Vehicle sales & auto services
Books and taxes for junkyards and auto salvage yards.
Scrap metal sales, used parts orders, cash vehicle buys, and core charge refunds all move through the yard differently. Gus sorts every dollar into its own line, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
November netted $11,500. Scrap prices dipped even though the same amount of metal went out, so I tracked that as a market move, not a change in your operation.
- Scrap metal sale, weightScrap metal sales
- Car-Part.com parts orderUsed parts sales
- Vehicle buy, cashVehicle acquisitions
- Fluid and hazmat disposalEnvironmental compliance
- Flatbed pickup, incoming unitTowing and transport
Why your books are different
A salvage yard's books go wrong around the vehicle, not the sale.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business buys wrecked cars for cash, strips them for parts and scrap over weeks or months, and sells the results two very different ways. When the books do not track the vehicle itself, you cannot tell what any of it actually returned.
-
1
Cash bought cars never make it to the books
Buying a junk car off a seller for a couple hundred dollars cash feels informal, and if that purchase and the parts or scrap it eventually yields never get logged, both a real cost and real income disappear.
What we doTracks every vehicle bought for cash as inventory, so what it later sells for as parts or scrap can be measured against what it cost. -
2
Scrap and parts income get lumped together
A load of scrap metal sold by weight and a rebuilt transmission sold through Car-Part.com both land as one deposit, so it is hard to tell whether the yard's money is coming from crushing cars or pulling parts.
What we doKeeps scrap sales and parts sales in separate lines, so you can see which side of the business is actually earning. -
3
Environmental disposal costs get skipped
Draining fluids and disposing of batteries, tires, and hazardous waste on every incoming vehicle is a real recurring cost, and it is easy to let it blend into general shop supplies instead of being tracked against the vehicles it belongs to.
What we doKeeps environmental compliance costs in their own line so the real cost of processing a vehicle is visible. -
4
Core charges get treated as pure profit
Some parts sell with a core charge that is refunded if the buyer returns the old part, and if that refund obligation is not tracked, income looks bigger than what the yard actually keeps once cores come back.
What we doTracks core charges and their refunds separately so parts income reflects what is actually kept. -
5
Scrap price swings make months look inconsistent
The price paid for scrap steel can move a lot from one month to the next with no change in how much metal actually got sold, making the books look erratic when nothing about the yard's operations changed.
What we doTracks scrap volume against price separately, so a market swing reads as the market, not an operations problem.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a junkyard or salvage yard.
Set up once for how vehicles come in and how parts and scrap go out. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Scrap metal salesCrushed hulks and metal sold by weight to a scrap buyer.
- Used parts salesEngines, transmissions, and body parts sold through Car-Part.com, eBay Motors, or over the counter.
- Pull-a-part admission and feesEntry fees and part prices charged at a self-service yard.
- Core charge collectionsThe deposit charged on certain parts, refundable if the old part comes back.
Money out
- Vehicle acquisitionsWhat is paid, often in cash, to bring a wrecked or junk vehicle onto the lot.
- Towing and transportFlatbed and tow costs to bring vehicles in.
- Environmental complianceDraining fluids and disposing of batteries, tires, and hazardous waste.
- Payroll for parts pullersWages for staff who remove and inventory parts.
- Scale and crane maintenanceUpkeep on the equipment used to weigh and move vehicles.
- Core charge refundsMoney returned to customers who bring back an old part.
- Disposal fees for hulksWhat is paid to finally send a stripped vehicle to the crusher.
What we watch for you
- Scrap versus parts mix
How much of the month's income came from crushing metal versus pulling and selling parts.
- Cost per vehicle processed
Acquisition, towing, and disposal costs against how many vehicles came onto the lot.
- Core refund rate
How much of core charge income actually gets returned, so parts income reflects what is really kept.
- Scrap price per ton
Tracked separately from volume, so a market swing does not look like an operations problem.
Ask Gus
Things salvage yard 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.
Yes. I log each one as inventory at what you paid, so when the parts or scrap from it sell, we can see what that vehicle actually returned.
No, that's the market. I track scrap volume separate from price, so you can see it was the price that moved, not your operation.
I keep core charges and their refunds in their own line, so your parts income shows what you actually kept, not the full charge before the refund.
The tax side
The tax side of a junkyard or salvage yard.
Most of what goes wrong here is treating a vehicle as inventory and keeping a real paper trail on cash buys. Getting both right is what makes the return come out clean.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Vehicles bought for parts are inventoryA wrecked or junk vehicle bought to strip for parts or scrap is inventory. Its cost only counts against income as the parts or scrap from it actually sell.
- Cash purchases still need a paper trailBuying a vehicle for cash from an individual is a legitimate cost, but it needs a record of what was paid and to whom to hold up as a deduction.
- Environmental compliance is an ordinary costFluid draining and hazardous waste disposal on incoming vehicles are ordinary and necessary business costs, deductible as they are paid.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when vehicle costs and parts income are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions junkyards and auto salvage yards miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Fluid and hazmat disposal fees
- Scale and crane maintenance
- Forklift and loader repairs
- Tow truck fuel and upkeep
- Certificate of destruction filing fees
- Parts cleaning supplies
- Car-Part.com and eBay Motors listing fees
- Fencing and lot security
- Steel-toe boots and safety gear
- Battery and tire recycling fees
- Crane and lift inspections
- Scrap hauling fees
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 salvage yard's year, kept every month.
Vehicles come in and scrap prices move on their own schedules. Your taxes come on a schedule too. 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 a monthly set-aside is planned so scrap price swings during the year don't catch the business short.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been running since January regardless of how scrap prices moved.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at midyear, what you will owe, and whether scrap sales or parts sales have been carrying the business so far.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at any equipment worth buying and whether stripped hulks on the lot are worth clearing before the calendar turns.
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 junkyards and auto salvage yards. 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 salvage yard owners ask first.
Most of my vehicle buys are cash deals with individuals. Can Gus still track those?
Yes. Send him what you paid and to whom, and he logs each vehicle as inventory so its eventual parts or scrap sales can be measured against the cost.
Do scrap price swings mess up my books?
No. Gus tracks the volume of metal sold separately from the price it fetched, so a market move reads as the market, not a change in your operation.
How do you handle core charges and refunds?
They stay in their own line. Parts income reflects what you actually keep after any core gets returned for a refund.
I run a pull-a-part yard where customers pay admission and pull their own parts. Does that change anything?
No. Admission and part fees get tracked the same way as any other parts sale, just from a different kind of customer visit.
Do you handle the certificate of destruction paperwork when a hulk gets crushed?
No. Gus tracks the cost of disposal. The certificate of destruction and any state paperwork stay with you.
My records are mostly a notebook of what came in and went to the crusher. Can you work with that?
Yes. Send what you have and Gus sorts it into scrap, parts, and vehicle costs as best he can, then tells you where the yard actually stands.
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