#liability
Liability
Track and manage business liabilities and financial obligations
Mobile Bartending Bookkeeping: Liquor Licenses, Liability Insurance, and Deposit Accounting
Mobile bartending businesses must book non-refundable event deposits as a liability until the event is performed, carry liquor liability insurance separate from general liability, and track licensing and permit costs — typically 2-5% of revenue — as a distinct expense category.
Bookkeeping for Private Investigators: Retainers, Job Costing, and 1099 Compliance
Private investigation agencies should book client retainers as liabilities until earned, track costs per case with job costing, and classify subcontractors correctly to avoid misclassification penalties and licensing risk.
Used Vinyl Record Store Bookkeeping: Consignment, Margins, and the Grading Costs That Eat Your Profit
Used record stores acquire inventory through cash purchase, store-credit trade, and consignment, each with different cost basis and liability treatment, and blending them into one bucket hides which acquisition channel is actually profitable.
Accounting for Customer Loyalty Rewards Programs: ASC 606 Points Liability, Deferred Revenue, and Breakage
Under ASC 606, loyalty points are a separate performance obligation — part of each sale is allocated to a deferred revenue liability using standalone selling prices, recognized when points are redeemed, with unredeemed value booked as breakage in proportion to redemptions. This guide walks through the journal entries, the proportional vs. remote breakage methods, the chart of accounts, and the state escheatment rules that can block breakage income.
Computer and Smartphone Repair Shop Bookkeeping: The Hidden Liabilities Behind Every Cracked Screen
An operator's guide to bookkeeping for independent computer and smartphone repair shops in 2026 — separating per-ticket labor from parts revenue, treating customer devices as bailee property, recognizing deposits under ASC 606, applying Section 179 to bench equipment, complying with the new Washington and Colorado right-to-repair laws, and reconciling RepairShopr or CellSmart POS to the general ledger.
Bookkeeping for Interior Designers: Retainers, Markup, and the Hidden Math That Keeps Your P&L Honest
Interior design firms run four revenue streams through one chart of accounts and end up paying tax on phantom profits. Treat retainers as a liability, run products through revenue and COGS together, book vendor cost as COGS (never list price), and reconcile every PO before close.
Compensated Absences Liability Under ASC 710-10: Accruing PTO, Vacation, and Sick Leave
ASC 710-10 requires employers to accrue a balance-sheet liability for PTO, vacation, and sick leave that vests or carries over. This guide covers the four-part test, sabbatical and unlimited PTO rules, the reserve calculation, and the journal entries.
Gift Card Breakage: How to Account for Unredeemed Balances Under ASC 606
Gift card breakage is the value customers never redeem. Under ASC 606, the proportionate method recognizes breakage revenue alongside redemptions—but state escheatment laws can override your right to keep the money.
Recording Sales Tax You Collect: A Liability, Not Revenue
Sales tax you collect belongs to the state, not your revenue line. Here are the journal entries, the month-end reconciliation routine, and the multi-state economic nexus rules that keep your books audit-ready.
Recording Sales Tax You Collect: A Liability, Not Revenue
Sales tax you collect belongs on the balance sheet as Sales Tax Payable, never on the income statement. Split each taxable sale into Sales Revenue and a tax liability, keep one account per jurisdiction, and reconcile so the payable zeroes out at filing time.
Asset Retirement Obligations Under ASC 410: How Operators Record the Future Cost of Restoring a Site at Day One
ASC 410-20 requires recognizing an asset retirement obligation on day one — the day the well is drilled, the tower is erected, or the leasehold build-out is finished. A walkthrough of triggers, fair-value measurement using the credit-adjusted risk-free rate, annual accretion as operating expense, the lease-vs-ARO boundary under ASC 842, and the journal entries operators in oil and gas, telecom, and retail most often get wrong.
Innocent Spouse Relief: How Form 8857 Unwinds Joint Tax Liability After Divorce
Form 8857 lets a spouse seek relief from joint tax liability under IRC Section 6015. This guide walks through the two-year deadline, the three relief categories—traditional, separation, and equitable—and how divorced, separated, or abused taxpayers build a record that survives IRS and Tax Court review.