Funeral, memorial & aftercare
Books and taxes for monument and headstone dealers.
Custom monument deposits, granite and bronze costs, lettering jobs, and the setting fees cemeteries charge on install day. Your own bookkeeper stays on the books all year, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
April made $17,000. The deposit on the Ferraro double monument stayed as a deposit until the stone actually went in the ground.
- Monument order depositOrder deposits
- Lettering addition jobLettering and additions
- Coldspring granite blankMerchandise costs
- Riverside Cemetery setting feeCemetery setting fees
- Crane truck fuelInstallation equipment
Why your books are different
A monument dealer's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a sale the day the family signs. Your business takes a deposit, orders granite that takes months to arrive, waits for the ground to thaw, then installs and collects the balance. When the books count the deposit as the whole sale, a slow order season looks like a windfall it is not.
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1
Deposits count as income before the stone is installed
A family pays a $2,000 deposit on a custom monument that will not be cut, engraved, and installed for four months. Booked as a full sale the day it lands, the month looks better than the work actually done.
What we doKeeps deposits as their own category until the monument is installed and the balance is paid, so income lines up with completed work. -
2
A granite stock-up wrecks the monthly number
Ordering granite blanks in bulk from a supplier like Coldspring or Rock of Ages can mean one big invoice that dwarfs a slow month, while a month with no orders looks unusually strong.
What we doKeeps granite and bronze purchases in one steady category and tells you when a stock-up is the reason a month looks thin. -
3
Cemetery setting fees get missed
Cemeteries charge their own fee to allow a monument to be set on their grounds, on top of what you charge the family. Paid on install day, it is easy to fold into general costs and lose track of.
What we doKeeps cemetery setting fees in their own line, so the true cost of each installation is visible. -
4
Lettering-only jobs blend into new monument sales
Adding a second name to an existing stone is a much smaller job than a new custom monument, but both sometimes land in the same sales category. That hides how much of the business is quick add-on work.
What we doKeeps lettering and addition jobs in their own category, separate from new monument orders.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a monument dealer.
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
- Order depositsMoney collected when a custom monument is ordered, held apart until it is installed.
- Balance paymentsThe remaining amount collected on install day.
- Lettering and additionsAdding a name, date, or design to an existing stone.
- Wholesale salesMonuments sold through funeral homes at a contracted rate.
Money out
- Merchandise costsGranite blanks and bronze castings from suppliers like Coldspring or Matthews.
- Engraving suppliesSandblast stencils, abrasive, and lettering tools.
- Installation equipmentThe crane truck, foundation forms, and related fuel and repair.
- Cemetery setting feesWhat cemeteries charge to allow the monument to be set on their grounds.
- Showroom lease and utilitiesThe display space where families choose a monument.
- Vehicles and deliveryThe delivery truck and its fuel and upkeep.
What we watch for you
- Order backlog
Deposits collected for monuments not yet installed, so you know what is already owed and what is still coming.
- Granite margin
What a finished monument sells for above the granite and engraving cost.
- Lettering job volume
How much of the month is smaller addition jobs versus new monument orders.
- The set-aside
What deposits and finished sales owe in taxes, tracked every month so the install season never leaves you short in April.
Ask Gus
Things monument dealers 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.
Not quite yet, usually. I keep it as a deposit until the stone is installed and the balance is paid, so income lines up with the finished work.
Likely most of it. I booked the cabinet as equipment instead of a supply, and the accountant decides the write-off against your whole year.
Yes, worth keeping apart from the granite cost. It is its own real cost of the job, and I want the true cost of every install visible.
The tax side
The tax side of running a monument dealership.
Most of what trips up a monument dealer is timing: deposits counted too early, granite treated wrong, and installation equipment filed as a regular expense.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Granite and bronze are inventoryGranite blanks and bronze castings held for future monuments are inventory. What is used in a finished sale counts as a cost against that sale, not written off the day it arrives.
- A deposit is usually not income yetA deposit taken before a monument is cut and installed is usually held as a customer deposit, not counted as earned income, until the job is finished and the balance collected.
- Installation equipment can usually be written off this yearA crane truck or engraving equipment can often be expensed the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contract installers need a 1099An installation crew or crane operator paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
Deductions monument and headstone dealers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sandblast stencils and abrasive
- Crane truck fuel and repair
- Foundation forms and concrete
- Showroom utilities
- Delivery truck fuel
- Cemetery setting fees
- Design software or templates
- Uniforms for the install crew
- Liability insurance
- Office and phone service
- Continuing education
- Signage and displays
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 monument dealer's year, kept every month.
Orders come in year round, but installations bunch up once the ground thaws and again before the frost sets in. Your team stays on the books through every part of it. 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 for install crews is ready, and a monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed, right as the ground thaws and installations pick back up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring install rush changed the number.
- October
Before the ground freezes
A look at the fall install push and any equipment worth buying before the season slows 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 monument and headstone dealers. 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 monument dealers ask first.
How does Gus handle the deposit on a custom monument order?
It sits in its own category as a deposit, not counted as earned income, until the stone is cut, engraved, and installed and the balance is collected.
Do you separate granite costs from what a finished monument sells for?
Yes. Granite and bronze purchases are their own cost, split from the sale price, so you can see the real margin on every finished monument.
The cemetery charges us a setting fee on install day. Where does that go?
It gets its own line, cemetery setting fees, kept apart from the granite cost, so the true cost of every install stays visible.
We do a lot of small lettering jobs alongside new monuments. Do those get mixed together?
No. Lettering and addition work is booked separately from new monument sales, so you can see how much of your business is smaller add-on jobs.
We sell some monuments wholesale through funeral homes. Does that change the books?
It changes your margin, not your bookkeeping. Wholesale sales get their own category so you can compare them against retail sales.
Our books are behind from a busy install season. Can you catch up?
Send whatever order and bank records you have. Gus works through the backlog and the accountant checks it, usually 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.
More in funeral, memorial & aftercare
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Casket & urn retailers
- Celebration-of-life planners
- Crematories
- Death doulas & end-of-life planners
- Estate cleanout companies
- Funeral removal & transport services
- Green & natural burial grounds
- Independent funeral homes
- Memorial jewelry & keepsake makers
- Preneed insurance agents
- Private cemeteries
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