Performance, custom & powersports
Books and taxes for off-road and 4x4 lift kit shops.
Lift kit installs, take-off parts you resell, tire and wheel packages, and the financing payouts that land short. 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
May made $16,000. The Fox shock and Rough Country order looked rough on its own, so I kept it in parts and materials instead of letting it drag the month down.
- Shopmonkey payoutLift and suspension installs
- Sheffield Financial payoutFinanced jobs
- Rough Country invoiceParts and materials
- Take-off parts saleUsed parts resale
- Method Wheels invoiceTires and wheels
Why your books are different
A 4x4 shop's books go wrong in the same handful of spots.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is lift kits, armor, tire packages, and take-off parts you resell out of what a customer swapped out. When the books do not know the difference, you cannot tell which jobs actually pay.
-
1
A lift kit box hides the labor inside the parts
A customer pays one price for a 4 inch lift kit and the install. Booked as a single deposit, you cannot tell whether the parts markup or the install labor is what actually earns the shop money.
What we doSplits the kit's parts cost from the install labor on every ticket, so you can see margin on each side. -
2
Take-off parts become a shadow inventory
Stock shocks, bumpers, and wheels pulled off during a lift install often sit in the back and get resold later with no clean record of what they are worth or when they sold.
What we doTracks take-off parts as their own inventory line, so resale income shows up as income instead of getting lost in the noise. -
3
Financed builds pay out short
When a customer finances a $6,000 lift and tire package, the lender pays the shop less than the invoice and keeps a fee. Booked as the full sale, both your revenue and your costs come out wrong.
What we doBooks the full job as money in and the lender's cut as a financing fee, so your prices and your costs both show up honest. -
4
An alignment comeback erases the margin
A lift that comes back for a re-alignment or a squeaking shock uses bay time and sometimes a warranty part, with no new invoice to show for it.
What we doFlags comeback labor separately so bay hours and cash collected still tell you the truth about a job's real margin. -
5
A big tire and wheel order wrecks the month
Ordering a season's worth of tires and wheels in one purchase order makes that month look terrible and the months you sell through the stock look artificially good.
What we doKeeps tire and wheel purchases in one steady line and tells you when a stock-up is the reason a month looks thin.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a 4x4 shop.
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
- Lift and suspension installsKits and labor together, with parts and labor split behind the scenes.
- Armor and winch installsBumpers, rock sliders, skid plates, and winch mounts.
- Tires and wheel packagesSets sold with or without a lift.
- Used parts resaleTake-off shocks, bumpers, and wheels sold out of the back.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
Money out
- Tech wages and commissionsKept apart so you can see labor against the work it paid for.
- Parts and materialsLift kits, shocks, and armor from Rough Country, ARB, and Old Man Emu.
- Tires and wheelsNitto, BFGoodrich, and Method inventory.
- Alignment rack maintenanceCalibration and repair on the rack itself.
- Shop rent and utilitiesThe bay, the lift, and the compressor.
- Marketing and lead feesGoogle ads, trail day sponsorships, and local shows.
- Financing and card feesWhat the lender or processor kept before you got paid.
- Freight on parts ordersShipping on kits, bumpers, and wheels.
What we watch for you
- Take-off resale income
What used parts actually bring in. It can be real money if it is not getting lost in the parts line.
- Financing cost
What lenders keep on financed builds. Worth knowing before offering it on every ticket.
- Comeback rate
How often a lift needs a re-alignment or a warranty part. Rising numbers point to an install issue.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things 4x4 shop 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 book take-off parts as their own line, so that resale shows up as income instead of getting buried in parts expense.
That Rough Country and Fox order this month was big. It is sitting in parts and materials, not lost, and it evens out as you install through it.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment and flagged it, so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of a 4x4 shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Equipment filed as supplies, take-off parts nobody tracked, and a set-aside nobody started until April.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- The alignment rack and shop equipmentAn alignment rack or lift can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Lift kits and take-off parts as inventoryKits held for sale and take-off parts held for resale are inventory, not an expense or income the day they move. What actually sold during the month is what counts.
- Contractor 1099sAn outside welder or fabricator paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all 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 the books are right all year.
Deductions off-road and 4x4 lift kit shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Alignment rack calibration
- Lift and jack maintenance
- Shop compressor repair
- Diagnostic scan tools
- Trail day sponsorships
- Google local ads
- Freight on lift kits and wheels
- Shop rags and cleaners
- Tool financing and interest
- Uniforms with your logo
- Liability insurance
- Waste tire disposal 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 4x4 shop's year, kept every month.
Trail season peaks every spring and summer. 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 for outside fabricators 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.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring trail season changed the number more than expected.
- October
Before the slow season
Before winter thins out the install schedule, 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 off-road and 4x4 lift kit shops. 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 4x4 shop owners ask first.
How does Gus handle take-off parts I resell?
He tracks them as their own inventory line, so when a used shock or bumper sells, it shows up as income instead of getting lost inside your parts expense.
Can Gus handle jobs paid through financing companies?
Yes. He books the full job as money in and the lender's fee as a cost, so your sales are not understated and the fee still counts against your taxes.
I run tickets in Shopmonkey. Do I have to change anything?
No. Keep running jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I write off my lift kit inventory when I buy it?
No. Kits and armor held for sale are inventory. What actually sold during the month is what shows up on the return, not what you ordered.
A customer's lift comes back for a re-alignment. Does that change the books?
It does not change what you do, but Gus flags comeback time separately so your bay hours and your cash collected still tell you the truth about that job.
My books are behind after a busy trail season. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand inside 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