Tracking Chemicals, Water and Trailer Costs for Pressure Washing Businesses

What pressure washing books need to track

A pressure washing business is not one number. It is the jobs you ran, the chemicals you used, the water you hauled, the fuel you burned, and the trailer and equipment you maintained. Each part needs its own line so your monthly income stays true.

When you track all of it by route, you can see which jobs made money and which ones spent more on chemicals or fuel than they brought in. When you do not, you get one big pile of deposits and supply bills and no way to tell whether the driveway clean paid better than the deck wash.

Most pressure washing work runs by the route. A house wash, a driveway clean, a deck strip, a commercial lot sweep. Each job has a service charge and a chemical cost and a fuel cost and a water cost. The chemicals come from a supplier in bulk. The water comes from a tank or a meter. The fuel keeps the rig running. When the books hold the stock apart from the job cost and each route on its own line, the business makes sense. You can read more about how we keep these lines tied on our bookkeeping page.

Here is what a clean route looks like.

When the chemicals and the fuel sit on the route line, your per job profit is real. When they sit in one pile, a big payment looks like a great day and the supply bill hides.

How chemicals show up in your books

The chemicals you buy for pressure washing are a cost of the job, but you buy them in bulk and use them over many jobs. A drum of house wash, a case of degreaser, a box of bleach tabs. The stock is an asset until you use it.

The clean way is to buy the chemicals into a chemical stock asset account. When you pull a jug from the shelf for a job, you move its cost from the stock account to a chemical cost line tagged to the route. The stock account shows what is still on the shelf. The chemical cost line shows what you used this month. When you run the profit and loss by class, the chemical cost is real and the stock is not double counted.

The messy way is to expense every chemical buy the day you buy it. Now the chemical cost shows in the month you bought it, not the month you used it. A big supply run looks like a bad month. A month with no supply runs looks like a great month, even though the shelf gave up its stock. You can read more about how we track inventory in our chemical and parts inventory for pool companies guide. The same idea works for a pressure washing business.

Here is how to keep chemicals clean.

• **Buy chemicals into a stock asset account: ** not straight to a chemical cost line.
• - **Move the cost to the chemical cost line when you use it: ** not when you buy it.
• - **Tag the chemical cost to the route: ** so it sorts by job.
• - **Count the shelf now and then: ** so the stock account matches what is on the shelf.
• - **Write off the chemicals that go bad: ** so the stock stays true.

When the chemical stock sits in an asset account, your cost per job is real. When it goes straight to a cost, the month you buy looks bad and the month you use looks great.

How water and fuel show up per route

Water and fuel are the two costs that move with every pressure washing job. You burn gas to run the washer. You haul water in a tank or pay a meter fee to fill up. Each one needs to tie to the route.

The clean way is to book fuel to a fuel cost line and water to a water cost line, both tagged to the route class. When you fill the truck tank, the receipt lands on the job. When you pay a meter fee to fill the water tank, the bill lands on the job. When you run the profit and loss by class, each route shows its own fuel and water total. You can see which route burns more fuel and which one runs through more water.

The messy way is to book all the fuel and water to one general supplies line with no route tag. Now you can not sort by job. You can not tell if the commercial lot sweep used more water than the house wash or if the long drive to the job ate the fuel budget. The costs sit in one pile and the story hides. You can read more about how we track fuel per route in our courier and delivery guide.

Here is how to keep water and fuel clean.

• **Book fuel to a fuel cost line: ** not to general supplies.
• - **Book water to a water cost line: ** so the two sit apart.
• - **Tag each fill to the route class: ** so the cost sorts by job.
• - **Match each fuel and water bill to the bank: ** so no cost floats untied.
• - **Watch fuel and water as a share of revenue per route: ** a route that costs more than it pays needs a closer look.

When water and fuel tie to the route, the job story is clear. When they sit in one pile, every route looks the same.

How to track the trailer and equipment costs

A pressure washing rig is a trailer, a washer, hoses, nozzles, tanks and reels. The gear costs money to buy and to keep running. Repairs, replacement parts and maintenance all need a line.

The clean way is to book the trailer and the big gear as a fixed asset and depreciate it over time. The small parts and the repairs go to an equipment repair cost line tagged to the route when you can. When a hose bursts, the repair lands on the job. When a nozzle wears out, the replacement lands on the job. When the washer needs a service, the bill goes to a maintenance cost line. You can see what the gear really costs you each month.

The messy way is to book every repair and part to general supplies with no route tag. Now you can not tell which rig costs more to run. The maintenance sits in overhead and the true cost of the gear hides. You can read more about how we track equipment in our tree service equipment guide.

Here is how to keep the trailer and gear clean.

