Small manufacturers & fabricators
Books and taxes for tool and die shops.
A die build milestone payment, a tryout run fee, tool steel and grinding costs, and an ongoing die maintenance contract. Your own bookkeeper stays on it all year, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March came in at $21,700. The Kessler Stamping die is only 60 percent billed, so the tool steel bought this month is tracked as work still in progress.
- Kessler Stamping, die milestoneDie build milestone payments
- Overton Metal, maintenance contractDie maintenance contracts
- Tool steel bar stockTool steel and materials
- Wire EDM consumablesGrinding and EDM supplies
- Tryout press time rentalTryout and sampling
Why your books are different
Tool and die books go wrong across a build that can outlast the quarter.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your shop can spend months designing and grinding a single die before a customer ever runs a tryout, then bills in stages while carrying tool steel and machine time that has not yet paid off. When the books do not track a build's real stage, a heavy grinding month looks like a loss and a milestone payment looks like the whole job.
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1
A milestone payment looks like the finished job
A die build can be billed at design approval, roughing, and final tryout, but if each payment is treated as a full sale, the build's real profit is impossible to see until every stage is actually done.
What we doTracks each milestone payment against the full build contract, so you can see where a die actually stands financially at any point. -
2
Design and engineering time gets lost before machining starts
Real hours go into designing a die before a single piece of tool steel is cut, and if that time is not tracked, an early month can look unproductive when the hardest thinking work already happened.
What we doKeeps design and engineering time in its own line so that work shows up as real progress on the build. -
3
A tryout run looks like a routine expense
Renting press time to test a new die and run sample parts for customer approval costs real money, and if it is not tracked against the build it belongs to, it just looks like an odd, unexplained bill.
What we doTags tryout and sampling costs to the die they are proving out, so that cost is visible against the build's price. -
4
Maintenance contracts blend into new build revenue
Ongoing die maintenance and repair for tools already in production is a steadier, different kind of income than building a new die from scratch, and lumped together neither shows its real pattern.
What we doKeeps die maintenance contracts separate from new build revenue, so each shows its true contribution to the shop.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a tool and die shop.
Set up once for how die builds and maintenance work get paid and what a build costs across its stages. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Die build milestone paymentsStaged billing tied to design, roughing, and tryout.
- Die maintenance contractsOngoing repair and upkeep for tools already in production.
- Tryout and sampling feesWhat a customer pays toward proving out a new die.
- Rush and expedite feesThe premium for compressing a build's timeline.
Money out
- Tool steel and materialsDie steel, punches, and inserts.
- Grinding and EDM suppliesWire, grinding wheels, and consumables specific to die work.
- Design and engineering timeHours spent before machining begins.
- Tryout and samplingPress time and material used to prove out a build.
- Equipment loan or leasePayments on grinders, wire EDM, and CNC equipment.
- Shop rent and utilitiesBuilding costs for the grinding and machining floor.
- CalibrationGauge and CMM checks that keep die precision verified.
What we watch for you
- Build margin at completion
What a die actually earned once every stage payment and cost lands, not just the first milestone.
- Design hours recovered
Whether engineering time actually gets covered by what the build bills.
- Maintenance contract share
How much of the shop's income comes from steady maintenance versus new builds.
- Days to get paid
How long a milestone invoice sits before a customer actually pays it.
Ask Gus
Things tool and die 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.
No, and I don't book it that way. I track it against the full build contract, so the die's real margin only shows once every stage is in.
It should, and I track design hours on their own, so that work shows up as real progress instead of a quiet, unproductive-looking month.
If he is not on payroll and you pay him $2,000 or more this year, he gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running as we go.
The tax side
The tax side of a tool and die shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on milestone billing and knowing what tool steel and work in progress are worth at year end.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Grinders and wire EDM equipmentGrinding machines, wire EDM, and CNC equipment can usually be written off, often in the year they are bought. Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000 and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Tool steel and work in processDie steel on hand and builds partway through get valued at year end and matched to what actually sold, rather than expensed the day they were bought.
- Credit for die design workTime spent developing a new die design or solving a real tolerance or forming problem can sometimes earn a credit. The accountant looks at what the work actually involved.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated shops can take up to 20 percent of profit off taxable income. It comes out right when die milestones and tool steel on hand are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions tool and die shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Tool steel and die inserts
- Wire EDM consumables
- Grinding wheels and coolant
- Gauge blocks and CMM calibration
- CAD and die design software
- Tryout press time rental
- Safety glasses and hearing protection
- Freight on incoming steel
- Shop uniforms
- Trade certifications
- Small hand tools
- Fixture materials
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 tool and die shop year, kept every month.
Builds run on their own multi-month schedule, not a season. Your taxes still run on one. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Dies planned
Year end tool steel and open builds get valued, last year's return gets started, and your monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Die build filed
The accountant files and signs your return. Since the set-aside has been running since January, a quarter deep in a long die build does not turn into a scramble.
- July
Midyear tooling check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new die builds this year changed the number.
- October
Before year's close
Gus looks at any grinder or EDM buy worth making before December and flags it for the accountant's call on depreciation.
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 tool and die shops. 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 tool and die owners ask first.
Can Gus handle a die build billed in stages over several months?
Yes. He tracks each milestone against the full contract, so the build's real margin only shows once every stage is billed and complete.
Do we have to change how we quote a die build?
No. Keep quoting die builds however you already do. Gus reads it off your bank statement, and if a milestone payment is unclear he asks once and remembers your answer.
Can Gus separate maintenance contract income from new build income?
Yes. They show different patterns of income, so keeping them apart shows how much of the shop's revenue is steady versus project-based.
We spend a lot of time designing before we ever cut steel. Does that get tracked?
Yes. Design and engineering hours get their own line, so that work shows up as real progress even before machining starts.
Our books fell behind chasing a big die build this year. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts milestone payments and maintenance contracts apart, the accountant checks the result, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
Do I write off a new wire EDM machine all at once?
Often you can. A grinder or wire EDM machine bought for the shop can usually be deducted the year it is bought, though sometimes spreading it out fits the year better. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
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