Small manufacturers & fabricators
Books and taxes for monument and memorial stone makers.
A family's memorial deposit, a funeral home referral, a granite slab order, and a cemetery setting fee. 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
December came in at $8,600. The Whitfield family's deposit is held as money still owed, since the stone won't be set until the ground thaws in spring.
- Whitfield family depositMemorial deposits
- Hargrove Funeral Home referralFuneral home referrals
- Granite slab orderGranite and stone
- Cemetery setting feeCemetery fees
- Engraving equipment suppliesEngraving supplies
Why your books are different
Monument maker books go wrong across the long stretch from order to setting.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your shop takes a deposit on a memorial that may not be set for months, orders granite cut to one family's exact specification, engraves by hand or machine, and pays a cemetery a fee just to place the finished stone. When the books do not track that arc, a deposit-heavy month looks flush and a slow setting season looks like a loss.
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1
A memorial deposit looks like a finished sale
A family pays half down on a monument that may not be set for months, sometimes waiting on ground conditions or a cemetery's own schedule, and if that deposit is counted as income right away, the month looks better than it is while the work still owed goes unseen.
What we doHolds memorial deposits as money still owed until the stone is set, then moves it to income so the timeline matches reality. -
2
Cemetery setting fees blend into general costs
Cemeteries charge their own fee to allow a foundation to be poured and a stone set, and that cost varies cemetery to cemetery, but lumped into general expenses you cannot see which locations cost more to work with.
What we doKeeps cemetery fees tagged to the job and location they were paid for, so cost by cemetery is visible. -
3
Granite bought for one family's stone blends into the yard's general stock
A specific granite slab ordered for one family's memorial gets lumped in with the yard's everyday stone, so you cannot tell what that particular piece actually cost.
What we doTags granite purchases to the job they were bought for, so each memorial's real material cost is visible. -
4
Referral relationships are invisible in the numbers
A funeral home that sends families your way is a real source of business, but if referred work is not tracked apart from walk-in orders, you cannot see how much of the shop's income depends on that relationship.
What we doKeeps funeral home referral work in its own category so the value of that relationship is visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a monument maker.
Set up once for how deposits and referrals get paid and what a memorial costs to make and set. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Memorial depositsHeld as money owed until a stone is set.
- Final setting paymentsThe balance due once a monument is placed.
- Funeral home referralsOrders that came through a funeral home relationship.
- Cleaning and restoration workSmaller jobs restoring existing monuments.
Money out
- Granite and stoneSlabs and blocks ordered to a specific memorial's spec.
- Engraving suppliesSandblast stencils, engraving bits, and paint fill.
- Cemetery feesSetting and foundation fees, tracked by cemetery.
- Equipment loan or leasePayments on the engraving line and stone saws.
- Yard rent and utilitiesStorage yard and shop building costs.
- Delivery and setting laborCrew time and equipment to transport and set a finished stone.
- Design and lettering softwareLayout tools used to proof engraving before it is cut.
What we watch for you
- Deposit backlog
The value of deposits held for memorials not yet set, so cash on hand is not mistaken for profit.
- Cemetery fee by location
What setting fees actually run cemetery to cemetery, so quotes account for it honestly.
- Material cost by job
Granite cost against a memorial's price, the real test of a quote.
- Referral share
How much of the year's income comes through funeral home referrals versus direct families.
Ask Gus
Things monument maker 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.
Not yet, in the books it is. I hold it as money you still owe until the stone is set, then it moves to income so the month is not overstated.
I tag cemetery fees by location, so you can see exactly which ones run more expensive before you quote the next family there.
If he is not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, he gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a monument making business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on deposits and keeping one memorial's granite cost from blending into the yard's general stock.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Engraving equipment and sawsEngraving lines and stone saws can usually be written off, often in the year they are bought. Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000 and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Deposits and progress billingA deposit taken before a memorial is set is money you owe the family, not income, until the stone is placed and the final invoice is issued.
- Granite on handGranite and stone bought and sitting in the yard at year end get valued and matched against what actually sold, rather than expensed the day they were bought.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when memorial deposits and granite cost are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions monument and memorial stone makers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Granite and stone
- Sandblast stencils
- Engraving bits and paint fill
- Cemetery setting fees
- Design and lettering software
- Delivery vehicle fuel
- Safety gear and dust masks
- Yard equipment rental
- Shop insurance
- Small hand tools
- Trade certifications
- Photography of finished memorials
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 making year, kept every month.
Orders come in year round, though setting often waits on ground conditions and a cemetery's own schedule. Your taxes still run on their own schedule. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Season planned
Open deposits and granite on hand get sorted, last year's return gets started, and your monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Setting year filed
The accountant files and signs your return. Since the set-aside has been running since January, a slow winter setting season does not turn into an April surprise.
- July
Midyear setting check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a busy setting season changed the number.
- October
Before winter sets in
Gus looks at any engraving equipment or saw buy worth making before December and flags it for the accountant's call on depreciation.
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 memorial stone makers. 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 makers ask first.
How does Gus handle a deposit on a memorial?
He holds it as money you still owe the family, not income, until the stone is set. That keeps a strong deposit month from overstating what you actually earned.
Can Gus track how much business comes from funeral home referrals?
Yes. Referred work gets its own category so you can see how much of the year's income depends on that relationship.
Do we have to change how we quote a memorial?
No. Keep quoting memorials however you already do. Gus reads it off your bank statement, and if a deposit is unclear he asks once and remembers your answer.
Some cemeteries charge more for setting than others. Does Gus track that?
Yes. Cemetery fees are tagged by location, so you can see which ones run more expensive before quoting the next family there.
Our books are behind after a slow winter setting season. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts memorial deposits and referral work apart, the accountant checks the result, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
Do I write off a new engraving machine all at once?
Often you can. An engraving machine bought for the business can usually be deducted the year it is bought, though sometimes spreading it out fits a shop's year better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
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