#plain-text-accounting
Plain-Text Accounting
Discover the power of version-controlled, human-readable financial records
How Bookkeeping-Native Banks Like Found Automate Freelancer Tax Set-Asides — and Where They Fall Short
Freelancers owe 15.3% self-employment tax plus income tax with no automatic withholding, and skipping quarterly payments triggers IRS penalties around 7% annually. Bookkeeping-native banking apps like Found earmark 25–30% of every deposit automatically — here's what they solve, where their tax estimates break down, and why your books should live in a format you own.
Puerto Rico Act 38-2026: What Changed in the Act 60 Investor Tax Decree — and Who Keeps 0%
Puerto Rico's Act 38-2026, signed March 20, 2026, ends the 0% Act 60 Individual Resident Investor rate for new applicants — decrees secured by December 31, 2026 keep legacy 0% terms, later filers pay 4%, the program extends to 2055, and LLC-owned homes no longer qualify.
Alphabet Q2 2026: A $99B Paper Gain, 82% Cloud Growth, and the End of the Buyback Era
Alphabet's Q2 2026 revenue was $119.8B (+24% YoY) and net income hit $112.2B (+298%), but roughly $99.0B of that was a non-cash gain on equity securities that the cash flow statement backs right out, leaving operating cash flow at just $39.1B. Google Cloud grew 82% to a ~$99B run-rate at a 35.6% operating margin, while Alphabet halted stock buybacks and raised ~$70B via common stock, its first-ever preferred, and debt to fund a $44.9B capex quarter that turned free cash flow negative. The FY2022–Q2 2026 Beancount ledger shows long-term debt climbing from $10.9B to $98.2B.
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Bookkeeping: Why Every Truck Is Its Own Profit Center
Carpet cleaning chemistry should run 5–7% of revenue, a $25,000 truckmount costs about $10 per operating hour in wear, and drive time between jobs is the biggest hidden margin leak. How to book chemistry, trucks, and routes as three separate cost centers.
June 2026 Inflation Report: Why a Cooler CPI Doesn't Mean Lower Supplier Costs
June 2026 CPI fell 0.4% — the largest monthly drop since April 2020 — cutting annual inflation to 3.5%, but core prices were flat and producer inflation still runs 5.5%. What the CPI/PPI gap means for small-business supplier costs, tariff pass-through, and fall contract negotiations.
New York's Financial Data Rights Act: What State-Level Open Banking Means for Small Businesses
New York's A10640/S9483 would be the first state law giving small businesses a free, enforceable right to machine-readable bank data via mandated APIs, with $10,000 civil penalties per violation — a state-level backstop while the federal Section 1033 open banking rule remains stalled in court.
The SAFE Banking Act Is Back in 2026: What Cannabis Operators Should Do While Congress Stalls
The SAFE Banking Act was reintroduced in June 2026 with bipartisan Senate and House sponsors, after passing the House seven times since 2019 and dying in the Senate each time. Roughly 70% of U.S. cannabis businesses still operate in cash, paying $2,000–$7,500 in monthly banking fees when they can find a bank at all. Here's what the bill would change, why it keeps failing, and how operators can protect themselves now with cannabis-friendly banks, reduced cash exposure, and audit-ready books under Section 280E.
Extended Warranty Revenue Isn't Yours Yet: Why ASC 606 Says You Can't Book It at the Point of Sale
ASC 606 treats a separately priced extended warranty as a distinct performance obligation, so a $150 three-year service contract is booked as unearned revenue and recognized at $4.17 per month over 36 months — not as sale revenue on day one. This guide explains the assurance-type vs. service-type distinction, the three standalone-selling-price allocation methods for bundled pricing, and the journal entries small retailers need.
Fishing Charter Bookkeeping: Why Fuel and Bait Are COGS and Your USCG License Deserves Its Own Line Item
A well-run fishing charter nets roughly a 25% margin even when booked solid. This guide shows how to structure a charter's books — classify fuel, bait, and ice as cost of goods sold for per-trip margins, track the $1,300–$1,600 USCG six-pack license and its five-year renewal cycle, and accrue maintenance reserves per engine hour to survive the off-season.
Bookkeeping for Medical Billing Services: How Claim Denials Hit Your Own Cash Flow
Initial claim denial rates reached 11.8% in 2026, and billing services paid 4–10% of collections absorb every denial in their own books. A practical guide to recognizing fee revenue when claims actually pay, tracking denial rework as a separate cost, segregating client trust funds, and building a chart of accounts for a contingent-fee business.
Your Bookkeeping Firm Just Got Sold. Again. Here's What That Means for You
Prosperity Partners' July 2026 sale to Lightyear Capital is the third major accounting firm to flip private equity owners in 18 months, and over 1,000 firms worldwide have taken PE money. Here is what an ownership change means for outsourced bookkeeping clients — staff turnover, pricing resets, data migration — and how a portable plain-text ledger keeps your books out of the churn.
Vinted Just Came to America. Here's Why Your Bookkeeping Needs to Change, Not Just Your App.
Vinted's January 2026 US launch charges sellers zero fees — buyers pay a ~5% protection fee instead — but its Wallet holds funds 7–10 days before they reach your bank. Here's how to book Vinted sales with a dedicated wallet asset account, why the zero-fee model makes 1099-K reconciliation a one-step check, and what marketplace facilitator rules mean for sales tax.