Waste, recycling & environmental services
Books and taxes for stormwater compliance companies.
Inspections triggered by rain events, a monthly retainer covering a dozen active sites, and a SWPPP plan billed apart from the visit itself. Your bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March brought in $8,300. Two rounds of heavy rain triggered rush inspections across half your sites, so I kept those apart from the flat retainer fee.
- GC retainer, 14 sitesRetainer contracts
- Rush inspection batchStorm event visits
- Inspector certification renewalTraining and licensing
- Vehicle mileage reimbursementField travel
- Report software subscriptionDocumentation tools
Why your books are different
Stormwater compliance books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees deposits and a mileage log. Your business bills some sites by a monthly retainer, others by the single visit, and a rainstorm can trigger a wave of rush inspections overnight. Blend all of that and you cannot tell which contracts are actually worth keeping.
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1
Retainer sites and single visits get blended
A dozen sites under one monthly retainer bill differently than a single site paying per visit, but lumped into one inspection income line, you cannot tell whether the retainer rate still covers what those sites actually need.
What we doKeeps retainer contract income separate from per-visit billing, so you can see whether each pricing model still pencils out. -
2
Rush inspections after a storm get lost in the average
A single rain event can trigger inspections across every active site within a day, and that spike often gets blended into ordinary monthly income, hiding how much of the month came from one weather event.
What we doTags storm-triggered rush inspections on their own, so a weather spike shows up as a weather spike, not ordinary growth. -
3
SWPPP plan writing gets mixed with routine visits
Writing or updating a site's stormwater plan is a different kind of work than a routine inspection visit, billed differently and worth a different rate, but often lands in the same income line.
What we doKeeps plan writing fees apart from inspection visit fees, so you can see what each kind of work is actually worth. -
4
A certified inspector paid per visit looks like a contractor
An inspector scheduled by your firm, driving your route, and using your equipment is usually an employee, even when paid a flat rate per completed inspection rather than an hourly wage.
What we doFlags inspector pay arrangements that look unclear, so the accountant weighs in before it becomes a habit.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a stormwater compliance company.
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
- Retainer contract feesMonthly billing covering a set number of active construction sites.
- Per-visit inspection feesSingle-site billing for jobs outside a retainer.
- Storm event rush feesInspections triggered by a rain event, billed apart from routine visits.
- SWPPP plan feesWriting or updating a site's stormwater plan.
Money out
- Inspector wagesPay for certified staff conducting site visits.
- Vehicle travel and mileageDriving between a wide territory of active construction sites.
- Certification and trainingRequired renewal for stormwater inspector credentials.
- Report documentation softwareWhat keeps inspection reports organized and delivered.
- Professional liability insuranceCoverage for compliance and inspection work.
What we watch for you
- Retainer coverage
Whether the monthly retainer rate still covers what those sites actually need inspected.
- Storm event share
How much of the month's income came from one weather event versus steady work.
- Cost per site visit
Travel and inspector time against what each visit actually pays.
- The set-aside
What you will owe across retainer and per-visit income, tracked every month so April is never a scramble.
Ask Gus
Things stormwater compliance 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.
Not the way I book it. Storm-triggered visits sit in their own line, so the spike reads as one weather event, not steady growth.
Yes. Retainer income sits apart from per-visit fees, so you can see whether the flat rate still covers what those sites need.
Not necessarily. Scheduled by you and using your equipment, he is often closer to an employee. I flagged it so the accountant sorts out the right way to pay him.
The tax side
The tax side of a stormwater compliance company.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. Retainer and per-visit income blended, and an inspector paid like a contractor when the arrangement looks like an employee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inspector worker classificationAn inspector scheduled by your firm and using your equipment is usually an employee, even when paid a flat rate per completed inspection.
- Business mileage for site travelMiles driven between construction sites can be deducted at 72.5 cents a mile from January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile from July through December 2026, or by tracking the vehicle's actual costs, whichever works out better for the year.
- Contractor 1099sAn outside inspector or subcontractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated compliance companies 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 stormwater compliance companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Vehicle mileage and travel
- Inspector certification renewal
- Report documentation software
- Professional liability insurance
- Rain gauges and field equipment
- Camera equipment for site photos
- Phone and tablet for field reports
- Professional association dues
- Business use of a home office
- Printing and report delivery
- State environmental training
- Vehicle maintenance and insurance
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 stormwater compliance year, kept every month.
Rain events do not wait for a schedule. Your taxes come on one. 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 inspection year
Last year's return gets started and you get a monthly set-aside, so April is already handled before spring rains bring the year's first rush.
- April
The return goes out
Signed and filed, storm season or not. The monthly set-aside already covered what was owed, so there is no bill waiting to surprise you.
- July
Midyear compliance check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new retainer contracts changed the number.
- October
Before winter storms
Fall storm season brings a new wave of rush inspections. Gus looks at what that means for the number 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 stormwater compliance companies. 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 stormwater compliance owners ask first.
Can Gus keep retainer income separate from per-visit fees?
Yes. Each sits in its own line, so you can see whether a flat retainer rate still covers what those sites actually need.
A rainstorm triggers a wave of rush inspections some months. Does that mess up the numbers?
No. Storm-triggered visits are tagged on their own, so a weather spike shows up as a weather spike, not ordinary growth.
Do SWPPP plan writing fees get mixed with inspection visits?
No. Plan writing sits in its own line, so you can see what that work is actually worth apart from routine visits.
One of our inspectors is only paid per visit. Is that a problem?
It can be. Scheduled by your firm and using your equipment, he is often closer to an employee. Gus flags it so the accountant sorts out the right arrangement.
My books have never separated retainer and per-visit income. Is that fixable?
Yes. Hand over the bank statements you have, retainers and one-off visits all blended together. Gus sorts through the backlog, the accountant checks it, and you will know where you stand 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