Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for playground and swing set installers.
Deposits, a swing set kit assembled in a day, engineered wood fiber or rubber surfacing, and anchoring for uneven backyards. 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 came in at $7,800. The Rainbow Play Systems kit for the Ferris job went in as materials for that job, not general supplies.
- Deposit, Ferris backyard playsetJob deposits
- Final payment, Cho swing setFinal payments
- Rainbow Play Systems kitPlayset kits
- Engineered wood fiber deliverySurfacing material
- Facebook and Nextdoor adsLead fees and marketing
Why your books are different
Playground and swing set books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and material bills. Your business assembles a kit in a day or two, then spends nearly as much time and material on the surfacing underneath it, and anchors sets into yards that are rarely level. When the books do not separate that, you cannot tell what actually drives a job's cost.
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1
Surfacing material gets treated as an afterthought
Engineered wood fiber or rubber mulch surfacing for fall protection can cost nearly as much as the playset kit itself, but when it is logged as a minor supply instead of its own line, the owner cannot see how much of the job's true cost is under the equipment rather than the equipment.
What we doKeeps surfacing material on its own line against the job, so kit cost and surfacing cost are both visible. -
2
Uneven yards add labor the estimate did not expect
A backyard with a slope or hard clay soil takes longer to level and anchor than a flat, easy yard, and if that extra labor is not tracked against the job, the owner cannot tell whether site conditions are quietly eating margin on certain jobs.
What we doTags labor hours to the job, so a harder site shows up as added cost against that job, not blended into a monthly average. -
3
A one or two day install makes the deposit and final payment collide
When a job goes from delivery to install in a day or two, the deposit and final payment sometimes land in the same week, and it is easy to record the total twice or miss that a chunk was already collected as a deposit.
What we doTracks the deposit against the job so the final payment only counts what is actually still owed. -
4
A bulk kit order skews a slow month
Ordering several playset kits ahead of a busy stretch can make a month look like a loss on paper, with the installs and revenue landing weeks later.
What we doFlags large stock-up purchases and notes which jobs they belong to, so a big order does not read as the month falling apart.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a playground and swing set installer.
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 depositsCollected at contract signing, tracked against the job it belongs to.
- Final paymentsPayment collected once the set is installed and anchored.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Change ordersAdded accessories or extra surfacing area billed separately.
Money out
- Playset kitsRainbow Play Systems or similar kits, kept apart from surfacing material.
- Surfacing materialEngineered wood fiber, rubber mulch, or poured rubber for fall protection.
- Anchoring and hardwareGround anchors, concrete, and fasteners for uneven yards.
- Crew wages and subsInstall crew pay.
- Vehicle and fuelDelivery truck fuel and maintenance.
- Lead fees and marketingFacebook, Nextdoor, and local advertising.
What we watch for you
- Kit versus surfacing cost
How surfacing material compares to kit cost, so bids account for what goes under the equipment, not just the equipment.
- Jobs in progress
Deposits collected for sets not yet installed, so a fast install cycle does not confuse what is actually owed.
- Site difficulty cost
Extra labor on sloped or uneven yards, tagged to the job, so hard sites do not quietly eat margin.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things playground 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.
No. I booked the added surfacing as a change order on the same job, so the extra scope and what it cost are both visible.
No. I tracked the deposit against that job first, so the final payment only shows what was still owed, not the full price twice.
If you pay them $2,000 or more this year and they are not on payroll, they get a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running.
The tax side
The tax side of a playground and swing set business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A deposit and a final payment colliding in the same week, surfacing filed like a minor supply, 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.
- Equipment write-offsA delivery trailer or shop tools bought for the business can usually be written off in the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like an install crew, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment taxAn owner not on payroll pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on profit, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- 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 playground and swing set installers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Delivery trailer maintenance
- Ground anchor hardware
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Facebook and Nextdoor ads
- Uniforms with your logo
- Tools that live on the truck
- Phone and tablet for job sites
- Trade licenses and bonding
- Card and financing fees
- Job photo software
- Surfacing material samples
- Truck signage
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 playground and swing set year, kept every month.
Demand climbs as families think about summer and keeps going through fall. Your taxes come on a schedule either way. 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 is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed before spring demand for backyard sets picks up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether kit or surfacing costs are keeping pace with pricing.
- October
Before the season slows
A look at any equipment worth buying before winter, 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 playground and swing set 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 playground installers ask first.
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 scheduling in Jobber. Do I have to change how I work?
No. Keep running jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit or payout is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I write off a delivery trailer all at once?
Often, yes. Business equipment can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, though sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
My books are behind from last 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.
How does Gus keep a fast install from double counting the payment?
He tracks the deposit against the job the day it lands, so when the final payment arrives days later he only counts what was still owed, not the full price again.
Do you handle sales tax on the kits and surfacing I buy?
No. Sales tax on materials and contracts varies by state and Gus does not file it. He keeps your books clean so whoever files your sales tax has accurate numbers to work from.
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