Roofing & exterior
Books and taxes for residential roofing contractors.
Deposits, insurance checks split with the homeowner, depreciation holdbacks, and supplements that show up weeks later. Gus tracks every piece back to the job it belongs to, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June cleared $45,200. The Miller Street supplement finally came through, so I matched it to that job instead of booking it as new work.
- State Farm claim checkInsurance jobs
- Homeowner deposit, Elm AveDeposits held
- ABC Supply orderMaterials
- Tear-off crew payoutSubcontracted crews
- Waste Management dumpsterDisposal fees
Why your books are different
Residential roofing books go wrong in the same handful of places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. Your business is jobs with money arriving in three separate checks weeks apart, crews paid by the square, and material orders sized for the whole season, not one roof. When the books don't track by job, you can't tell which roofs made money.
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1
One roof, three separate checks
A $22,000 insurance roof might pay out as an initial actual cash value check, a deductible from the homeowner, and a depreciation holdback released after the final inspection. Booked as loose deposits, none of them show what the job actually made.
What we doTags every check to the job it belongs to as it lands, so the full picture only comes together once the last piece clears. -
2
A supplement gets missed
When the crew tears off old shingles and finds rotten decking, the adjuster approves more money days or weeks later. If that check isn't matched back to the original job, you can't see whether supplements are being chased down or left on the table.
What we doMatches supplement payments to the original job so you can see what a claim paid in the end, not just the first estimate. -
3
A season's worth of shingles hits one month
Ordering a truckload of shingles from ABC Supply or Beacon ahead of a busy stretch makes that month look like a loss and the next few look better than they were.
What we doSpreads big material orders against the jobs they were bought for, so a bulk buy doesn't hide whether the business is actually profitable. -
4
Tear-off crews paid by the square blur into payroll
A crew paid a flat rate per square looks like ordinary labor cost, which hides what each roof actually cost to install and creates 1099 risk if the crew works exclusively for you and uses your trucks.
What we doKeeps subcontracted crew pay in its own line against the jobs they worked, and flags any crew that looks more like an employee. -
5
Warranty callbacks disappear into overhead
A leak fixed for free a few months after install is a real cost, but if it's not tied back to that roof, both the crew and the owner think the job made more than it did.
What we doLogs callback costs against the original job so the true margin on that roof shows up, not just the invoice total.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a residential roofing contractor.
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
- Insurance jobsClaim checks from carriers, tracked against the job they belong to, initial check through holdback.
- Deposits heldMoney collected before tear-off starts, held against the specific job.
- Cash and card jobsRoofs with no insurance involved, paid directly by the homeowner.
- Financed jobsPayouts from Service Finance, GreenSky, or Hearth, with any fee they keep booked as a cost.
- SupplementsExtra money an adjuster approves after work uncovers more damage, matched to the original job.
Money out
- MaterialsShingles, underlayment, and flashing from ABC Supply, Beacon, or SRS Distribution.
- Subcontracted crewsTear-off and install crews paid by the square, kept apart from payroll.
- Disposal feesDumpster rental and hauling for every tear-off.
- Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
- EquipmentLadders, lifts, and tools logged so they get written off right.
- Lead generationAngi, HomeAdvisor, and Google local services ad spend.
- SoftwareJobNimbus or AccuLynx for job tracking, EagleView for measurements.
- Insurance and licensingLiability coverage, workers' comp, and contractor license renewals.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
What each roof actually cleared after materials and crew pay, once every check is in.
- Supplement recovery
How much of what got approved after the fact actually got collected.
- Materials share
How much of each dollar in goes to shingles and flashing before labor is even counted.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so a big season doesn't turn into a surprise bill.
Ask Gus
Things residential roofing 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.
No, I matched it to the original job. That roof's real total is now the first check plus this one, so you can see what the claim actually paid.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not a job cost, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
It might mean they should be on payroll instead of a 1099. That call depends on details I can't see from the bank statement, so I flagged it for the accountant to walk through with you.
The tax side
The tax side of a residential roofing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A supplement booked as new income, a lift filed as a supply cost, and a crew paid like a contractor who works like an employee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Trucks, lifts, and equipmentEquipment bought for the business can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025. A heavy truck over 6,000 pounds is capped at $32,000 under Section 179.
- 1099s for subcontracted crewsAny crew or hauler not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- Employee or contractorA crew that uses your trucks, follows your schedule, and works only for you usually looks like an employee, whatever the invoice says. Getting this wrong gets expensive, so Gus flags it early.
- 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 track by job all year.
Deductions residential roofing contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Ladders and roof jacks
- Harnesses and fall gear
- Nail guns and compressors
- Dumpster and hauling fees
- EagleView measurement reports
- JobNimbus or AccuLynx subscription
- CompanyCam subscription
- Angi and Google local services ads
- GAF or CertainTeed certification classes
- License and bonding fees
- Card and financing 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 residential roofing year, kept every month.
Storms don't wait for tax season, and neither does the 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 crew 1099 list is finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so spring's cash doesn't get spent twice.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed while spring season is already ramping back up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the peak of the season, and whether this year's biggest jobs changed what you'll owe.
- October
Before the slowdown
A look at equipment bought during the busy months and any moves worth making before winter cuts the crew's hours.
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 roofing contractors. 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 roofing owners ask first.
Can Gus track a job that's paid in three separate insurance checks?
Yes. He tags each check to the job as it lands, so the full contract value only shows up once the last piece, usually the depreciation holdback, clears.
Does Gus deal with the insurance company or the adjuster?
No. He only tracks the money once it's approved and paid. Anything about the claim itself, like negotiating a supplement, stays between you and the adjuster.
I run everything through JobNimbus. Do I need to change that?
No. Keep quoting and scheduling jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
My crews are paid by the square. Does that complicate things?
It changes where the money is tracked, not what you do. Gus keeps subcontracted crew pay in its own line so you can see labor cost against what each job brought in.
How does Gus handle a bulk shingle order?
He spreads it against the jobs it was bought for instead of dumping the whole cost into one month, so a big order doesn't make that month look like a loss.
My books are a season behind. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have and Gus sorts them by job as best the records allow, then the accountant checks the result.
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 roofing & exterior
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Cedar shake roofing specialists
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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