#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
The SBA's New 90% Grocery Guarantee: A Financing Lifeline for Small Grocers and Food Suppliers
The SBA's 2026 Grocery Guarantee raises its loan guarantee from 75% to 90% for roughly 20 qualifying food-supply-chain NAICS codes, covering loans up to $5 million with terms up to 25 years, and backed 19 loans totaling more than $30 million in its first month.
Connecticut's Shrinkflation Disclosure Law (HB 6856): What Small Food Businesses Need to Know
Connecticut's HB 6856 would be the first US state law to regulate shrinkflation, requiring food manufacturers to post a clear notice for 12 months whenever they shrink a product without cutting its price — enforced as an unfair trade practice by the state Attorney General. Here's who the bill covers, the slack-fill litigation risk that already exists, and how to keep COGS and margin records accurate through a package resize.
Snow Cone and Shaved Ice Truck Bookkeeping: Pricing and Cash Flow for a Four-Month Season
A snow cone costs $0.15–$1.25 to make and sells for $2–$5, but that 200–300% margin only covers costs if fixed expenses like truck payments and insurance are spread across a realistic 12–16 week selling season instead of a full year.
South Dakota's New Nicotine Licenses: What SB 221 and HB 1220 Require of Retailers and Distributors by July 1, 2026
Starting July 1, 2026, South Dakota's SB 221 requires a per-location retail license to sell any nicotine product — including vapes and pouches — while HB 1220 raises the wholesaler/distributor license fee from $150 to $1,000 per location. Unlicensed retail sales carry a $500-per-day fine, and retailers must source only from state-licensed wholesalers.
State Data Breach Notification Laws in 2026: A 50-State Compliance Playbook for Small Businesses
Every state requires breach notice and size doesn't exempt you — map the 30/45/60-day clocks, California SB 446's 30-day and 15-day AG rule, 500/1000 thresholds, risk-of-harm, and run on the shortest deadline.
Bookkeeping for Code-Audit Firms: How to Book Static Audits, Hourly Remediation, and Resold SAST Subscriptions
A code-audit firm selling fixed-scope static audits, hourly remediation, and resold SAST subscriptions runs three ASC 606 revenue-recognition rules under one roof — point-in-time, as-performed, and ratable. This guide covers the chart of accounts to separate them, the principal-vs-agent test for reseller margin, and a worked example posting one client engagement across unearned revenue, unbilled receivables, and subscription margin.
Virginia's HB 975 Replaces the 45% Food-to-Beverage Ratio: What Restaurant Owners Need to Track Now
Effective July 1, 2026, Virginia's HB 975 replaces the flat 45% food-to-beverage ratio for mixed beverage licensees with three tiers — no ratio above $48,000 in monthly food sales, 30% between $25,000 and $48,000, and 45% below that — making monthly food-sales tracking a compliance requirement, not just an annual MBAR exercise.
ABA Therapy Practice Bookkeeping: The RBT/BCBA Guide to Billing, Authorizations, and Cash Flow
ABA practices bill in 15-minute units under CPT codes 97153 and 97155, face industry-wide denial rates of 15-30%, and see predictable cash-flow dips when six-month prior authorizations lapse before renewal paperwork clears.
Chase's New Passkey and Trusted Contact Features: A Small Business Security Guide
Chase rolled out passkey login and a Trusted Contact Person feature in early 2026 to counter AI voice-cloning fraud, which costs small businesses $30,000 to $400,000 per incident on average.
Commercial Lease Renewal in 2026: Retail Rent Caps vs. Office Tenant Leverage
National retail vacancy sits under 6% while office vacancy runs near 19-20% in 2026, so retail tenants should negotiate a CPI rent-escalation cap of 3-5% while office tenants can push for $75-$150 per square foot in tenant improvement allowances and multiple months of free rent.
Connecticut's Warehouse Quota Law: A Disclosure Guide for Employers
Connecticut's SB 298, effective July 1, 2026, requires warehouses with 250+ employees at one site (or 1,000+ across sites) to disclose productivity quotas in writing, retain three years of work-speed records, and answer employee data requests within 10 days, with a rebuttable presumption of retaliation for adverse actions taken within 90 days.
Independent U-Pick Farm and Agritourism Bookkeeping: Schedule F vs Schedule C, Multi-Enterprise Tracking, Sales Tax, Weather Reserves, and the KPIs That Make a Season Pay
U-pick berries are farm income, admissions and donuts are not — split Schedule F and C, track per-enterprise contribution, tax admissions and prepared food, reconcile Square, and run on revenue per acre and per visitor.