#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Hawaii Storm Tax Relief: What the August 20, 2026 IRS Deadline Covers — and the Earlier State Deadline It Doesn't
The IRS postponed tax deadlines to August 20, 2026 for Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai counties after the March 2026 Kona Low storms — but Hawaii's separate Form L-115 state relief closes July 20, and SBA loan deadlines fall on August 13, 2026 (physical damage) and January 7, 2027 (EIDL). Here's who qualifies, what's automatic, and the casualty-loss election that can accelerate a refund.
Home Care Agency Bookkeeping: Reconciling Medicaid, Private Pay, and VA Reimbursement
Home care agencies collect from private pay, Medicaid MCOs, and VA Aid and Attendance on three different timelines while caregiver payroll runs on a fixed biweekly schedule, so tracking AR by payer separately (not blended) is the key to forecasting cash and catching the 2026 EVV hard-edit denials that make unresolved visit exceptions permanently unbillable.
Home Inspection Business Bookkeeping: E&O Insurance, Schedule C, and Job Costing
Home inspectors average one liability claim over a career and pay roughly $989/year for E&O insurance, so amortizing that premium per job and tracking mileage, report-writing time, and licensing renewals on Schedule C is what separates a profitable inspection business from one guessing at its margins.
House Cleaning Franchise Bookkeeping: How to Track Royalty Fees, Ad Funds, and Multi-Territory P&Ls
Cleaning franchise royalty (4–8%) and ad fund (1–3%) fees are calculated on gross sales — before discounts and comp cleans — and the total franchise fee load commonly runs 12–15% of revenue. Here's how to book royalties, brand fund contributions, and per-territory P&Ls correctly, with a worked $95,000/month reconciliation example.
Bookkeeping for House-Sitting Businesses: Per-Night Rates, Deposits, and Key Liability
House sitters typically charge $50–$150 per night for overnight stays and $250–$500 weekly, but a deposit collected before a sit begins is unearned revenue, not income, until the stay is completed or the cancellation window passes.
Independent Mobile Auto Detailing and Ceramic Coating Business Bookkeeping: Per-Job Pricing, Chemical Inventory, Van and Equipment, Warranty Deferred Revenue, and the KPIs That Hit 40–55%
Detailing margins live per job — price per ticket, cost chemicals per job, expense the van via Section 179/bonus, defer coating warranty revenue, and run on revenue per job and net margin after owner labor.
Ireland's Budget 2026: What the VAT Cut and New Reliefs Actually Mean for Small Business Owners
Ireland cut VAT on food, catering, and hairdressing from 13.5% to 9% on July 1, 2026, raised the entrepreneur relief cap to €1.5M, and boosted the R&D credit to 35% — but the minimum wage hike to €14.15 and pension auto-enrolment landed six months earlier. Here's what each change means for small business books.
Jobber vs. Housecall Pro vs. ServiceTitan: Which Field Service Software Fits Your Business Size?
Jobber ($25–$249/month) fits growing teams of 5–20 technicians, Housecall Pro ($49–$300+/month) suits solo operators under $500K revenue, and ServiceTitan's 5–10× higher cost only pays off past $2M or multiple locations. Here's how to match the platform to your current size — and the per-job fees, data lock-in, and paywalled support to check before signing.
Kentucky Drops the 200-Transaction Sales Tax Rule: What the Revenue-Only Nexus Threshold Means for Online Sellers
Kentucky HB 757 eliminates the state's 200-transaction economic nexus threshold effective August 1, 2026, leaving a $100,000 revenue-only test — joining Alaska, Utah, and Illinois in a broader multi-state shift away from transaction-count triggers.
Know Your Business (KYB): What Banks Actually Require to Open a Business Account in 2026
FinCEN's 2025 rule change exempted domestic U.S. companies from filing beneficial ownership reports with the government, but banks still must verify beneficial owners under the CDD Rule at account opening — a one-time cost per bank since February 2026's exceptive relief, not a repeat process for every new account.
Bookkeeping for Legal Document Assistants: Bonds, Trust Funds, and Flat-Fee Revenue
California requires Legal Document Assistants to register with a county clerk, post a $25,000 surety bond, and pass one of four education-or-experience tests before charging clients — a licensing and revenue-recognition setup that trips up most first-time LDA owners' books.
Maine's 2026 Streaming Tax: What Netflix, Spotify, and Podcast Sellers Must Collect
Maine now applies its 5.5% sales tax to streaming video, music, audiobook, and podcast subscriptions as of January 1, 2026, with economic nexus triggered at $100,000 in revenue from Maine customers.