Aviation & marine services
Books and taxes for marine electronics installers.
Chartplotter and radar installs, a wiring harness job that takes two full days, warranty labor claims from the manufacturer, and a sea trial to calibrate it all. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, 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 $10,400. The Garmin warranty labor claim finally paid out, so that job's real cost showed up instead of sitting as a loss for two months.
- Chartplotter and radar installInstallation labor
- Garmin warranty labor reimbursementManufacturer warranty claims
- Raymarine equipment, dealer orderEquipment resold to customers
- Marine wire and connectorsWiring and installation supplies
- Install van fuel and tollsVehicle and fuel
Why your books are different
A marine electronics installer's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees an invoice for a chartplotter and calls it a sale. Your business bills labor separate from equipment, waits on manufacturer warranty claims that pay out weeks later, and runs wiring jobs that take longer than the install itself. When the books do not know that, a job can look like a loss for months before it actually is not.
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1
Warranty labor claims get lost between the job and the payout
When a manufacturer like Garmin or Raymarine owes you labor reimbursement on a warranty repair, that claim can take weeks to pay out, and if the original job's cost is not tracked against the pending claim, it looks like a loss until the check arrives.
What we doKeeps manufacturer warranty claims in their own line and tracks what is still owed, so a pending payout is not mistaken for a bad job. -
2
Equipment resale and labor get blended into one invoice number
A customer's invoice often bundles a chartplotter's price with your install labor, and if the books do not separate them, you cannot tell whether your labor rate actually covers what an install takes.
What we doKeeps equipment resold to customers separate from installation labor, so your real labor margin is visible. -
3
A wiring job runs long and eats the quote
Running new wiring through an older hull for a full electronics upgrade can take twice as long as a simple swap, and if labor is not tracked by job type, you cannot tell which kind of work is actually worth taking on.
What we doKeeps wiring and installation labor visible by job, so a harness-heavy install shows its real time cost against what it billed. -
4
A dealer equipment order covers several customers at once
A bulk order from a manufacturer or distributor to get a dealer discount often covers multiple upcoming installs, and if the whole cost lands against the first job it is used on, that job looks overpriced while the rest look free.
What we doKeeps equipment inventory in one steady line and tells you when a bulk order, not one install, is why a month looks thin.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a marine electronics installer.
Set up once for how you bill and what you buy. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Installation laborChartplotter, radar, and autopilot installs, billed by the job.
- Equipment resold to customersThe hardware price, kept apart from your labor.
- Manufacturer warranty claimsLabor reimbursements from Garmin, Raymarine, and others.
- Calibration and sea trialsTime spent testing and calibrating after an install.
Money out
- Equipment inventoryChartplotters, radar units, and autopilot systems bought for resale.
- Wiring and installation suppliesMarine wire, connectors, and mounting hardware.
- Vehicle and fuelThe install van and its running costs.
- Tools and diagnostic equipmentCrimpers, testers, and calibration tools.
- Dealer and certification feesManufacturer dealer program and installer certification costs.
What we watch for you
- Labor margin per install
What your labor actually nets once equipment cost is stripped out, the number that keeps quotes honest.
- Warranty claims outstanding
How much manufacturer reimbursement is still owed, so a pending payout is not mistaken for a loss.
- Wiring job time
How long harness-heavy jobs actually take against what they billed.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things marine electronics installers 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 keep it tracked as a claim still owed, not a loss. When the reimbursement lands, it closes out clean.
No. I split the equipment cost from your labor on the back end, so you can still see your real labor margin either way.
No, I keep equipment inventory in one steady line, so a bulk buy reads as what it is, not a cost dumped on whichever install happened first.
The tax side
The tax side of a marine electronics business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on warranty claims and separating equipment from labor. Getting that split right matters more than any single deduction.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Diagnostic and calibration equipmentTesters, calibration tools, and shop equipment can often be expensed the year you buy them under Section 179, up to $2,560,000.
- Contractor 1099sAny outside installer help you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Vehicle and travel costsBusiness driving to installs can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents from July, or through actual costs, whichever the accountant finds fits your year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when equipment, labor, and warranty claims are booked right all year.
Deductions marine electronics installers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Marine wire and connectors
- Crimpers and wiring tools
- Calibration and diagnostic equipment
- Manufacturer dealer program fees
- Installer certification courses
- Vehicle fuel and maintenance
- Liability insurance
- Mounting hardware and brackets
- Van shelving and tool storage
- Phone and dispatch 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 marine electronics year, kept every month.
Installs happen whenever an owner upgrades. 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, the 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. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January, right as spring commissioning installs pick up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring rush of installs changed the number more than usual.
- October
Before winter layup
Owners often upgrade electronics before winter storage. 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 marine electronics installers. 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 marine electronics installers ask first.
Can Gus track a warranty claim until the manufacturer actually pays it?
Yes. He keeps warranty claims in their own line and tracked as outstanding, so a job is not mistaken for a loss while a Garmin or Raymarine reimbursement is still on the way.
Do I need to change how I invoice equipment and labor together?
No. Keep invoicing the way you do. Gus splits equipment cost from labor on the back end so your real margin is visible either way.
A wiring-heavy install took twice as long as a simple swap. Does that show up anywhere?
Yes. Gus keeps installation labor visible by job, so a harness-heavy install shows its real time cost against what it billed, which helps with future quotes.
Do I write off new calibration equipment all at once?
Usually, yes. Testers and calibration tools generally qualify for a full write-off the year you buy them, though the accountant looks at your whole year before settling on whether that or spreading it out fits better.
I have not sent anything in since a big install season. Is that a problem?
No. Forward the bank statements from whatever stretch you missed. Gus catches up the backlog and the accountant checks it, so most installers know where they stand 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