Auto repair & maintenance
Books and taxes for quick lube and oil change shops.
Dozens of cars a day, bulk oil and filter buys, upsell inspections, and prepaid oil change plans. 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 $14,000. Six customers used prepaid oil change plans, so I counted those visits against the plan they already paid for instead of new income.
- Shopmonkey payoutsOil change tickets
- Valvoline bulk oil orderParts and materials
- Prepaid plan salePrepaid plans
- Filter and wiper stockParts and materials
- Square card feesCard fees
Why your books are different
Quick lube books go wrong on volume and prepaid money.
You run dozens of cars a day at a low ticket each, buy oil and filters by the drum instead of the case, and often sell prepaid plans that get used up over months. A generalist bookkeeper treats every dollar the same day it lands, and misses both problems.
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1
Prepaid plans aren't income the day they're sold
A customer who buys an unlimited or multi-visit oil change plan pays you up front for service you haven't done yet. Booked as a sale the day it's purchased, the month it's sold looks inflated and every visit after it looks like it earned nothing.
What we doKeeps prepaid plan money separate until a visit uses it, so income lands in the month the oil actually gets changed. -
2
A bulk oil buy skews a slow week
Buying oil by the drum from a supplier like Valvoline instead of by the case saves money, but a single large restock can cost thousands and land in one week, making it look like a loss compared to the weeks that use it up for free.
What we doKeeps oil and filter stock in one steady line tied to cars actually serviced, and flags a bulk buy as inventory, not that week's cost. -
3
Upsell inspections hide inside the oil change ticket
Wiper blades, air filters, and fluid top-offs sold alongside an oil change often get rung up as one ticket, so you can't tell how much of the day's money came from the base service versus the upsells your team is actually pitching.
What we doKeeps upsell items visible against the base oil change price, so you can see what the counter's recommendations are actually worth. -
4
High car counts make small pricing slips add up fast
At thirty or more cars a day, a dollar or two undercharged on a filter or missed on an upsell disappears into the noise of a busy day, but multiplied across a month it can be the difference between a good month and a flat one.
What we doKeeps the monthly number visible against car count, so a pricing slip shows up before it becomes a habit.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a quick lube shop.
Set up once for high volume and prepaid plans, you never pick a category, an accountant checks every one.
Money in
- Oil change ticketsThe base service, run through the counter card reader.
- UpsellsWiper blades, air filters, and fluid top-offs, kept apart from the base ticket.
- Prepaid plansPlan sales, counted as income only when a visit uses one.
- Fleet accountsLocal delivery or business vehicles billed net 30.
Money out
- Oil and filter stockBulk buys from Valvoline or a local jobber, kept tied to cars serviced.
- Tech wagesHourly bay pay, kept apart from any commission on upsells.
- Waste oil disposalFees to haul away used oil and filters.
- EquipmentLifts and oil dispensing systems, logged so they get written off right.
- Shop suppliesGloves, rags, and floor mats, kept apart from oil stock.
- MarketingCoupon mailers and Google local services ads.
What we watch for you
- Average ticket
What a car actually spends including upsells, tracked so pricing keeps pace with volume.
- Prepaid plan liability
What's still owed on sold plans not yet used, watched so it doesn't get spent as if it were profit.
- Oil cost per car
What a bulk buy actually costs per car serviced, tracked to catch a supplier price hike.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things quick lube 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.
I only count a plan as income when a visit uses it, not the day it's sold. That prepaid money sits as owed service, not profit, until the oil actually gets changed.
No. That's a bulk buy that will get used up over the next few weeks. I kept it as inventory, not this week's cost, so it won't make the week look worse than it was.
Yes, I already keep them apart from the base oil change price. That way you can see what your team's upsells are actually bringing in.
The tax side
The tax side of a quick lube shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is prepaid money counted too early and bulk oil buys filed the wrong way.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Oil and filter stock as inventoryOil and filters bought in bulk ahead of the cars that will use them are inventory, and the cost only counts against income once a car is actually serviced, not the day the drum arrived.
- Prepaid plans and deferred incomeMoney collected for a plan that hasn't been used yet is usually not counted as income until the service happens. Getting the timing right keeps the year's real profit accurate.
- Lifts and dispensing equipmentLifts and oil dispensing systems can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operator shops can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, and it comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions quick lube and oil change shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Waste oil disposal fees
- Shop gloves and rags
- Floor mat cleaning service
- Filter wrench sets
- Garagekeepers insurance
- Coupon and mailer marketing
- Uniform rental service
- Oil dispensing system upkeep
- Lift recertification
- Point of sale software fees
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 quick lube shop's year, kept every month.
Car counts run steady most of the year. 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.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the prepaid plan balance is reviewed, and you get a monthly set-aside so April isn't a surprise.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January and matched what the shop actually made.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether summer road trip season lifted car counts and upsells this year.
- October
Before winter check-ups
Cold weather brings battery and fluid check upsells. Before the rush, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and moves worth making 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 quick lube and oil change shops. 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 quick lube owners ask first.
How does Gus handle prepaid oil change plans?
He keeps the money from a plan sale separate from income until a visit actually uses it, so the month a plan sells doesn't look inflated and every visit after doesn't look like it earned nothing.
We buy oil by the drum. Does a big order wreck a slow week?
No. Gus keeps bulk oil purchases as inventory tied to the cars that will use them, not that week's expense, so one large order won't make a slow week look like a loss.
Can Gus separate upsells like wiper blades from the oil change price?
Yes. He keeps upsell items visible against the base ticket, so you can see what your team's recommendations actually bring in each month.
We run thirty or more cars a day. Is that too much volume for Gus?
No. He works from your bank statement and point of sale export, sorting high volume the same steady way whether it's ten cars a day or fifty.
My books are a mess from doing them myself. 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.
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