Commercial facility services
Books and taxes for water cooler and filtration companies.
Monthly cooler rental fees, bottled water delivery routes, a point-of-use filtration install, and a cooler that never came back from a closed office. 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
August came in at $8,500. The point-of-use filtration unit installed at the dental office went on as equipment, not a filter order.
- Cooler rental billingRecurring rental fees
- Route delivery invoicesBottled water delivery
- Culligan bottle orderWater and bottles
- Delivery van fuelVehicle and route
- Filtration install, dental officeMachine placement
Why your books are different
Water cooler and filtration books go wrong in the same four places.
A generalist sees deposits and bills. Your business rents equipment it owns to offices it does not, delivers heavy bottles on a rotating schedule, and sometimes never sees a cooler again after an account closes. When the books do not know that, equipment losses hide inside a good month.
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1
A cooler that never came back looks like nothing happened
An office closes or switches vendors and the cooler sitting in their break room just disappears from view, so the loss of a real asset never shows up as a cost anywhere in the books.
What we doKeeps a running list of coolers and filtration units placed at accounts, so an unreturned unit shows up as a real, trackable loss. -
2
Bottle deposits and rental fees blur into one number
A refundable bottle deposit is not income the same way a monthly rental fee is, and lumping them together overstates what the business actually earned in a given month.
What we doKeeps deposits separate from rental and delivery income, so revenue reflects what was actually earned. -
3
A bulk bottle order lands before the route bills catch up
A big purchase of five-gallon bottles to restock the whole route shows up as one large expense, while the invoices to those accounts trickle in over the following weeks, making the buying month look thin.
What we doKeeps water purchases and route billing visible side by side, so a stock-up week does not read as a loss. -
4
Filtration installs get filed like a filter change
A point-of-use filtration system installed at an office is a piece of equipment, not a routine filter swap, and treating it like a supply cost misses how it should be written off.
What we doFlags filtration installs the day they happen, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a water cooler and filtration company.
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
- Recurring rental feesMonthly cooler and dispenser rental billed to office accounts.
- Bottled water deliveryPer-bottle delivery charges billed on the route.
- Filtration servicePoint-of-use system rental and maintenance billed separately.
- Bottle depositsRefundable deposits held, kept apart from earned income.
Money out
- Water and bottlesBulk five-gallon bottles and cups from Culligan, Sparkletts, or similar.
- Machine placementCoolers, dispensers, and filtration units placed at accounts, tracked as equipment.
- Equipment maintenanceFilter replacement, sanitizing service, and cooler repairs.
- Vehicle and routeFuel, insurance, and repairs for the delivery fleet.
- Route driver wagesDelivery staff, kept apart from office wages.
- Bid and marketing costsProposals and trial offers sent to prospective office accounts.
- Insurance and licensingGeneral liability and any local water handling permits.
What we watch for you
- Equipment loss rate
Coolers and filtration units not returned against how many are placed, so replacement cost is planned, not a surprise.
- Income per account
Rental and delivery income against accounts served, so you can see which accounts are worth the route stop.
- Bottle cost share
Water and bottle cost against delivery revenue, so a supplier price increase does not quietly erode margin.
Ask Gus
Things water cooler and filtration 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 logged it as a lost unit against the equipment list, so it shows up as a real cost instead of just vanishing from the books.
You bought a big Culligan restock to cover the whole route at once, and most of those deliveries get billed next month. I kept water purchases and billing side by side so you can see it evens out.
If you pay him $2,000 or more this year and he is not on payroll, he gets a 1099 by January 31. I keep that list running as the deliveries get covered.
The tax side
The tax side of a water cooler and filtration business.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing. A filtration install filed as a filter change, a fill-in driver paid like a contractor who works like an employee, and a set-aside nobody started until the return was due.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Coolers and filtration systemsCoolers and filtration systems placed at accounts can usually be written off the year you buy them, with bonus depreciation back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA fill-in delivery driver paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list current all year.
- Employee or contractorA driver who delivers your route on your schedule with your van is usually an employee, even if paid per stop. Getting that wrong gets expensive, so Gus asks before it becomes a habit.
- The pass-through deductionA profitable delivery route can usually claim up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income under the pass-through deduction, once the books are right all year.
Deductions water cooler and filtration service companies miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Bulk water bottles
- Filter cartridges
- Cooler and dispenser repairs
- Delivery van fuel and maintenance
- Sanitizing supplies
- Trial units for new accounts
- Uniforms with your logo
- Phone and tablet for route scheduling
- Storage or warehouse rent
- Card processing fees
- Liability insurance
- Local water handling permits
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 water cooler and filtration year, kept every month.
Accounts bill every month with little seasonal swing, so the real work is keeping equipment losses and supply costs in view all year. 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
Route year begins
The prior year's filing is underway, any delivery driver's 1099 is confirmed, and a monthly set-aside begins so nothing is a scramble in April.
- April
Return filed
The return is filed and signed, no scramble for cash since the set-aside has been building all year starting in January.
- July
Summer account check
A look at equipment losses, what you will owe, and whether new accounts this year moved the number.
- October
Before the cold season
Gus takes stock of coolers and filtration units still out on accounts, and flags anything worth doing 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 water cooler and filtration service companies. 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 water cooler and filtration owners ask first.
Can Gus track the coolers I have placed at different offices?
Yes. He keeps a running list of coolers and filtration units placed at accounts, so a unit that never comes back shows up as a real cost, not a mystery.
Bottle deposits come in with regular billing. Does that get mixed up?
No. Refundable deposits are kept apart from rental and delivery income, so what the business actually earned each month stays accurate.
Do I write off a new filtration install all at once?
Often you can. A filtration system installed at an account can usually be deducted the year you buy it, though sometimes spreading the write-off out is the smarter move. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.
A big bottle order made this month look bad. Is that normal?
It happens whenever a bulk restock lands before the accounts it served get billed. Gus keeps water purchases and billing visible side by side so you can see the month is not really thin.
My bookkeeping has fallen behind. Is that a problem?
No. Send whatever statements you have on hand. Gus sorts the route and rental income, the accountant checks it, and you will know where you stand 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