Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for screened porch and sunroom builders.
Deposits, progress draws, vinyl and glass sunroom kits, and the screen panels that come standard on half your jobs. 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
September came in at $16,500. The Four Seasons Sunrooms kit for the Hartley job went in as materials for that job, not a general supply cost.
- Deposit, Hartley sunroomJob deposits
- Final payment, Doyle screened porchFinal payments
- Four Seasons Sunrooms kitSunroom kits and glazing
- Phifer screen fabric orderScreen panels
- County permit feePermits
Why your books are different
Sunroom and screened porch books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and lumber bills. Your business runs two different products under one roof, a screened porch built from lumber and mesh and a fully glazed sunroom built from a manufactured kit, priced and costed nothing alike. When the books blend them, you cannot tell which one is actually worth selling.
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1
Screen porches and glazed sunrooms get costed the same way
A screened porch built from framing lumber and mesh panels costs a fraction of a fully glazed, insulated sunroom kit, but when both get logged under one construction category, the owner cannot see which product line actually carries the business.
What we doTags material and labor costs to the job and the build type, so screened porch margin and sunroom margin show up separately. -
2
A deposit looks like profit before the kit even ships
A sunroom kit can take three to six weeks to arrive after the deposit is collected, so the deposit sits as income on the books long before the crew ever shows up to install it.
What we doTracks the deposit against its job and recognizes the income as the work gets done, so the wait for a kit does not distort the month. -
3
The off-season becomes the busy season and the books do not adjust
Enclosed sunroom work often keeps going into fall and winter after screened porch demand drops off, so a business that looks slow by outdoor construction standards can actually be having a strong quarter.
What we doKeeps money in and out visible by month so a seasonal dip in one product does not read as the whole business slowing down. -
4
A glazing or kit order skews a slow month
One sunroom kit order for an upcoming job can make a month look like a loss on paper, with the installation and revenue landing the following month.
What we doFlags large kit purchases and notes which job they belong to, so a big order does not read as the month falling apart.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a sunroom and screened porch builder.
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 framing and kit delivery milestones.
- Final paymentsWalkthrough payment once the room or porch is complete.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut from GreenSky or Hearth booked as a fee.
- Change ordersUpgraded glazing, added electrical, or heating and cooling billed separately.
Money out
- Sunroom kits and glazingFour Seasons Sunrooms or similar manufactured kits, kept apart from framing costs.
- Screen panelsPhifer or similar screen fabric and framing for screened porches.
- Framing lumberPosts, beams, and joists for the porch or room's base structure.
- PermitsCounty or city permit fees, tagged to the job they belong to.
- Crew wages and subsFraming crew pay and any electricians brought in for lighting or climate control.
- Equipment rentalLifts and saws for larger enclosed room installs.
- 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
- Screen versus sunroom margin
How screened porch jobs compare to glazed sunroom kits, so you know which to sell more of.
- Jobs in progress
Deposits collected for rooms not yet built, so a big deposit month does not look like profit that is not there yet.
- Kit lead time cost
How long money sits between deposit and install, so cash flow during a slow kit delivery is not a surprise.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things sunroom builders 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 it as a change order on the same job, so the upgrade and what it added to the bill are both visible.
Two sunroom kits that shipped in July finally got installed and billed out. Their deposits landed months ago, so this is the payoff, not a fluke.
If you pay them $2,000 or more this year and they are not on payroll, they get a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running.
The tax side
The tax side of a sunroom and screened porch business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A deposit counted before the kit arrives, screen jobs costed like glazed rooms, 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-offsA lift, saw, 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 a framing crew or an electrician, 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 screened porch and sunroom builders miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Lift and saw rental
- Screen fabric and framing stock
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Angi and Google local services ads
- Permit application 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
- Sample glazing and kit displays
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 sunroom building year, kept every month.
Screened porch demand rises with warm weather, but sunroom kits keep crews working into fall and winter. 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 screened porch season picks up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether screen jobs or sunroom kits carried the summer.
- October
Before winter installs
A look at any equipment worth buying and anything worth doing before December, timed to when sunroom season keeps running.
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 screened porch and sunroom builders. 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 sunroom builders 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 Buildertrend. 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 a sunroom kit deposit right away?
No. A deposit is not a cost until the kit ships and gets used on a job. Gus tracks it against that job so the timing comes out right.
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 screen jobs separate from sunroom jobs?
He tags material and labor costs by job and build type, so screened porch margin and glazed sunroom margin show up as two different numbers, not one blended average.
Do you handle sales tax on the kits 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