Skip to main content

Blog

Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.

Browse by tagView all authors

Credit Union vs. Bank for Small Business: Fees, Loan Rates, and the 12.25% Cap

Credit union business checking averages about $4.15 a month against $12 to $15 at large banks, overdrafts run roughly $26.61 versus $31.24, and new-auto rates sit near 5.44% versus 7.41% — but federal credit unions may lend only 12.25% of assets to member businesses, so facilities above $500,000 usually still route to banks. A line-by-line comparison of fees, approval odds, membership eligibility, and a 60-day parallel-account switch that does not miss payroll.

mike

bankingbusiness-bankingsmall-business

Section 45W Has Expired: What the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit's Sunset Means for Small Fleets

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended the Section 45W Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit — the lesser of 15% of basis (30% for pure EVs) or incremental cost, capped at $7,500 under 14,000 lbs GVWR and $40,000 at or above — for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, along with the 30D and 25E credits. Only the Section 30C refueling-property credit survives, for property placed in service through June 30, 2026. Covers the acquisition-date and written-binding-contract tests that decide whether a vehicle you ordered still qualifies, how a fleet EV pencils out on total cost of ownership without federal money, and the Section 179, bonus depreciation, and per-VIN asset records that replace it.

mike

tax-creditstax-planningsmall-business

Should Your Small Business Become a Certified B Corp in 2026? The New Standards, Real Costs, and What It Takes to Pass

Since March 11, 2026, B Corp certification no longer works on a single 80-point score — applicants must clear foundation requirements plus independently verified thresholds in all seven impact topics, with no offsetting between them. Covers what changed, the tiered fees ($1,000 to $25,000+ annually, roughly $2,000–$2,100 for a $1M–$5M company), the 40–80 hours of evidence-gathering a small business should budget, and how to structure your chart of accounts so verification is an afternoon rather than a forensic project.

mike

sustainabilityesgcompliance

Can You Copyright That AI-Generated Blog Post? What Small Businesses Need to Know About Ownership and Infringement in 2026

U.S. copyright protects only human authorship, so raw AI output is unprotectable and unenforceable. The Copyright Office's January 2025 report found prompts alone do not make you the author — protection attaches only to the parts a reader can see you wrote. Here is what that means for small-business marketing content, plus the disclosure, licensing, and bookkeeping records that prove it.

mike

aicopyrightlegal

AI Receptionists in 2026: What They Cost, What They Recover, and How to Book Them

Small businesses miss about 27% of inbound calls during business hours and 40-60% after hours, and 85% of first-attempt callers never call back. AI receptionists run $30-$80/month entry-level, $150-$400 for service businesses, and $800-$1,200+ for multi-location deployments. This guide gives the three-number ROI formula (missed calls × close rate × average job value), where the subscription belongs in your chart of accounts, and a monthly recovery tracker that ties AI-booked appointments back to actual invoices.

mike

aiautomationsmall-business

AI Bookkeeping Software in 2026: What Automated Categorization, Receipt Scanning, and Reconciliation Really Cost

A cost and capability comparison of 12 AI bookkeeping platforms in 2026 — QuickBooks Online ($38–$275/month), Xero ($25–$90), Ramp (free core tier), Digits, Zeni, Pilot (~$599+), Botkeeper, Docyt, and Vic.ai. Expect 85–95% auto-categorization on routine spend and 60–80% on ambiguous transactions, and budget by hours saved times your rate rather than sticker price.

mike

aiaccounting-softwareautomation

The CPA Search Now Takes 73 Days: A Small Business Guide to the Accountant Shortage

Filling a CPA-credentialed role now averages 73 days, 41% longer than non-credentialed roles, while the number of candidates sitting for the CPA exam fell from over 100,000 in 2016 to about 67,000 in 2022. This guide explains what is draining the pipeline, what the shortage costs in fees and delayed closes, and five ways small businesses keep books clean and filings on time without waiting in line for a firm.

mike

cpahiringsmall-business
Start Free→Documentation