Roofing & exterior

Books and taxes for gutter cleaning and gutter guard companies.

Fall and spring route cleanings, guard installs sold on top of a cleaning call, repeat customers on a yearly plan, and a truck full of ladders. Gus sorts it all, 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
NovemberExample month
$16,200
what you made

November cleared $16,200, your best month of the year. I kept guard installs in their own line, and they made up a third of what came in.

  • Route cleaning paymentsCleaning jobs
  • Guard install, Fairview CtGuard installs
  • Guard product shipmentGuard product
  • Truck fuel and maintenanceTrucks and fuel
  • Yearly plan renewalsMaintenance plans
Money in$41,000
Money out$24,800
Set aside for taxes$3,600
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Gutter cleaning books go wrong in ways a project-based business never sees.

A generalist bookkeeper builds around a handful of big invoices. Your business runs on a high volume of small jobs, most of them repeat customers on a route, plus a guard upsell that carries very different margin than a cleaning call. The books need to keep those apart.

  1. 1

    A cleaning call and a guard install look like the same job

    A $150 cleaning visit and a $1,800 guard install on the same house get lumped together as one sale, which hides how much of your revenue is actually coming from the higher-margin upsell.

    What we doKeeps cleaning revenue and guard install revenue in separate lines, so you can see what each part of the business is actually earning.
  2. 2

    Yearly maintenance plans get counted the day they're paid

    A customer who pays for a year of cleanings up front looks like a big one-time sale, when really that money covers visits spread across the next twelve months.

    What we doTracks plan revenue against the visits it's meant to cover, so one prepaid customer doesn't make a slow month look busy.
  3. 3

    A guard product order shows up as a bad week

    Ordering gutter guard material in bulk ahead of the fall rush can make a normal week look like a loss, right when cleaning calls are also picking up.

    What we doSpreads a bulk guard order against the installs it's used for instead of the week it landed in.
  4. 4

    Route stops get mixed with one-off calls

    A steady route of repeat customers pays differently than a one-time emergency cleaning after a storm, and blending them hides which kind of work is actually filling the calendar.

    What we doSplits route cleanings from one-off calls so you can see how much of the business is repeat versus one-time.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a gutter cleaning 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

  • Cleaning jobsRoute stops and one-off cleanings, paid by the visit.
  • Guard installsGutter guard product sold and installed, kept apart from cleanings.
  • Maintenance plansPrepaid yearly or twice-a-year plans, tracked against the visits they cover.
  • Repair callsSagging sections, loose hangers, and small fixes.

Money out

  • Guard productThe gutter guard material itself, kept apart from cleaning labor.
  • Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
  • Ladders and safety gearLadders, harnesses, and stabilizers.
  • Disposal feesDebris hauling from cleaning jobs.
  • Lead generationAngi, Google local services ads, and route mailers.
  • Insurance and licensingLiability coverage and contractor license renewals.

What we watch for you

  • Guard attach rate

    How often a cleaning call turns into a guard install, since that upsell drives most of your margin.

  • Repeat customer share

    How much of the business is route customers versus one-off calls.

  • Job margin

    What each visit actually cleared once fuel, labor, and product are counted.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so a busy fall doesn't turn into a surprise bill.

Ask Gus

Things gutter cleaning 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.

A customer paid $300 for a full year of cleanings up front. How does that get counted?

I spread it against the visits it covers instead of counting it all this month, so your numbers stay honest as the year plays out.

How much of what I'm making is actually from guard installs versus cleanings?

I keep those in separate lines, so you can see it directly instead of guessing from the invoice totals.

Do I need to send a 1099 to the guy who helps me on big install days?

If he's not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, yes, a 1099-NEC by January 31. I'm tracking that as it adds up.

The tax side

The tax side of a gutter cleaning and guard business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing on prepaid plans and keeping the higher-margin guard work visible against routine cleanings.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Trucks and equipmentA truck or trailer 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.
  • 1099s for helpersAnyone not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
  • Employee or contractorA helper who works your route on your schedule using your ladders usually looks like an employee. Gus flags it 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 guard and cleaning revenue are tracked separately all year.

Deductions gutter cleaning and gutter guard companies miss

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

  • Ladders and stabilizers
  • Harnesses and safety gear
  • Truck fuel and repairs
  • Guard product samples
  • Disposal and hauling fees
  • Google local services ads
  • Route mailers and door hangers
  • License and bonding fees
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Phone for scheduling calls
  • Card processing fees
  • Storage for guard 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 gutter cleaning year, kept every month.

Fall leaf drop and spring cleanup drive the calendar, but 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, helper 1099s are finalized, and the monthly set-aside is planned before spring cleanings pick up.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

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

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand between the spring and fall rushes, and whether guard installs are pulling their weight this year.

  4. October

    Before the fall rush

    A look at guard product ordered ahead of leaf season 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 gutter cleaning and gutter guard 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 gutter cleaning owners ask first.

How does Gus handle a customer's prepaid yearly plan?

He spreads the payment against the visits it covers instead of counting the whole thing the month it's paid, so your monthly numbers reflect the work actually done.

Can Gus show me how much guard installs are really worth?

Yes. Guard installs and routine cleanings are kept in separate categories, so you can see exactly how much each part of the business is bringing in.

I do most of my work on a fixed route. Does that matter for the books?

It just means most of your income is repeat and predictable. Gus tracks route cleanings apart from one-off calls so you can see that pattern clearly.

A storm brought in a wave of emergency cleaning calls. How does that get recorded?

Those get tracked as one-off jobs rather than route work, so you can see how much of a spike came from the storm versus your normal schedule.

Do I need separate accounts for cleaning and guard work?

No. One bank account is fine. Gus sorts the deposits into the right category based on what the job actually was.

My books have never been organized by season. Can Gus start from here?

Yes. Send your recent bank statements and Gus sorts them going forward, and the accountant checks the result.

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