#accrual-accounting

Accrual Accounting

Accrual method accounting principles, conversion from cash basis, and revenue recognition timing

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July 20, 20268 min read

WordPress Plugin & Theme Bookkeeping: License Renewals, Merchant-of-Record Tax, and Reconciling Envato, Freemius, and Stripe Payouts

Envato's July 1, 2026 move to a flat 50% author revenue share replaces tiered rates that ran as high as 87.5%, and it exposes a deeper bookkeeping gap for WordPress plugin and theme businesses selling across Envato, Freemius, and direct Stripe checkout — gross revenue, marketplace fees, and license-renewal deferred revenue all need separate tracking, not one blended bank-deposit number.

Mike Thrift

pluginsrevenue-recognitionsales-tax

July 19, 20267 min read

Podcast Sponsorship Revenue Recognition: Why That $12,000 Check Isn't All Yours Yet

Podcast sponsorship payments received upfront aren't income until the sponsored episode airs — under ASC 606 they're deferred revenue, a liability, until each performance obligation is fulfilled.

Mike Thrift

podcastingrevenue-recognitionaccrual-accounting

July 19, 202610 min read

Yoga Studio Bookkeeping: Why Class Packs Are Liabilities, Not Revenue

A prepaid class pack is a liability until the classes are taught. This guide covers deferred revenue for yoga studios — recognizing pack and membership income as classes are attended, writing off breakage, classifying instructors as 1099 contractors vs W-2 employees, separating taxable retail from service revenue, and a five-step monthly close.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessrevenue-recognition

July 18, 20267 min read

MGA Bookkeeping: How to Account for Contingent Profit Commissions That Take Three Years to Settle

MGA profit commissions aren't calculated until 18–24 months after a policy year ends and don't finalize until the third anniversary. This guide covers accruing constrained estimates under ASC 606, keeping fiduciary premium trust accounts separate from operating funds, and a chart-of-accounts structure that keeps multi-year true-ups auditable.

Mike Thrift

insurancebookkeepingrevenue-recognition

July 17, 20268 min read

Ski Resort Bookkeeping: How to Account for Season Pass Deferred Revenue

Season pass cash collected in September is a liability, not income. This guide covers ASC 606 deferred revenue for ski resorts: the debit-cash-credit-deferred-revenue entry, straight-line vs. usage-based recognition, weather-driven refund reserves, and the four bookkeeping mistakes small ski operations make most.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingaccountingaccrual-accounting

July 17, 20268 min read

How to Book a Workers' Comp Dividend Check (and Why a Retro-Rating Plan Can Also Send You a Bill)

Workers' comp dividend checks and retro-rating adjustments arrive 6–30 months after a policy expires. Dividends are discretionary — book them as a reduction of insurance expense when declared, never accrued in advance. Retro adjustments are contractual — accrue the estimated premium as a liability in the period the losses occurred, then true up at each 6-, 18-, and 30-month adjustment.

Mike Thrift

insurancesmall-businessbookkeeping

July 16, 20268 min read

A Divorce Mediator's Guide to Bookkeeping: Retainers, Referrals, and the Home-Office Deduction

Divorce mediators should book retainers as a liability until sessions are billed, claim the home-office deduction on genuinely low overhead, and track referral relationships with attorneys and therapists as a real marketing channel.

Mike Thrift

divorceself-employmentsmall-business

July 16, 20268 min read

Med Spa Bookkeeping: Why Packages, Gift Cards, and Memberships Aren't Revenue Yet

Med spas that book prepaid packages, gift cards, and membership fees as revenue at the point of sale overstate income and understate the deferred-revenue liability they owe clients — with the U.S. med spa industry at roughly $21.4 billion in 2026 and package sales now about 29% of client spending, the resulting distortion can turn a strong bank balance into an unexplained cash crunch two months later.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingrevenue-recognitionaccrual-accounting

July 16, 20268 min read

Mobile Sauna and Cold Plunge Rental Bookkeeping: Depreciation, Deferred Revenue, and Cash Flow

A mobile sauna trailer can gross $400–$1,000 per booking, but operators fail on the accounting, not the demand. How to handle Section 179 depreciation on a sauna trailer, deferred revenue from session packs and memberships, per-session contribution margin, and the 13-week cash flow forecast that keeps a seasonal rental fleet solvent.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessseasonal-business

July 16, 202610 min read

Padel Club Bookkeeping: Court Utilization, Deferred Revenue, and the Chart of Accounts

Padel clubs run four or five overlapping revenue streams on one fixed asset; profitable operators track court-hour utilization by time band, book membership cash as deferred revenue instead of income, and recover a $500K-$1.5M build-out in 18-30 months at 60-70% peak utilization.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessaccrual-accounting

July 16, 202610 min read

Bookkeeping for Resume Writers and Career Coaches: Deferred Revenue, Package Pricing, and 1099 Writers

A $2,400 coaching package paid in April but delivered through July isn't April income. How resume writers and career coaches should split package payments into deferred revenue, recognize each resume, LinkedIn rewrite, and coaching call as delivered, track 1099 contract writers, and deduct CPRW and ICF certification costs.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingcoachingrevenue-recognition

July 15, 20269 min read

Streaming Payroll Bookkeeping: How to Book Superfluid and Sablier's Per-Second Wage Accruals

Superfluid and Sablier let DAOs pay contributors continuously by the second instead of on a pay date, which means wage expense must be accrued as it streams, not booked when a recipient withdraws — here's how to record it, including the fair-market-value and insolvency edge cases.

Mike Thrift

payrollcrypto-accountingcryptocurrency

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