Commercial & custom builders
Books and taxes for timber frame builders.
Weeks of joinery cut in the shop before a frame ever leaves the yard, a raising day crew paid by the event, SIP panels closing in the shell, and the occasional standalone truss sold on its own. Gus sorts 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 made $24,000. The Alder Ridge frame finished joinery in the shop, so I moved those weeks of labor into that job's cost instead of general shop overhead.
- Alder Ridge progress drawProgress billing
- Standalone truss saleTruss sales
- Douglas fir timber orderTimber package
- Insulspan SIP orderSIP panels
- Raising day crew, day rateErection labor
Why your books are different
Timber frame builder books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees a lumber bill and a construction check. Most of your value gets built in a shop weeks before anyone sees a frame on site, a raising crew shows up for one big day of paid labor, and SIP panels close the building in days once the frame is standing. When the books cannot follow the work between the shop and the site, a profitable job looks thin.
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1
Shop joinery hours disappear into overhead
A crew spends three weeks cutting mortise and tenon joints for the Alder Ridge frame before it ever leaves the shop. If those hours get logged as general shop time instead of against that specific job, the frame looks cheaper than it actually was to build and the shop looks less busy than it is.
What we doCodes shop labor to the specific frame being cut, so the real cost of the joinery shows up against the job it belongs to. -
2
A one-day raising event hides a season of work
The crane, the raising crew, and the day rate labor all land on the books in a single day, while the shop work behind that day stretched back weeks. A generalist bookkeeper sees one expensive day and misses the story.
What we doTies the raising day's costs to the same job as the shop hours that came before it, so the full picture of what a frame cost is in one place. -
3
SIP panels and timber packages get lumped together
Structural insulated panels closing in the shell are a different cost and a different supplier than the timber package itself, but a generalist bookkeeper often just calls both materials.
What we doKeeps timber packages and SIP panels in their own lines, so you can see what the frame cost against what it cost to close it in. -
4
Standalone truss sales blend into home sales
Selling an accent truss to a customer building their own home is a different, usually higher-margin business than a full timber frame build, but if it lands in the same revenue line, you cannot tell which side of the business is actually paying you.
What we doKeeps standalone truss sales in their own category, separate from full timber frame contracts.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a timber frame builder.
Set up once to split shop work from raising day and truss sales, and an accountant checks it every month.
Money in
- Progress billingDraws paid as shop work, raising, and finish stages complete.
- DepositsMoney collected upfront to start joinery on a custom frame.
- Truss salesStandalone accent trusses sold apart from a full home build.
- Final paymentThe balance collected once the frame and envelope are finished.
- Change order billingAdded timber accents or upgrades, billed apart from the base contract.
Money out
- Timber packagesDouglas fir, oak, or other structural timber bought for the frame.
- SIP panelsStructural insulated panels bought from suppliers like Insulspan to close the shell.
- Shop laborWages for joinery cut in the shop before the frame leaves the yard.
- Raising day crewDay-rate labor and crane costs for the day the frame goes up.
- Shop rent and utilitiesRent, power, and heat for the timber shop.
- Equipment and toolingTimber framing chisels, boring machines, and shop tools.
- Insurance and bondingGeneral liability and any bonding required on larger contracts.
What we watch for you
- Job margin
Profit once timber, SIP panels, shop labor, and raising day costs are all in.
- Shop hours per frame
Joinery time against the contract price, since labor is most of what you sell.
- Truss sales share
How much revenue comes from standalone trusses versus full home builds.
- Deposits outstanding
Frames paid for but not yet cut, so a quiet month is not really behind.
Ask Gus
Things timber frame 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.
Yes. I code shop labor to the specific frame being cut, so the real cost of that joinery shows up against the job, not as general shop overhead.
No. I tie the raising day's cost to the same job as the shop weeks before it, so you see the full cost of the frame in one place, not one expensive-looking day.
I keep it in its own category, since it is usually a different margin than a full build. Worth tracking separately if it becomes a bigger part of the business.
The tax side
The tax side of a timber frame building business.
Most of what goes wrong here is where the labor gets counted. Weeks of shop time before a frame ever ships, and a single expensive raising day that needs the shop hours behind it to make sense.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Long-term contract incomeA custom frame that spans more than one tax year between shop cutting and final raising sometimes has to show income as it is earned rather than only when billed. Gus flags multi-year jobs for the accountant to review.
- Equipment write-offsBoring machines, chisels, and shop equipment the business owns outright can usually be written off in the year purchased, up to $2,560,000 under Section 179, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- Subcontractor 1099sAny raising day crew or finish sub not on payroll who is paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current across every frame.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of qualified business income off their taxable income, with limits starting above $201,750 for a single filer and $403,500 for joint filers.
Deductions timber frame builders miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Timber framing chisels and tools
- Boring machine maintenance
- Shop rent and utilities
- Crane rental for raising day
- Safety gear and PPE
- General liability insurance
- Bonding premiums
- Building permit fees
- Continuing education
- Uniforms with your logo
- Phone for job scheduling
- Truck and fleet fuel
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 timber frame builder's year, kept every month.
Shop work runs year round even when raising days wait on weather. Your team keeps you ahead of the tax calendar through 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 subcontractor 1099 list gets finalized, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January no matter how the raising schedule moved.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand on every frame in the shop and every raising completed, and whether this year's orders are ahead of last year's.
- October
Before year end
A look at shop equipment worth buying and any moves worth making before December closes the books on the year.
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 timber frame 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 timber frame builders ask first.
Do you track shop joinery time against the specific frame?
Yes. Labor cut in the shop gets coded to the job it belongs to, so the real cost of a frame's joinery shows up against that job instead of blending into general shop overhead.
Raising day costs a lot in one shot with the crane and crew. Does that throw off the month?
No. That day's cost gets tied to the same job as the shop weeks that came before it, so the full picture of what a frame cost is in one place, not one expensive-looking day.
We sell standalone trusses to owner-builders sometimes. Does that count differently than a full home?
Yes. Truss sales are kept in their own category, separate from full timber frame contracts, since the margin usually runs differently.
SIP panels and the timber package come from different suppliers. Do you keep those apart?
Yes. The timber package and the SIP panels that close in the shell are tracked in their own lines, so you can see what the frame cost against what it cost to close it up.
Our books are behind from a busy shop season. Can you catch them up?
Yes. Send the bank statements and job records you have. Gus sorts income and cost by job, and most owners know where each frame stands 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