Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
How HVAC contractors should structure their books: deferred revenue under ASC 606 for maintenance plans, EPA Section 608 and AIM Act refrigerant recordkeeping after the 15-pound threshold and R-410A phase-down, Section 179 deductions for service vans, and the five KPIs that actually predict cash flow.
How solo soap, candle, and natural cosmetics makers should structure Schedule C books — recipe-card COGS, the MoCRA small business exemption (under $1M average gross sales), the $2,500 de minimis safe harbor versus Section 179, and multistate sales tax across Etsy, Faire, and direct channels.
A 2026 walkthrough of Form 5471 after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — QBAI is repealed, GILTI becomes NCTI, the Section 250 deduction drops to 40%, the FTC haircut tightens to 10%, and the pro rata share rule moves to daily ownership. Covers all five filer categories, Schedules J/M/P/Q, Form 8992 and 1118 coordination, Section 989 currency translation, and $10,000-per-CFC penalties.
How independent esports lounges and LAN centers handle ASC 606 deferred revenue on memberships, agent vs principal treatment for tournament prize pools, Section 179 expensing on a 24-month gaming PC refresh, 1099-NEC vs W-2 classification for casters and streamers, and the station-hour KPIs that separate 22% margin operators from the rest.
Boarding stables run at least five revenue streams with wildly different margins. This guide covers ASC 606 timing for board and lesson packages, agister's lien enforcement, ABC-test worker classification, Section 179 and cost segregation for arenas, EALA compliance, and the KPIs—stall occupancy, revenue per stall, hay-cost ratio—that separate profitable barns from quietly failing ones.
Custom decorator shops sit at the crossroads of manufacturing, retail, and service work. This guide walks through the four-layer job cost model, ASC 606 treatment of customer deposits on custom goods, Section 179 expensing of presses and embroidery machines, and the press-hour and stitch-hour KPIs that separate profitable shops from merely busy ones.
How accredited and recreational culinary schools should defer tuition under ASC 606, allocate ingredient COGS per lab session, handle Title IV refund calculations, classify chef instructors, and apply Section 179 and 2026 bonus depreciation to kitchen build-out.
How independent commercial cleaning operators should structure revenue recognition under ASC 606, allocate route-level costs, capitalize equipment under Section 179, and manage 1099 misclassification risk — with ISSA-aligned KPI benchmarks and a chart-of-accounts outline.
How commercial honey producers and pollination apiarists structure books for Schedule F, elect out of Section 263A pre-productive period capitalization, depreciate bees as 7-year livestock, source pollination revenue across state lines, comply with FDA honey labeling, and track pounds-per-colony and revenue-per-hive KPIs at a 1,000-hive scale.
How disciplined cannabis dispensaries build books that survive Section 280E—segregating COGS from disallowed expenses, applying the Section 471(c) small-taxpayer carve-out, reconciling METRC to the POS to the general ledger daily, handling FinCEN BSA cash-banking and Form 8300 reporting, and reporting the sales-per-square-foot and basket-size KPIs MSO lenders read.
How small inns and B&Bs should record OTA commissions at gross under ASC 606, hold transient occupancy tax in fiduciary accounts, navigate the Section 280A live-in owner trap, and stack Section 47 historic credits with cost segregation.
How axe throwing venues should structure five distinct revenue streams—walk-in lanes, league memberships, corporate events, bar sales, and BYOB pour fees—under ASC 606, including pass-through IATF dues, refundable damage deposits, cost-segregation reclassifications of $40K–$100K of build-out, and the revenue-per-lane-hour KPI that signals when to expand.
