HVAC, insulation & chimney

Books and taxes for home energy auditors.

Blower door and infrared assessments, weatherization assistance program reimbursements that pay on a lag, and referral fees from the contractors you send work to. Gus sorts all of it, 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
MayExample month
$7,200
what you made

May came in at $7,200. Two weatherization program reimbursements from March finally landed, so I matched them to the audits they were for instead of counting them as new work.

  • Square payouts, retail auditsRetail audits
  • Weatherization program paymentProgram reimbursements
  • Insulation contractor referral feeReferral income
  • Blower door equipment supplierTesting equipment
  • Report software subscriptionSoftware
Money in$18,400
Money out$11,200
Set aside for taxes$1,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Home energy auditor books go wrong around reimbursements and referrals.

You sell a diagnostic report, not equipment, and a chunk of your work runs through a government or utility program that reimburses on its own schedule, plus referral fees from contractors you send work to. When the books cannot follow the lag or the referral, income looks unpredictable when it is not.

  1. 1

    A program reimbursement pays out on its own calendar

    A weatherization assistance program audit might not reimburse for eight or ten weeks after the report is delivered, and a slow month compared to a month a batch of reimbursements lands can look like wild swings instead of a normal lag.

    What we doTies each reimbursement to the audit it belongs to, so income counts for the work that earned it, not just the month the check arrived.
  2. 2

    Referral fees from contractors get lost as miscellaneous income

    An insulation or HVAC contractor pays you a referral fee when your audit turns into their job, and if that income is not tracked by source, you cannot tell which contractor relationships are actually worth keeping.

    What we doKeeps referral income in its own category, tracked by the contractor it came from.
  3. 3

    Diagnostic equipment is a real capital cost, not routine software

    A blower door kit or an infrared camera can cost several thousand dollars, and filed like a subscription or a supply, it makes one month look far worse than the business actually did.

    What we doFlags diagnostic equipment purchases the day they happen and logs them as equipment, not a routine cost.
  4. 4

    Retail audits and program-funded audits pay different amounts for similar work

    A retail homeowner audit and an income-qualified program audit can take the same time on-site but pay very differently, and blended together, you lose track of which type of work is actually paying for your time.

    What we doKeeps retail and program-funded audits in separate categories, so you can see what each is really worth per hour.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a home energy auditor.

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

  • Retail auditsHomeowner-paid diagnostic assessments.
  • Program reimbursementsWeatherization and utility program payments, matched to the audit they belong to.
  • Referral incomeFees paid by insulation or HVAC contractors, tracked by source.
  • Commercial energy assessmentsLarger buildings, kept apart from residential audits.

Money out

  • Testing equipmentBlower doors and infrared cameras, logged so they get written off right.
  • Report softwareEnergy modeling and report generation subscriptions.
  • Vehicle and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the audit vehicle.
  • Certification and trainingBuilding Performance Institute certification renewal.
  • Marketing and referral outreachCosts of building relationships with contractors and program administrators.

What we watch for you

  • Reimbursement backlog

    How much program income is billed but not yet paid, so cash gets planned right.

  • Referral income by source

    Which contractor relationships are actually worth the time invested in them.

  • Retail versus program share

    Which type of audit work is paying better per hour.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things home energy auditors 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.

Two weatherization program payments finally landed this month. Does that count as new business?

No, I matched them back to the audits they were for. They count as income this month, but tied to work you already did in March.

Can you tell me which contractor sends me the most referral fees?

Yes, referral income is tracked by who paid it, so I can pull that comparison whenever you want it.

I just bought a new blower door kit for $3,400. Does that come off this year?

Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not a routine cost, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

The tax side

The tax side of a home energy auditing business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing on program reimbursements and equipment that gets filed the wrong way.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Testing equipmentBlower doors, infrared cameras, and other diagnostic equipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Contractor 1099sA subcontracted auditor or helper 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 field auditor who drives your vehicle, works your schedule, and audits on your jobs is usually an employee, not a contractor, whatever 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 home energy auditors miss

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

  • Blower door and infrared equipment
  • Report and modeling software
  • Building Performance Institute certification
  • Vehicle fuel and repairs
  • Continuing education classes
  • Phone and tablet for reports
  • Business license renewal
  • Liability insurance
  • Marketing to referral partners
  • Printing and report delivery costs
  • Card processing fees
  • Home office costs for report writing

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 home energy auditor year, kept every month.

Steady work runs alongside program cycles that shift year to year. Your team keeps you ahead of both and of the return. 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, the 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed, right as spring retrofit season drives more audit demand.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether program reimbursements are keeping pace with the audits you have done.

  4. October

    Before the fall push

    Homeowners often want an audit before winter heating bills climb. Before that rush, Gus looks at equipment worth buying 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 home energy auditors. 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 home energy auditors ask first.

How does Gus handle a weatherization program reimbursement that pays out months later?

He ties it to the audit it belongs to and books it the month it lands, so it counts for the work that earned it, not as a mystery deposit.

Can Gus track which contractors send me the most referral fees?

Yes. Referral income is tracked by source, so you can see which relationships are actually worth the time you put into them.

Do I write off a new infrared camera all at once?

Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.

I do both paid retail audits and program-funded ones that pay less. Can Gus separate those?

Yes. They stay in different categories, so you can see what each type of audit is really worth against the time it takes.

My books are behind because program payments come in so late. 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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We keep books for the business next door too.

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