Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
What's Your Business Actually Worth in 2026? SDE and EBITDA Multiples by Industry
In Q1 2026 the median small business sold for 2.7x cash flow, but multiples range from the low end for restaurants to 6–10x EBITDA for SaaS and up to 8x for express car washes. How SDE vs. EBITDA, industry, owner dependence, and clean financial records determine what your business sells for.
No More Pennies: A Small-Business Guide to 2026's State Cash-Rounding Laws
The U.S. minted its last penny on November 12, 2025, and 19 states have enacted cash-rounding laws in 2026 with no federal standard yet in force. Most states let retailers round cash totals to the nearest nickel at their discretion, Arizona mandates Canadian-style rounding, and Indiana treats rounding gains and losses as income adjustments. Here is how the rules differ, why sales tax is always calculated on the pre-rounding price, and how to book rounding variances so they stay auditable.
Commercial Fleet Insurance for Small Businesses: 2026 Costs, What Drives Your Premium, and Six Ways to Lower It
Small-business fleets of light-duty vehicles typically pay $150–$450 per vehicle per month in 2026 — cargo vans around $189, box trucks $300–$900+ — and new ventures pay 30–50% more than established ones. This guide explains the five factors underwriters actually price (driver MVRs, garaging location, mileage, limits, claims history) and six concrete ways to cut the premium, including telematics discounts of 10–30%, annual-pay savings of 5–10%, and per-vehicle cost tracking.
Cyber Insurance for Small Businesses: The Coverage Gaps That Blindside Owners
Only 38% of small businesses carry cyber insurance, 44% of insured ones are underinsured, and nearly half of claims are denied or closed without payment. A guide to the ransomware sublimits, social engineering caps, and security-control requirements that determine whether a policy actually pays.
Why Your DoorDash 1099 Might Not Show Up This Year — and Why You Still Owe Taxes on Every Mile
The 1099-NEC threshold is now $2,000, so many part-time DoorDash, Instacart, and Grubhub drivers won't receive a form for 2026 — but the IRS still taxes net self-employment earnings above $400. How multi-app delivery drivers can capture the dead miles apps don't report (often 30% or more of total driving), choose between the standard mileage and actual expense methods, and set aside 25–30% of each payout for quarterly taxes.
Driving School Bookkeeping: Dual-Control Depreciation, Licensing Renewals, and Per-Lesson Revenue
A driving school's books hinge on three quirks most owners miss - a dual-control training car is two separate depreciable assets, instructor licensing adds $2,000+ in recurring annual compliance costs, and revenue must be tracked by lesson type to see profit per instructor-hour. Here's how to structure the chart of accounts, handle vehicle disposal correctly, and run a simple monthly close.
Egypt's Small Business Tax Rate Just Dropped to 0.4%. Here's How the New Law Actually Works.
Egypt's Law No. 6 of 2025 lets SMEs with annual turnover up to EGP 20 million pay 0.4%–1.5% tax on revenue instead of 22.5% on profit, with stamp duty and dividend withholding exemptions but a five-year lock-in — while Resolution 281 of 2025 halves the mandatory e-invoicing threshold to EGP 250,000.
How the Fed's Rate Path Actually Hits Your Business Loan: A 2026 Prime Rate Guide
The prime rate — not the federal funds rate — drives variable business loan payments. It sits at 6.75% in mid-2026, with SBA 7(a) loans priced at Prime + 2.25%–3.0%. Here's the payment math on a quarter-point cut (about $37/month on a $250,000 loan) and how to plan around the Fed's uncertain rate path.
Firefly III vs. Actual Budget: Which Self-Hosted, Open-Source Budgeting App Should You Run?
Firefly III is a double-entry accounting system; Actual Budget is a YNAB-style envelope budgeter. This guide compares setup (Docker, MariaDB vs. SQLite), bank sync (GoCardless, SimpleFin), hosting costs (~$5/month VPS vs. YNAB's ~$109/year), and which tool fits freelancers versus multi-account households.
Freelance Ghostwriter Taxes: Schedule C, Self-Employment Tax, and Why the NDA Doesn't Matter
An NDA has zero effect on how ghostwriting income is taxed — it's ordinary Schedule C self-employment income. This guide covers the 15.3% self-employment tax, deductible expenses for writers, 2026 quarterly estimated payment deadlines, and how advances and royalties are taxed when received.
Independent Real Estate Appraiser Bookkeeping: Making Sense of AMC Fee Splits, USPAP Engagement Letters, and E&O Costs
AMCs commonly keep 30–50% of the borrower-paid appraisal fee — in documented cases an appraiser received $205 of an $834 fee. This guide shows independent appraisers how to reconcile AMC payouts against engagement letters, structure a chart of accounts around E&O insurance and mileage, accrue fees at report delivery to catch underpayment, and estimate quarterly taxes off net rather than gross 1099 income.
Indoor Ice Rink Bookkeeping: How to Handle Deferred League Revenue and Year-Round Refrigeration Costs
Ice rinks collect league fees, memberships, and lesson packages months before delivering the ice time, so prepayments must be booked as deferred revenue and recognized weekly as sessions are used — while refrigeration runs as a fixed cost every month. A practical five-step monthly routine covers deferral schedules, expense categorization, and cash-flow forecasting for rink owners.