#bookkeeping
Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows
On October 1, 2026, British Columbia applies 7% PST to accounting, architectural, engineering, security, and non-residential real estate services — with engineering taxed on only 30% of the fee (2.1% effective). Here is who must register, how the paid-vs-provided transition rules treat September and October billing, which exemptions need documentation, and the chart-of-accounts setup that keeps the liability separate.
California SB 351 took effect January 1, 2026, barring private equity and management companies from controlling clinical decisions at medical and dental practices. Because the violations it targets — percentage-of-collections management fees, clinician payroll in the MSO, patient revenue landing outside the PC — are all visible in the general ledger, compliance is largely a bookkeeping project. Here are seven ledger fixes to make now.
Filing IRS Form 5768 swaps the undefined "substantial part" lobbying test for a formula — 20% of the first $500,000 of exempt purpose expenditures, sliding down to a $1 million cap, with grassroots lobbying limited to 25% of that. A single-year overage costs a 25% excise tax, not your exemption.
How to build an enterprise budget for a cut-flower farm, calculate true per-stem cost (total planting cost ÷ marketable stems, counting owner labor and 20–40% shrink), compare farmers-market, subscription, wholesale, and u-pick channels by net return per hour, and price mixed bouquets from a costed recipe — plus Schedule F vs. Schedule C rules and seasonal cash-flow practices.
From January 1, 2026, Danish sole proprietorships, partnerships, and associations with net turnover above DKK 300,000 in both 2024 and 2025 — roughly 118,000 businesses — must keep books in a compliant digital system with NemHandel/Peppol e-invoicing, tamper-evident five-year storage, weekly automated backups, and SAF-T export on demand. This guide covers the two-year turnover test, the five system requirements, the five mistakes that trigger enforcement, and a seven-step migration checklist.
The March 2026 DOJ settlement caps Ticketmaster service fees at 15% of face value at Live Nation amphitheaters, limits venue exclusivity deals to four years, and guarantees rival ticketing access — while the FTC's all-in pricing rule already binds every ticket seller. A practical guide for independent venues and promoters on rebuilding per-ticket math, ASC 606 principal-vs-agent revenue calls, settlement-sheet reconciliation, and the seven contract terms to renegotiate now.
Private companies mail new LLCs and corporations official-looking notices charging $110 for $10 state filings, $125 for meeting minutes no state requires, and $89 for labor law posters the government gives away free. A 60-second checklist separates real government notices from solicitations, with steps to reverse a payment you already made.
Bankrate's January 2026 survey found 43% of U.S. adults consider financial secrecy at least as bad as physical cheating, and 40% of adults in live-in relationships admit to a money secret. For couples who co-own a business, a hidden card or debt also distorts pricing, payroll and joint tax liability — here are the bookkeeping controls, monthly review cadence and entity rules that make transparency structural rather than voluntary.
Public adjusters work for the policyholder, not the insurer, and typically charge 5%–15% of the settlement, with many states capping standard claims near 15%–20% and declared-disaster claims near 10%. This guide covers verifying a license and surety bond, which fee structures to question before signing, and how to book proceeds — claim receivable, gain or loss against net book value, and business-interruption income recognized at settlement.
Missouri's paid sick leave mandate took effect May 1, 2025 and was repealed effective August 28, 2025, while the scheduled $15.00 minimum wage still arrives January 1, 2026. Here is how to close the 17-week accrual window in your books, keep the payroll codes dormant instead of deleting them, and stay ready for the 2026 ballot rematch.
Vendor payment terms are negotiable working capital — top-performing companies take 46+ days to pay while bottom performers pay in 27. This guide covers what to ask for (extended net terms, milestone deposits, installment schedules), how to time and frame the ask as a win-win, the early-pay discount math (skipping 2/10 net 30 implies a 35%+ annualized cost), and how to track negotiated terms, AP aging, and DPO in your books.
New York City's app-based delivery rules — a $22.13 hourly courier pay floor for pay periods beginning on or after April 1, 2026, tipping offered at checkout with a 10% suggested minimum, and weekly itemized payouts — change what a restaurant has to record. Book gross marketplace sales, itemize every platform fee, run tips through a liability account that ends at zero, and the January 1099-K reconciles itself.
