Security & life safety
Books and taxes for storm shelter and safe room installers.
Concrete pours, steel shelter kits, a financed install, and the permit fee that has to clear before the crew shows up. 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
April came in at $16,200. The Castellano install financed through Wisetack paid out $890 short, so I booked the full job as your sale and the lender's cut as a fee.
- Castellano install, financed jobFinanced installation billing
- Wisetack financing feeFinancing fees
- Ready-mix concrete deliveryConcrete and materials
- Steel shelter kit, distributor orderShelter kits and steel
- County building permitPermits and inspections
Why your books are different
Storm shelter installer books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees a job deposit and a materials bill. Your business is concrete and steel bought per job, a permit that has to clear before you break ground, and financing that pays you less than the invoice. When the books do not track a job's real cost against its real payout, a busy season can look profitable when it is not.
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1
Financed installs pay out short
When a homeowner finances an $8,000 safe room through Wisetack or GreenSky, the lender pays you less than the invoice and keeps its fee. Booked as the deposit alone, both your sales and your true cost come out wrong.
What we doBooks the full job as money in and the lender's cut as a financing fee, so your prices and your costs both show up honest. -
2
Concrete and steel costs swing wildly job to job
One in-ground shelter needs a full concrete pour and rebar, while a garage-mounted steel kit needs neither, so materials cost per job varies a lot and a single average number hides which jobs actually pay.
What we doTracks materials cost against each job's revenue, so you can see which install types carry the best margin. -
3
Permit fees and inspection delays get lost in overhead
A county or city permit fee, plus the cost of a delayed start while waiting on inspection, is a real cost of doing the job, but filed as general overhead it disappears into the noise instead of showing up against the jobs that caused it.
What we doKeeps permit and inspection costs tied to the job that needed them, so delays and fees show up where they belong. -
4
FEMA-rated compliance costs look optional
Meeting the standard for a FEMA-rated shelter can mean extra materials, testing, or documentation that a basic install does not need, and if that extra cost is not tracked, a compliant job can look like it earns less than it should.
What we doFlags the extra materials and documentation cost of a compliance-rated install, so its price reflects the real work.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a storm shelter installer.
Set up once for how you bill and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Cash installation billingJobs paid directly by the homeowner.
- Financed installation billingThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
- Retrofit and repair jobsAnchoring, door, or seal repairs on existing shelters.
- Insurance mitigation credit paperwork feesFees for documentation homeowners submit for an insurance discount.
Money out
- Concrete and materialsReady-mix concrete, rebar, and anchoring hardware.
- Shelter kits and steelPrefabricated steel shelter or safe room kits from a distributor.
- Crew wagesPay for installation crews.
- Permits and inspectionsCounty or city permit fees and inspection costs.
- Financing feesWhat the lender kept on a financed install.
- Equipment rentalConcrete mixers, lifts, and excavation equipment rented per job.
What we watch for you
- Materials cost per job
Concrete and steel cost against each job's revenue. Shows which install types carry the best margin.
- Financing cost
What lenders keep on financed installs. Worth knowing before offering it on every job.
- Permit and inspection cost
Fees and delay costs tied to jobs. Shows if a slow county is cutting into margin.
- The set-aside
What you will owe on installs, tracked monthly regardless of season, so April is already handled.
Ask Gus
Things storm shelter installer 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.
The Wisetack financing paid out $890 short. I booked that as a financing fee, so your sales still show the full amount.
Right now in-ground jobs run a thinner margin once concrete and rebar are counted. Worth a look at pricing on those with the accountant.
I keep the extra materials and paperwork cost tied to that job, so you can see whether the price actually covers the extra work involved.
The tax side
The tax side of a storm shelter installer business.
Most of what goes wrong here is job costing and how financed jobs get recorded. Get those right and the rest is timing.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Equipment write-offs for installation gearConcrete mixers, lifts, and other larger installation equipment can often be written off in the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Worker classification for crewsA crew member who works your schedule, uses your equipment, and follows your job assignments is usually an employee, even if paid per job.
- Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026, such as a subcontracted excavation crew, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when materials cost and financing fees are tracked apart on every job all year.
Deductions storm shelter and safe room installers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Ready-mix concrete and rebar
- Steel shelter and safe room kits
- Anchoring hardware
- Equipment rental fees
- Permit and inspection fees
- Crew safety gear
- Truck fuel and maintenance
- Financing and card processing fees
- Lead fees from Angi or Google local services
- Liability insurance
- Warehouse storage for materials
- State contractor licensing
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 storm shelter installer's year, kept every month.
Demand builds ahead of storm season, but taxes come on a schedule the rest of the year. 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
Jobs planned for the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for subcontracted excavation crews is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed ahead of storm season
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, since the set-aside has been building ahead of the season since January.
- July
A midyear install check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and how the season's installs are pacing against the year before.
- October
Before the rush ramps up
Homeowners often plan ahead of the next storm season. Gus looks at equipment worth buying and moves worth making 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 storm shelter and safe room installers. 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 storm shelter installer owners 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.
How does Gus track materials cost for different shelter types?
He ties concrete, steel, and hardware costs to the specific job, so you can see which install type, in-ground or garage-mounted, carries the better margin.
Do permit delays actually cost me money?
They can, through crew downtime and rescheduling. Gus keeps permit and inspection costs tied to the job that needed them, so a slow county shows up in the numbers.
Should FEMA-rated compliance work be priced differently?
It usually should, since it often takes extra materials and documentation. Gus flags that extra cost so pricing can reflect the real work.
My books are behind after a busy storm season. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever job deposits and statements you have. Gus works through each job's materials, financing, and payout, usually within a week.
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