Asset Retirement Obligations Under ASC 410: How Operators Record the Future Cost of Restoring a Site at Day One
ASC 410-20 requires recording an ARO on day one—when drilling, erecting, or build-out finishes.
Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
ASC 815 Hedge Accounting for Private Companies: Document Swaps and Forwards Without Wrecking Earnings
ASC 815 requires derivatives to be marked to market through earnings unless you elect hedge accounting at inception. A guide to the three hedge models, the simplified approach for private companies, and the documentation mistakes that turn a clean economic hedge into quarterly earnings volatility.
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts: Keep Accounts Receivable Honest
The allowance for doubtful accounts estimates uncollectible receivables. Learn the aging and percentage-of-sales methods, plus how write-offs keep accounts
Accountable Plans: How to Reimburse Owners and Employees Tax-Free
An accountable plan lets an S corporation reimburse owners and employees for mileage, home office, and supplies tax-free under Treasury Regulation 1.62-2. It requires three things—business connection, substantiation within 60 days, and return of excess within 120 days—and replaces the employee expense deduction the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated.
The 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast: A Survival Guide for Small Business Liquidity
A 13-week cash flow forecast uses the direct method to project weekly cash movement across one quarter, surfacing the exact day a profitable business could still bounce payroll. Here is how to build, read, and roll one forward.
1099-K Threshold Whiplash: What Gig Workers and Online Sellers Need to Know for 2026
For the 2026 tax year the Form 1099-K threshold reverted to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions, but you must still report all income whether or not a form arrives. This guide explains who gets a 1099-K, how to reconcile Box 1a from gross to taxable income, and where the numbers go on Schedule C or Schedule 1.
100% Bonus Depreciation Is Back: How Small Businesses Combine Section 168(k) and Section 179 in 2026 to Write Off Equipment the Year They Buy It
100% bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) is permanent again for property placed in service after January 19, 2025, and Section 179's 2026 limit is $2,560,000. This guide shows how small businesses combine both to deduct equipment the year it is bought, with a worked $1.2M example and the disqualification traps to avoid.
Venture Debt and Recurring Revenue Loans in 2026: A Founder's Guide
How venture debt and recurring revenue loans work in 2026 — pricing in the 10-13% range, warrant coverage of 0.5-1.5%, end-of-term fees, MAC clauses, and when each instrument actually extends runway versus trapping founders before the next equity round.
Tax Planning for Travel Nurses: Tax Home, the One-Year Rule, Per Diem Stipends, and Multi-State Filing
A practical breakdown of how travel nurses keep housing and meal stipends tax-free — covering the IRS tax home rule, the 12-month assignment cliff, duplicate-expense documentation, multi-state nonresident returns, and which states have reciprocity agreements.
Surety Bonds for Construction Contractors: How the Miller Act and SBA Guarantee Program Open Public Works to Small Builders
Public construction contracts above the FAR $150,000 threshold require performance and payment bonds under the Miller Act, with state Little Miller Acts setting thresholds from $25,000 to $500,000. The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program—which guaranteed $10.6 billion in bonds for 2,200+ small businesses in FY2025—lets approved sureties write bonds for small contractors by absorbing 80–90% of loss risk.
Surety Bonds for Construction Contractors: Miller Act, SBA Guarantees, and the Books That Build Bonding Capacity
How bid, performance, and payment bonds work in 2026 for small construction contractors — the Miller Act's $35K and $150K federal thresholds, the SBA's 80–90% guarantee covering contracts up to $14 million, and the working-capital and WIP discipline that decides which builders get bonded for the largest jobs.
State PFML Programs in 2026: A Multi-State Employer's Guide to Withholding, Private Plans, and the Section 45S Credit
Sixteen US jurisdictions run mandatory paid family and medical leave programs in 2026, with new benefits live in Minnesota, Maine, and Delaware, a 23% Washington premium hike to 1.13%, and a permanent Section 45S federal credit. This guide covers which states require withholding, how private plan exemptions work, how PFML coordinates with FMLA and ADA, and the W-2 Box 14 codes that break payroll when miscoded.