Daperis CPARun Your Trade. We'll Run the Numbers.
You learned a real, in-demand skill hands-on. Nobody taught you the business side alongside it, and generic business advice online is either too basic to matter or written for someone who already has a finance background. You need someone to just tell you, in order, what actually has to happen.
What Usually Trips Up a New Trade Business
If any of this sounds familiar, you're in good company. It's close to universal for tradespeople who go out on their own.
You want to work, not do admin. Every hour spent untangling paperwork, chasing a form you forgot about, or guessing at what you owe is an hour not spent doing the work that actually pays.
You bought real equipment and tools, and don't know what you can actually write off. Section 179 and bonus depreciation exist specifically for situations like yours, but most tradespeople either don't know the rules or apply them wrong and either miss the deduction or create a problem for next year.
You're not sure if your crew should be 1099 or W-2, and getting it wrong is expensive. The IRS doesn't care what you call someone on an invoice. Misclassifying workers is one of the most common and costly mistakes in the trades.
You don't have real visibility into your budget or cash flow. You know if a job made money by gut feel, not by looking at real numbers, which makes it hard to know what to charge, when to hire, or when a slow month is actually a problem.
How We Help
We handle the business layer so you can stay focused on the trade.
- Getting your entity and setup actually functional. EIN, business bank account, operating agreement, and the recurring filings New York requires, handled in order, without you having to become your own back-office expert.
- Equipment and tool write-offs, done right. Section 179 and bonus depreciation are different tools with different rules, not something you always use together, and we figure out which one actually fits your purchase and your state tax picture.
- Correct worker classification for your crew. Whether the people working for you should be 1099 or W-2, decided correctly from the start, not guessed at.
- Knowing how to actually pay yourself. Draw, salary, or a mix, depending on your entity structure, explained plainly instead of assumed.
- Budgeting and cash flow you can actually see. Real numbers so you know which jobs are worth taking and whether you can afford to hire, instead of running on instinct.
- Quarterly estimates that match how you actually get paid. Trade income is often lumpy. We set your estimated payments around your real cash flow, not a flat guess.
How This Plays Out in Practice
A client came to us originally just for individual tax prep. Skilled trade, steady demand for the work, genuinely excellent at the job itself. Then came the question a lot of tradespeople eventually ask: I've been thinking about going out on my own, where do I even start. We got the entity actually functional, set up the ongoing filings so nothing would catch up with him later, and got him running on real bookkeeping from day one instead of a spreadsheet. A business that was compliant and organized from the start, instead of built messily and fixed later at a higher cost.Running the Business Side of a Business You're Already Great At
Common Questions from Tradespeople
I just bought a truck, tools, or equipment for the business. What can I actually write off?
Section 179 and bonus depreciation are two different tools, not a combo you always reach for together. Section 179 lets you deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year you buy it, up to an annual limit, but it comes with its own eligibility rules and doesn't always flow through the same way at the state level. Bonus depreciation works differently, and New York doesn't fully conform to the federal treatment. Which one actually fits depends on your income, your state tax picture, and what you bought, so this is worth a real conversation rather than a blanket answer.
Should the guys working for me be 1099 or employees?
It depends on control, not on what you call them on the invoice. If you're setting their hours, providing their tools, and directing exactly how the work gets done, they're very likely employees, whatever the paperwork says. Misclassifying comes with real payroll tax exposure, so this is worth getting right from day one.
I've been doing this off a spreadsheet or not tracking much at all. Can you get me caught up?
Absolutely. We'll untangle your accounts, reconcile your past transactions, and bring your books fully up to date so you can stop guessing and start making decisions based on real numbers.
Do I need to run payroll for myself?
It depends on your entity. A sole proprietor or single-member LLC can take draws with no payroll required. Once you elect S-corp status, you're required to run yourself through payroll and pay yourself a reasonable salary, the fair market wage you'd pay a third party for the same job duties, experience, and time. We'll figure out which situation you're in and what it means for you specifically.
Do you work with tradespeople outside Brooklyn?
Yes, the practice is virtual, and we work with tradespeople and contractors throughout NYC, the metro area, and beyond.
Let's get the business side handled.
Whether you're just starting out on your own or you've been running the business for years without real financial visibility, the process starts the same way: a free strategy session, no jargon, no obligation.