Design & pre-construction
Books and taxes for landscape architects.
A planting and hardscape design fee, a stamped grading and drainage plan, a civil engineer to coordinate with, and a spring calendar packed with site visits. 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
April came in at $10,200. The Thornbury estate needed a stamped drainage plan on top of the planting design, so I kept that fee in its own line since it carries a different license and liability.
- Thornbury planting design feeDesign phase fees
- Thornbury drainage plan feeStamped grading and drainage fees
- Land F/X software renewalDesign software
- Civil engineer coordinationSubconsultant fees
- Site visit mileage, AprilSite visits
Why your books are different
A landscape architecture practice's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a design fee and a busy spring. Your business bills planting and hardscape design differently than a stamped grading and drainage plan, coordinates with a civil engineer on stormwater, and packs most of its site visits into a few warm months. When the books do not know that, a slow winter looks like trouble instead of the normal shape of the year.
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1
Stamped drainage work gets billed like planting design
A grading and stormwater drainage plan carries a landscape architect's stamp and real liability if it fails, but if it is billed the same way as a planting layout, you cannot see which type of work is actually worth the risk.
What we doKeeps stamped grading and drainage fees separate from planting and hardscape design fees, so liability-bearing work stays visible on its own. -
2
Civil engineering coordination looks like your own cost
A civil engineer brought in for stormwater calculations gets paid through your invoice to the client, and left unmarked, that payment looks like a design cost instead of a pass-through to another licensed professional.
What we doTags civil engineer coordination fees as a subconsultant pass-through, so your design revenue reflects only your own work. -
3
Site visit season bunches into a few months
Most site visits and installation walk-throughs happen in a handful of warm-weather months, and mileage and time spent on-site can spike hard in that window while winter months show almost none.
What we doTracks site visit costs by month, so a spring and summer spike reads as the normal shape of the year, not a sudden cost problem. -
4
Plant material recommendations get confused with plant material purchases
You specify plant material in a planting plan without buying or reselling it, but a client or a nursery invoice referencing your project can make it look like plants passed through your books when they never did.
What we doKeeps design fee income separate from any nursery or installer invoices that reference your project but never touched your account.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a landscape architecture practice.
Set up once for how your fees split and how your year moves. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Design phase feesPlanting, hardscape, and site layout design billed by phase.
- Stamped grading and drainage feesGrading and stormwater plans that carry a landscape architect's stamp.
- Site visit and construction observation feesWalk-throughs during installation to confirm the design is being followed.
- Master planning feesLarger-scale site or campus planning work billed separately from a single project.
Money out
- Design softwareLand F/X, AutoCAD Civil 3D, or similar site design tools.
- Subconsultant feesCivil engineer or irrigation designer fees paid through your contract.
- License and duesState landscape architect license renewal and professional association dues.
- Professional liability insuranceThe policy that covers a grading or drainage design error.
- Site visitsMileage, parking, and travel for site walks during the growing season.
- Printing and plottingLarge-format plots for planting plans and grading submittals.
What we watch for you
- Stamped work share
How much income comes from liability-bearing grading and drainage work versus planting design.
- Site visit cost by season
How much site visit spending concentrates in the warm-weather months.
- Subconsultant pass-through
How much of what moves through your account belongs to a civil engineer or irrigation designer, not you.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things landscape architects 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 kept it separate. Stamped grading and drainage work carries different liability, so it has its own line from the planting design fee.
I tagged it as a pass-through instead, since it was always his fee. Your design revenue for that job reflects your own work, not his.
Not based on what I am seeing. Your site visit and design income both drop this way most winters and pick back up in spring, which is the normal shape of your year.
The tax side
The tax side of a landscape architecture practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is keeping stamped, liability-bearing work visible on its own and getting subconsultant pass-throughs out of your revenue line. Getting that right changes what the return actually shows.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. It comes out right when design fees and subconsultant pass-throughs are tracked separately all year.
- Equipment write-offsA design workstation, large-format plotter, or a vehicle used mainly for site visits can often be written off the year you buy them, under Section 179 or bonus depreciation.
- Contractor 1099sA civil engineer, irrigation designer, or contract drafter paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment taxA sole owner pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the $184,500 wage base. An S corp structure can change how much of your pay is hit with it.
Deductions landscape architects miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Land F/X or Civil 3D license
- License renewal fees
- Professional association dues
- Professional liability premium
- Site visit mileage
- Plotter paper and ink
- Continuing education courses
- Code and standards references
- Portfolio photography
- Website and portfolio hosting
- Home office expenses
- Field measuring equipment
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 landscape architecture year, kept every month.
New design contracts sign in late winter, site visits stack up through the growing season, and the calendar quiets back down by fall. Your team keeps you ahead of both the season and the taxes. 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 subconsultant 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 right as site visit season and new project signings both pick up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how this year's stamped work compares to planting design income.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at equipment worth buying before December and flags any site visit or design fees still uncollected as the season winds down.
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 landscape architects. 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 landscape architects ask first.
Can Gus tell the difference between my planting design fee and stamped drainage work?
Yes. He keeps stamped grading and drainage fees in their own line, separate from planting and hardscape design, since they carry different liability.
I coordinate with a civil engineer on some projects. Does that mess up my revenue?
No. Gus tags the civil engineer's fee as a pass-through when it runs through your account, so your own design revenue stays accurate.
My income drops hard every winter. Is that a problem Gus will flag?
Not if it matches your usual pattern. Gus tracks your site visit and design income by season, so a normal winter slowdown reads as expected, not alarming.
I specify plants in my designs but never buy or resell them. Does that get confusing on the books?
No. Gus keeps your design fee income separate from any nursery or installer invoices that reference your project but never passed through your account.
My books have never separated stamped work from regular design fees. Can Gus fix that now?
Yes. Send your recent bank statements and Gus starts sorting stamped and unstamped work apart from there, checked by an accountant as it goes.
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