• **Book the trailer and big gear as a fixed asset: ** not to supplies.
• - **Book small parts and repairs to an equipment repair line: ** tagged to the route.
• - **Book washer service to a maintenance cost line: ** not to general repairs.
• - **Track the depreciation each month: ** so the gear cost shows over time.
• - **Tag the cost to the route when you can: ** so the gear cost sorts by job.

When the gear costs sit on their own lines, the true cost of the rig shows. When they hide in general supplies, the real profit per job is a guess.

How to match each job to the bank

Every pressure washing job has to match the bank. The customer pays you. The cash lands in your account. The books need to tie the two together.

The clean way is to match each invoice to the bank deposit the day it clears. The amount in the books agrees with the amount that hit the bank. When a customer pays on a card, the deposit lands net of the card fee. When a customer pays in cash, the deposit lands whole. When a check bounces, the deposit does not stay on the books. The bank and the books always agree.

The messy way is to book the invoice and never match it. Now the books show a payment that may or may not have cleared. A check that bounced sits as income. A card fee that came out before the deposit hides. You can read more about how we match payments to the bank in our cleaning companies guide.

Here is how to keep the match clean.

• **Match each invoice to the bank deposit: ** the day it clears.
• - **Watch for card fees: ** a card payment lands net, so split the fee out.
• - **Watch for bounced checks: ** a payment that did not clear should not stay as income.
• - **Reconcile the bank each month: ** so the cash total agrees with the bank.
• - **Check the deposit total against the day end report: ** so the books agree with the till.

When each invoice matches the bank, your cash is true. When they float untied, the income drifts and the real profit hides.

How the month end close works

At month end, every route needs its lines added up. The service charge, the chemicals used, the fuel, the water and the gear costs all pull together into one route total. When the jobs roll up by class, you see each route side by side.

We start with the bank. We match each invoice to the deposit that cleared. We split the card fees from the net cash. We move the chemical cost from the stock account to the chemical cost line for each job that went out. We book the fuel and water to the route. We book the gear repairs to the equipment repair line. We tag every line to the route class. We send you the profit and loss by class, a balance sheet, and a cash summary. Each route sits inside the report in its own column.

Here is a simple month end check.

• **Match each invoice to the bank: ** every deposit cleared.
• - **Split the card fees from the net cash: ** so the fee shows on its own.
• - **Move the chemical cost from the stock account: ** for each job that went out.
• - **Book fuel and water to the route class: ** so the costs sort by job.
• - **Book the gear repairs to the equipment repair line: ** tagged to the route.
• - **Run the profit and loss by class: ** so each route shows in its own column.

When the close runs every month, the route story stays clear. When it skips a month, the jobs stack up and the next month is harder to close.

A situation we clean up

The chemical stock that all sat in one pile

A pressure washing shop buys chemicals in bulk and runs jobs five days a week. Every chemical buy goes straight to general supplies. Every invoice lands in one general sales line. No class tracking is turned on. At month end, the owner can not tell what the chemical cost per route is, which jobs burned the most fuel, or whether the stock on the shelf matches the books. The bank and the books do not agree because the invoices float untied.

Here is how we handle it. We set up a chemical stock asset account in QuickBooks Online. We go back through the open months and move the chemical buys from general supplies to the stock account. We set up class tracking and create one class for each route. We move the chemical cost from the stock account to the chemical cost line for each job that went out, tagged to the route. We match each invoice to the bank. When we are done, the owner can run the profit and loss by class and see each route in its own column. We set up a rule so the next chemical buy goes to the stock account and the next invoice carries the right class from the start.

Mistakes we fix

• Every chemical buy expensed the day it is bought instead of held as stock
• No chemical stock asset account set up at all
• Every invoice in one general sales line with no route tag
• No class tracking turned on so no way to sort by route
• Fuel and water in general supplies instead of their own cost lines
• Gear repairs in general repairs instead of an equipment repair line
• No match between the invoice and the bank deposit
• Card fees buried inside net sales instead of on their own line
• A bounced check still sitting as income after it did not clear
• The chemical shelf never counted so the stock account drifts

Common questions

How do I track chemicals for a pressure washing job? Buy chemicals into a stock asset account and move the cost to a chemical cost line when you use them. Tag the cost to the route so it sorts by job. Count the shelf now and then so the stock account matches what is on the shelf.

How do I track water and fuel per route? Book fuel to a fuel cost line and water to a water cost line, both tagged to the route class. Match each fill and meter bill to the bank. Run the profit and loss by class so each route shows its own fuel and water total.

How do I track trailer and equipment costs? Book the trailer and big gear as a fixed asset and depreciate it over time. Book small parts and repairs to an equipment repair line tagged to the route. Book washer service to a maintenance cost line so the gear cost shows.

How do I match a pressure washing job to the bank? Match each invoice to the bank deposit the day it clears. Watch for card fees that come out before the deposit and for bounced checks that do not clear. Reconcile the bank each month so the cash total agrees with the bank.