Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for pool service and cleaning companies.
Weekly route billing, chlorine and chemical costs that swing with the weather, one-off repair calls, and equipment sold off the truck. 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
July came in at $10,500. Chemical costs ran higher than June, so I flagged it, and it tracks with the heat wave, not a pricing problem.
- Pool Brain route billingRoute income
- Pump repair, Castillo residenceRepair calls
- Leslie's Pool Supply orderChemicals and supplies
- Fuel, service truckVehicle and fuel
- Google local servicesLead fees and marketing
Why your books are different
Pool service books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and supply bills. Your business runs on a recurring weekly route, not one-time jobs, with chemical costs that swing hard with the weather and repair calls mixed into the same week as routine cleanings. When the books do not separate that, you cannot tell if the route itself is priced right.
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1
Route income and one-off repairs get blended together
Weekly cleaning fees and a same-week pump or heater repair often land in the same deposit, and if they are not split apart, the owner cannot tell whether the recurring route is actually profitable on its own.
What we doSplits route income from repair call income, so the steady weekly revenue and the occasional repair job each show up on their own. -
2
Chemical costs swing with the weather and the books do not explain why
A heat wave or heavy rain can double chlorine and algaecide use across the whole route in a single month, and without context, a spike in chemical spend looks like a cost problem instead of a weather problem.
What we doFlags chemical cost swings and notes when they track with weather, so a hot month does not read as pricing gone wrong. -
3
Equipment sold off the truck gets logged like a chemical purchase
Selling a pump, filter, or robotic cleaner to a route customer is a different kind of sale than a weekly cleaning fee, and lumping it into general route income hides how much of the month came from equipment sales versus the route itself.
What we doKeeps equipment sales in their own category, separate from route income, so both revenue types are visible on their own. -
4
Stops added or dropped mid-month blur the route's real size
Route businesses gain and lose stops throughout the season, and if the books only show one lump sum for route income, the owner cannot tell whether growth or attrition is driving the number up or down.
What we doTracks route income month to month so a shrinking or growing customer count shows up as a trend, not a mystery.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a pool service 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
- Route incomeWeekly or biweekly cleaning fees billed through Pool Brain or a similar service.
- Repair callsOne-off pump, filter, and heater repairs outside the routine visit.
- Equipment salesPumps, filters, and robotic cleaners sold to route customers.
- Seasonal openings and closingsSpring opening and fall closing fees where the climate calls for it.
Money out
- Chemicals and suppliesChlorine, algaecide, and test kit supplies from Leslie's Pool Supply or a similar distributor.
- Vehicle and fuelService truck fuel, maintenance, and insurance.
- Repair partsPumps, filters, and heater parts kept in stock for calls.
- Route softwarePool Brain or a similar route scheduling and billing service.
- Technician wagesRoute technician pay, tracked apart from repair labor.
- Lead fees and marketingGoogle local services and Nextdoor ad spend.
What we watch for you
- Route versus repair split
How much of the month came from the steady route versus one-off repairs, so pricing decisions are based on the right number.
- Chemical cost per stop
Chemical spend against the number of pools serviced, so a weather-driven spike does not look like a pricing miss.
- Stop count trend
Route customer count month to month, so growth or attrition shows up early.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things pool service 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.
The heat wave pushed chlorine demand up across the whole route. I flagged it as weather-driven, not a pricing problem.
No, I kept it separate as an equipment sale, so your route income stays a clean number you can trust week to week.
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 running.
The tax side
The tax side of a pool service business.
Most of what goes wrong here is blending revenue types and missing what a weather swing actually explains. Here is what actually matters at tax time.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Vehicle expensesBusiness mileage for the route can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile from July on, or by tracking actual vehicle costs instead.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like a part-time repair tech, 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 pool service and cleaning companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Chemical and testing supplies
- Truck fuel and maintenance
- Route scheduling software
- Repair parts inventory
- Google local services ads
- Uniforms with your logo
- Test kits and meters
- Phone for route scheduling
- Trade licenses and bonding
- Card processing fees
- Truck signage
- Safety gear for chemical handling
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 pool service year, kept every month.
Route income runs steadier than a project business, but openings, closings, and repair calls still swing with the season. 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 openings ramp up the route.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether chemical costs are tracking with the season's heat.
- October
Before closing season
A look at pricing for next year and anything worth doing before December, timed to fall closings.
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 pool service and cleaning companies. 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 pool service owners ask first.
I bill route customers through Pool Brain. Do I have to change how I work?
No. Keep running your route the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
How does Gus tell route income apart from repair income?
He splits the two by category as deposits land, so your weekly route revenue and one-off repair calls each show up as their own number.
Chemical costs feel out of control some months. Can Gus explain that?
He tracks chemical spend against the season and flags when a spike tracks with heat or heavy rain, so you can tell a weather swing from an actual cost problem.
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.
Do I need to track mileage for the route truck?
It helps. Business mileage can be deducted at a set rate per mile, and Gus can work from either mileage or actual vehicle costs, whichever gives you the better number.
Do you handle sales tax on the chemicals I buy?
No. Sales tax on supplies and services 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.
More in outdoor living & structures
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Chicken coop & backyard farm structure builders
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- Hot tub & swim spa dealers
- Custom pool builders
- Cedar shake roofing specialists
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