Home maintenance & specialty services
Books and taxes for home maintenance membership companies.
Annual memberships paid up front, tiered plans with different visits included, add-on repairs beyond what a plan covers, and the occasional mid-year cancellation. Gus sorts all of it, and an accountant checks every transaction.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
February came in at $6,500. A batch of annual memberships renewed this month, so I am spreading that income across the visits scheduled through the year instead of booking it all now.
- Annual membership renewal, PremiumMembership fees
- Add-on repair chargeAdd-on parts and services
- HVAC filter wholesale orderParts and materials
- Housecall Pro subscriptionMembership management software
- Shell fuelVehicle and fuel
Why your books are different
Home maintenance membership books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and a payroll bill. Your business runs on a year of visits paid for in one renewal, tiers that cost different amounts to service, and add-on repairs that go beyond what a plan covers. When the books do not track those apart, one renewal month looks huge and the rest of the year looks thin.
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1
A year of membership gets paid for in one renewal
A member renews an annual plan with one payment, but the visits it covers are spread across the next twelve months. Counted as income the day it renews, that month looks enormous and every service month after looks like nothing happened.
What we doSpreads membership renewal income across the months the covered visits actually happen. -
2
A mid-year cancellation is not a clean loss
When a member cancels partway through a prepaid year, part of what they paid may need to be refunded or treated as no longer earned. Counted as a simple loss of revenue, it does not reflect what actually happened.
What we doAdjusts the remaining unearned portion of a canceled membership instead of letting it read as a straight loss. -
3
Add-on repairs are not part of the membership fee
A member's plan might include two free visits a year, but a bigger repair beyond that scope gets billed separately. Rolled into membership income, you cannot see how much of your revenue actually comes from add-on work.
What we doKeeps add-on parts and services in their own category, separate from membership fees. -
4
Different tiers cost different amounts to service
A premium plan with more included visits costs more in labor and parts to service than a basic plan, even if both get lumped into one membership revenue number. Without a tier split, you cannot tell which plan is actually worth offering.
What we doTags membership revenue by tier, so you can see which plan pulls its weight once visit costs are counted.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a home maintenance membership business.
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
- Membership feesAnnual or monthly plan payments, tagged by tier.
- Add-on parts and servicesRepairs and materials beyond what a plan includes.
- Non-member service callsOne-time calls from customers without a membership plan.
- Referral and renewal bonusesAny incentive income tied to member referrals or renewals.
Money out
- Technician wagesPayroll for staff running membership visits.
- Parts and materialsFilters, batteries, caulk, and small repair parts used on visits.
- Vehicle and fuelFuel, repairs, insurance, and loan payments for the fleet.
- Membership management softwareScheduling and customer tracking apps such as Housecall Pro.
- Liability insuranceCoverage for work done in a member's home.
- MarketingAdvertising to attract new memberships.
- Uniforms and phoneBranded shirts and the phone used for scheduling.
What we watch for you
- Unearned membership balance
How much prepaid membership income has not yet been earned by a completed visit.
- Tier margin
What each membership tier brings in against what it costs to service.
- Add-on attach rate
How often visits turn into paid add-on work beyond the plan.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things home maintenance membership 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.
It is real money, but I am spreading it across the visits it covers over the year, so the month it renewed does not look bigger than it should compared to the rest of the year.
I adjust the unearned part of what they paid instead of just booking it as a loss, so your numbers reflect what actually happened.
That is worth a real look, since premium members get more visits and that costs more to deliver. I tag revenue by tier so you can compare them directly.
The tax side
The tax side of a home maintenance membership business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing: a year of membership income counted all at once, and a cancellation treated as a simple loss instead of an adjustment.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Prepaid membership income and timingMoney collected for a year of membership visits is earned as the visits happen, not all at once, which affects how it should be recognized on the books and reported at tax time.
- Vehicle and equipmentFleet vehicles and equipment used across membership visits can usually be written off in the year you buy them, up to the Section 179 limit, with 100 percent bonus depreciation on property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for techniciansA technician who runs your scheduled visits and drives your vehicle usually counts as an employee, not a contractor, even if paid per visit.
- 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 maintenance membership companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Vehicle fuel and repairs
- Filters, batteries, and small repair parts
- Membership scheduling software
- Liability insurance
- Marketing to attract new members
- Uniforms with your logo
- Phone and tablet for scheduling
- Continuing education and trade certifications
- Card processing fees
- Small tools under the expensing threshold
- Shop or storage rent
- Background check fees for technicians
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 maintenance membership year, kept every month.
Renewals bunch up at certain times of year, and your taxes come on a 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 April is already handled before the renewal season picks up.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how membership revenue is tracking as it gets earned through the year.
- October
Before the fall push
As fall maintenance visits ramp up, Gus looks at equipment worth buying 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 home maintenance membership 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 home maintenance membership owners ask first.
Can Gus spread membership renewal income across the year instead of booking it all at once?
Yes. Membership fees get tracked against the visits they cover, so a big renewal payment does not make one month look inflated and the rest look empty.
What happens in the books when a member cancels partway through the year?
Gus adjusts the unearned portion of what they paid rather than booking the whole thing as a straight loss, so the numbers reflect what actually happened.
Can Gus show me which membership tier is actually worth offering?
Yes. Revenue gets tagged by tier, so you can compare what each plan brings in against what it costs to service once visits and parts are counted.
Do add-on repairs count as membership income?
No. Add-on parts and services beyond what a plan includes get their own category, so you can see how much of your revenue comes from add-on work.
My books have been a mix of a membership app and a separate bank account. Can Gus sort that out?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most people know where they stand inside a week.
Do I need to run payroll for my technicians through Gus?
No, running payroll is not part of what Gus does, but he keeps technician wages visible against membership and add-on income so you can see labor cost clearly.
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