A practical guide to setting up Excel bookkeeping for small businesses — chart of accounts, transaction logging, SUMIF formulas, pivot tables, monthly reconciliation, and the clear warning signs that you've outgrown spreadsheets.
A practical walkthrough of the five account types, common IRS-aligned expense categories, and weekly habits that keep small business books accurate—covering chart of accounts setup, automation strategies, and mistakes that lead to missed deductions.
A bank statement summarizes every deposit, withdrawal, fee, and balance change in your account over a fixed period. This guide covers how to read each section, reconcile statements with your books, spot fraud early, and store records for IRS compliance.
A practical, step-by-step guide to catch-up bookkeeping for small businesses—covering how to reconstruct overdue financial records, what professional cleanup costs ($300–$8,000+), and proven habits to prevent the backlog from building again.
A practical, IRS-grounded guide to small business expense tracking—covering deductible categories, documentation requirements for meals and mileage, and how to choose between spreadsheets, accounting software, and plain-text tools like Beancount.
60% of small businesses struggle with cash flow, yet most financial problems are preventable with the right systems. This 7-phase guide walks you through auditing your books, cutting wasteful expenses, separating personal and business finances, and building a cash flow forecast that keeps you out of crisis mode.
The IRS requires receipts for business expenses of $75 or more—with lodging always requiring documentation—and imposes stricter contemporaneous records for travel, meals, and listed property under Section 274(d). Most small businesses should retain all records for at least 7 years to cover the full range of audit scenarios.
The IRS requires adequate documentation—not necessarily paper receipts—for every business deduction. This guide covers the $75 threshold rule, strict substantiation categories, retention periods of three to seven years, and digital storage standards accepted since 1997.
Merchant cash advances can fund your business in 24 hours—but at effective APRs often exceeding 100%. Learn how factor rates work, how to calculate your true cost, when MCAs make sense, and what cheaper alternatives to consider first.
A step-by-step guide to the month-end close process for small businesses—covering bank reconciliation, accrual recording, and financial statement review, with benchmarks showing most businesses close in 5–10 days.
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