Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Painting contractors lose margin in three places — unmeasured prep hours, a wrong burdened labor rate, and unreserved callbacks. This guide shows the chart of accounts, EPA RRP cost treatment, warranty reserve journal entries, and lender-grade KPIs that keep residential and commercial painters profitable.
How an outpatient PT practice should book insurance-billed visits under ASC 606, reconcile 835 ERAs to 837P claims, reserve for KX-modifier recoupments, and track the net collection rate, days-in-AR, and productivity KPIs that actually predict cash flow.
A bookkeeping framework for course creators on Teachable, Kajabi, and Thinkific covering ASC 606 recognition for cohorts and lifetime offers, state economic nexus after Wayfair, Stripe and PayPal reserve accounting, affiliate commission classification, and Section 179 studio capitalization.
How music schools should book prepaid tuition as deferred revenue under ASC 606, why recurring teachers usually fail the ABC test for 1099 classification, how to apply Section 179 to pianos and recording gear, and how to reconcile MyMusicStaff or Jackrabbit against a general ledger.
A working bookkeeping playbook for mobile pet grooming operators — how to track per-stop revenue and route time, apply Section 179 and bonus depreciation to a built-out cargo van, allocate generator fuel and consumables, reserve for care-custody-control exposure, and use the KPIs that predict whether a route is sustainable.
A practitioner's guide to medspa accounting—per-unit injectable COGS, ASC 606 deferred revenue on packages, Section 179 on $80K–$250K lasers, MSO/PC entity separation under CPOM rules, GLP-1 program revenue, and the KPIs buyers compute during diligence.
A practical guide to the seven bookkeeping decisions that determine whether a massage therapy clinic survives a state labor audit — worker classification under the ABC test, ASC 606 deferred revenue for prepaid packages, retail sales tax on CBD and body care, Section 45B FICA tip credit eligibility, Section 179 expensing, MindBody and Vagaro reconciliation, and insurance prepayments.
A bookkeeping field guide for junk removal and dumpster rental operators — ASC 606 treatment of roll-off rentals and overage tonnage, tipping fees as direct cost of service, Section 179 and bonus depreciation on hooklift trucks, Form 2290 and FMCSA compliance accounts, and the per-truck-day KPIs that decide route profitability.
How indoor climbing and bouldering gyms should handle deferred membership revenue under ASC 606, Section 179 elections on walls and holds, W-2 vs 1099 setter classification, insurance reserves, and operating KPIs like revenue per square foot, churn, and member density.
How independent wedding and portrait photographers should recognize booking retainers as deferred revenue under ASC 606, classify second shooters under the ABC test, capitalize mirrorless gear under Section 179, and reconcile Tave, Studio Ninja, and HoneyBook with the general ledger.
How independent real estate brokerages should set up their chart of accounts in 2026 — separating GCI, agent splits, and franchise royalties into contra-revenue, running three-way trust-account reconciliations, documenting 1099-NEC payouts under IRC Section 3508, defending RESPA Section 8 entries, and accruing E&O self-insured retention reserves so company dollar, audit readiness, and Section 199A QBI all stay visible.
Independent pizzerias survive only when prime cost — food plus labor — stays at or below 60% of sales. This guide covers booking DoorDash and Uber Eats revenue gross under ASC 606, claiming the FICA tip credit on Form 8846, capitalizing deck and conveyor ovens under Section 179, and building recipe cards that expose the gap between theoretical and actual food cost.
