, a French drain trenched and piped in a day or two, grading work priced by the slope, and an excavator that has to earn its keep. 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
April came in at $16,300. The excavator rental for the Novak property regrade is booked to that job, not lumped into general equipment costs.
- Novak property, regrade jobGrading jobs
- French drain install, Delgado yardFrench drain installs
- Pipe and gravel supply orderDrainage materials
- Excavator rental, Novak jobEquipment rental
- Dump fees, excavated soilDump and disposal fees
Why your books are different
Grading and drainage books go wrong around heavy equipment and one-time jobs.
A generalist sees a landscaping invoice and a materials bill. Your business runs on individual grading and drainage jobs that need excavation equipment for a day or two at a time, priced by the slope, the length of pipe, or both. When the books do not track that, a job's real cost stays a guess.
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1
Excavator rental gets lost in general equipment costs
Renting an excavator or skid steer for a specific grading job, filed the same as routine equipment expenses, hides what that particular job actually cost and makes it harder to price the next regrade correctly.
What we doBooks equipment rental to the job it served, so the real cost of a difficult grading job is visible. -
2
French drain pipe and gravel get mixed with general supplies
Perforated pipe, gravel, and fabric bought for one drainage job get lumped in with everything else you buy, so you cannot see how much a drain actually costs in materials against what it billed.
What we doKeeps drainage materials in their own category, tracked against the job they were bought for. -
3
Dump fees for excavated soil disappear into job cost
Hauling and dumping soil removed during a regrade or drain trench is a real, sometimes sizable cost, but if it is folded into the general job expense line, nobody notices how much it adds to a job's total.
What we doKeeps dump and disposal fees in their own category, visible against the job that generated them. -
4
Storm-driven demand looks like unpredictable income
A wet spring can bring a flood of drainage inquiries while a dry stretch brings almost none, and if that pattern is not visible in the books, it is easy to overspend during a slow season expecting the last busy one to repeat.
What we doTracks income against the season, so a wet spring's rush and a dry stretch's slowdown are both numbers you can plan around.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a grading and drainage 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
- Grading jobsRegrading and slope correction work, billed per project.
- French drain installsDrain trenching and pipe installs, billed per project.
- Downspout and drainage tie-insSmaller add-on drainage work billed alongside a project.
- Commercial site workLarger grading contracts billed on net terms.
Money out
- Drainage materialsPerforated pipe, gravel, and fabric for French drains.
- Equipment rentalExcavators and skid steers rented for individual jobs.
- EquipmentMachines you own, logged so they get written off right.
- Dump and disposal feesHauling and dumping excavated soil and debris.
- Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for excavation and grading work.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
Materials and rental against job billing, so grading and drain pricing reflects real cost.
- Rental cost per job
Equipment rental against job revenue, worth watching before buying your own machine.
- Seasonal demand pattern
Income against past wet and dry seasons, so slow stretches are planned, not a surprise.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things grading and drainage 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.
Yes, I booked it to that job specifically, so you can see what that regrade really cost before you quote the next one the same way.
Yes, I keep dump fees in their own category tied to the job, so you can see exactly what soil removal added to the total cost.
I track income against past seasons, so you can see that pattern clearly and plan your slower stretches around it instead of being surprised each time.
The tax side
The tax side of a grading and drainage business.
Most of what goes wrong here is job costing on heavy equipment work: rentals not tied to a job, materials mixed with general supplies, and disposal fees lost in job cost.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Excavators and equipment you ownHeavy equipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA subcontracted operator or hauler not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC if paid $2,000 or more in 2026, due January 31.
- Local permits and drainage rulesGrading and drainage work sometimes needs a local permit, especially near property lines or storm systems, and requirements vary by locality.
- 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 grading and drainage contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Perforated pipe and drainage fabric
- Gravel and drain rock
- Excavator and skid steer rental
- Dump and disposal fees
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Liability insurance
- Hand tools and small equipment
- Uniforms with your logo
- Local permits
- Card processing 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 grading and drainage year, kept every month.
Your work follows the rain, not the calendar. Your taxes come on their own 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started and you get a monthly set-aside, so a slow winter stretch does not throw off what you owe in April.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed right as spring rains bring in the season's first rush of calls.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand halfway through the year, what you will owe, and whether job pricing is holding up against equipment rental costs.
- October
Before the wet season shifts
Before fall rains change the kind of calls coming in, Gus looks at equipment you might buy 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 grading and drainage 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 and drainage owners ask first.
Can Gus track what a specific grading job actually cost in rental and materials?
Yes. When you tell him which job an excavator rental or a material order was for, he books it there, so a job's real cost is visible, not folded into a general expense line.
My income depends a lot on how rainy the season is. Does that confuse the books?
No. Gus tracks your actual months and can show income against past seasons, so a wet spring's rush and a dry stretch's slowdown both show clearly.
Do dump fees for excavated soil count as a business expense?
Yes, disposal fees tied to a job are a legitimate deduction. Gus keeps them in their own category so they are easy to find and tie back to the job.
I rent equipment for most jobs instead of owning it. Does that change how the books work?
No, rental costs are simply tracked against the job they served, the same way owned equipment would be tracked as a business asset instead.
My books are behind from a busy rainy 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.
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