Equipment & specialty rentals

Books and taxes for tool rental shops.

Daily drill and saw rentals, weekend contractor accounts, damage waiver fees, and fuel surcharges on gas tools. Gus keeps every rental straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
MarchExample month
$9,200
what you made

March came in at $9,200. Spring projects brought a run of tile saw and concrete mixer rentals, so I kept those apart from your everyday drill and ladder counter traffic.

  • Weekend contractor rental accountStanding contractor accounts
  • Walk-in daily rentals, registerDaily counter rentals
  • Gas tool fuel surchargeFuel surcharges
  • Ace Hardware, replacement bladesRepairs and replacement parts
  • Storefront rentShop rent and utilities
Money in$31,600
Money out$22,400
Set aside for taxes$2,100
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Tool rental books go wrong in the same four places.

A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business is a counter full of drills, saws, and mixers that go out for a day and come back the next, a handful of contractors who rent every week, and a fuel surcharge tacked onto anything with a gas engine. When the books blur those, pricing gets guessed at.

  1. 1

    Daily counter traffic and contractor accounts blur together

    A homeowner renting a tile saw for the weekend and a contractor with a standing weekly tab both show up as the same deposit, so you cannot tell how much of your income depends on steady contractor business versus one-off walk-ins.

    What we doSplits standing contractor accounts from daily counter rentals so you can see how much of the month is dependable.
  2. 2

    Fuel surcharges hide inside the base rental price

    A surcharge tacked on for gas-powered tools like mixers and pressure washers is meant to cover fuel and top-off time, but lumped into the base rate, you cannot tell if the surcharge actually covers what it costs you.

    What we doKeeps fuel surcharge income in its own line so it can be checked against actual fuel and prep costs.
  3. 3

    A damage waiver fee looks the same as a late fee

    Damage waivers, late return charges, and cleaning fees all land as extra money at the counter, and mixed together you cannot tell which one is actually paying for repairs.

    What we doKeeps damage waivers apart from late fees so you can see whether the waiver price actually covers what breaks.
  4. 4

    A tool restock buy reads like a bad week

    Restocking ten new drills and a batch of ladders in one order is a real equipment purchase, but filed as a supply expense it can make a good month look like a loss and skip the write-off equipment gets.

    What we doFlags a bulk tool purchase the day it shows up, logs it as equipment, and routes the write-off decision to the accountant.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a tool rental shop.

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

  • Daily counter rentalsDrills, saws, sanders, and ladders rented by the day at the register.
  • Standing contractor accountsWeekly or monthly tabs for regular contractor customers.
  • Weekend and multi-day rentalsTile saws, mixers, and pressure washers rented for a project.
  • Fuel surchargesThe add-on charge for gas-powered tools.
  • Damage waiversThe fee that covers normal wear without a claim against the renter.

Money out

  • Repairs and replacement partsBlades, belts, filters, and small parts for the rental fleet.
  • Tool purchasesNew drills, saws, and mixers added to the counter.
  • Shop rent and utilitiesStorefront lease, electricity, and heat for the shop.
  • InsuranceGeneral liability and equipment coverage for tools that leave the shop.
  • Register and rental softwareBooqable or similar point-of-sale and rental tracking tools.
  • Local advertisingSignage, local search ads, and contractor referral programs.
  • Staff wagesCounter staff who check tools out and in.

What we watch for you

  • Contractor account share

    Standing accounts against walk-in rentals. It shows how much of the month is already dependable.

  • Fuel surcharge margin

    Surcharge income against actual fuel costs. It tells you if the charge is priced right.

  • Repair cost per tool type

    Which tools are costing the most to keep rentable. A rising number flags what to replace, not repair again.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe in taxes, tracked counter month by counter month, so filing season is never a guess.

Ask Gus

Things tool rental 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.

Bought ten new drills and a couple of ladders in one order. Does that count as equipment or supplies?

Equipment. I logged the whole order that way and flagged it, so the accountant can decide how much gets written off this year.

Why does this month look lower even though the counter was busy?

A restock order for blades and filters landed the same week. I kept it in its own line so you can see it was a supply run, not a slow month.

Do fuel surcharges get taxed separately from the rental price?

No, both count as regular income. I keep them apart in the books just so you can see if the surcharge is actually covering your fuel and prep cost.

The tax side

The tax side of a tool rental shop.

Most of what goes wrong here is a tool restock filed as a supply expense instead of equipment, and counter staff pay that is not tracked apart from tool repairs.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Depreciating the tool fleetDrills, saws, mixers, and ladders bought for the rental counter are usually depreciable equipment. Section 179 expensing and 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025 are often available, and the accountant decides the timing.
  • Contractor 1099sAnyone not on payroll, such as a repair technician who services your fleet, gets a 1099-NEC if paid $2,000 or more in 2026, due January 31.
  • 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 tool rental shops miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Replacement blades and belts
  • Tool oil and lubricant
  • Shop rent and utilities
  • Register and rental software
  • Ladder and mixer repairs
  • Local search and signage ads
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Business liability insurance
  • Fuel for gas-powered rental tools
  • Counter staff wages
  • Card processing fees
  • Shop security system

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 rental year, kept every month.

Home projects start whenever someone is ready. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any subcontracted repair techs is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so filing season is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether the spring home project rush changed the number.

  4. October

    Before the slow months

    Outdoor projects thin out heading into winter in most areas. Gus looks at any tool purchases worth making before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

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 rental 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 rental owners ask first.

Can Gus tell the difference between my regular contractors and one-time renters?

Yes. Standing contractor accounts are kept apart from daily counter rentals, so you can see how much of the month is already dependable before a walk-in customer even shows up.

Do damage waiver fees need to be reported differently than the rental itself?

No, they are taxed the same way as any other counter income. Gus just keeps them in their own category so you can tell if the waiver price is actually covering what breaks.

I just restocked ten new tools. Can that come off my taxes this year?

Often yes. Equipment bought for the rental counter can usually be written off in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. The accountant decides with your whole year in view.

My part-time counter staff also help with repairs. Does that change the books?

It changes where the cost lands, not what you do. Wages stay in payroll. Gus keeps repair time and counter time visible separately so you can see what each side of the job actually costs.

My books are behind because I have been running everything from a notebook. Is that a problem?

No. Hand over the bank statements as they are, notebook and all. Gus builds the categories from scratch, the accountant checks the result, and most owners know where they stand inside 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