Roofing & exterior
Books and taxes for siding contractors.
Vinyl and fiber cement orders sized for the whole job, house wrap and trim, insurance checks after wind or hail, and crews paid by the square. Gus tracks it all by job, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September cleared $34,100. The James Hardie order for the Colton job got booked against that job specifically, not the month, so the numbers stayed clean.
- Homeowner final paymentCompleted jobs
- Farmers insurance claim checkInsurance jobs
- James Hardie distributor orderSiding materials
- Install crew payoutSubcontracted crews
- Dumpster rentalDisposal fees
Why your books are different
Siding books go wrong in a handful of predictable spots.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. Your business is house wrap, trim, and siding material bought by the job, crews paid by the square, and a mix of cash jobs and storm claims that pay differently. When the books don't separate all that, you can't tell which jobs are worth bidding again.
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1
A material order sized for one house looks like a bad week
Fiber cement panels, trim, and house wrap for a single large job can be a bigger order than several small jobs combined, making that week look like a loss even though the job itself is profitable.
What we doBooks the material order against the specific job it's for, so a large single-house order doesn't distort the week it lands in. -
2
Insurance jobs and cash jobs get mixed together
A storm-damage siding job funded by an insurance claim pays differently, and often more slowly, than a homeowner paying cash for a straight upgrade. Blended together, you lose sight of how much of your work depends on claims.
What we doKeeps insurance-funded jobs separate from cash and financed jobs, so you can see how much of the business relies on each. -
3
Crews paid by the square blur into payroll
An install crew paid a flat rate per square of siding looks like ordinary labor cost, which hides what a job actually costs to install and creates 1099 risk if the crew works only for you.
What we doKeeps subcontracted crew pay in its own line against the jobs they worked, separate from any payroll. -
4
Trim and accessory costs disappear into the siding line
Corner posts, J-channel, and soffit work are often billed as part of the same invoice as the siding itself, which hides how much of a job's material cost is actually trim rather than panels.
What we doSplits trim and accessory costs from the base siding material so you can see where the real cost of a job is going. -
5
A callback for a warped or loose panel disappears into overhead
A repair visit to fix a panel that warped or came loose is a real cost, but if it's not tied back to the original job, that job looks more profitable than it was.
What we doLogs callback costs against the original job so the true margin shows up, not just the invoice total.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a siding 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
- Completed jobsCash and card jobs paid directly by the homeowner.
- Deposits heldMoney collected before install starts, held against the specific job.
- Insurance jobsStorm-damage claims, tracked against the job they belong to.
- Financed jobsPayouts from a financing company, with any fee they keep booked as a cost.
Money out
- Siding materialsVinyl, fiber cement, and house wrap from a distributor like James Hardie's network or a local supplier.
- Trim and accessoriesCorner posts, J-channel, and soffit, kept apart from the base siding.
- Subcontracted crewsInstall crews paid by the square, kept apart from payroll.
- Disposal feesDumpster rental and hauling for tear-off.
- Trucks and fuelFuel, repairs, and insurance for the fleet.
- Lead generationAngi, HomeAdvisor, and Google local services ad spend.
- Insurance and licensingLiability coverage, workers' comp, and contractor license renewals.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
What each siding job actually cleared once materials and crew pay are counted.
- Insurance job share
How much of the business depends on storm claims versus straight cash upgrades.
- Material cost per square
How much price swings on fiber cement or vinyl are eating into bid margins.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so a big season doesn't turn into a surprise bill.
Ask Gus
Things siding 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.
I booked that order against the Colton job specifically, so once the job's final payment lands, the real picture will show it was a good one, not a bad week.
I keep those separate, so you can see the split directly instead of guessing from memory.
If they're not on payroll and you pay them $2,000 or more this year, yes, by January 31. I'm keeping that list running as the season goes.
The tax side
The tax side of a siding business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on big material orders and keeping insurance jobs separate from cash work.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Trucks and equipmentEquipment and trucks 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.
- 1099s for subcontracted crewsAny crew 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. Gus flags it before it becomes expensive.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when jobs are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions siding contractors miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- House wrap and trim materials
- Truck fuel and repairs
- Ladders and scaffolding rental
- Dumpster and hauling fees
- Nail guns and compressors
- Manufacturer certification classes
- Angi and Google local services ads
- License and bonding fees
- JobNimbus or estimating software
- Uniforms with your logo
- Phone and tablet for job tracking
- 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 siding year, kept every month.
Storms don't wait for tax season, and neither does a full install 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 the monthly set-aside is planned before spring bids pick up.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed while the season is already ramping back up.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the peak of the season, and whether this year's material costs 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 schedule.
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 siding 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 siding owners ask first.
How does Gus handle a big material order for one job?
He books it against that specific job instead of the calendar week or month, so a large single-house order doesn't make a slow-looking week hide a profitable job.
Does Gus deal with the insurance company on a storm claim?
No. He only tracks the money once it's approved and paid. Anything about negotiating the claim itself stays between you and the adjuster.
My crews are paid by the square. Does that complicate the books?
It changes where the pay 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 separate trim costs from the siding itself?
He books corner posts, J-channel, and soffit in their own category, apart from the base siding material, so you can see where a job's real cost is going.
I run some jobs through JobNimbus. Do I need to change anything?
No. Keep quoting and scheduling 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 books are a season behind. Can Gus catch up?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them by job as best the records allow, and 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.
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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