Electrical, energy & home tech

Books and taxes for residential solar installers.

Install draws, financed contracts, sales commissions, and payments that wait on the utility's permission to operate. 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
MarchExample month
$17,000
what you made

March came in at $17,000. The Alvarez install finished in February, but the final payout waited on the utility's permission to operate, which cleared this month.

  • GoodLeap payoutFinanced installs
  • Direct customer final paymentPermission to operate payments
  • CED Greentech invoiceModules and inverters
  • Ramirez Roofing subcontractRoofing subcontractors
  • EnergySage lead feeLead fees
Money in$68,000
Money out$51,000
Set aside for taxes$3,500
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A solar installer's books go wrong around waiting, not work.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is installs that finish weeks before the utility signs off, financing partners that keep a cut, and commissioned sales reps working ahead of the crew. When the books do not know that, the monthly number lies to you.

  1. 1

    The utility's permission to operate holds the final payment

    A system can sit fully wired for weeks or months waiting on the utility's permission to operate, and the customer's final payment usually waits for it too. Booking the whole contract as income at signing makes the month the crew finishes look bigger than it is.

    What we doTracks the install and permission to operate payments separately, so income lands with the payment actually collected.
  2. 2

    Solar financing partners pay out short

    A $24,000 rooftop system financed through GoodLeap or Sunlight Financial pays out several points lighter than the contract after the lender's dealer fee, and booked as the deposit, your sales and the real cost of offering financing both come out wrong.

    What we doBooks the full contract as money in and the lender's dealer fee as a financing cost, so your price and your financing cost both stay honest.
  3. 3

    Canvassing commissions blur who sold the job

    A door-to-door sales rep paid a commission on a signed contract, separate from the install crew's wages, gets lost inside general labor if it is not tracked apart, so you cannot tell what it costs to generate a lead versus install the system.

    What we doKeeps sales commissions in their own line, apart from install crew wages, so lead cost and install cost stay separate.
  4. 4

    A roof leak claim shows up years after the install

    A penetration from a rack mount fails two years later, and the roofing warranty claim lands as a cost with no matching sale that month, which can look like a random loss if it is not flagged as warranty work.

    What we doFlags warranty and callback work as its own category, so a delayed roof claim never gets mistaken for a bad month of new sales.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a residential solar installer.

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

  • Install deposits and drawsDeposit, permit, and install-stage payments on a system.
  • Permission to operate paymentsThe final payment, released once the utility signs off.
  • Financed installsThe full contract amount, with the lender's dealer fee booked as a cost.
  • Dealer and manufacturer incentivesVolume incentives from Enphase or Panasonic on completed installs.
  • Subcontracted install laborWork paid by a larger regional solar company that hired your crew for the install.

Money out

  • Crew wagesKept apart from sales commissions so labor cost by install stays clear.
  • Sales commissionsPaid to canvassing or door-to-door reps on signed contracts.
  • Modules and invertersPanels, inverters, and racking from CED Greentech or Soligent.
  • Roofing subcontractorsPenetration and flashing work billed apart from the system's own cost.
  • Permits and utility interconnection feesMunicipal permit fees and utility interconnection charges.
  • Truck and fuelFuel, repairs, insurance, and loan payments for crew trucks.
  • Lead fees and marketingEnergySage, Google local services, and canvassing overhead.

What we watch for you

  • PTO backlog

    Contracts finished but waiting on utility permission to operate, so a big install month is not confused with a big pay month.

  • Financing cost

    What lenders keep on financed installs, worth knowing before offering it on every deal.

  • Commission cost

    What sales reps earn per signed contract, measured against the jobs those leads become.

  • The set-aside

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

Ask Gus

Things residential solar installers 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.

We finished the Alvarez install in February but didn't get paid until March. Why?

The utility's permission to operate took five weeks. I track the install and the final payment separately, so March shows the payment and February still shows the work.

GoodLeap's payout was a few thousand short of the contract. What happened?

Their dealer fee came out before the payout. I book your full contract as the sale and their cut as a financing cost, so your real price stays visible.

My canvassing rep gets a commission on every signed deal. Should that come out of crew wages?

No, I keep it in its own line. That way you can see what it costs to generate a lead separate from what it costs to install the system.

The tax side

The tax side of a residential solar business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing between work and payment. An install booked before it is paid, a financing fee that disappears, 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.

  • Install trucks and equipmentService trucks, racking tools, and testing equipment 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 1099sRoofing subs and canvassing reps not on payroll get a 1099-NEC if paid $2,000 or more in 2026. The form is due January 31.
  • Employee or contractorAn install crew member who uses your trucks and tools and works your schedule is usually an employee, not a subcontractor, no matter how the pay is set up.
  • 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 solar installers miss

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

  • Solar certification renewal fees
  • Roof harnesses and safety gear
  • Racking hand tools
  • Truck signage and wraps
  • Liability and bonding insurance
  • EnergySage lead fees
  • Phone for site surveys
  • Dump fees for old equipment
  • Home office for scheduling
  • Vehicle registration
  • Background check fees
  • Permit drawing software

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 solar year, kept every month.

Installs and permission to operate rarely land in the same month. 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 spring's install rush and its PTO backlog changed the number.

  4. October

    Before the slow season

    Fewer roofs get climbed once winter weather sets in. Before it slows, 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 solar installers. 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 solar installers ask first.

Can Gus handle jobs paid through financing companies?

Yes. He books the full job as money in and the lender's fee as a cost, so your sales are not understated and the fee still counts against your taxes.

The utility takes weeks to approve permission to operate. Does that mess up my books?

No. Gus tracks the install and the final payment as separate stages, so a job finished one month and paid the next shows up correctly in both.

My canvassing reps earn a commission per signed deal. Does that count as payroll?

It depends on how they are set up, and Gus flags it so the accountant can weigh in. Either way, commissions are tracked in their own line, apart from install crew wages.

A roofing subcontractor's penetration leaked two years after the install. Where does that cost go?

Into warranty and callback work, its own category, so a delayed claim never gets mistaken for a bad month of new sales.

Do I write off my racking tools all at once?

Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.

My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?

No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most people 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