Small manufacturers & fabricators
Books and taxes for trailer manufacturers.
A dealer floor plan payment, a custom direct order, a steel frame stock order, and an axle and hitch supplier bill. 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
April came in at $19,500. The dealer floor plan payout landed short of invoice, so I booked the full sale and the floor plan fee as its own cost.
- Prairie Trailer Sales, floor planDealer sales
- Direct custom order, Henley RanchCustom direct orders
- Steel frame stockRaw material
- Axle and hitch supplierAxles and running gear
- Paint line suppliesFinishing
Why your books are different
Trailer manufacturer books go wrong between the dealer and the direct order.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your shop welds steel frames, bolts on axles and running gear, and ships units both to dealers on floor plan terms and direct to customers who order custom. When the books do not separate those channels, dealer payouts that land short and custom builds that take months both get read wrong.
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1
Dealer floor plan payouts land short of invoice
A dealer selling your trailer through floor plan financing pays you less than the sale price and keeps a fee, and if the deposit alone is booked as the sale, both your sales and your true costs come out wrong.
What we doBooks the full sale as money in and the floor plan fee as its own cost, so your numbers stay honest on both sides. -
2
A steel price swing never reaches a standard model's price
Steel frame stock can move noticeably in price over a production run, and a trailer priced in January can cost more to build by summer if the shop is not watching.
What we doTracks material cost as a share of what came in, so a price jump gets caught before a season of orders falls behind it. -
3
Custom builds and standard models blend together
A standard utility trailer built to a set spec and a custom livestock or equipment trailer built to one buyer's request cost very differently, and lumped together neither shows its real margin.
What we doKeeps custom direct orders separate from standard dealer stock, so each shows its true profit. -
4
VIN and certification costs disappear into overhead
Assigning a VIN and meeting trailer certification requirements takes real administrative time and fees per unit, and it is easy to let that cost blend into general shop overhead where it is never seen again.
What we doKeeps VIN and certification costs in their own line so the real per-unit cost of compliance stays visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a trailer manufacturer.
Set up once for how dealer and direct sales get paid and what a trailer costs to build. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Dealer salesUnits sold through dealer floor plan financing, the full sale price booked with the floor plan fee tracked apart.
- Custom direct ordersTrailers built to a specific buyer's request, sold direct.
- Parts and serviceReplacement axles, hitches, and repair work on units already sold.
- Warranty reimbursementPayments from a parts supplier covering a warranty repair.
Money out
- Raw materialSteel tube, angle, and sheet stock for frames and decking.
- Axles and running gearAxles, hubs, brakes, and suspension components.
- FinishingPaint, primer, and coating line supplies.
- Floor plan and financing feesWhat a dealer's lender keeps before you get paid.
- Shop rent and utilitiesBuilding costs for the welding and paint bays.
- Equipment loan or leasePayments on welders, press brakes, and the paint line.
- VIN and certification feesPer-unit costs to assign and certify each trailer.
What we watch for you
- Margin by build type
Standard dealer units against custom direct orders, so pricing reflects what each really earns.
- Material cost share
Steel and axle cost as a percent of sales. A jump means quotes need a look.
- Floor plan cost
What dealer financing keeps on each sale, worth knowing before expanding that channel.
- Per-unit compliance cost
VIN and certification cost per trailer, tracked so it does not vanish into overhead.
Ask Gus
Things trailer manufacturer 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 dealer's floor plan lender kept a fee before paying out. I booked the full sale and the fee as its own cost, so your sales still show the full amount.
No, I track it as work in progress so the materials bought early on do not make this quarter look worse than it is.
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 trailer manufacturing business.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing on floor plan sales and knowing what steel and axle stock is still on hand at year end.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Welders, press brakes, and paint linesWelders, press brakes, and the paint line can usually be written off the year you buy them, often at the full purchase price. Bonus depreciation runs at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025, with Section 179 covering up to $2,560,000.
- Steel and running gear on handFrame stock, axles, and hardware bought ahead and sitting in the shop at year end get valued and matched against what actually sold, rather than expensed the day they were bought.
- Heavy vehicle depreciation capA heavy work truck over 6,000 pounds bought for the shop still gets Section 179, but the deduction is capped at $32,000 rather than the full purchase price.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when dealer floor plan fees and steel cost are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions trailer manufacturers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Welding wire and shielding gas
- Steel frame and decking stock
- Axles and hub hardware
- Paint and primer supplies
- VIN and certification fees
- Safety gear and welding hoods
- Trade show and dealer show costs
- Freight on incoming steel
- Shop uniforms
- Small hand tools
- Forklift maintenance
- Waste and scrap metal hauling
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 trailer manufacturing year, kept every month.
Orders come from dealers and direct buyers on their own schedule, though building and hauling season lifts demand. Your taxes still run on their own schedule. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Builds planned
Year end steel and axle stock get valued, last year's return gets started, and your monthly set-aside is planned so April is already handled.
- April
Build season filed
The accountant files and signs your return. A quarter heavy on steel purchases does not turn into a scramble, since the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Midyear fleet check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether spring building season demand changed the number.
- October
Before December ends
Gus reviews any welder, press brake, or heavy work truck worth buying before year end and flags it so the accountant can make the call on how it gets written off.
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 trailer manufacturers. 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 trailer manufacturers ask first.
Can Gus handle sales that go through dealer floor plan financing?
Yes. He books the full sale price as money in and whatever the dealer's lender kept as its own cost, so your sales stay accurate and the fee still counts as a deduction.
We sell some units through dealers and build others direct to a customer's spec. Should those be tracked differently?
Yes, and Gus does that automatically. Standard dealer units and custom direct orders show different margins, so keeping them apart keeps both honest.
Do we have to change how we quote a custom build?
No. Keep quoting builds the way you already do. Gus reads it off your bank statement, and if a dealer payout looks off he asks once and remembers your answer.
Do VIN and certification fees count toward a unit's cost?
Yes, and Gus keeps them in their own line so you can see the real per-unit cost of getting a trailer certified and titled.
Our books are behind after a busy building season. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts dealer floor plan payouts and direct orders alike, the accountant checks the result, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
Do I write off a new welder or press brake all at once?
Often you can. A welder or press brake bought for the business can usually be deducted the year it is bought, though sometimes spreading it out fits a shop's 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