Hard goods, dealers & local stores
Books and taxes for safe and gun safe dealers.
Showroom sales, special orders on a heavier model, delivery crews rigging a thousand-pound unit into a basement, and lock and combination service calls. 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
November came in at $16,400. A special order safe finally delivered this month, so I moved that deposit from owed-out to earned once the rigging crew set it in place.
- Showroom sale, floor unitRetail sales
- Gun safe order depositCustomer deposits
- Liberty Safe distributor invoiceInventory purchase
- Rigging crew paymentDelivery and rigging
- Locksmith service call feeLock service income
Why your books are different
Safe dealer books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and vendor bills. Your business is heavy freight and rigging costs on every delivery, special orders on models the showroom does not stock, lock and combination service billed apart from a sale, and floor models that need their own tracking. When the books do not know that, the monthly number lies.
-
1
Rigging and delivery costs get buried in the sale price
Moving an 800 pound safe into a basement or up a stairway takes a crew, a dolly, and sometimes special equipment, and if that cost is folded into the sale price with no separate line, there is no way to see whether a heavier model is actually worth the delivery trouble.
What we doKeeps delivery and rigging costs in their own line apart from the safe's sale price, so you can see what heavy delivery is really costing you. -
2
Ordering a safe from the factory gets counted as a sale too soon
A customer puts $400 down on a $3,500 gun safe that has not even been ordered from the manufacturer yet. Counted as income the day the deposit lands, the month looks bigger than it really is while the store still owes a delivered, installed safe.
What we doKeeps deposits as money owed against the order until the safe is delivered and set in place, so the sale only counts once it is real. -
3
Lock and combination service disappears into retail sales
A service call to reset a combination or repair a lock gets rung up the same way as a safe sale, so there is no way to see how much of a month's money came from service work versus new units sold.
What we doKeeps lock service income in its own line apart from retail sales, so you can see what that part of the business is worth on its own. -
4
Floor models sit as inventory nobody is tracking
A large display safe on the showroom floor eventually sells at a discount, but it is easy to lose track of its cost and condition while it sits for months as a showpiece.
What we doTracks each display safe's original cost apart from new stock, so its eventual discounted sale does not distort regular retail margin.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a safe dealer.
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
- Retail salesIn-stock and floor model safes sold at the time of purchase.
- Customer depositsDown payments on special orders not yet delivered.
- Delivery and installation feesRigging and placement charges billed apart from the safe itself.
- Lock service incomeCombination resets and lock repair calls.
Money out
- Inventory purchaseSafes bought from manufacturers like Liberty Safe or Fort Knox.
- Delivery and riggingCrew wages, dollies, and equipment for heavy safe delivery.
- Showroom payrollSales staff and locksmith technicians.
- Rent and utilitiesShowroom lease and warehouse storage for heavy inventory.
- Lock service partsCombination dials, bolts, and lock hardware for repairs.
- Signage and local advertisingShowroom signage and local promotions.
- Card and financing feesWhat a financing partner or card processor kept before the sale hit the bank.
What we watch for you
- Open deposits outstanding
Money collected on factory orders that have not shipped yet, so it is never counted as a sale twice.
- Delivery cost per unit
Rigging and crew cost against what heavier models actually earn after delivery.
- Lock service margin
What service calls earn apart from retail sales.
- The set-aside
What the store will owe, set aside from every sale so tax time never means scrambling.
Ask Gus
Things safe dealers 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.
Yes, I keep delivery and rigging costs in their own line, so you can see what heavy delivery actually costs against what the sale earns.
Not yet. I keep it as money owed against the order until the safe is delivered and set in place, so the sale only counts once it is real.
I keep lock service income in its own line apart from retail sales, so you can see what that side of the business is actually worth.
The tax side
The tax side of a safe dealer.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and cost allocation. A deposit counted too early, delivery cost buried in the sale, 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.
- Inventory and cost of goods soldWhat was actually paid for the safes sold during the year, not just what was spent restocking, is what counts against sales. Floor models and ordered stock on hand at year end need a fair value on the books.
- Section 179 on delivery and shop equipmentRigging equipment, dollies, and a delivery truck can usually be written off in the year you buy them, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, such as a subcontracted rigging crew, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income. It only lands right when deposits and delivery costs are sorted correctly all year.
Deductions safe and gun safe dealers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Rigging equipment and dollies
- Delivery truck fuel and repairs
- Locksmith tools and supplies
- Financing and card processing fees
- Local advertising and signage
- Business liability insurance
- Damaged floor model write-downs
- Uniforms with your logo
- Point of sale software
- Warehouse racking for heavy stock
- Trade show and vendor travel
- Snow removal and lot upkeep
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 safe dealer year, kept every month.
Special orders and lock service calls arrive on their own schedule all year, not just at tax time. 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 rigging crew 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, with nothing owed that the monthly set-aside had not already set apart.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether rigging and delivery costs are pricing right against heavier models.
- October
Before holiday buying
Before the Q4 gift-buying season for home safes, Gus looks at equipment you might buy 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 safe and gun safe dealers. 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 safe dealer owners ask first.
Do you sell firearms as well?
This page is written for safe and gun safe dealers selling secure storage. Gus books your safe sales, deposits, and service calls, and does not handle any firearms-specific licensing or reporting.
How does Gus handle deposits on special order safes?
He keeps a deposit as money owed against the order until the safe is delivered and set in place, so your sales are not overstated before the job is done.
Delivery and rigging cost us real money on heavy models. Can that be tracked?
Yes. Gus keeps delivery and rigging costs in their own line apart from the sale price, so you can see what heavy delivery is really costing you.
We do lock resets and repairs. Should that be separate from safe sales?
It helps. Gus can keep lock service income in its own line, so you can see what that part of the business is worth on its own.
Our safe shop books are behind from a busy stretch. Is that fixable?
It usually is. Send over the bank statements you have, and Gus sorts through the backlog, special orders included, while the accountant checks his work.
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