Equipment & specialty rentals

Books and taxes for portable storage container rental companies.

Monthly container billing, delivery and pickup runs, remodel and moving customers, and ground placement permits. Gus keeps every container's real cost straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
AugustExample month
$11,600
what you made

August came in at $11,600. Moving season kept the delivery truck out most days, so I split those runs out from the monthly storage billing.

  • Monthly container rentals, batchMonthly storage billing
  • Delivery and pickup fees collectedDelivery and relocation fees
  • Delivery truck fuel and maintenanceDelivery fleet costs
  • Storage yard ground rentYard and lot rent
  • New container purchase, batch of fourContainer fleet purchases
Money in$36,400
Money out$24,800
Set aside for taxes$2,700
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Storage container books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is containers that sit on a customer's driveway for months at a time, a delivery fleet that moves them there and back, ground permits that change by city, and a yard that holds the fleet between jobs. When the books miss that, monthly billing gets confused with one-time fees.

  1. 1

    Monthly billing and delivery fees blur together

    A customer pays a standing monthly rate for the container itself plus a separate charge each time it moves, but lumped into one deposit, you cannot tell how much of your income is steady rent versus one-time delivery work.

    What we doSplits monthly storage billing from delivery and relocation fees, so you can see how much of the month is already guaranteed.
  2. 2

    Ground placement permits look like a random cost

    Cities and counties charge differently to place a container in a driveway, on the street, or at a job site, and filed as a vague licenses line, permit costs stop looking like part of what each container actually costs to place.

    What we doKeeps placement permit costs visible on their own so job cost stays honest city by city.
  3. 3

    A container purchase reads like a bad month

    Buying four new containers to grow the fleet is a real equipment purchase, but filed as a straight expense it flattens a good month and skips the write-off equipment gets under the tax code.

    What we doFlags a container purchase the day it shows up, logs it as equipment, and routes the write-off decision to the accountant.
  4. 4

    A long-term renter who stops paying gets missed

    A customer who keeps a container on a job site for months sometimes falls behind on the monthly bill, and if nobody flags it, a container earning nothing still looks like it is bringing in money.

    What we doFlags accounts that have gone quiet on payment so a container sitting unpaid does not get counted as active income.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a storage container rental 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

  • Monthly storage billingThe standing charge for a container sitting on site.
  • Delivery and relocation feesWhat you charge to drop off, move, or pick up a container.
  • Long-term contractor accountsJob sites that keep a container for the length of a build.
  • Climate-controlled unit premiumsThe higher rate for insulated or climate-controlled containers.
  • Container salesOutright sales of used containers a customer buys instead of rents.

Money out

  • Container fleet purchasesNew and used containers added to the rental fleet.
  • Delivery fleet costsFuel, maintenance, and insurance for the trucks that move containers.
  • Yard and lot rentStorage yard rent where the fleet sits between jobs.
  • Container repairsDoors, locks, roofs, and rust repair on the fleet.
  • Permits and placement feesCity and county fees for placing a container on public or private property.
  • Rental tracking softwareEZRentOut or similar software for scheduling and container tracking.
  • Marketing and referralsLocal search ads and referral fees from moving and remodeling companies.

What we watch for you

  • Monthly billing share

    Recurring storage income against delivery fees. It shows how guaranteed next month already is.

  • Container idle rate

    How much of the fleet is sitting in the yard unrented. A rising number often means it is time to adjust pricing.

  • Delivery cost per move

    Fuel and labor against delivery fees charged. It shows whether delivery pricing still covers the real cost.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe in taxes, tracked every month against real container revenue, so filing season is never a surprise.

Ask Gus

Things storage container 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.

Bought four new containers this month. Does that all write off this year?

Usually, yes. I filed the four containers as fleet equipment rather than a supply cost and flagged the purchase, so the accountant can decide how much to write off this year.

A customer has had a container on their lot for four months and stopped paying. What happens in my books?

I flag the account so it stops looking like active income once the payments stop, and note it as outstanding so you can see exactly who owes what.

Do I need to charge sales tax on the monthly rental?

That is above my pay grade since it depends on your state. The accountant is looking at what applies to your business.

The tax side

The tax side of a storage container rental business.

Most of what goes wrong here is a fleet purchase filed as an expense instead of equipment, and delivery drivers paid like contractors who work like employees.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Depreciating the container fleetStorage containers and the trucks that move them are usually depreciable equipment. Section 179 expensing and 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025 are often available, and the accountant decides the timing.
  • Delivery driver classificationA driver who runs your route, drives your truck, and follows your schedule usually counts as an employee, no matter how the pay is arranged.
  • Contractor 1099sA fill-in driver or repair technician not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC if paid $2,000 or more in 2026, due January 31.
  • 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 portable storage container rental companies miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Delivery truck fuel and repairs
  • Container door and lock repairs
  • Storage yard rent
  • Placement permit fees
  • Rust treatment and roof repair
  • Rental tracking software
  • Referral fees to movers
  • Delivery crew uniforms
  • Truck and liability insurance
  • Trailer hitch maintenance
  • Card processing fees
  • Yard lighting and security

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 storage container year, kept every month.

Moves and remodels happen whenever a customer needs one. 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.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any fill-in delivery drivers is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the summer moving rush changed the number.

  4. October

    Before the slow months

    Moving and remodeling requests thin out heading into winter in most areas. Gus looks at container purchases and moves worth making before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 portable storage container rental 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 storage container owners ask first.

Can Gus tell the difference between my monthly rentals and one-time delivery fees?

Yes. Monthly storage billing and delivery or relocation fees are kept in separate categories, so you can see how much of the month is already guaranteed income.

A customer stopped paying but the container is still on their property. How does that show up?

Gus flags the account once payments stop, so a container that is not actually earning does not get counted as active income in your monthly number.

Can I write off new containers the same year I buy them?

Often yes. Containers bought for the rental fleet can usually be written off in the year you buy them, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. The accountant decides with your whole year in view.

My delivery driver also does small repairs on the containers. Does that change the books?

It changes where the cost is tracked, not what you do. Wages stay in payroll if he works as an employee. Gus keeps delivery and repair time visible separately so you can see what each side costs.

My books are a mess from tracking everything in a spreadsheet. Is that a problem?

No. Hand over the bank statements, spreadsheet and all. Gus rebuilds the categories from the actual deposits and charges, the accountant checks it, 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