What should a roll-off company do at month end, and how does sales tax work?

• Every finished job has its bill. Look for jobs done but not billed.
• Every landfill ticket is entered, and tons over are billed.
• Every payment is recorded and matched to the right invoice.
• The aging list is looked over, and the late accounts get a call or a statement.
• Credits and refunds have a reason written down.
• The landfills' bills are checked against your tickets.
• Sales tax and any local fees are added up for filing.
• The month is closed.

Sales tax on roll-off rentals is different from state to state. Some states tax dumpster rentals, some don't, and some treat the rental, the hauling and the disposal differently. How a charge is worded on the invoice can matter. Some counties add their own tax on top of the state's.

What you can do: ask your accountant how your state treats each kind of charge you bill (the rental, delivery, disposal, tons over, extra days, fuel), and set each line that way. Keep tax-exempt certificates on file for customers who claim to be exempt. Charge the tax for the job site's location if your state says so.

Some cities and counties charge haulers a franchise fee or a similar fee on what they bill inside that area, often reported monthly. If yours does, find out exactly which jobs it applies to (by city limits, ZIP code or kind of customer), and whether you show it on the bill or build it into your prices. Ask the city or county and your accountant.

Your accountant, and any tax audit, will ask why a number is what it is. Keep the scale tickets, the signed rental agreements, the tax-exempt certificates and a note for every credit, refund and write-off. Records that were never deleted, with who changed what and when, make those questions short.

Once the month is checked, close it so nobody can change it by accident. A correction found later goes in the open month, dated today, with a note. Your accountant's numbers then never move under them.

In American Dumpster Software, Month end has a checklist and closes the month, so no invoice or payment dated in it can be added, changed or voided; only an administrator can reopen it, with a reason. Sales tax can be switched on per company with taxable lines and the county surtax, tax-exempt certificates are kept on the client, and franchise fee rules by county and ZIP feed a franchise fees due report. Nothing is ever deleted, and every change has a history line. See Pricing or the demo.