Landscaping & lawn care

Books and taxes for hydroseeding companies.

A slurry tank truck priced by the acre, seed and mulch mix bought in bulk, erosion control jobs for builders, and residential lawns mixed in between. 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
$15,700
what you made

May came in at $15,700. The erosion control job for the Beckman construction site is booked separately from the residential lawns, since it billed by the acre, not the yard.

  • Beckman site, erosion controlConstruction and erosion control
  • Residential lawn jobsResidential hydroseeding
  • Seed and mulch mix orderSlurry materials
  • Tank truck repairEquipment and truck costs
  • Fuel, tank truckTrucks and fuel
Money in$54,800
Money out$39,100
Set aside for taxes$4,400
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Hydroseeding books go wrong around two very different kinds of jobs.

A generalist sees invoices and a materials bill. Your business runs on residential lawns priced by the yard and construction erosion control priced by the acre, using the same tank truck and the same slurry mix. When the books do not separate them, you cannot tell which side of the business actually pays.

  1. 1

    Residential and construction work get billed the same way

    A homeowner's backyard lawn and a builder's multi-acre erosion control site use the same equipment but sell completely differently, so mixing their income together hides which type of work is worth chasing.

    What we doKeeps residential and construction or erosion control income in separate lines, so each side of the business shows its own number.
  2. 2

    A bulk slurry order gets charged to whichever job is open

    Seed, mulch, and tackifier bought in bulk to cover several jobs gets billed against one job's invoice by habit, so that job looks overpriced and the rest look artificially cheap.

    What we doKeeps slurry material costs in a steady category, separate from any single job, unless you tell him to split a specific order.
  3. 3

    Tank truck downtime is a real cost nobody tracks

    A slurry tank or pump that breaks down mid-season means paying for repairs while also losing jobs you could not run, but the lost income never shows up next to the repair bill.

    What we doKeeps equipment repair costs visible against the season, so you can see how much downtime is costing beyond just the repair invoice.
  4. 4

    Per-acre construction pricing gets lost against per-yard residential jobs

    A large erosion control job billed by the acre can look like a huge single sale next to a normal residential job, making it hard to see the real margin once slurry volume and drive time are factored in.

    What we doTracks material volume and labor against construction job income, so per-acre pricing reflects the real cost of the mix used.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a hydroseeding 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

  • Residential hydroseedingLawn jobs billed by the yard or flat rate.
  • Construction and erosion controlBuilder and site jobs billed by the acre.
  • Commercial and municipal jobsLarger contracts billed on net terms.
  • Repeat treatmentsFollow-up seeding on areas that did not take.

Money out

  • Slurry materialsSeed, mulch, tackifier, and fertilizer used in the mix.
  • Equipment and truck costsTank truck, pump, and hose repairs and maintenance.
  • Trucks and fuelFuel and insurance for the tank truck and support vehicles.
  • Crew wagesApplication labor, kept apart from equipment costs.
  • Site access and permit feesCosts tied to working on active construction sites.
  • Marketing and bid costsCosts to bid on builder and municipal contracts.

What we watch for you

  • Job margin by type

    Residential versus construction margin, so you know which kind of work to chase.

  • Material cost per acre

    Slurry cost against acreage billed, so per-acre pricing stays accurate.

  • Equipment downtime cost

    Repair bills against jobs missed while the truck was down, worth watching each season.

  • The set-aside

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

Ask Gus

Things hydroseeding 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.

Is a big construction erosion job the same kind of income as a regular lawn job?

I keep them separate. Construction and erosion control jobs are priced and costed differently than residential lawns, so you can see which side of the business is actually paying.

I bought a season's worth of seed and mulch mix in one order. Does that all hit one job?

No, I keep it in a steady materials line unless you tell me it was for a specific job. A bulk order should not make one lawn look overpriced.

My tank pump broke down for a week and I had to reschedule three jobs. Does that show up anywhere?

The repair bill shows up in equipment costs. I cannot track the jobs you missed, but I can flag the season where downtime hit harder than usual.

The tax side

The tax side of a hydroseeding business.

Most of what goes wrong here is mixing two different lines of work: residential and construction income, and slurry costs charged to the wrong job.

What your return has to get right

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

  • The tank truck and pump systemA hydroseeding tank truck and pump system 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 crew member or driver not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC if paid $2,000 or more in 2026, due January 31.
  • Standard mileage for support vehiclesA support vehicle used mainly for site visits and estimates can use the standard mileage rate: 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026, 76 cents after.
  • 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 hydroseeding companies miss

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

  • Seed, mulch, and tackifier
  • Tank truck and pump repairs
  • Fuel for the tank truck
  • Hose and nozzle replacements
  • Site access and permit fees
  • Liability insurance
  • Bid preparation costs
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Card processing fees
  • Storage yard rent

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 hydroseeding year, kept every month.

Your season runs on planting windows, not a calendar quarter. 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started and you get a monthly set-aside, so the spring planting rush does not come with a tax surprise.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed while spring seeding jobs are already underway.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand after the spring push, what you will owe, and whether construction jobs are pricing out as expected.

  4. October

    Before the fall window

    Before the fall planting window closes, Gus looks at equipment you might buy 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 hydroseeding 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 hydroseeding owners ask first.

Can Gus keep my residential lawns separate from my construction site work?

Yes. Residential and construction or erosion control income get their own categories, so you can see which type of work is actually paying off.

I buy seed and mulch mix in bulk for several jobs at once. How does that get tracked?

It goes into a steady materials category unless you tell Gus to split a specific order across jobs, so a bulk buy does not make one job look overpriced.

How does Gus handle a job billed by the acre versus one billed by the yard?

Both get booked to the category that fits, residential or construction, so pricing per acre and per yard can each be checked on their own terms.

My equipment breaks down sometimes and I lose jobs while it is repaired. Does that get tracked?

The repair cost is tracked. Gus cannot capture jobs you never billed, but he can flag a season where repair costs ran higher than usual.

My books are behind from a busy planting 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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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