Blog

Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.

July 20, 20267 min read

Colorado HB26-1289: Worldwide Combined Reporting Becomes the C Corp Default in 2027

Starting with tax years beginning January 1, 2027, Colorado's HB26-1289 makes worldwide combined reporting the default for unitary C corporation groups — foreign subsidiaries included. The water's-edge election that avoids it binds for ten consecutive years, and a tax-haven blacklist (Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore) pulls listed entities back in regardless. Here's who is affected and what records you need.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancetax-planning

July 20, 20267 min read

The CLARITY Act Senate Showdown: What Crypto Market-Structure Rules Could Mean for Your Business's Digital Assets

The CLARITY Act cleared the House 294-134, but as of mid-July 2026 markets give it roughly 43% odds of passing the Senate before the August recess. Here's what the crypto market-structure bill means for businesses holding digital assets — and why FASB's ASU 2023-08 fair-value accounting rules already apply regardless of the vote.

Mike Thrift

cryptocurrencydigital-assetscrypto-compliance

July 20, 20267 min read

California's SB 343 'Truth in Recycling' Law Is Blocked — What the Injunction Means for Your Recyclable Labels

A federal judge blocked California's SB 343 "Truth in Recycling" law on July 14, 2026, pausing its October 4 recyclable-labeling deadline. Here's what the preliminary injunction does and doesn't change — the FTC Green Guides, SB 54, and UCL false-advertising risk still apply — and how small brands should handle compliance spending now.

Mike Thrift

small-businesscompliancelegal

July 20, 20268 min read

Buy Here, Pay Here Used Car Lot Accounting: What Independent Dealers Get Wrong About the Books

How buy-here-pay-here dealers should book installment notes receivable, separate unearned finance charges from vehicle-sale revenue, reserve for repossessions on portfolios where ~78% of loan volume is subprime, and structure a Related Finance Company that survives an IRS audit — plus why accrual accounting and year-of-sale gain recognition are mandatory for dealer inventory.

Mike Thrift

accountingbookkeepingsmall-business

July 20, 20269 min read

Boat Detailing Business Bookkeeping: Per-Foot Pricing, Seasonal Cash Flow, and Marina Contracts

How to set up the books for a boat detailing business — separate income accounts for each service tier (wash, polish, ceramic coating, oxidation restoration priced $10–$200 per foot), a 12-month cash flow forecast for a season that concentrates 80% of revenue into six months, and distinct tracking for recurring marina and yacht club contracts.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessseasonal-business

July 20, 20267 min read

The BIS Affiliates Rule: What 50% Ownership Means for Small Exporters Before November 2026

Starting November 10, 2026, the BIS Affiliates Rule extends Entity List and MEU List restrictions to any company 50% or more owned by listed entities — aggregated across owners and traced through corporate layers. Here's what small exporters need to do about screening, Red Flag 29, and documentation before the stay ends.

Mike Thrift

compliancesmall-businesscustoms

July 20, 20268 min read

Your Convertible Note Just Converted. Is That a Gain, a Loss, or Neither?

FASB's ASU 2024-04, mandatory for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2025, defines a three-part test for whether settling a sweetened convertible-note conversion counts as an induced conversion (expense only the sweetener) or a debt extinguishment (gain or loss against carrying value) — a classification that can swing reported expense by hundreds of thousands of dollars on the same transaction.

Mike Thrift

accountingstartupfundraising

July 20, 20266 min read

AI Underwriting in 2026: How Small Business Loans Went From Weeks to Hours

Non-bank lenders now fund small business loans in an average of 1.8 days versus 4–8 weeks at traditional banks, driven by AI underwriting that reads live bank feeds instead of tax returns. Here's how the models judge your business, why a 1.4 factor rate can hide a 150%+ APR, and how clean, reconciled books improve both approval odds and pricing.

Mike Thrift

aimachine-learningsmall-business-loans

July 20, 20266 min read

AI-Generated Fake Invoices Are Fooling Accounts Payable Teams — Here's How to Stop Them

Generative AI made vendor impersonation cheap: 76% of organizations faced payments fraud in 2025, and AI-generated fakes now drive 70.8% of expense-report fraud. Here are the controls that still work — out-of-band verification, dual authorization, vendor-file hygiene, and auditable books.

Mike Thrift

fraud-preventionfraud-detectionaccounts-payable

July 20, 20267 min read

The Agri Stats Consent Decree: New Antitrust Rules for Benchmarking and Industry Data Sharing

The DOJ's May 2026 consent decree with Agri Stats sets concrete rules for lawful benchmarking — pricing data must average 45+ days old, output data 90+ days, reports must be quartile-aggregated and equally available to all buyers. Here's what the settlement means for any small business in a trade-association survey or industry pricing dashboard.

Mike Thrift

antitrustcompliancelegal

July 19, 202610 min read

Yoga Studio Bookkeeping: Why Class Packs Are Liabilities, Not Revenue

A prepaid class pack is a liability until the classes are taught. This guide covers deferred revenue for yoga studios — recognizing pack and membership income as classes are attended, writing off breakage, classifying instructors as 1099 contractors vs W-2 employees, separating taxable retail from service revenue, and a five-step monthly close.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessrevenue-recognition

July 19, 20268 min read

West Virginia's New Cottage Food Permit: How SB 44 Lets Home Producers Sell Pickled, Fermented, and Refrigerated Foods

West Virginia's Senate Bill 44, effective June 12, 2026, created a potentially hazardous cottage food vendor permit that lets home producers legally sell pickled and fermented vegetables, acidified salsas and hot sauces, kombucha, and refrigerated items like custards and cream pies. The permit requires a kitchen inspection, food safety training, a WVDA permit, and water testing for kitchens on private wells, while raw meat, poultry, seafood, and Grade A dairy remain prohibited under both cottage food tiers.

Mike Thrift

small-businesscompliancepermits

Start Free→Documentation