#accounting-basics
Foundational accounting concepts, terminology, and principles for small business owners
Makerspaces should recognize annual membership dues ratably over the term as a deferred-revenue liability rather than all at once, track workshop revenue separately from dues, capitalize equipment above a set threshold, and choose an LLC or 501(c)(3) structure based on whether their funding model relies on grants or dues.
Newsletter CPC ad networks like beehiiv verify clicks roughly 96 hours after send and pay out on the 20th of the following month — three different dates that create a real accrual-accounting gap most solo publishers book incorrectly.
Podcast sponsorship payments received upfront aren't income until the sponsored episode airs — under ASC 606 they're deferred revenue, a liability, until each performance obligation is fulfilled.
The quick ratio (acid-test ratio) strips inventory and prepaid expenses from current assets to test whether cash, receivables, and marketable securities alone can cover current liabilities. Includes the formula, a worked example where a 2.5 current ratio hides a 1.0 quick ratio, industry benchmarks, and the aged-receivables blind spot.
Маржът на приноса е приходите от продажби минус променливите разходи — числото за единица продукт, което движи ценообразуването, анализа на точката на рентабилност и решенията за продуктовия микс. Научете формулата, как се различава от брутния марж, чести грешки при изчисляване и типични коефициенти по индустрии (70–90% за софтуер, 25–50% за производство).
NAR's $52.25 million Tuccori settlement, approved April 10, 2026, doesn't change buyer-agent commission rules — it makes the August 2024 Sitzer/Burnett practice changes permanent, so agents must book gross commission across multiple funding sources rather than treating deposits as a single income line.
Throughput accounting reduces business decisions to three numbers — throughput, investment, and operating expense — and argues that only fixing the single binding constraint, not cutting costs everywhere, increases how much money a business actually makes.
Private school tuition is an exchange transaction under ASC 606, not a donation, so tuition collected before the school year starts must be booked as deferred revenue and recognized ratably over 10 or 12 months, while donor-restricted gifts follow separate ASC 958 rules.
Real estate agents should record gross commission and brokerage splits as separate line items, not just the net deposit, because the IRS matches Schedule C income against the gross figure brokerages report on Form 1099-NEC.
Under ASC 606, white-label SaaS resellers recognize either gross revenue as a principal or net commission as an agent, and should book gross sales, platform fees, refunds, and chargebacks as separate line items rather than a single net deposit.
A coworking space earns revenue across five distinct streams and must defer prepaid membership revenue, allocate CAM charges, and split costs by square footage to accurately price hot desks against private offices.
Cat cafes run three distinct revenue streams — lounge admission, food and beverage, and pass-through pet adoption fees — that need separate accounting treatment because admission is often non-taxable, F&B is taxable, and adoption fees legally belong to the rescue partner as a liability, not cafe revenue.
