Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team. Browse by tag.
Indoor Golf Simulator Lounge Bookkeeping: Bay Rentals, Memberships, and Hardware Depreciation Done Right
America has 3,849 indoor golf venues with a median bay rate of $40 per hour. Learn how to book bay rentals vs memberships with deferred revenue, capitalize and depreciate $15K–$40K simulator hardware under 2026 Section 179 ($2.56M) and 100% bonus, and why waiting a full season before selling annual passes protects cash flow.
How to Reconcile Stripe Payouts Without Losing Track of Your Real Revenue
Stripe deducts fees, holds refunds, and settles net, so your bank deposit never equals your revenue. Book the gross sale, expense the fee separately, and treat each payout as a transfer from your Stripe balance, then reconcile to Stripe's balance in under 30 minutes a month.
Hiring Farm Workers in 2026: Form 943, the $150 and $2,500 Tests, and Why Farm Payroll Files Once a Year
Farm payroll doesn't use Form 941. Learn how Form 943's annual filing, the $150 per-worker and $2,500 aggregate cash-wage tests for FICA and withholding, and the separate $20,000 FUTA threshold work in 2026, plus the bookkeeping split that keeps farm and nonfarm liabilities off the wrong return.
Florida's Series LLC Law Takes Effect July 1, 2026: A Small Business Guide to Protected Series, Liability Shields, and Per-Series Bookkeeping
Florida's Senate Bill 316 authorizes protected series LLCs starting July 1, 2026 — one parent LLC can house multiple legally segregated series. This guide explains formation and naming, what keeps the liability shield intact, how the IRS treats each series as a separate taxpayer, and the per-series bookkeeping that makes the structure hold up.
FinCEN's 2026 AML Overhaul: What the Shift to Risk-Based Compliance Means for MSBs and Fintechs
FinCEN's April 7, 2026 proposal would fundamentally reform AML/CFT program rules under the Bank Secrecy Act, replacing box-checking with effective, reasonably designed, risk-based programs. Learn the five key changes, the design-vs-implementation test, and a 10-step checklist for MSBs and fintechs.
Drone Delivery Goes Mainstream: A Small Operator's Guide to FAA Part 108 BVLOS Permits, Insurance, and Per-Flight Profitability
FAA Part 108 replaces one-off Part 107 BVLOS waivers with 24-month permits and certificates for drones up to 1,320 lbs. Learn the five cost buckets, insurance pricing at $475-$4,000 per drone, and the cost-per-flight-minute formula that turns BVLOS approvals into profitable pricing.
Your $35,568 Exempt Employee Could Still Owe Overtime — If They Work in the Wrong State
Federal overtime stays at $684 per week after the 2024 rule was vacated, but Washington ($80,168), California ($70,304), Colorado ($57,784), New York ($62,400–$66,300), and Maine ($45,300) now exceed it for 2026 — learn the three-test rule, where state law controls, and a six-step payroll audit to avoid back-pay and liquidated damages.
Delta Air Lines Q2 2026 Earnings: $17.7 Billion Record Revenue Absorbs Highest-Ever Fuel Bill as 15% Dividend Hike Signals Confidence
Delta Air Lines Q2 2026: $17.7B record revenue, $2.9B net income, fuel $3.4B headwind and 15% dividend hike — tracked via public Beancount ledger FY2021–FY2026Q2.
Custom Sign Shop Pricing That Actually Pays: Separating Materials, Labor Burden, and Installation
A flat $55 shop rate quietly underprices illuminated and digital sign work while vinyl subsidizes the loss. Learn how to split every quote into materials with 7% indeterminates and 1.5x markup, fully burdened labor including payroll taxes and workers comp, and installation as a separate crew and equipment profit center — with a sample channel letter worksheet and a bookkeeping setup that makes estimates match actuals.
Connecticut's All-In Pricing Law Is Live: The July 1, 2026 Junk-Fee Ban Every Business Selling to CT Customers Needs to Follow
Connecticut's S.B. 3 takes effect July 1, 2026: every business advertising to Connecticut must show an all-in price that includes all mandatory fees. Learn who must comply, the tax and shipping exceptions, how it compares to the FTC rule, and the bookkeeping checklist to align your price tags, POS, and ledger.
Closing Entries at Year-End: How to Zero Out Revenue and Expense Accounts and Roll Profit Into Retained Earnings
Master year-end closing entries: learn the four steps to zero revenue, expense, and dividend accounts, transfer net income via Income Summary to retained earnings (or capital), verify with a post-closing trial balance, and see how Beancount handles closing without manual entries.
California's Freelance Worker Protection Act: Written Contracts, Payment Timelines, and What Every Hiring Business Must Track in 2026
California's Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988) has been enforceable since January 1, 2025. Learn who is covered at the $250 aggregated threshold, the six required contract terms, the 30-day payment backstop, four-year retention, double-damages risk, and a bookkeeping playbook to keep your AP calendar and vendor files compliant in 2026.