Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for hardscaping and paver installers.
Deposits, progress draws, Belgard and Techo-Bloc paver orders, and the base material that gets bought by the truckload. 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
August came in at $16,800. The Belgard paver order for the Vance patio went in as materials for that job, not a general supply cost.
- Deposit, Vance patioJob deposits
- Final payment, Turner walkwayFinal payments
- Belgard paver orderPavers and stone
- Aggregate and base material deliveryBase material
- Skid steer rental, SunbeltEquipment rental
Why your books are different
Hardscaping books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and material bills. Your business runs several crews on several patios at once, orders base material by the truckload, and rents equipment by the week. When the books do not know which truck of gravel belongs to which job, you cannot tell what any of them actually made.
-
1
Base material gets bought ahead of the jobs it is for
A load of gravel and sand for three upcoming patios often gets delivered before any of those jobs are billed, so the purchase lands in one month and the revenue lands the next, making the first month look far worse than it is.
What we doTags base material purchases to the jobs they are for, so a delivery ahead of the work does not read as a loss. -
2
Multiple crews blur which job actually made money
Running two or three crews on different patios in the same week, with material and labor logged into one pile, makes it impossible to see which job ran over budget and which one carried the month.
What we doKeeps material and crew costs tagged to the job they belong to, so margin per job is visible, not just a total for the month. -
3
Equipment rental gets treated like a routine bill
Weekly skid steer or plate compactor rental adds up fast across several jobs, and when it is not tied to the job it served, the owner cannot tell if a particular patio's grading and base work actually cost what it should have.
What we doTags equipment rental to the job it was used for, so the true cost of prep work on each patio is visible. -
4
A deposit looks like profit before the crew ever breaks ground
A $9,000 deposit on a patio that will not start for two weeks shows up as income the day it lands, so the month looks strong before a single paver is laid.
What we doTracks the deposit against its job and recognizes the income as the work gets done, so a big deposit month does not hide a thin one underneath it.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a hardscaping 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
- Job depositsThe third to half collected at contract signing, tracked against the job it belongs to.
- Progress drawsPayments collected at excavation and paver-laying milestones.
- Final paymentsWalkthrough payment once the patio or walkway is complete.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut from GreenSky booked as a fee.
- Change ordersAdded fire pit or seat wall scope billed separately from the base contract.
Money out
- Pavers and stoneBelgard, Techo-Bloc, or similar pavers and natural stone.
- Base materialGravel, sand, and aggregate bought by the truckload.
- Polymeric sand and edge restraintFinishing material for joints and paver edges.
- Crew wages and subsExcavation and install crew pay, tagged to the job.
- Equipment rentalSkid steers, plate compactors, and saws, tagged to the job they served.
- Lead fees and marketingHouzz, Angi, and Google local services ads.
- Financing and card feesWhat the lender or Square kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Material cost share
Pavers and base material against money in, so pricing keeps up with supplier costs.
- Equipment rental per job
Rental costs tagged to each patio, so prep work pricing reflects what grading and base actually cost.
- Jobs in progress
Deposits collected for patios not yet built, so a big deposit month does not look like profit that is not there yet.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things hardscaping 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.
No. I booked it as a change order on the same job, so the added scope and what it cost are both visible.
The Belgard order for the Vance patio landed this month before the job was billed. I tagged it to that job, so it is not really a loss, it is a job still in progress.
If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running.
The tax side
The tax side of a hardscaping business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A base material delivery counted before the job it is for, equipment rental untied from any job, 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.
- Equipment write-offsA skid steer, plate compactor, or trailer bought for the business can usually be written off in the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like an excavation crew or a stone mason, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment taxAn owner not on payroll pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on profit, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- 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 hardscaping and paver installers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Skid steer and compactor rental
- Paver saw blades
- Truck and trailer fuel
- Houzz and Angi lead fees
- Uniforms with your logo
- Tools that live on the truck
- Phone and tablet for job sites
- Trade licenses and bonding
- Card and financing fees
- Job photo software
- Stone and paver samples
- Truck wraps and yard signs
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 hardscaping year, kept every month.
Deposits start landing in spring and crews run hardest through late summer. Your taxes come on a schedule either way. 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, the 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before the spring deposits start coming in for the season ahead.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how material and equipment costs compared to what you priced.
- October
Before the season slows
A look at any equipment worth buying before winter, 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 hardscaping and paver 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 hardscaping 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.
I run estimates in Jobber. Do I have to change how I work?
No. Keep running jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit or payout is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I write off a skid steer purchase all at once?
Often, yes. Business equipment can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, though 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 from last 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 keep three crews on three patios from blurring together?
He tags material and labor costs to the job they belong to, so each patio's margin is visible on its own instead of blended into one number.
Do you handle sales tax on the pavers and material I buy?
No. Sales tax on materials and contracts varies by state and Gus does not file it. He keeps your books clean so whoever files your sales tax has accurate numbers to work from.
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 outdoor living & structures
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Chicken coop & backyard farm structure builders
- Dock & boathouse builders
- Gazebo & pavilion builders
- Outdoor audio & TV installers
- Playground & swing set installers
- Putting green installers
- Retractable screens & motorized shades
- Seawall & bulkhead contractors
- Sport court builders (pickleball, basketball)
- Artificial turf installers
- Backyard office & ADU builders
- Decorative & stamped concrete
- Fire pit & outdoor fireplace builders
- Outdoor kitchen builders
- Patio cover & awning companies
- Pergola builders
- Pool resurfacing & repair
- Retaining wall contractors
- Screened porch & sunroom builders
- Storage shed builders & dealers
- Concrete flatwork contractors
- Deck builders
- Driveway paving & sealcoating
- Epoxy & polyaspartic garage floor coatings
- Fence installation companies
- Fiberglass pool installers
- Hot tub & swim spa dealers
- Pool service & cleaning
- Custom pool builders
- Cedar shake roofing specialists
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