Outdoor living & structures
Books and taxes for sport court builders.
Deposits, modular tile or acrylic coating systems, fencing and net packages, and a concrete pad that is sometimes new and sometimes already there. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June came in at $11,200. The VersaCourt tile system for the Beckett pickleball court went in as materials for that job, not general supplies.
- Deposit, Beckett pickleball courtJob deposits
- Final payment, Ruiz basketball courtFinal payments
- VersaCourt tile systemCourt surfacing
- Fencing and net packageFencing and nets
- Ace Concrete pad pourConcrete and site work
Why your books are different
Sport court books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and material bills. Your business sometimes builds on an existing concrete pad and sometimes pours a new one, chooses between modular tile and acrylic coating systems, and adds fencing and nets that vary a lot job to job. When the books do not separate that, you cannot tell what actually drives a court's cost.
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1
A new concrete pad and an existing one get priced the same on paper
A job on an existing driveway or pad costs far less than one that needs a new pour, but if concrete and site work are not tracked separately by job, the owner cannot tell how much of a bid's price should really depend on what is already there.
What we doTags concrete and site work costs to the job, so a new-pour job and a build-on-existing-pad job show up with their real costs, not an average. -
2
Tile systems and acrylic coating get filed under one surfacing line
A modular tile system like VersaCourt and a multi-layer acrylic coating system use very different materials and labor, but when both get logged as one surfacing category, the owner cannot see which system actually pays better to install.
What we doKeeps tile systems and acrylic coating on separate lines against the job, so surfacing margin is visible by system type. -
3
Fencing and net packages disappear into a general materials bucket
Fencing height, gate count, and net or hoop packages vary a lot from job to job, and when they are lumped into general materials, the owner cannot tell how much these add-ons are really adding to the price.
What we doKeeps fencing and net packages on their own line against the job, so add-on cost and what it was billed for both show up clearly. -
4
A deposit looks like profit before the pad is even poured
A deposit on a court 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 concrete is poured.
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 sport court 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 concrete and surfacing milestones.
- Final paymentsWalkthrough payment once the court, fencing, and nets are complete.
- Financed jobsThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
Money out
- Court surfacingVersaCourt tile or acrylic coating systems, kept apart from concrete.
- Concrete and site workNew pad pours or existing pad prep, tracked per job.
- Fencing and netsFencing, gates, nets, and hoop packages.
- Crew wages and subsInstall crew pay and any concrete subs.
- Equipment rentalConcrete mixers and surfacing equipment.
- Lead fees and marketingHouzz, Angi, and Google local services ads.
What we watch for you
- New pad versus existing pad margin
How jobs on new concrete compare to jobs on an existing pad, so bids account for what the site already has.
- Tile versus coating margin
How modular tile jobs compare to acrylic coating jobs, so you know which system to recommend more often.
- Jobs in progress
Deposits collected for courts 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 sport court 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 added scope and what it cost are both visible.
The VersaCourt order for the Beckett job landed this month. I tagged it 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 sport court building business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and labels. A deposit counted too early, tile and coating costs blended together, 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 concrete mixer, striping machine, 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 concrete sub, 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 sport court builders miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Concrete mixer rental
- Striping machine and paint
- Truck and trailer fuel
- Houzz and Angi lead 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 tile and coating swatches
- 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 sport court building year, kept every month.
Deposits start landing in spring and crews stay busy through fall. 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 whether tile or coating jobs carried the summer.
- 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 sport court 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 sport court 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 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 a concrete mixer 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 price a job on an existing pad versus a new pour?
He tags concrete and site work costs to the job, so a build on an existing pad and a job needing a new pour each show their real cost instead of one blended average.
Do you handle sales tax on the surfacing and fencing 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