Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for retaining wall contractors.
Deposits, progress draws, segmental block and drainage stone, and the engineer's stamp a taller wall needs before a permit is pulled. 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
August came in at $17,000. The engineering fee for the Castillo wall went in against that job, not general overhead.
- Deposit, Castillo retaining wallJob deposits
- Final payment, Odom wallFinal payments
- Redi-Rock block orderWall block and stone
- Drainage gravel deliveryDrainage material
- Structural engineer feeEngineering and permits
Why your books are different
Retaining wall books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and material bills. Your business pours geogrid and drainage stone behind every wall over a few feet, needs an engineer's stamp on the taller ones, and moves excavated soil off site by the load. When the books do not separate that, you cannot tell whether a wall's price actually covered what went into it.
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1
Engineering fees get lost inside general costs
A wall over four feet often needs a structural engineer's stamp before a permit is pulled, and that fee can run into real money. Filed as a general expense instead of tied to the job, it disappears into overhead instead of showing up in what that wall actually cost to build.
What we doBooks engineering and permit fees against the job they belong to, so the true cost of a taller, engineered wall is visible. -
2
Drainage stone and geogrid disappear into the block order
The gravel, drainage pipe, and geogrid reinforcement behind a wall can cost nearly as much as the visible block, but when it is bought and logged as one materials line, the owner cannot see how much of the job is what the customer actually looks at.
What we doKeeps drainage material on its own line against the job, so block cost and drainage cost are both visible. -
3
Excavation and haul-off costs get buried in equipment rental
Moving excavated soil off site by the load adds up fast on a big wall, and when hauling fees are lumped in with general equipment rental, it is hard to see how much site work actually added to the job's cost.
What we doTags excavation and haul-off costs to the job, so site prep cost is visible against the wall itself. -
4
A deposit looks like profit before the excavator arrives
A $14,000 deposit on a wall that will not break ground for two weeks shows up as income the day it lands, so the month looks strong before a single yard of soil is moved.
What we doTracks the deposit against its job and recognizes the income as the work gets done, so a big deposit month does not hide a thin one underneath it.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a retaining wall 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
- Job depositsThe third to half collected at contract signing, tracked against the job it belongs to.
- Progress drawsPayments collected at excavation and wall construction milestones.
- Final paymentsWalkthrough payment once the wall and drainage are complete.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Change ordersAdded wall length or a cap and lighting upgrade billed separately from the base contract.
Money out
- Wall block and stoneRedi-Rock, segmental block, or boulders for the visible wall face.
- Drainage materialGravel, drain pipe, and geogrid installed behind the wall.
- Engineering and permitsStructural engineer fees and permit costs for taller walls.
- Excavation and haul-offEquipment time and dump fees for moving soil off site.
- Crew wages and subsExcavation and wall-building crew pay.
- Lead fees and marketingAngi, HomeAdvisor, and Google local services ads.
- Financing and card feesWhat the lender or Square kept before you got paid.
What we watch for you
- Material cost share
Block and drainage material against money in, so pricing keeps up with supplier costs.
- Engineering cost per job
How often taller walls need a stamp, and whether that cost is priced into the bid.
- Jobs in progress
Deposits collected for walls not yet built, so a big deposit month does not look like profit that is not there yet.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things retaining wall contractors 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 booked the extra length as a change order on the same job, so the added scope and what it cost are both visible.
The engineer's fee and block order for the Castillo wall landed this month. I tagged both to that job, so it is not really a loss, it is a job still in progress.
If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running.
The tax side
The tax side of a retaining wall business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. An engineering fee buried in overhead, drainage material filed like block, 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.
- Equipment write-offsAn excavator, skid steer, or trailer bought for the business can usually be written off in the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026, like an excavation sub or a structural engineer, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- Self-employment taxAn owner not on payroll pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on profit, up to the $184,500 Social Security wage base.
- 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 retaining wall contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Excavator and skid steer rental
- Compaction equipment
- Truck and trailer fuel
- Angi and Google local services ads
- Engineering consultation fees
- Uniforms with your logo
- Tools that live on the truck
- Phone and tablet for job sites
- Trade licenses and bonding
- Card and financing fees
- Job photo software
- Truck wraps and yard signs
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 retaining wall year, kept every month.
Deposits start landing in spring and crews run hardest through late summer. Your taxes come on a schedule either way. 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 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 before the spring deposits start coming in for the season ahead.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how engineering and material costs compared to what you priced.
- October
Before the season slows
A look at any equipment worth buying before winter, and anything worth doing 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 retaining wall 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 retaining wall contractors 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.
I run estimates in Jobber. Do I have to change how I work?
No. Keep running jobs the way you do. Gus works from your bank statement, and when a deposit or payout is unclear he asks you once and remembers the answer.
Do I write off an excavator purchase all at once?
Often, yes. Business equipment can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, though 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 behind from last season. 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.
How does Gus keep an engineering fee from disappearing into overhead?
He tags the fee to the job it was for, so a taller wall's true cost, stamp included, is visible instead of blended into general expenses.
Do you handle sales tax on the block and material I buy?
No. Sales tax on materials and contracts varies by state and Gus does not file it. He keeps your books clean so whoever files your sales tax has accurate numbers to work from.
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