What Is a Master Budget? How Sales, Production, and Cash Budgets Roll Into One Annual Plan
A master budget rolls your sales, production, and cash budgets into one annual plan — build each schedule in sequence, then compare actuals monthly.
Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Margin of Safety, Explained: How Far Your Sales Can Fall Before You Hit Break-Even
Your margin of safety is sales minus break-even sales — how far revenue can fall before losses start. Compute it in dollars, units, and percent.
Lease vs. Buy for Business Equipment: How to Run the Analysis Like Your Banker Would
Leasing vs. buying comes down to after-tax present value — Section 179 favors buying, obsolescence risk favors leasing. Run the NAL to decide.
Historical Cost vs. Fair Value: Why Your Balance Sheet Records What You Paid, Not What It's Worth
GAAP books assets at what you paid, not what they are worth — except securities, write-downs, and crypto, which follow fair value.
GAAP vs. IFRS: How US and International Rules Differ on Revenue, Inventory, Leases, and Development Costs
GAAP allows LIFO and expenses R&D; IFRS bans LIFO and capitalizes development — four framework gaps that change reported profit, and records that survive both.
Cost of Quality, Explained: What Every Dollar of Prevention Saves You in Rework and Warranty Claims
Prevention, appraisal, internal and external failure are the four quality costs — one prevention dollar saves ten in rework and a hundred in warranty claims.
ABC Inventory Analysis: How Ranking Every SKU by Annual Value Tells You What to Count Weekly, What to Reorder Automatically, and What to Stop Stocking
ABC analysis ranks every SKU by annual consumption value, so A items earn weekly counts and lean stock while the C tail coasts on bulk autopilot.
Zero-Balance Accounts, Explained: How ZBAs Sweep Idle Cash Into a Master Account Every Night
A zero-balance account ends every day at $0 — the bank funds each day's payments from a master account, so no cash ever sits idle.
Travel and Expense Policy Template: Approval Limits, Per Diem Rules, and Receipt Thresholds That Keep Reimbursements Tax-Free
Reimbursements stay tax-free under IRS rules only with 60-day substantiation and 120-day return of excess advances — miss either and they become W-2 wages.
Time Value of Money, Explained: How Discounting and Compounding Turn Future Cash Into Present Value
A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. TVM formulas for compounding and discounting, worked examples, and how to pick a discount rate.
Tax-Basis Financial Statements, Explained: The Cheaper OCBOA Alternative to GAAP, What Your Lender Gives Up, and When a Compilation Is Enough
Tax-basis statements measure your books by IRS rules, not GAAP — 20 to 30 percent cheaper, but lenders lose comparability and deferred-tax visibility.
Startup Advisory Shares, Explained: FAST Tiers From 0.1% to 1%, Two-Year Vesting, and When an Advisor Earns Options Instead of Cash
Advisors earn 0.1% to 1% on the FAST grid with two-year vesting; NSOs tax the spread at exercise, restricted stock needs a Section 83(b) election in 30 days.