Design & pre-construction
Books and taxes for residential architects.
A retainer at signing, a payment at design development, a structural engineer to pay from that same check, and a permit fee to front for the client. 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
April came in at $13,400. The structural engineer's fee from the Hillcrest project passed through your account, so I kept it out of your design revenue.
- Design development drawPhase billing
- New client retainerRetainers
- Hillcrest structural feeSubconsultant pass-through
- City of Millbrook permitPermit fees, reimbursable
- Bluebeam annual licenseSoftware
Why your books are different
A residential architecture practice's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and invoices. Your business is a retainer that is not yet earned, a fee split across four design phases, and a structural engineer's check running through your account on its way to someone else. When the books do not separate those, a good month and a slow one look the same.
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1
The retainer counts as income too soon
A new client signs and wires a $7,500 retainer before a single sketch exists. Booked as income that week, the month looks strong even though none of the design work behind it has happened yet.
What we doHolds the retainer as a deposit and moves it into income only as you bill against it phase by phase. -
2
The structural engineer's fee inflates your revenue
You collect $9,000 for a project, $2,200 of which is the structural engineer's fee that passes straight through your account. Booked as design revenue, it makes the practice look bigger than the design work you actually did.
What we doKeeps subconsultant pass-through money in its own line, so your real design fee is the number you see. -
3
Permit fees paid for a client sit in the wrong bucket
You front a $4,000 city permit fee on a client's card statement and get reimbursed weeks later. Left unmarked, it looks like a huge cost one month and a windfall the next.
What we doTags permit fees as reimbursable the day they go out, so the reimbursement checks out clean when it lands. -
4
Phase billing does not match the work
A contract calls for a payment at construction documents, but the client pays it two months after that phase wrapped, right as you start on a different project's schematic design. Reading the bank balance alone hides which project actually earned that money.
What we doTracks what has been billed and earned by phase, so a late payment reads as a timing gap, not a slow month of design work.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a residential architecture practice.
Set up once for how you bill and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- RetainersHeld as a deposit until it is earned against actual phase work.
- Phase billingSchematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration.
- Percentage of construction costFee tied to the project's estimated or final construction budget.
- Change order feesScope added after the original agreement, billed on its own.
- Reimbursed expensesPermit fees, printing, and travel billed back to the client at cost.
Money out
- Subconsultant pass-throughStructural and MEP engineer fees that ran through your account to reach them.
- CAD and rendering softwareRevit, AutoCAD, SketchUp, and rendering license fees.
- Printing and plottingLarge-format plots for review sets and permit submittals.
- Permit fees, reimbursableCity fees paid on a client's behalf, waiting on reimbursement.
- Professional liability insuranceThe policy that covers a design error on a built project.
- Vehicle and site visitsMileage and parking for construction administration walks.
- License and duesState registration renewal and AIA membership.
What we watch for you
- Collection rate
What clients actually pay against what phases you have billed. Tells you if the cash matches the work.
- Retainer balance
Deposits held but not yet earned. Keeps a big signing week from looking like a big design week.
- Pass-through share
How much of what moves through your account is really a subconsultant's or the city's, not yours.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things residential architects 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.
Not yet. I booked it as a deposit. It moves into income as you bill each phase against it, so the month reflects the work, not the wire.
I kept it as a pass-through, not your cost or your revenue, since it was always his fee. Your design income stays clean.
That is above my pay grade to call on my own. I flagged it for the accountant, and the deadline to elect it for this year is March 15 if it makes sense.
The tax side
The tax side of a residential architecture practice.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A retainer counted too early, a subconsultant fee mistaken for your own revenue, and a workstation bought outright that could have been written off the year you bought it.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- The pass-through deductionMost owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. Architecture firms are generally treated more favorably than many service businesses at higher income, though the accountant confirms it against your full return.
- Equipment write-offsA CAD workstation, large monitors, or a plotter can often be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA subconsultant or contract drafter paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Self-employment taxA sole owner or partner pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the $184,500 wage base. An S corp structure can change how much of your pay is hit with it.
Deductions residential architects miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Revit or AutoCAD subscription
- Rendering software license
- Bluebeam Revu license
- Professional liability premium
- AIA membership dues
- License renewal fees
- Continuing education courses
- Site visit mileage
- Plotter paper and ink
- Code books and standards
- Portfolio photography
- Website hosting
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 residential architecture year, kept every month.
Spring brings a wave of new project signings. Your taxes come on a schedule regardless. 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 subconsultant 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 while new client retainers are coming in for the spring signing season.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's percentage-of-construction fees are running ahead of last year's.
- October
Before year end
Gus looks at any equipment worth buying before December and flags anything left to collect before the year closes.
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 residential architects. 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 residential architects ask first.
Can Gus tell the difference between my fee and a structural engineer's fee?
Yes. When a subconsultant's payment passes through your account, Gus keeps it in its own line so your design revenue is not overstated and the check does not look like your cost either.
I bill in phases. Does Gus need to see my contracts?
No. Gus works from your bank statement and asks once when a deposit is unclear, then remembers the answer. He learns your billing pattern from how the money actually moves.
Do permit fees I front for a client mess up my numbers?
Not once they are tagged as reimbursable. Gus keeps them separate from your real business costs, so a big permit fee does not make a month look worse than it was.
My retainers sit in the same account as everything else. Is that a problem?
No. Gus tracks what has been earned against what is still held as a deposit, even from one shared account, so the income shown each month reflects the work, not just the deposit timing.
I am behind on categorizing a year of transactions. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them and an accountant checks the work, and most owners know where they 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.
More in design & pre-construction
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Drafting & CAD services
- Home plan & house design sellers
- Landscape architects
- MEP engineering firms
- Outsourced construction estimators
- Permit expediters
- Structural engineers
- Kitchen & bath designers
- Interior designers
- Barndominium builders
- Church & religious facility builders
- Log home builders
- Shipping container home builders
- Timber frame builders
- Tiny home builders
- Acoustical ceiling contractors
- Architectural millwork & woodworking
- Commercial glaziers & storefront glass
- Commercial kitchen equipment installers
- Concrete cutting & coring
- Crane services
- Directional boring contractors
- Elevator installation & service
- Erosion control contractors
- Fire sprinkler contractors
- Hydro excavation
- Land surveying firms
- Parking lot striping & maintenance
- Pond & lake construction
- Private utility locating
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