Track Costs by Project, Customer, and Cost Center Without a 400-Account Chart of Accounts
Keep 80 to 150 accounts and tag each line by project, customer, or cost center — one Travel account with tags replaces dozens of Travel-Project-X accounts.
Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Switching from Cash to Accrual Accounting: The Transition-Year Playbook for Small Businesses
Cash-to-accrual switches run through IRS Form 3115: positive Section 481(a) catch-ups spread over four years, so cutoff discipline sets the bill.
Subscription Billing Reconciliation and Churn Accounting: Taming Upgrades, Downgrades, and Mid-Cycle Prorations
Upgrades and downgrades reallocate future revenue, never the past — reconcile billing to books monthly with a deferred-revenue rollforward.
How to Reconcile Stripe Climate Contributions, Instant Payouts, and Reserves Without Creating a Phantom Expense
Climate gifts, instant payout fees, and reserve holds cut Stripe payouts without touching the fee line — book each separately or your profit lies.
Section 199A Meets Depreciation Recapture: The Rental Tax Trade-Off Most Investors Miss
Depreciation shrinks the QBI behind your 20% Section 199A deduction, then returns as up to 25% recapture at sale — time both against your holding period.
QuickBooks Online Retired "Classic" Reports: What the Modern View Switch Means for Your Reporting
QuickBooks retired Classic reports for all standard and saved custom reports — audit the accounting method, date range, and filters on each migrated report.
QuickBooks Books Close Pricing: Is It Worth It for a Small Bookkeeping Practice?
Books Close costs $8 per client per month after its free beta — worth it when it saves your practice more than a few minutes per close.
Why Your P&L Shows Profit While Your Bank Account Is Empty
Profit books invoiced revenue before cash arrives while loan principal, inventory, and draws drain cash invisibly — find the leak on your cash flow statement.
The Payout Reconciliation Gap: Why Amazon, Shopify, and TikTok Shop Deposits Never Match Your Sales Records
Marketplace payouts are net settlements, not revenue — book gross sales, split every fee into its own account, and tie each deposit to its settlement report.
Operating vs. Finance Leases Under ASC 842: Classification, ROU Assets, and Lease Liabilities
Meet any one of five ASC 842 tests and your lease is finance, not operating — a choice that front-loads expense and reshapes leverage ratios.
Marketplace Seller Accounting and 1099-K Reconciliation: Why Gross Payments, Platform Fees, and Processor Discrepancies Break Most Resellers' Books
A 1099-K reports gross payments, not profit. Book gross sales, deduct every fee, and reconcile payouts monthly to match IRS records.
Market Research on a Small Business Budget: Find Your Customers and Outflank Competitors Before You Write Your Plan
42% of failed startups cite no market need. Use free Census and SBA data to size demand, map competitors, and pick the right business plan.