Practical Accounting for the Modern Home-Service Owner
Running a lawn-care crew, pressure-washing route, or handyman outfit is hands-on work, but the numbers still decide whether you eat or starve. Solid bookkeeping and up-to-date accounting software keep you paid, tax-compliant, and ready for growth.
Below is a streamlined guide, updated for 2025, with tools designed explicitly for tradespeople rather than corporate accountants.
Why home-service bookkeeping is different
- High volume of small jobs.
You may complete ten tickets a day instead of one big invoice a month. - Mobile operations.
Most transactions happen from a truck or client driveway, so cloud tools and mobile apps beat desktop software. - Mileage and fuel heavy.
Tracking vehicle costs is crucial for taxes and true job costing. - Seasonality.
Cash flow swings between spring surges and winter slowdowns, so real-time numbers help you plan.
Core record-keeping you can’t ignore
| Task | What matters | Best tools (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Daily sales & invoicing | Capture every mow, fix, or wash the same day and let customers pay online. | Jobber, Housecall Pro, or QuickBooks Online + QuickBooks Time for scheduling, estimates, and automatic invoicing. |
| Expense tracking | Snap fuel and supply receipts from your phone, code them to the right category, and store the image for audits. | QuickBooks Online, Wave (free in Canada), Zoho Books with receipt capture. |
| Mileage logging | Each business mile is deductible; accurate logs can save thousands in tax. | MileIQ, Everlance, or the built-in tracker in QuickBooks Self-Employed. |
| Payroll & subcontractors | Track hours, withhold taxes, and issue year-end T4 or 1099 forms. | Gusto (US), Wagepoint (Canada), or QuickBooks Payroll add-on. |
| Cash flow forecasting | Know whether next month’s revenue covers fuel, payroll, and insurance renewals. | Built-in cash flow widgets in Wave or QuickBooks; or a simple Google Sheet updated weekly. |
Five steps to a clean set of books
- Open a business bank account and a dedicated credit card.
Separate personal spending from day one. Sync the feeds into your software so transactions import automatically. - Set up a simple chart of accounts.
Use categories clients and accountants understand: fuel, parts and supplies, subcontractors, equipment rental, and marketing. - Invoice on site.
Email or text the invoice before you leave the driveway; same-day billing cuts cash-flow gaps. - Reconcile weekly.
Match bank feeds to invoices and receipts while the details are still fresh. Ten focused minutes on Friday beats a stressful all-nighter at tax time. - Store digital backups.
Cloud software is great as it also exports monthly PDFs of your P&L, balance sheet, and cash-flow report to Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud.
Picking the right software
- All-in-one field service apps such as Jobber or Housecall Pro handle scheduling, GPS routing, quotes, invoices, payments, and basic reporting. Perfect if you want one dashboard and minimal setup.
- General accounting suites such as QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, Xero, or Wave offer deeper bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, and payroll integrations. Pair them with a field-service app or use their built-in time tracking and invoicing.
- Free or low-cost starters. Wave remains free for core accounting and payments in Canada and the US. Spreadsheet templates still work for a one-person side gig, but plan to upgrade once revenue passes five to ten thousand dollars a month.
Tax and compliance checkpoints
- Sales tax. Register for GST/HST in Canada or state sales tax in the US as soon as you near the threshold. Field-service apps can auto-apply the correct rate by location.
- Estimated taxes. Use your profit reports to set aside a percentage each month, preventing ugly surprises in April.
- Insurance audits. General liability and commercial auto carriers often ask for year-end revenue and payroll numbers. Accurate books speed the audit and may lower premiums.
Quick troubleshooting guide
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix today |
|---|---|---|
| Cash in the bank but no profit on paper | Personal spending mixed with business funds. | Open a separate account and transfer a fixed “owner draw” weekly. |
| Endless data entry | Using paper invoices and manual spreadsheets. | Switch to cloud invoicing that syncs with accounting software. |
| Surprise tax bill | No quarterly estimates or improper categorization of write-offs. | Run a quarterly P&L, then send to your accountant for provisional tax guidance. |
Takeaway
A service business lives or dies by efficiency: on the job site and in the books. Choose one cloud platform you will actually use, issue every invoice the same day, and reconcile weekly. Do that and your numbers will tell you exactly when to add a second crew, buy a new trailer, or ride out the slow season with confidence.