The Bank Deposits Method, Explained: How the IRS Reconstructs Your Income From Bank Statements
The IRS bank deposits method totals your deposits, adds cash spending, and taxes the gap over reported receipts — documented non-income deposits rebut it.
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Bookkeeping
Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows
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- Bookkeeping Basics with Beancount: A Plain-Text Path to Clean Books
Start here: what bookkeeping is, why clean books matter for tax, decisions and funding, and the seven-step plain-text blueprint for building the habit in Beancount.
- Bookkeeping vs. Accounting: What’s the Difference, and Where Does Beancount Fit?
Learn which job you are doing: recording what happened (bookkeeping) versus interpreting it (accounting), with a Beancount example of each layer.
- Business vs Personal Bookkeeping: Drawing a Clear Line with Beancount
Apply the highest-leverage discipline first: separate business from personal money with the four-step Beancount blueprint before the ledger fills with noise.
- Navigating Receivables in Beancount
Practice a core skill end to end: track money owed with Assets:Receivables, process refunds, and keep the account honest with the #UNRESOLVED tag.
What Is a Classified Balance Sheet? Current vs. Non-Current Sections, What Each Subtotal Tells a Lender, and How to Build One From Your Trial Balance
A classified balance sheet sorts assets and liabilities into current and non-current sections — the subtotals behind working capital and the current ratio.
What Is a Normal Balance in Accounting? Which Side of the Ledger Each Account Type Increases On
Assets, expenses, and dividends grow with debits; liabilities, equity, and revenue with credits — which side of the ledger each account increases on.
Opportunity Cost, Explained: The Hidden Price Tag on Every Business Decision
Opportunity cost is the value of your next-best forgone alternative — price DIY bookkeeping against a $400 hire before your hours subsidize it.
What Are the All-Events Test and Economic Performance? The Two Rules That Decide Which Tax Year an Accrual-Basis Deduction Belongs To
An accrual-basis deduction needs a fixed liability, a determinable amount, and economic performance under IRS Section 461(h) — miss one and it moves a year.
Cost Centers vs. Profit Centers vs. Investment Centers: Give Every Manager a Number They Actually Control
Match each manager's target to their authority: cost centers own spending, profit centers own margin, investment centers earn ROI above the required return.
The Dividends Received Deduction, Explained: How C Corporations Deduct 50%, 65%, or 100% of Dividends
C corporations deduct 50%, 65%, or 100% of dividends received — once the stock clears the 45-day holding period. IRS tiers, limits, and traps explained.
Plaid vs. MX vs. Finicity: Which Bank-Data Aggregator Sits Behind Your Accounting Feed?
MX enriches transactions best, Finicity leads lending verification, and Plaid connects the most banks — pick your feed by where you bank, not by brand.
What Is a Post-Closing Trial Balance? How Closing Entries Zero Out Temporary Accounts and Leave Only Permanent Balances for the New Period
After closing entries, only assets, liabilities, and equity carry balances forward — the post-closing trial balance proves the close worked.
Single-Step vs. Multi-Step Income Statements, Explained: How Format Choice Changes What Lenders See
Single-step nets everything in one subtraction; multi-step shows gross profit and operating income — the subtotals lenders read to judge your core business.
Statement of Changes in Equity, Explained: The Fourth Financial Statement That Reconciles Profit to Ending Equity
Beginning equity plus profit minus distributions plus new capital equals ending equity — the statement that reconciles each dollar of movement.
Vertical vs. Horizontal Analysis, Explained: How Common-Size Percentages Reveal Your Cost Structure While Trend Analysis Shows Where It Is Drifting
Common-size percentages show what each revenue dollar does; trend analysis shows where it is drifting — run both monthly to catch margin erosion early.