Cost-Plus vs. Fixed-Price Contracts: Who Eats the Overrun, and How to Price Either One
Fixed-price puts overrun risk on you; cost-plus puts it on the client. Price either from burdened labor, add overhead recovery, and track each job weekly.
Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Cloud-Based Accounting and Real-Time Bank Reconciliation: Stop Closing the Books Weeks Late
Daily bank-feed matching keeps your ledger within a day of reality, cutting the median 6.4-day close to hours instead of weeks.
Cash Flow Coverage Ratio Explained: Can Your Business Actually Afford Its Debt?
Divide operating cash flow by annual debt payments: above 1.2 your business comfortably carries its debt, below 1.0 operations alone cannot cover it.
Capitalization vs. Expensing: When to Capitalize Software Development, Subscriptions, and Cloud Infrastructure Costs
Capitalize application-development costs under ASC 350-40 and expense SaaS subscriptions; Section 174 tax rules diverge, so track both.
Business Line of Credit vs. Equity Financing: How Each One Hits Your Books, Your Taxes, and Your Debt-to-Equity Ratio
A credit-line draw is a liability that raises your debt-to-equity ratio; equity cash lowers it. Weigh deductible interest against permanent dilution.
How to Reconcile Afterpay and Klarna BNPL Under ASC 606: Variable Consideration and the Financing Component Most Sellers Miss
BNPL fees netted at the source understate revenue and break the IRS Form 1099-K tie-out — book gross sales with a refund liability instead.
How to Handle Bad Debt Loops in QuickBooks: Write-Off, Recovery, and the Allowance That Never Clears
Book allowance estimates monthly, write off dead invoices with a Bad Debt credit memo, and reinstate before logging recoveries, or the allowance never clears.
Active Trader or Long-Term Investor? How the IRS Taxes Each (and Why It Matters Before Your Next Trade)
Investors face the wash sale rule and a $3,000 loss cap; qualifying traders who elect Section 475(f) get ordinary treatment with neither.
Accounts Payable Optimization: Capture Every Early-Payment Discount Without Starving Your Cash Flow
A 2/10 net 30 discount is a 36% annualized return — pay inside the window, hold the rest until due, and track DPO monthly.
Accounts Payable Lifecycle Automation: How to Cut Invoice Processing Costs From $13 to Under $3
Manual invoice processing costs $9.84 on average versus $2.65 best-in-class — automate intake, matching, approvals and payments to capture the gap.
USDA Business and Industry Loans: How Rural Businesses Borrow Up to $25 Million Through Local Lenders
USDA's B&I program guarantees up to 80% of rural business loans to $25 million with 30-year terms. Here is who qualifies and how to apply.
Touring Musician Taxes and Bookkeeping: Guarantees, Door Splits, Merch Settlements, Per Diems, and Multi-State Filing
Every state you played wants a nonresident return, and the IRS taxes all of it. US guide to door deals, merch books, per diems, and road deductions.