#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
The DOL Wants to Rewrite Independent Contractor Rules Again: A 2026 Rule-Change Guide for Businesses That Hire Freelancers
The DOL's February 2026 proposed rule would rescind the 2024 six-factor independent contractor test and replace it with a two-core-factor economic reality test resembling the 2021 rule — here's what changes, what stays the same, and what businesses that hire freelancers should document now.
Private Equity Roll-Ups in HVAC and Plumbing: What Your Business Is Actually Worth
Small HVAC and plumbing shops sell for 2.0x–3.5x SDE while assembled PE platforms exit at 17x–20x EBITDA — that multiple arbitrage powers the roll-up wave. Here's what determines your number, why $200K of rejected add-backs can cost $1.3M at closing, and how clean books protect your price.
Income Share Agreement Accounting: How Bootcamps Should Recognize ISA Revenue
Income share agreements break ASC 606's fixed-price assumption, and the Department of Education ruled in March 2022 that ISAs are private education loans. Here is how bootcamps and trade schools should book ISA revenue — variable consideration with the constraint, loan-receivable treatment under ASC 310/326, and cohort-level non-payment reserves.
Independent Bookstore Bookkeeping: How to Protect a 2-10% Net Margin
Independent bookstores net just 2-10% per the ABA's ABACUS survey, even with 40-50% gross margins. A practical bookkeeping guide to the transaction types that erode that margin — sale-or-return vendor credits, expiring co-op advertising funds, consignment and trade-credit liabilities — plus the 4-6x inventory turnover benchmark that predicts trouble early.
Independent Private Music Teacher Bookkeeping (Piano, Guitar, Voice, Strings): Schedule C and Quarterly Estimated Taxes, Prepaid Lesson and Recital-Fee Deferred Revenue, Home Studio Deduction, Instrument and Equipment Section 179, and the New $2,000 1099-NEC Threshold Explained for Solo Instructors
Prepaid lessons are deferred revenue — track per student, pass the exclusive-use test for the home studio, expense instruments via Section 179/bonus, log mileage contemporaneously, and keep W-9s for the 1099-NEC threshold.
Infrared Sauna Studio Bookkeeping: Memberships, Depreciation, and the Utility Bill
How infrared sauna studios should handle the three bookkeeping issues that decide profitability — recording $150–$250/month memberships as deferred revenue rather than same-day income, classifying a $30,000–$250,000 buildout for Section 179 versus leasehold-improvement depreciation, and tracking utility costs of $0.30–$1.50 per session before they erode margins.
IRS 2026 Standard Mileage Rate: 72.5 Cents vs. the Actual Expense Method
The IRS standard mileage rate rises to 72.5 cents per mile for 2026. Here's how it compares with the actual expense method, why your first-year choice can be irreversible, and what a mileage log needs to survive an IRS audit under Section 274(d).
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) Bookkeeping: Trip Logs, Broker Reimbursement, and False Claims Act Risk
NEMT providers face a documented audit risk unlike most small businesses — a 2022 federal audit found 72% of sampled New York claims non-compliant, and billing a no-show as a completed trip can trigger False Claims Act penalties starting at roughly $14,000 per claim plus treble damages.
Right to Repair 2026: How Parts-Pairing Bans Open a Door for Independent Repair Shops
As of January 1, 2026, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon ban software-based parts pairing on electronics and appliances, forcing manufacturers to open OEM parts and diagnostic access to independent repair shops — here's what the new rules mean for compliance and inventory bookkeeping.
New State Disclosure Laws Are Forcing Merchant Cash Advance Providers to Show Their Real Numbers
Ten states now require merchant cash advance providers to disclose an APR alongside the factor rate, turning opaque MCA pricing into an apples-to-apples comparison for small business owners.
Trade Show Exhibitor Bookkeeping: Booth Fees, Drayage, and Measuring the ROI Payoff
A cost-by-cost breakdown of trade show exhibitor bookkeeping — how to categorize booth fees, drayage (typically $100-$200+ per hundred pounds), travel, and collateral, when to accrue the expense, and how to calculate cost-per-lead so a show's ROI shows up in the numbers instead of a gut feeling.
Bookkeeping for VR Arcades: Deferred Deposits, Per-Station Depreciation, and Revenue by Stream
How VR arcades and location-based entertainment venues should keep their books — split revenue across six streams, book party deposits as deferred-revenue liabilities, depreciate each $50,000+ station separately, and track revenue per available station hour, the LBE equivalent of a hotel's RevPAR.