Plumbing & water

Books and taxes for residential plumbing companies.

Diagnostic calls, membership plan billing, financed water heater swaps, and warranty company payouts that never match the invoice. Gus sorts all of it, 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
MayExample month
$9,100
what you made

May came in at $9,100. Six memberships renewed this month, so I moved that into its own line instead of letting it hide in service calls.

  • Workiz payoutService calls
  • Membership renewalsMaintenance plans
  • Sunbit payoutFinanced repairs
  • Winsupply invoiceParts and fixtures
  • Angi leadsLead fees
Money in$34,200
Money out$25,100
Set aside for taxes$2,100
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Residential plumbing books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. Your business is diagnostic fees, a membership plan, a helper on commission, and repairs that get financed half the time. When the books do not know that, the monthly number tells you almost nothing.

  1. 1

    Membership plan money hides in service calls

    A dozen homes pay a flat yearly fee for two inspections and a discount on repairs. Booked the same as a one-off service call, you cannot tell how much of your income is the steady kind versus the kind that stops the day you stop marketing.

    What we doKeeps membership plan billing in its own line, so you can see how much of the month came from customers already locked in.
  2. 2

    Financed water heaters and repairs land short

    A customer finances a $2,400 water heater swap through Sunbit, and the payout lands a few hundred dollars light because the lender keeps a fee. Book the payout as the sale and your numbers understate what you actually charged.

    What we doBooks the full invoice as money in and the lender's cut as its own fee, so your prices and your true cost of financing both show up honest.
  3. 3

    A helper's commission hides inside wages

    A second plumber paid a percentage of what he closes looks like a flat wage in the checkbook. That buries whether the work he brings in actually covers what you pay him.

    What we doKeeps wages and commissions on separate lines so you can see labor against what each month brought in.
  4. 4

    Warranty company work pays a different rate

    A home warranty company sends you a job and pays its own reduced rate, well below what you would charge a walk-in customer. Mixed into regular service calls, it drags your average job value down without you noticing why.

    What we doBooks warranty-paid work in its own category so you can see it is worth less per job before you take on more of it.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a residential plumbing 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

  • Service callsDiagnostic fees and repairs paid in the van or by invoice.
  • Maintenance plansYearly membership fees, kept apart from one-off work.
  • Financed repairsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
  • Warranty company workJobs paid at a home warranty company's reduced rate.
  • Fixture and remodel installsToilets, faucets, and small remodel tie-ins billed by the job.

Money out

  • Plumber wages and commissionsKept apart so you can see labor against the work it paid for.
  • Parts and fixturesFaucets, valves, water heaters, and fittings from the supply house.
  • Van and fuelFuel, repairs, insurance, and loan interest for the fleet.
  • Lead fees and marketingAngi, Google local services, and the answering service.
  • Financing and card feesWhat Sunbit, Square, or Stripe kept before you got paid.
  • Licensing and insuranceLiability, bonding, and license renewal.

What we watch for you

  • Membership share

    How much of the month came from plans already paid for, not new marketing.

  • Financing cost

    What lenders keep on financed jobs. Worth knowing before you offer it on every ticket.

  • Warranty job value

    Average pay on warranty-routed jobs against your regular rate.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things residential plumbing 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.

Why does this month look thin? I feel like I stayed busy.

Membership renewals were light this month, only two. Service calls actually held steady. I split the two so you can see which one moved.

A warranty company sent me three jobs this week. Worth chasing more of that work?

Those three paid about 40 percent less per job than your regular calls. I keep that category separate so you can decide with real numbers, not a feeling.

My helper wants a raise. Can I actually afford it?

That is a call for the accountant looking at your whole year, not just one good month. I will have his labor cost against revenue ready for that conversation.

The tax side

The tax side of a residential plumbing business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels: financing fees folded into sales, a helper paid like a contractor who works like an employee, 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.

  • Vehicles and toolsA service van and the tools that live in it can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
  • Employee or contractorA helper who drives your van, works your schedule, and uses your tools is usually an employee. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus flags it before it becomes a habit.
  • 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 residential plumbing companies miss

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

  • Van fuel and repairs
  • Faucets, valves, and fittings
  • Pipe wrenches and hand tools
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Angi and Google local services ads
  • The answering service
  • License and bonding renewal
  • Phone and tablet for dispatch
  • Liability insurance
  • Financing and card fees
  • Continuing education courses
  • Small tools under the expensing threshold

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 plumbing year, kept every month.

Calls come whenever a pipe fails. 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 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 membership renewals kept up through spring.

  4. October

    Before the cold snap

    Water heater and pipe failures pick up once it turns cold. Before the rush, Gus looks at equipment you might buy and anything worth doing 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 residential plumbing 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 residential plumbing owners ask first.

Can Gus handle repairs financed through Sunbit?

Yes. He books the full invoice as money in and whatever Sunbit keeps as its own fee, so your sales stay accurate and the fee still works in your favor at tax time.

Do I need to switch off Housecall Pro or Workiz for Gus to work?

No. Keep scheduling and invoicing there the way you always have. Gus reads your bank statement instead, and if a deposit does not obviously match a job, he asks once and remembers your answer going forward.

How does Gus handle my membership plan income?

It gets its own category, separate from one-off service calls, so you can see how much of your month is steady, already-paid-for work.

My second plumber works on commission. Does that complicate things?

Not for Gus, though it does change how the numbers read. His pay stays in payroll, but Gus keeps wages and commission on separate lines so you can see labor cost against what the month brought in, not one lump wage number.

Do I have to track warranty company jobs differently?

Gus does that for you. Warranty-paid work is booked at what it actually paid, kept apart from your regular rate, so you always know the real difference.

I haven't kept clean books in months. Can Gus still help?

Yes. Send whatever bank statements you have on hand, even a few months at once. Gus sorts every deposit and bill into place, the accountant checks it, and you will have a real picture of where the business stands within days.

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