Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Independent theaters keep 10-50% of box office after the distributor split but 85-92% of every concession dollar. This guide covers film rental settlements, ASC 606 deferred revenue for gift cards and movie passes, concession COGS by category, breakage and state escheatment, and Section 179 expensing for digital projectors and recliner seating.
How independent insurance agencies should recognize first-year and renewal commission, accrue contingent and profit-sharing income under ASC 606, segregate premium trust funds, classify producers as 1099 or W-2, and meet state DOI and surplus lines tax obligations.
A practical accounting guide for independent hospice and palliative care agencies — covering Medicare per-diem revenue recognition under ASC 606, the aggregate cap under 42 CFR 418.309, the inpatient cap, hospice wage index labor allocation, ZPIC/SMRC/RAC recoupment reserves, bereavement and foundation income segregation, and the NHPCO benchmark KPIs that boards and lenders track.
How independent community pharmacies reconcile PBM remittance advice to adjudicated AR, accrue DIR fee reserves as variable consideration under ASC 606, segregate 340B inventory to survive HRSA audits, and produce the gross-margin-per-Rx KPIs that lenders benchmark against the NCPA Digest's 19.7% margin median.
A working accounting backbone for an independent boba shop — recipe-card COGS down to the tapioca pearl, ASC 606 deferred revenue for loyalty and gift cards, Section 179 treatment for pearl cookers and heat sealers, the Section 45B FICA tip credit on Form 8846, FDA calorie disclosure thresholds, and the FDD Item 19 KPIs (ADS, prime cost, drinks per labor hour) that separate operators who scale from operators who close.
How independent bicycle and e-bike shops should book floorplan financing and curtailment, separate service labor from parts revenue, hold customer repair deposits as a liability, comply with UL 2849 and California SB 1271 lithium-ion rules, and track the KPIs floorplan lenders actually review.
A practical bookkeeping guide for granite and quartz countertop shops — slab-level inventory by bundle number, machine-hour burden rates for bridge saws and CNCs, ASC 606 over-time revenue recognition, channel-separated builder versus retail P&L, and warranty reserves that hold up under audit.
Independent funeral homes prepay-then-perform service decades later, which creates preneed trust liabilities, ASC 606 deferred revenue, FTC Funeral Rule itemization requirements, and cash advance pass-throughs that off-the-shelf bookkeeping templates mishandle. This guide shows how to structure books that survive a state mortuary board audit, IRS review, and sale due diligence.
How small businesses use Form 3115 to fix prior-year accounting methods without amending returns — covering the Section 481(a) catch-up math, automatic vs. non-automatic consent under Rev. Proc. 2015-13, three worked examples (cash-to-accrual, cost segregation, repair regs), and the five filing mistakes that forfeit audit protection.
A practical guide to fertility-clinic accounting — applying ASC 606 across IVF cycle obligations, estimating refund-guarantee liabilities, treating donor and gestational-carrier fees as agent pass-throughs, recognizing cryostorage revenue ratably, and using Section 179 on embryology lab equipment.
A working accounting backbone for a state-licensed driving school — deferring prepaid teen package revenue under ASC 606, Section 179 treatment for dual-brake training vehicles outside the Section 280F luxury-auto caps, the ABC-test exposure of paying per-diem instructors on 1099, a self-insured-retention reserve accrued per behind-the-wheel hour, and the operational KPIs (vehicle utilization, package redemption rate, first-attempt DMV pass rate) that separate growing schools from those quietly bleeding cash.
How custom cabinet and architectural millwork shops should account for long-lead contracts under ASC 606, allocate CNC machine-hour burden, hold customer deposits as liabilities, reserve for hardwood yield loss, and expense equipment under the 2026 Section 179 limit of $2.56M.
