Double Your Team's Giving Without Doubling Your Budget: How Small Businesses Launch an Employee Matching Gift Program
A 1:1 match turns a $250 employee gift into $500 for any IRS-verified 501(c)(3) — start with a $500 cap and quarterly payouts.
Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Dual-Class Stock, Explained: How Founders Keep Control, Why Investors Discount It, and What Sunsets Change
Supervoting shares let founders control a company on a minority stake; investors discount the wedge unless a sunset restores one share, one vote.
DRIPs, Explained: How Dividend Reinvestment Plans Compound With Fractional Shares and Discounts
A DRIP reinvests your dividends into more shares automatically — but the IRS still taxes every dollar. How compounding, discounts, and cost basis work.
Down Payment Assistance, Explained: Grants, Forgivable Seconds, and Deferred Loans for First-Time Buyers
Over 2,600 US down payment assistance programs average about $18,000 per buyer — grants, forgivable seconds, and the recapture rules that claw money back.
Distribution Agreements, Explained: Territory, Quotas, MAP Pricing, and Exit Terms
Exclusive territory, purchase quotas, MAP pricing, trademark control, and sell-off rights decide who bears the cost when a distribution relationship ends.
The Consulting Agreement Checklist for Freelancers and Agencies: Scope, Ownership, Payment Terms, and Liability Caps
Cap liability at fees paid, assign IP only on full payment, and require a 30-50% deposit — the consulting-agreement clauses that protect freelancers.
Co-Hosting vs. Rental Arbitrage: How to Run a Short-Term Rental Business Without Owning Property
Rental arbitrage keeps the spread but owes rent monthly; co-hosting earns 10-25% with no lease. Compare economics, contracts, permits, and IRS-proof books.
CLA vs. DCO: Which Contributor Agreement Should Your Open Source Project Use?
A CLA is a signed grant that keeps relicensing open; the DCO is a per-commit sign-off with minimal friction — choose by your project's future.
CBP Audits, Explained: Focused Assessments, Quick Response Audits, and the Internal Controls That Decide Whether You Are Low-Risk
CBP audits your import controls before your entries — pass the Pre-Assessment Survey and the review stays light; fail it and face back duties plus penalties.
Buy American vs. Buy America vs. BABA: Which Domestic-Content Rule Governs Your Federally Funded Job
Direct federal buys follow the Buy American Act while grant-funded infrastructure follows BABA - 100% US iron and steel, 55% domestic manufactured products.
Bobtail vs. Non-Trucking Liability: Which Coverage Gap Each Fills for Leased Owner-Operators
Bobtail covers tractor-only driving even under dispatch; non-trucking liability covers personal use off dispatch — leased owner-operators often need both.
Authorization Holds, Explained: How Long Each Card Network Lets You Hold Funds — and When to Reverse Instead of Capture
Visa gives card-present holds 5 days and card-not-present 10; Mastercard 7; Amex 7; Discover 10 — capture or reverse before the clock runs out.