Plumbing & water

Books and taxes for whole-house repiping specialists.

A multi-day repipe collected in three draws, a drywall crew subcontracted to patch behind you, multiple permit inspections, and financing on a bill that can run past fifteen thousand dollars. Gus sorts all of it, 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
SeptemberExample month
$19,100
what you made

September came in at $19,100. The Ridgeline house repipe wrapped up over three weeks and three draws, so I only counted the final draw as income once the last inspection passed.

  • Final draw, Ridgeline house repipeRepiping jobs
  • EnerBank payoutFinanced repipes
  • Drywall patch crew, subcontractedSubcontracted patch work
  • City permit and second inspection feePermits and inspections
  • SiteOne invoice, PEX and manifoldsPipe and fittings
Money in$81,400
Money out$62,300
Set aside for taxes$6,800
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Repiping books go wrong in the same few places.

A generalist sees one big check at the end of a job. Your business collects in draws over a multi-week job, hires a drywall crew to patch behind you, and pulls multiple permits per house. When the books do not know that, one house can make three different months look wrong.

  1. 1

    Draw payments get counted as income the day they land

    A whole-house repipe often collects a third up front, a third partway through, and the rest at completion, over two or three weeks. Booking each draw as income when received makes the early weeks look flush and the finish week, when the real costs land, look thin.

    What we doTracks each draw against the job and moves it into income as the work is actually completed, so no single week looks better or worse than it really was.
  2. 2

    The drywall sub's invoice looks like your own labor cost

    A subcontracted drywall crew that patches behind your pipe work gets paid out of the same job total, and mixed into your own labor cost, you cannot tell what your actual plumbing labor margin is on a repipe.

    What we doKeeps subcontracted patch work in its own line, separate from your own crew's wages, so your true labor cost per job stays visible.
  3. 3

    Multiple inspections per house add up

    A whole-house repipe often needs a rough-in inspection and a final inspection, sometimes more if a section fails the first time, and each one costs a fee that is easy to lose inside a single job total.

    What we doKeeps permit and inspection costs in their own line, tied to the job, so a house that needed extra inspections shows its real cost.
  4. 4

    Financing on a five-figure job is a real cost

    When a $14,000 repipe gets financed, the lender's fee is a meaningful number, not a rounding error, and folded into the sale it hides how much offering financing costs you across a year of big jobs.

    What we doBooks the full invoice as money in and the lender's cut as its own fee, so the real cost of financing large jobs is visible.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a repiping specialist.

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

  • Repiping jobsWhole-house PEX or copper repipes, billed in draws.
  • Financed repipesThe full job amount, with the lender's cut booked as a fee.
  • Partial repipesSingle-section or single-floor repiping, smaller than a full house.
  • Fixture reconnectionReconnecting faucets and toilets as part of a repipe, billed apart from the pipe work itself.

Money out

  • Crew wagesKept apart so you can see labor against the jobs it ran.
  • Pipe and fittingsPEX, copper, and manifolds from the supply house.
  • Subcontracted patch workDrywall, paint, and flooring subs who work behind your crew.
  • Permits and inspectionsRough-in and final inspection fees, including any redo inspections.
  • Truck and fuelFuel, repairs, insurance, and loan interest for the fleet.
  • Lead fees and marketingGoogle local services and Angi leads for repiping jobs.
  • Financing and card feesWhat the lender, Square, or Stripe kept before you got paid.

What we watch for you

  • Draw backlog

    How much collected draw money belongs to jobs not yet finished.

  • Subcontracted patch cost per job

    What drywall and patch subs run on average, so bids account for it.

  • Inspection redo rate

    How often a house needs a second inspection, and what that costs you.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things repiping specialists 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 Ridgeline job finished but this month looks better than I expected. Is that right?

The final draw landed and the job is done, so it counts now. Earlier draws were tracked against the job, not booked all at once, so this is the real number.

How much of my job cost is actually the drywall sub versus my own crew?

I keep those separate. Your crew's wages and the sub's invoice each have their own line, so your actual plumbing labor margin is easy to see.

I want to buy a second PEX crimping rig for the new crew. Does that all come off this year?

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 repiping business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing: draws counted too early, sub invoices mixed with your own labor, and permit costs that disappear into one job total.

What your return has to get right

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

  • When income countsA draw collected before a section of work is complete is not yet fully earned income. Gus tracks each draw against the job so it lands on the books when the work is actually done.
  • Subcontractor 1099sA drywall or patch subcontractor not on your payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
  • Tools and crimping equipmentPipe crimping tools and other equipment can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • 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 whole-house repiping specialists miss

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

  • Truck fuel and repairs
  • PEX and copper pipe
  • Crimping and pressing tools
  • Manifolds and fittings
  • Permit and inspection fees
  • Uniforms with your logo
  • Google local services ads
  • Phone and tablet for dispatch
  • License and bonding renewal
  • Financing and card fees
  • Drop cloths and floor protection
  • Continuing education courses

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 repiping specialist's year, kept every month.

Big repipe jobs come in waves, often after a burst pipe scare in the neighborhood. 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 is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April 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 backlog of finished draws changed the number.

  4. October

    Before winter burst season

    Cold snaps drive new repipe leads after old pipes fail. Before that, Gus looks at equipment you might buy and anything worth doing 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 whole-house repiping specialists. 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 repiping specialists ask first.

How does Gus handle the draws on a multi-week repipe?

He tracks each draw against the job and moves it into income as the work is completed, so no single week of a long job looks better or worse than it really was.

Can Gus keep my drywall sub's invoice separate from my own crew's wages?

Yes. Subcontracted patch work gets its own line so your actual plumbing labor cost stays visible.

My bigger repipes usually get financed through EnerBank. Does that complicate the books?

Not for Gus. He books the full invoice as income and EnerBank's fee as its own cost, so a financed fifteen-thousand-dollar job still shows its real price.

Do I write off a new crimping rig all at once?

Often you can, though it is worth weighing against the rest of your year. Gus keeps the purchase logged as equipment rather than a supply run, and the accountant decides how to handle the write-off.

Can Gus track inspection costs when a house needs a redo?

Yes. Permit and inspection fees, including any redo, get their own line so you can see the real compliance cost on that house.

I have a few repipe jobs with draws I never got around to logging properly. Can Gus sort that out?

Yes. Send the statements covering those jobs. Gus will track each draw back to the job it belongs to and get your numbers current, even working through more than one job at a time.

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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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