Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
QuickBooks Desktop 2023 Support Has Ended: What Broke, What Didn't, and How to Migrate
Intuit discontinued QuickBooks Desktop 2023 on May 31, 2026 — payroll tax tables froze, bank feeds disconnected, and security patches stopped. What still works, four migration paths with current pricing, and a step-by-step checklist for a clean cutover.
QuickBooks Online Accountant Sunset: Your Intuit Accountant Suite Migration Guide
QuickBooks Online Accountant is fully discontinued on December 31, 2026, with every firm moving to Intuit Accountant Suite's free Core tier or paid Accelerate/Books Close tiers; here are the key dates and a migration checklist for accounting firms.
The Section 174 R&D Catch-Up Deadline Just Passed. Here's What Small Businesses Should Do Now
The OBBBA's one-time retroactive Section 174 election for 2022–2024 R&D amortization closed July 6, 2026, but the standard three-year R&D credit window and permanent 2025+ immediate expensing under Section 174A remain available to small businesses.
Section 232 Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper: A Small Business Guide
A presidential proclamation effective April 6, 2026 (updated June 8, 2026) now applies Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper derivatives to a product's full customs value instead of just its metal content, pushing rates as high as 50% on the entire declared value.
Shoe Repair & Cobbler Shop Bookkeeping: Job Costing, Materials, and Tax Guide
U.S. shoe repair revenue is roughly $315.6 million and shrinking about 2% a year since 2020, yet job costing, split inventory tracking, and correct sales-tax treatment of repair labor are what let surviving cobbler shops price resoles profitably and diversify into leather goods and wholesale work.
Small-Group Health Premiums Are Jumping 11% in 2026 — Here's How to Keep Coverage Without Blowing Your Budget
Small-group health insurance premiums are rising a median 11% in 2026, per Peterson-KFF analysis of 318 insurer rate filings, with 2–5 employee firms up 23% since 2022. What's driving it — GLP-1 drugs, a shrinking risk pool, 9% medical inflation — and seven concrete cost levers, from level-funded plans to ICHRAs.
SpaceX's First Public Earnings: Starlink's $11.4B Profit Machine Is Bankrolling a $6.4B AI Bet
SpaceX's IPO filing shows FY2025 revenue of $18.7B (+33%) and a $4.9B net loss — Starlink earned a $4.4B operating profit at a 38.8% margin while the AI segment (X and xAI) lost $6.4B on $3.2B of revenue and consumed $12.7B of capex. A bull-vs-bear analysis backed by an open double-entry Beancount ledger covering FY2023 through Q1 2026.
Umbrella Insurance for Small Business Owners: What It Covers and What It Costs
Commercial umbrella coverage of $1-2 million typically costs under $50 a month for low-risk small businesses, yet most personal umbrella policies exclude business activity entirely, leaving freelancers and side-hustle owners exposed above their general liability limits.
Accounting for Vendor Rebates and Trade Spend Under ASC 606
Under ASC 606, cash rebates, slotting fees, and co-op advertising payments to a customer almost always reduce revenue rather than count as a marketing expense, unless the payment buys a distinct good or service at fair value.
Virginia 2026 Employment Law Changes: A Small Business Guide
Virginia's 2026 employment law changes require salary ranges in job postings, extend Human Rights Act coverage to employers with five or more employees, void non-competes lacking a severance clause, and lower the RetirePath Virginia auto-IRA threshold to five employees, with penalties reaching $10,000 per violation.
2026 HSA Contribution Limits: What Small Business Owners Need to Know
The IRS raised 2026 HSA limits to $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family (Revenue Procedure 2025-19). A small business owner's guide to the S-corp more-than-2% shareholder rules, the 35% comparability excise tax, cafeteria plan workarounds, and how to avoid excess-contribution penalties.
Are AI Coding Subscriptions Tax Deductible? Section 162 vs. Section 174
Claude, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor subscriptions are fully deductible under IRC Section 162 as ordinary business expenses, while Section 174 R&D amortization only applies to labor and compute tied to genuine new product development — and the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act restored immediate deduction for domestic R&E costs.