Hard goods, dealers & local stores
Books and taxes for lumber yards.
Yard sales, builder accounts running thirty and sixty days out, jobsite deliveries, and a mill rebate that lands a quarter later. 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
May came in at $23,500. Your framing lumber prices ran high all month, so I flagged the margin swing for the accountant before it gets buried in a strong-looking number.
- Yard counter salesRetail and yard sales
- Meridian Homes terms pmtBuilder accounts
- Weyerhaeuser rebateMill rebates
- Sherwood Lumber invoiceInventory purchase
- Boom truck dieselDelivery and fleet
Why your books are different
Lumber yard books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and vendor bills. Your business is builder accounts on terms, treated and dimensional lumber whose price swings week to week, jobsite deliveries by boom truck, and a mill rebate that shows up on its own calendar. When the books do not know that, the monthly number lies.
-
1
Builder accounts on terms look like cash on hand
A production builder buys framing packages all month on a thirty or sixty day account and pays in one lump sum later. Booked as cash the day the lumber goes out, the yard looks flush while the actual money is still weeks away.
What we doTracks open builder balances apart from cash and card sales, so what is owed does not get mistaken for money already in hand. -
2
Lumber price swings get buried in a normal-looking margin
Framing lumber and OSB prices can jump or drop hard within a single month, and a yard that bought stock before a price move can look like it had a great or terrible month for reasons that have nothing to do with how much actually sold.
What we doFlags months where lumber cost moved sharply, so a price swing does not get read as a change in how the yard is actually running. -
3
A mill rebate gets lost or dumped into plain sales
Volume rebates from Weyerhaeuser, Georgia-Pacific, or a regional mill often land a quarter after the purchases that earned them, as one lump payment with no obvious tie to a specific order.
What we doBooks mill rebates as their own line tied to the purchases that earned them, so the payment does not get mistaken for a strong sales month. -
4
Delivery costs disappear into the price of the lumber
Fuel, boom truck maintenance, and driver time for jobsite deliveries get folded into the cost of the lumber sold, so there is no way to see whether delivery is actually profitable or just a cost of keeping builder accounts happy.
What we doKeeps delivery and fleet costs in their own line, separate from inventory cost, so you can see what delivery is really costing you.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a lumber yard.
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 and yard salesWalk-in and counter sales paid at the time of purchase.
- Builder accountsTerms payments from production builders and remodeling contractors.
- Delivery feesJobsite delivery charges billed apart from the lumber itself.
- Mill rebatesVolume rebates from Weyerhaeuser, Georgia-Pacific, or a regional mill.
- Millwork and cutting servicesCustom cuts, moulding runs, and door or window assembly fees.
Money out
- Inventory purchaseDimensional lumber, treated stock, OSB, and millwork bought by the truckload.
- Delivery and fleetFuel, repairs, and insurance for boom trucks and flatbeds.
- Yard payrollYard hands, forklift operators, counter staff, and drivers.
- Forklift and yard equipmentMaintenance and fuel for forklifts, loaders, and racking systems.
- Rent and utilitiesYard lease, office, and covered storage.
- InsuranceLiability and inventory coverage for an open lumber yard.
- Card and account processing feesWhat the processor or terms program kept before the sale hit the bank.
What we watch for you
- Builder accounts owed
What builders owe on open terms, kept apart so it never reads as cash the yard already has.
- Gross margin on lumber
What is left after inventory cost. A price swing month can hide whether the yard is actually pricing right.
- Delivery cost per load
Fuel and fleet cost against delivery fees charged, so delivery does not quietly lose money.
- The set-aside
What the yard will owe, tracked every month against sales, so tax time is never a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things lumber 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.
It counts as a sale, but not as cash in hand yet. I keep their balance tracked separately so your cash picture stays honest.
No, I booked it as its own line tied to last quarter's purchases, so it does not read as this month suddenly selling more lumber.
I flagged it for the accountant rather than guess. Price swings on stock you already had can make a month look better or worse than it really was.
The tax side
The tax side of a lumber yard.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and price volatility. A rebate that lands late, a builder balance nobody tracks, and inventory that swings in value week to week.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goods soldWhat was actually paid for the lumber sold during the year, not just what was spent restocking, is what counts against sales. A yard needs a fair way to value dimensional and treated stock on hand at year end, especially after a price swing.
- Section 179 on yard equipmentForklifts, boom trucks, racking systems, and shop equipment can usually be written off in the year you buy them, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, such as an outside delivery driver, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. Getting it right depends on the yard's books being accurate all year, not patched together in March.
Deductions lumber yards miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Boom truck fuel and repairs
- Forklift maintenance and parts
- Racking and yard storage systems
- Delivery driver wages
- Business liability insurance
- Card and terms processing fees
- Yard signage and local advertising
- Snow removal and lot upkeep
- Damaged or unsellable inventory write-offs
- Millwork and cutting equipment blades
- Safety gear for yard staff
- Point of sale and inventory software
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 lumber yard year, kept every month.
Building season runs hard from spring through fall, and lumber prices move 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the delivery driver 1099 list is finalized, and a monthly set-aside is planned so filing season holds no surprises.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before building season hits full stride, with nothing owed that the set-aside had not already covered.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how the spring and early summer building rush changed the number.
- October
Before the slowdown
Before building season eases off, Gus looks at yard equipment you might buy 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 lumber 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 lumber yard owners ask first.
Can Gus track builder accounts that pay on terms?
Yes. He keeps open builder balances tracked apart from cash and card sales, so what is owed shows up as owed, not as money already in the bank.
Does Gus reconcile our mill rebates from Weyerhaeuser or Georgia-Pacific?
He books what lands in your bank statement as its own line tied to the purchases that earned it, so a rebate does not read as a sudden strong sales month.
Lumber prices swing a lot. Does that confuse the books?
It can if nobody accounts for it. Gus flags months where cost moved sharply so a price swing is not mistaken for a real change in how the yard is running.
We deliver to jobsites with our own trucks. Does that change anything?
It means Gus keeps delivery and fleet costs in their own line instead of folding them into the price of lumber, so you can see whether delivery is actually paying for itself.
Our books are behind from last building season. Is that fixable?
It usually is. Hand over whatever bank statements you have on hand and Gus works through them, with the accountant checking behind him, so you know where the yard stands within 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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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