Bookkeeping for plumbing companies on QuickBooks Online.
Books and Trucks does monthly bookkeeping for plumbing companies in QuickBooks Online, from $599 a month, or $995 a month with ServiceTitan reconciliation and job costing, and cleans up all past books free when you start.
Service calls, drain work, water heaters and repipes all have to land in the books correctly. We close your books every month in QuickBooks Online, file your sales tax, and put the numbers in one dashboard.
Checked by the Books and Trucks team.
Booked calls: weekdays, 9am to 5pm Eastern. By phone, or 30 minutes on Teams.
Not ready for a call? Get a free look at your books
Three things plumbing owners tell us about their books
“I write up the invoices at night after the last call.”
“We were busy all summer and the bank balance does not show it.”
“I do not know which jobs actually make money.”
How we set up the books for a plumbing company
Income split by type of work
Service and repair calls, repipes and remodels, and new construction each get their own income account in QuickBooks. Your monthly reports then show which kind of work brings in the money and which one carries the best margin.
Water heaters and fixtures
Water heaters, fixtures and sewer line materials go to their own cost of goods sold account, apart from small parts, so the margin on installs shows in your monthly reports. On the ServiceTitan plan they are also tied to each job.
Parts on the trucks
Under the IRS small business rules, a company under the gross receipts limit can treat the parts it keeps on hand as materials and supplies, deducted in the year they are used. Your CPA picks the method, and we set up QuickBooks to follow it.
Permits and inspection fees
City permits and inspection fees you pay for customers go to their own account, so each month you can check that they were billed back and did not come out of your margin.
Memberships, backflow contracts and deposits
Drain memberships and annual backflow testing paid up front sit in a deferred revenue account until the visit is done, the same way ServiceTitan books a membership and recognizes it per completed visit. Repipes and sewer replacements with a deposit run from the estimate through progress invoices and a customer deposits liability, so the month the cash arrived and the month the work happened both read correctly.
Source: ServiceTitan Help, Configure recurring service types for deferred revenue
Licenses, bonds and insurance spread over the year
Most states and some cities license plumbers, and the license, the contractor bond, continuing education and the annual liability and auto policies all renew on fixed dates. We book them to prepaid expenses and release a twelfth each month, so one month does not carry a year of cost, and we keep the renewal calendar because a lapsed license voids permits.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters
Overtime on the blended rate
On-call pay, spiffs on water heater upsells and sewer commissions count toward the regular rate when overtime is calculated under federal wage rules, whatever the pay basis. Each one gets its own payroll item and ledger account on the ServiceTitan plan, so the overtime math, the job cost and the W-2 are right.
Source: US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 56C, Bonuses under the FLSA
Four plans for plumbing companies
Every plan side by side, with what each one includes, is on the bookkeeping pricing page. Run more than one trade? We also keep books for drain cleaning companies, septic and pumping companies and HVAC shops.
Three steps, and the first two are free
- 1
A free look at your books
With read-only access, we show you where your books are behind or do not match, within three business days. No charge, no obligation.
- 2
A short call
You tell us how the shop runs today: which software, how many trucks, how far behind the books are. We tell you plainly whether we are a fit and agree the fee in writing.
- 3
Handover in 30 days
We take over from your current setup, clean up all your past books at no charge, and your dashboard is live by the end of the first month.
After that, the month runs the same way every time. We categorize every transaction, reconcile every bank and card account, and file sales tax for the states you work in. Then you get thirty minutes with your accountant on what the numbers say and what to do about them.
We work inside the software you already use
QuickBooks Online
We work inside your own QuickBooks Online file as an accountant user. You keep ownership and full access, and Intuit does not count an invited accountant toward your user limit.
Source: Intuit, Invite accountant users
ServiceTitan
ServiceTitan sends invoices, payments, expenses and sales tax to QuickBooks Online through its own integration. Every month we check that what arrived in QuickBooks matches ServiceTitan, including merchant fees and financing deposits.
Payroll
Plumbers, apprentices and office staff, including overtime and spiffs, on Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, ADP or Paychex.
