Waste, recycling & environmental services
Books and taxes for Phase I assessment firms.
Deposits collected before the site visit, a balance due on delivery, database report fees for every parcel, and a rush job before a closing date. Your bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
October brought in $13,000. Two rush reports closed out before their deadlines, so I kept rush fees apart from the standard report rate.
- Regional lender, 4 reportsAssessment fees
- Rush report surchargeExpedited fees
- EDR database report feeRecords research
- Professional liability premiumInsurance
- Site visit mileageField travel
Why your books are different
Phase I assessment books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and an insurance bill. Your business collects a deposit before the site visit, bills a balance on delivery, and pays a database fee on every single report before you write a word. Blend all of that and you cannot tell which reports are actually making money.
-
1
Deposits and balances land on different months
A report might collect a deposit in one month and the balance the next, once the report is delivered. Booked as plain income whenever cash lands, a month full of deposits can look busier than the actual work delivered.
What we doMatches each report's deposit and balance to the assessment it belongs to, so the month reflects work delivered, not just when a check cleared. -
2
Database fees hide inside general costs
A records research report from an environmental database provider is a direct cost of each assessment, not overhead. Lumped into a general software line, you cannot see the real cost of producing one report.
What we doKeeps database and records research fees on their own line, tied to the reports they belong to, so real project cost is visible. -
3
Rush fees blend into the standard rate
A report needed before a closing date commands a real premium, but blended with standard assessment fees, you cannot see whether rush work is actually worth the scheduling strain it causes.
What we doKeeps rush and expedited fees on their own line, so you can see what that premium is actually worth. -
4
A subcontracted geologist looks like an employee
An environmental professional or geologist paid on a per-project basis, but working your schedule and reviewing under your license, blurs the line between a contractor and an employee.
What we doFlags project staffing arrangements that look unclear, so the accountant weighs in before it becomes a habit.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a Phase I assessment firm.
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
- Assessment report feesDeposits and balances billed per Phase I report.
- Rush and expedited feesPremiums for reports needed before a closing date.
- Lender and repeat account billingVolume contracts with banks and lenders ordering multiple reports.
- Records research pass-throughDatabase report costs billed through to the client.
Money out
- Database and records research feesWhat an environmental database provider charges per parcel searched.
- Professional liability insuranceErrors and omissions coverage for assessment work.
- Field travel and mileageVehicle costs for site visits across the territory.
- Subcontracted lab or field workOutside sampling brought in when a site needs a closer look.
- Continuing education and certificationTraining required to keep environmental professional credentials current.
What we watch for you
- Report turnaround cost
What each assessment actually costs once database fees and field time are counted.
- Rush fee value
Whether expedited reports are worth what they charge against the scheduling strain they cause.
- Deposit versus delivered work
Whether the month's income matches reports actually finished, not just deposits collected.
- The set-aside
What you will owe against delivered reports, tracked every month so April never depends on a guess.
Ask Gus
Things environmental assessment 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.
It would if I let it. I match each deposit to the report it belongs to, so the month reflects work delivered, not just cash that landed.
Yes. It sits on its own line tied to the report it was pulled for, so you can see the real cost of producing one assessment.
It might. Working your schedule under your review, he could be closer to an employee than a contractor. I flag it so the accountant sorts out the right arrangement.
The tax side
The tax side of a Phase I assessment firm.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and staffing. Deposits landing ahead of delivered work, and outside help paid like a contractor when the arrangement looks like an employee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Environmental professional worker classificationA geologist or environmental professional working your schedule and reviewing under your license is often closer to an employee than a contractor, even when paid per project.
- Contractor 1099s for subcontracted workAn outside lab or field subcontractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Business mileage for site visitsMiles driven between sites can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile from January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026, or by tracking the vehicle's actual costs, whichever works out better for the year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated assessment firms 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 Phase I environmental site assessment firms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Database and records research fees
- Professional liability insurance
- Vehicle mileage for site visits
- Continuing education and certification
- Report writing software
- Field cameras and sampling gear
- Professional association dues
- Phone and laptop for fieldwork
- Business use of a home office
- State environmental professional licensing
- Errors and omissions premiums
- Printing and report binding
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 Phase I assessment year, kept every month.
Real estate deals close on their own schedule all year, and closings often bunch up in fall. Your taxes come on a schedule too. 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 project year
Last year's return gets started and you get a monthly set-aside, so April is already handled before the year's report volume picks up.
- April
Filed before the deadline
The return goes out signed, ahead of the deadline. The set-aside has been tracking deposits and balances since January, so nothing is owed as a surprise.
- July
Midyear project check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether lender contract volume changed the number.
- October
Before year-end closings
Property transactions often rush to close before year end. Gus looks at what the fall surge means for the number 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 Phase I environmental site assessment firms. 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 Phase I assessment firm owners ask first.
Can Gus match deposits to the report they belong to?
Yes. Each report's deposit and balance are matched to the work it belongs to, so the month reflects reports delivered, not just cash that landed.
Does the database report fee count as a real project cost?
Yes. It sits on its own line tied to the assessment it was pulled for, so you can see the true cost of producing one report.
Do rush fees get tracked separately from standard report rates?
Yes. Expedited work sits in its own line, so you can see whether rush jobs are worth the scheduling strain they cause.
We bring in an outside geologist sometimes. Does that change anything?
It can. Working your schedule under your review, he may be closer to an employee than a contractor. Gus flags it so the accountant sorts out the right way to pay him.
My books have never separated database fees from general expenses. Is that fixable?
Yes. Send over the bank statements you have, deposits, balances, and database bills all mixed together. Gus untangles it, the accountant checks the result, and you will know where things 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