Commercial facility services
Books and taxes for office furniture installers.
A deposit on a cubicle install, progress payments on a multi-floor build-out, a crew paid by the day, and a rented lift truck for the week. 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
March came in at $12,500. The lift truck rental for the six-floor build-out went in as job equipment, kept apart from the crew's day wages.
- Deposit, downtown build-outJob deposits
- Progress payment, floor 3 completeProgress billing
- Lift truck rentalEquipment rental
- Crew day laborJob labor
- Cargo van fuelVehicle and route
Why your books are different
Office furniture installation books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business gets paid in stages on a build-out that can run weeks, pays a crew by the day or the job, and rents equipment for a single project. When the books do not know that, you cannot tell which jobs actually made money.
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1
A deposit gets counted as income the day it lands
A deposit taken before a multi-floor build-out starts is not fully earned yet, and counting the whole thing as income the day it arrives makes that month look better than the work completed so far actually supports.
What we doTies each deposit to the job it belongs to, so income is only counted as earned as the work actually gets done. -
2
Crew labor gets buried in one payroll number
Paying a crew by the day across several jobs running at once makes it impossible to tell which job the labor cost actually belongs to, so a losing job can hide inside an otherwise good month.
What we doSplits crew labor out by the job it was worked, so you can see what each install actually cost to staff. -
3
Rented equipment for one job gets filed like a routine expense
A lift truck or pallet jack rented for a single big build-out is a job cost tied to that project, not a general operating expense, and mixing it in hides what that specific job really cost to complete.
What we doKeeps equipment rental tied to the job it served, so job cost and job profit stay clear. -
4
Progress billing and final payment get treated the same
A job billed in stages, deposit, progress payments, and a final payment on completion, can look finished on the books weeks before the crew actually walks off the site, misreading how much work is really left.
What we doTracks progress billing against the completion of the job, so the numbers reflect where the work actually stands.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an office furniture installation company.
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
- Job depositsDeposits collected before a build-out starts.
- Progress billingPayments collected at agreed milestones on a multi-week job.
- Final paymentThe closing payment collected on job completion.
- Reconfiguration jobsSmaller jobs moving or resetting existing furniture, billed on their own.
Money out
- Job laborCrew wages tracked by the job they worked, whether day rate or piece rate.
- Equipment rentalLift trucks, pallet jacks, and dollies rented for a specific job.
- ToolsDrills, levels, and hand tools that stay with the crew across jobs.
- Vehicle and routeFuel, insurance, and repairs for the cargo van or truck fleet.
- Bid and marketing costsProposals sent to general contractors and office furniture dealers.
- Insurance and licensingGeneral liability, workers comp, and any local trade licenses.
What we watch for you
- Build-out margin
What each build-out actually cleared after labor and equipment rental, tracked separately from the next job.
- Labor cost per job
Crew wages against the job worked, so an underbid job does not hide inside a good month.
- Deposit to completion lag
How long cash from a deposit sits before the crew finishes the job, so it is not mistaken for profit already earned.
Ask Gus
Things office furniture installers 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. I keep it tied to that job, so it only counts as earned as the crew actually completes the work, not the day the check lands.
Crew labor and the lift truck rental for the downtown job landed this month, but the final progress payment is not due until next month. It will even out as the job wraps.
If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list current as each build-out wraps.
The tax side
The tax side of an office furniture installation business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. A deposit counted as income too early, a crew leader paid like a contractor who works like an employee, and a set-aside nobody started until the return was due.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Tools and equipmentTools that stay with the crew across jobs can usually be written off the year you buy them, with bonus depreciation back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA crew leader paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current all year.
- Employee or contractorA crew member who works your job on your schedule with your tools is usually an employee, even if paid by the day. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
- The pass-through deductionA profitable installation crew owner can usually take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income under the pass-through deduction, once the books are right all year.
Deductions office furniture installers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Hand tools and levels
- Cargo van fuel and maintenance
- Lift truck and pallet jack rental
- Uniforms with your logo
- Job site safety gear
- Proposal and bid software
- Phone and tablet for job coordination
- Storage or warehouse rent
- Trade licenses and bonding
- Card processing fees
- Liability and workers comp insurance
- Blueprints and layout software
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 office furniture installation year, kept every month.
Build-outs come in waves tied to office leases and construction schedules, not a fixed calendar. Your team keeps you ahead of the swings. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Job year begins
Filing on last year's return begins, the crew leader's 1099 gets confirmed, and the monthly set-aside starts building for the coming season.
- April
Wrapped and filed
This month's return is filed and signed, with no scramble, since the set-aside has been growing steadily since January.
- July
Midyear job check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring build-out season changed the number.
- October
Before budgets close
As offices push to finish projects before year-end budgets close, Gus looks at tools 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 office furniture installers. 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 office furniture installers ask first.
Can Gus track a job that gets billed in deposit and progress payments?
Yes. Each deposit and progress payment is tied to the specific job it funds, so income lines up with the work actually finished, not with when a check happens to clear.
My crew gets paid by the day across several jobs. Does that matter?
Yes. Crew wages get tracked against the specific build-out they worked, so you can see what each install really cost to staff instead of one payroll total for the week.
Do I write off tools and equipment all at once?
Often you can. Tools that stay with the crew can usually be deducted in the year you buy them, though sometimes spreading the cost out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
I rent a lift truck for big jobs. Should that be a regular expense?
It is kept as a job cost tied to the specific project, so you can see what that job really cost to complete, not lumped in with everyday overhead.
I have not kept up with my books this year. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever statements you have, even mid-build-out. Gus sorts the deposits and progress payments, the accountant checks them, and you will know where you stand 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.
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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