Your dashboard
The X INFIN portal, which we build and run, puts revenue, cash and receivables on one screen. On the QuickBooks and Jobber plans it reads QuickBooks. On the ServiceTitan plan it reads both systems.
What you see every morning
These figures are from the live portal of our HVAC client, a company on ServiceTitan and QuickBooks Online. Plumbing companies get the same dashboard, built from their own books. Read their story
Not ready for a call? Get a free look at your books.
Leave your details and we email you within one business day. You give us read-only access, and within three business days you see what is behind and what it would take to fix.
Free guides
Reference pages for trade shop owners
- Contractor sales tax by stateIs labor on HVAC, plumbing and electrical work taxed, and who pays tax on materials? Every state, linked to the state's own guidance.Open the guide
- Chart of accounts for trade shops75 accounts for QuickBooks Online with the right types and detail types, ready to import, plus what ServiceTitan needs mapped.Open the guide
- ServiceTitan to QuickBooks export errorsWhat the common ServiceTitan to QuickBooks Online export errors mean and how to fix them, plus refunds, sales tax and moving from Desktop.Open the guide
- Why Jobber payouts don't match bank depositsHow Jobber Payments payouts, fees, tips and refunds land in QuickBooks Online, the five usual causes of a mismatch, and a monthly checklist.Open the guide
- Jobber to QuickBooks sync errorsWhat the common Jobber to QuickBooks Online sync errors mean and how to fix each one, in the order the sync runs, plus legacy errors.Open the guide
- Jobber Bookkeeping or an outside bookkeeper?What Jobber's own bookkeeping add-on covers, which shops it suits, and when an outside bookkeeper on QuickBooks Online fits better.Open the guide
- How much does a bookkeeper cost for a trade shop?Hourly, in-house, flat monthly firms, Jobber Bookkeeping, QuickBooks Live and six trade specialists, side by side, each price linked to its source.Open the guide
- Housecall Pro to QuickBooks Online: what syncs and how to clear the alertsWhat the one-way sync sends and leaves out, the settings to check first, and the nine sync alerts with the fix for each, from Housecall Pro's own help pages.Open the guide
- Job costing in QuickBooks Online for contractorsThe plan you need, how Projects, labor cost rates, billable expenses and progress invoicing work, and the six things QuickBooks cannot do, from Intuit's own pages.Open the guide
- QuickBooks for plumbers: how to set it upThe plan, a class and income account for each kind of plumbing work, parts and truck stock, deposits, backflow tests, subcontractor 1099s and the monthly close.Open the guide
Sales tax by state
Is your labor taxed? It depends on the state.
Each guide covers labor, materials, filing and the common mistakes for contractors in that state, with every rule linked to the state's own source.
Straight answers before you book
What does bookkeeping cost for a plumbing company?
With Books and Trucks, monthly bookkeeping for a plumbing company starts at $599 a month on QuickBooks Online and $995 a month with ServiceTitan, as a fixed fee agreed in writing before we start. The QuickBooks plan covers monthly books, bank and card reconciliation, reports, sales tax filings, a dashboard and a monthly call. The ServiceTitan plan adds the monthly ServiceTitan to QuickBooks reconciliation and job costing for a shop of about five trucks. More trucks, more transactions, payroll or bill pay move the fee up. For comparison, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay of a bookkeeping clerk at $50,670 a year in 2025, about $4,220 a month before payroll taxes and benefits. Month to month, cancel any time.
Do you work with plumbing companies today?
Our trades client today is an HVAC company in the US, on ServiceTitan and QuickBooks Online. A plumbing company's books are set up the same way in QuickBooks: service calls, parts and materials, sales tax and payroll. You start with a free look at your books, so you can judge our work before you pay anything.
Do we need ServiceTitan to work with you?
No. If you run on QuickBooks Online alone, the QuickBooks plan from $599 a month covers monthly books, bank and card reconciliation, reports, sales tax filings, a dashboard and a monthly call. If you already use ServiceTitan, the ServiceTitan plan from $995 a month adds the monthly ServiceTitan to QuickBooks reconciliation and job costing on every job.
