Roofing & exterior

Books and taxes for metal roofing specialists.

Coil stock orders, panel brake rentals, upgrade financing, and jobs that run longer than a shingle tear-off. Gus sorts it by job, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
AugustExample month
$24,600
what you made

August cleared $24,600. The panel brake you rented for the Baker Hill job got booked as an equipment rental, not a materials cost, so that job's margin shows up right.

  • Homeowner final paymentCompleted jobs
  • Service Finance payoutUpgrade financing
  • McElroy Metal orderCoil stock and panels
  • Panel brake rentalEquipment rental
  • Fastener supplier invoiceFasteners and trim
Money in$96,000
Money out$71,400
Set aside for taxes$5,600
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Metal roofing books go wrong in different places than a shingle crew's.

A generalist bookkeeper treats every roofing job the same. Your material cost per square is much higher, your jobs run longer, and most of your customers are paying cash or financing an upgrade, not filing an insurance claim. The books need to know that.

  1. 1

    Panel waste isn't tracked against the job

    Standing seam panels are cut to length, and mistakes or trim waste on a complex roofline can run higher than expected. If that waste isn't tied back to the job, you can't tell if a bid was priced too tight.

    What we doKeeps material cost per job visible so you can see when waste on a cut roofline ate into the margin you bid.
  2. 2

    A coil stock order looks like a bad month

    Buying a season's worth of coil stock and trim from a supplier like McElroy Metal or Fabral in one order can make that month look like a loss, especially since metal costs more per square than shingles.

    What we doSpreads big coil and panel orders against the jobs they're for, so a bulk buy doesn't distort whether the business is profitable.
  3. 3

    Financing fees get buried in the deposit

    A homeowner upgrading to metal often finances the difference through a company like Service Finance or GreenSky. If the payout is booked as the full sale, the financing fee that got kept never shows up as a cost.

    What we doBooks the full job as money in and the lender's fee as a separate cost, so your real price and your real cost both show up honest.
  4. 4

    A rented panel brake or seamer looks like a materials cost

    Renting a panel brake or standing seam machine for a job with a tricky roofline is common, but if it's lumped in with materials, it hides how much that specific job actually cost to run.

    What we doBooks equipment rentals in their own line against the job, so material cost and equipment cost don't get mixed together.
  5. 5

    A long job spans two bank statement months

    A standing seam job can take longer than a shingle tear-off, sometimes crossing a deposit in one month and a final payment weeks later. Split across two months without connecting them, neither month tells you what the job made.

    What we doHolds the deposit against the job until the final payment lands, so the job's real margin shows up in one place.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a metal roofing specialist.

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

  • Completed jobsFinal payments on cash and card jobs once the roof is done.
  • Deposits heldMoney collected up front, held against the specific job until it's finished.
  • Upgrade financingPayouts from Service Finance or GreenSky, with the fee they keep booked as a cost.
  • Insurance jobsThe smaller share of jobs that do come through a storm claim.

Money out

  • Coil stock and panelsMetal panels, trim, and coil from McElroy Metal, Fabral, or a local supplier.
  • Fasteners and trimScrews, clips, and flashing sized for standing seam and exposed fastener systems.
  • Subcontracted crewsInstall crews paid by the job, kept apart from payroll.
  • Equipment rentalPanel brakes, seamers, and lifts rented for a specific job.
  • Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
  • Lead generationAngi, Google local services ads, and showroom or trade show costs.
  • Insurance and licensingLiability coverage, workers' comp, and contractor license renewals.

What we watch for you

  • Job margin

    What each roof actually cleared once panels, fasteners, and crew pay are counted.

  • Waste rate

    How much panel and trim gets cut and wasted against what was bid, job by job.

  • Financing cost

    What lenders keep on financed upgrades, worth knowing before offering it on every bid.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already know.

Ask Gus

Things metal roofing 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.

Rented a panel brake for the Baker Hill job. Where does that go?

I put it under equipment rental, not materials. That way you can see what the job actually cost without the rental muddying the panel numbers.

The financed job on Oak Street came in $600 short of the invoice. Why?

That was Service Finance's fee. I booked the full job as your sale and their cut as a cost, so your price still shows correctly.

Do I need to send 1099s to my install crew?

If they're not on payroll and you pay them $2,000 or more this year, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.

The tax side

The tax side of a metal roofing business.

Most of what goes wrong here is job timing and equipment labels, since your material cost and job length differ from a standard shingle crew.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Panel brakes, seamers, and trucksEquipment bought outright for the business can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • 1099s for install crewsAny crew not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
  • Employee or contractorA crew that works only for you, uses your equipment, and follows your schedule usually looks like an employee, regardless of the invoice. Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when jobs are tracked correctly all year.

Deductions metal roofing specialists miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Panel brake and seamer rental
  • Coil stock and trim waste
  • Fasteners and sealants
  • Truck fuel and repairs
  • Lift and crane rental
  • Angi and Google local services ads
  • Showroom or display panel samples
  • Manufacturer certification classes
  • License and bonding fees
  • Uniforms and branded gear
  • Phone and tablet for job tracking
  • Card and financing 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 metal roofing year, kept every month.

Longer jobs and bigger material orders mean a metal roofer's cash flow looks different month to month. Gus keeps the year straight anyway. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the crew 1099 list is finalized, and the monthly set-aside is planned around this year's bids.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed, with no surprise bill because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand at the peak of install season, and whether this year's bigger jobs changed what you'll owe.

  4. October

    Before the slowdown

    A look at coil stock or equipment bought during the busy months and any moves worth making before winter.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 metal roofing specialists. 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 metal roofing owners ask first.

How does Gus handle a job that spans two months?

He holds the deposit against the job until the final payment comes in, so the job's real margin shows up together instead of splitting across two months of statements.

I finance most of my upgrade jobs. Does that complicate the books?

No. Gus books the full job as your sale and the financing company's fee as a cost, so your prices and your true cost both show up honest.

Does a rented panel brake count as equipment I own?

No, and Gus keeps it separate. Rentals get booked as a job cost, while equipment you buy outright gets logged so it can be written off correctly.

My material costs are much higher than a shingle roofer's. Does Gus know that?

He tracks material cost against each job specifically, so your higher per-square cost shows up as what it is, not compared against a shingle roofer's numbers.

My crew installs on a per-job basis, not by the square. Does that matter?

It changes how the pay is calculated, not what Gus does with it. He keeps subcontracted crew pay in its own line so you can see labor against what each job brought in.

My books are a few months behind. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them by job as best the records allow, and the accountant checks the result.

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