Design & pre-construction
Books and taxes for MEP engineering firms.
One project fee split three ways across mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, extra coordination hours after a clash detection meeting, and three separate PE licenses to keep current. 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
August came in at $23,200. The Fairhaven clinic job needed an extra round of coordination after a duct and conduit clash, so I logged those hours against that project instead of general overhead.
- Fairhaven Clinic design feeSplit-discipline project fees
- Coordination hours, FairhavenChange order fees
- Trane Trace software renewalLoad calculation software
- Three PE license renewalsLicense and dues
- Errors and omissions premiumProfessional liability insurance
Why your books are different
An MEP engineering firm's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees one project fee. Your business splits that fee across three disciplines, each with its own licensed engineer and its own liability, then absorbs coordination hours when a mechanical duct run clashes with an electrical conduit in the model. When the books do not know that, you cannot see which discipline is actually carrying its weight.
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1
One project fee hides three disciplines
A $60,000 design fee for a clinic gets split across mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering, but landing in the bank as one deposit, it looks like a single line of work instead of three teams with different costs and different licenses on the line.
What we doSplits project fees by discipline where your invoicing shows the breakdown, so you can see how mechanical, electrical, and plumbing each perform. -
2
Coordination overruns disappear into overhead
A clash between a duct run and a conduit path found during model coordination triggers extra redesign hours that were not in the original scope. Left uncategorized, that time reads as general overhead instead of a cost tied to a specific project.
What we doTags coordination and clash-resolution hours to the project that caused them, so scope creep shows up where it happened. -
3
Three PE licenses renew like one line item
Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers on staff each carry their own license renewal and continuing education cost, and lumped together, it looks like one oversized annual fee instead of three separate professional requirements.
What we doKeeps license and dues costs itemized by discipline, so a renewal year does not read as an unexplained spike. -
4
Energy code compliance work gets billed inconsistently
Some contracts include energy code compliance modeling in the base fee, and others bill it separately, so two similar projects can show very different margins for the same amount of underlying work.
What we doFlags compliance modeling fees when billed separately, so project margins compare fairly against each other.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an MEP engineering firm.
Set up once for how a project fee actually splits and what each discipline costs. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Split-discipline project feesMechanical, electrical, and plumbing design fees billed under one project.
- Change order feesCoordination overruns and scope added after the original contract.
- Energy code compliance feesCompliance modeling billed apart from the base design fee.
- Commissioning feesTesting and verification work on completed mechanical systems.
- Lighting design feesStandalone lighting and photometric design work.
Money out
- Load calculation softwareTrane Trace or similar HVAC load and energy modeling tools.
- Lighting design softwareAGi32 or similar photometric analysis tools.
- Revit MEP and modeling softwareCoordination and clash detection tools shared across disciplines.
- License and duesPE license renewal for each licensed discipline on staff.
- Professional liability insuranceErrors and omissions coverage across all three disciplines.
- Continuing educationCourses required to keep each discipline's license current.
- Contract drafter payFreelance CAD support producing coordinated drawing sets.
- Printing and submittal feesPlots and copies required for permit and construction submittals.
What we watch for you
- Discipline margin split
How mechanical, electrical, and plumbing each perform once a shared project fee is broken apart.
- Coordination overrun rate
How much unplanned clash-resolution time is happening across recent projects.
- License and dues cost
Total renewal and continuing education cost across all disciplines, tracked so it does not surprise you at renewal time.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things MEP engineering 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 split it by discipline the way your invoice broke it down, so mechanical, electrical, and plumbing each show their own number.
No, I tagged those hours to the Fairhaven project directly, so the extra coordination time shows up against the job that caused it.
That call is above my pay grade. I flagged it for the accountant, since how the work is directed and scheduled usually decides it, not just the paperwork.
The tax side
The tax side of an MEP engineering firm.
Most of what goes wrong here is keeping three licensed disciplines and their costs visible on their own, instead of blended into one number. 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. Engineering firms are generally treated more favorably than many service businesses at higher income, though the accountant confirms it against your full return.
- Contractor 1099sA contract drafter or lighting designer paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Equipment write-offsModeling workstations, large monitors, or commissioning test equipment can often be written off the year you buy them, under Section 179 or bonus depreciation.
- Retirement plan startup creditA firm setting up its first retirement plan for staff across multiple disciplines can claim a credit for the setup and administration cost, up to $5,000 a year for three years.
Deductions MEP engineering firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Trane Trace software license
- AGi32 lighting software
- Revit MEP subscription
- PE license renewal fees
- ACEC or NSPE membership dues
- Errors and omissions premium
- Continuing education courses
- Contract drafter pay
- Commissioning test equipment
- Plotting and submittal costs
- Site visit mileage
- Reference codes and standards
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
An MEP engineering year, kept every month.
Public and institutional fiscal year deadlines drive a wave of new contracts, and coordination work stacks up around permit submittal season. Your team keeps you ahead of both the calendar 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 contractor 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 while spring institutional project bids are picking up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how coordination overruns compare across projects so far this year.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at modeling software renewals and equipment worth buying before December and flags license renewals coming due.
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 MEP engineering firms. 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 MEP engineering owners ask first.
Can Gus split one project fee across mechanical, electrical, and plumbing?
Yes. Where your invoicing shows the breakdown, Gus keeps each discipline's fee in its own line, so you can see how each one performs on a shared project.
Does Gus track the extra hours from a clash detection meeting?
He tags coordination and rework hours to the project that caused them, so unplanned scope shows up where it happened instead of blending into overhead.
We have three PE licenses on staff. Does that get confusing at renewal time?
No. Gus keeps each license and continuing education cost itemized, so a renewal year reads as three known costs, not one unexplained spike.
Some clients bill energy code compliance separately and some do not. Does that skew our margins?
Gus flags compliance fees when they are billed apart, so you can compare project margins fairly instead of assuming similar-looking jobs performed the same.
Our books have never separated the three disciplines. Can Gus start doing that now?
Yes. Send your recent invoices and bank statements and Gus starts splitting income by discipline 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.
More in design & pre-construction
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Drafting & CAD services
- Home plan & house design sellers
- Landscape architects
- Outsourced construction estimators
- Permit expediters
- Structural engineers
- Kitchen & bath designers
- Residential architects
- Interior designers
- Barndominium builders
- Church & religious facility builders
- Log home builders
- Shipping container home builders
- Timber frame builders
- Tiny home builders
- Acoustical ceiling contractors
- Architectural millwork & woodworking
- Commercial glaziers & storefront glass
- Commercial kitchen equipment installers
- Concrete cutting & coring
- Crane services
- Directional boring contractors
- Elevator installation & service
- Erosion control contractors
- Fire sprinkler contractors
- Hydro excavation
- Land surveying firms
- Parking lot striping & maintenance
- Pond & lake construction
- Private utility locating
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