How do I see who owes us money?
Your dashboard shows what customers owe you and which invoices are overdue, read from QuickBooks. On the monthly call we go through the overdue list with you, so you know each month who to call.
How do you handle parts and materials?
Supply house bills are entered and matched to the right expense accounts every month, so your margin is not guessed. On the ServiceTitan plan, material costs are also tied to each job, so job costing shows what a repipe or a water heater install really made.
Do you file sales tax on materials?
Yes. We file sales tax for the states you work in. How materials and labor are taxed differs from state to state, and we set up QuickBooks to follow the rules where you work.
Our books are months behind.
Most new clients start that way. The free look shows how far behind things are. When you start with us, we clean up all your past books in QuickBooks at no charge, however far back they go.
Who actually does the work?
A named bookkeeper on our team handles your account every month, and a senior accountant reviews the numbers before your monthly call.
How do you get access?
You invite us as an accountant user in QuickBooks Online, under Settings and Manage users. Intuit does not count accountant users toward your plan's user limit. If you run ServiceTitan, you also add us as a user with reporting access there. You can remove either at any time.
Can you run payroll too?
On the ServiceTitan plan, yes: plumbers, apprentices and office staff, including overtime and spiffs, on Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, ADP or Paychex. The QuickBooks plan covers the books, reports, sales tax filings and the dashboard, without payroll or bill pay.
I already have a CPA.
Good. We do the monthly books, your CPA does the tax return, and we send them clean, reconciled books at year-end.
What if it does not work out?
Month to month, cancel any time. You keep your QuickBooks file and your data.
How should a plumbing company track drain cleaning against plumbing repair?
As separate income lines. Drain cleaning, service plumbing, sewer and excavation, and water heaters or remodel work each get their own class or product line in QuickBooks Online, so the monthly report shows the margin on each. The drain call is often what leads to the sewer job, and you cannot see that if everything is one line called Sales. Classes and locations are a QuickBooks Plus or Advanced feature, with 40 of them combined on Plus and no limit on Advanced.
Is a water heater replacement taxed the same as a repipe?
Not always. Most states treat you as the consumer of the materials, so you pay tax at the supply house and do not charge it on the invoice. A few states treat you as a retailer who collects tax on materials, and some tax the labor itself on existing property, where a replacement can count as a taxable repair while a repipe counts as an exempt capital improvement. We set the taxability of each item and job type in QuickBooks to the rules of the states you work in. Our 50-state guide has the rule and the state's own source for every state.
Can we write off a new van or a jetter trailer this year?
Usually, but your CPA makes the election and we keep the books ready for it. For 2026 the Section 179 limit is $2,560,000, and a van or truck over 6,000 pounds with a cargo area at least six feet long, or no seating behind the driver, is outside the $32,000 SUV cap. Property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025 also qualifies for 100 percent bonus depreciation. Sewer cameras, jetters and mini-excavators are fixed assets, not tool expenses. We record each one with its loan, so the asset register, the loan balance and the tax return agree.
Is QuickBooks Online a good fit for a plumbing company?
Yes, for most plumbing companies, on the Plus plan or higher. Intuit includes Projects in QuickBooks Online Plus, Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite, so each repipe or sewer replacement can carry its own income and costs and show what it made. Plus also has class tracking, which we use to split service calls, drain cleaning and water heater installs. QuickBooks keeps the ledger. Scheduling, dispatch and invoicing usually run in a field service app such as Jobber or ServiceTitan, which sends invoices and payments into QuickBooks. We keep the books for shops on QuickBooks Online alone, on Jobber, or on ServiceTitan.
How do you handle the deposit on a repipe or a sewer replacement?
The deposit goes to a customer deposits liability, not to income, and the job is billed from the estimate with progress invoices as the work is done. When the final invoice goes out, the deposit is applied and the balance shows as money owed to you. That way the month the cash arrived and the month the work was done both read correctly.
Talk to us about your plumbing books
No obligation.
Booked calls: weekdays, 9am to 5pm Eastern. By phone, or 30 minutes on Teams.