Collision & appearance
Books and taxes for vehicle wrap shops.
Full color-change wraps, recurring fleet branding contracts, vinyl bought by the roll, and a plotter running design proofs before the vinyl is ever cut. Gus sorts all of 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 came in at $17,600. The delivery fleet's quarterly rebrand order landed this month, so I kept that contract income apart from one-off retail wraps.
- Fleet contract, quarterly orderFleet contracts
- Customer, color change wrapRetail wraps
- Avery Dennison vinyl orderVinyl and print stock
- Installer commission, R. NashCommission pay
- Plotter maintenancePrint equipment
Why your books are different
A wrap shop's books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and vinyl bills. Your business prints and cuts its own graphics, installs full wraps that take days, and often works recurring fleet contracts alongside one-off retail jobs. When those get mixed together, you cannot tell what a fleet account is really worth.
-
1
Design revisions get billed separately, then get lost
A customer asks for three rounds of proofs before approving art, and a small design fee gets charged on top of the wrap. Left unlabeled, it looks like a random small deposit instead of part of the job.
What we doTies design fees back to the wrap job they belong to, so the full job total is visible in one place. -
2
A vinyl roll covers several jobs before it runs out
A roll of cast vinyl bought for a big fleet order also gets used on retail jobs weeks later. Expensed the day it is bought, one week looks bad and the following weeks look better than they are.
What we doKeeps vinyl and print stock in one steady materials line and tells you when a big roll order is the reason a week looks thin. -
3
A fleet contract and a retail wrap look like the same kind of sale
A recurring quarterly fleet rebrand and a one-time customer color change wrap both show up as deposits, but they behave completely differently and mixing them hides how much steady income the fleet side really brings.
What we doKeeps fleet contract income separate from retail wraps, so you can see how much of the business is steady versus one-off. -
4
A plotter or laminator is not a supply purchase
A print and cut plotter or a laminator can cost as much as a used truck. Filed as supplies, it wrecks the month and can be missed when it is time to write it off.
What we doFlags equipment purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a wrap shop.
Set up once for how wraps get sold and what a job costs in vinyl and time. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Retail wrapsOne-off color change and partial wraps paid by a single customer.
- Fleet contractsRecurring branding work for a delivery fleet or local business, tracked apart from retail.
- Design feesArt and proof charges tied back to the job they were billed for.
- Wrap removal jobsJobs that strip old vinyl rather than install new.
Money out
- Vinyl and print stockCast vinyl and print media from Avery Dennison or 3M.
- Print equipmentPlotters and laminators, logged so they get written off right.
- Commission payWhat installers are paid per wrap, apart from hourly wages.
- Design software and fontsSubscriptions used to produce proofs and print files.
- Bay and booth costsRent, lighting, and climate control for clean installs.
- MarketingBefore-after photos, a demo vehicle, and local ads.
What we watch for you
- Fleet share
How much of your income comes from recurring fleet contracts versus one-off retail wraps.
- Vinyl cost share
Vinyl and print cost against sales, so pricing keeps up with material costs.
- Install hours per job
How long a wrap actually takes against what it was quoted, so pricing stays accurate.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things wrap shop 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.
I keep fleet income separate from retail wraps, so you can watch each one on its own instead of guessing from one combined number.
I tied it back to that wrap job, so the full job total shows up in one place instead of looking like a random small deposit.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
The tax side
The tax side of a wrap shop.
Most of what goes wrong here is timing and mixing revenue types. Design fees that look random, vinyl bought in bulk skewing a slow week, and an installer paid like a contractor who works like an employee.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Print equipment write-offsA plotter, laminator, or cutting table can usually be written off the year you buy it. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sAn installer or designer not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- Employee or contractorAn installer who works your schedule, uses your bay, and takes direction on every job usually looks like an employee, even if paid by commission.
- The pass-through deductionMost shop owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when fleet and retail income are tracked correctly all year.
Deductions vehicle wrap shops miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Vinyl and print media
- Plotter blades and laminate
- Design software subscriptions
- Bay lighting and climate control
- Squeegees and heat guns
- Demo vehicle costs
- Card processing fees
- Uniforms and shop coats
- Trade certification courses
- Marketing and before-after photos
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 wrap shop's year, kept every month.
Fleet contracts renew on their own schedule. Your taxes come on a schedule too. 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 year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list is ready, 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.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a big fleet order changed the number.
- October
Before the season slows
Before install bookings thin out for winter, Gus looks at print equipment worth buying 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 vehicle wrap 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 wrap shop owners ask first.
Can Gus separate my fleet contracts from one-off retail wraps?
Yes. He keeps recurring fleet income in its own line, so you can watch that side of the business grow or slow apart from single-customer jobs.
I charge a small design fee before the wrap gets installed. How does that get tracked?
It gets tied back to the wrap job it belongs to, so the full job total is visible in one place instead of looking like an unrelated deposit.
My installers get paid commission per wrap. Does that change the books?
It changes where the money goes, not what you do. Commission stays its own line, so you can see install labor against what each wrap brought in.
Do I write off a new plotter or laminator all at once?
Often you can. Equipment bought for the business can usually be deducted in the year you buy it, and sometimes spreading it out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides.
I buy vinyl in bulk to save money. Does that mess up my monthly numbers?
No. Gus keeps vinyl and print stock in one steady line and tells you when a bulk order, not a bad week, is behind a thin-looking month.
My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, 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