#bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows
Parking Garage Bookkeeping: Reconciling Cash, Card, and Validation Revenue
How parking lot and garage operators reconcile entry/exit counts, cash drops, and card settlements to catch revenue leakage, plus correct accounting for monthly permits and validations.
Fitness Studio and Personal Trainer Bookkeeping: Deferred Revenue, Instructor Pay, and the KPIs That Matter
Prepaid training packages are a liability, not income — how fitness studios should use deferred revenue accounting, classify instructors under the FLSA economic-reality test, and track the KPIs, like the 70–75% class utilization benchmark, that separate profitable studios from struggling ones.
Petting Zoo and Mobile Animal Encounter Bookkeeping: Schedule C vs. Schedule F, USDA Licensing, and Sales Tax
Petting zoo admission fees are Schedule C income, not Schedule F farm income — a split that affects self-employment tax, the farmer estimated-tax exception, and audit risk. This guide covers the USDA APHIS Class C exhibitor license ($30–$300/year), liability insurance from $545–$780/year, state admissions-tax traps for mobile trailers, and how to keep agritourism books separate from the farm ledger.
Portable Benefits for Independent Contractors: A Guide to the New State Laws
Utah, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and West Virginia now let businesses contribute to an independent contractor's portable benefit account without that contribution counting as evidence of employment. How the state safe harbors work, what Utah's 50% tax credit (up to $2,000 per contractor) covers, and how to track contributions in your books.
Powerboat and Pontoon Rental Bookkeeping: Schedule C, Depreciation, and Seasonal Cash Flow
Powerboat and pontoon rental income is reported on Schedule C, not Schedule E, which subjects net profit to the full 15.3% self-employment tax — a distinction that shapes how these seasonal businesses should handle depreciation, off-season cash reserves, and an eventual S-corp election.
The New 1% Remittance Tax: What Small Business Owners Sending Money Abroad Need to Know
A 1% federal excise tax applies to cash-funded international money transfers starting January 1, 2026, but bank, debit, and credit card transfers are exempt — here's how small businesses can avoid it.
San Francisco's Commercial Vacancy Tax: Filing Rules, Rates, and Exemptions for Storefront Owners
San Francisco's Commercial Vacancy Tax charges $250 to $1,000 per linear foot of street frontage for ground-floor storefronts vacant more than 182 days a year in named neighborhood commercial districts. Every owner and tenant of a covered space must file an annual return even if fully occupied — and the separate $1,850 DBI vacant storefront registration is a second obligation entirely.
Scrap Metal Recycling Center Bookkeeping: Cash Purchases, Seller IDs, and Form 8300 Compliance
Forty-five states require scrap yards to keep seller-ID records, cash caps run as low as $30 (Washington), and IRS Form 8300 is due within 15 days on cash over $10,000. A practical guide to building a purchase ledger that survives police, state regulator, and IRS scrutiny.
Substack Newsletter Taxes 2026: A Creator's Guide to Schedule C, 1099-Ks, and Quarterly Payments
Substack newsletter creators are self-employed under IRS rules, owe 15.3% self-employment tax on net profit via Schedule C, and receive a 1099-K only above $20,000 in gross payments and 200 transactions — though all income must be reported regardless.
Toast vs. Square vs. Clover: Choosing the Right POS System for Your Restaurant or Retail Business in 2026
Toast charges roughly 2.99% + 15¢ per transaction, Clover about 2.3% + 10¢, and Square 2.4–2.6% + 15¢ — a side-by-side breakdown of POS pricing, hardware costs, and contract terms to help restaurant and retail owners pick the right system in 2026.
Board Game Cafe Bookkeeping: Cover Charges, Food, Retail & Game Library Depreciation
Board game cafes blend three businesses — admission fees, food and beverage, and retail — and each needs its own revenue and COGS account; the game library itself should be capitalized and depreciated over 3-5 years, not expensed, while shrink-wrapped retail copies stay inventory.
Consolidated vs. Combined Financial Statements: What Owners of Multiple LLCs Actually Need
Consolidated statements group a parent with the subsidiaries it controls under ASC 810; combined statements group entities that share a common owner with no parent-subsidiary link — the structure most multi-LLC owners actually have. Both require eliminating intercompany transactions, and neither changes how each LLC files taxes.