#bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows
Fractional CFO Firm Bookkeeping: Structuring Your Own Books When You Sell Financial Clarity for a Living
How should a fractional CFO firm structure its own books? Retainers ($3,000–$15,000/month) are deferred-revenue liabilities until earned, unbilled work-in-progress belongs on the balance sheet, and revenue should be split by billing model — retainer, hourly ($175–$450/hour), and project fees — in a market headed past $3.2 billion in 2026.
Freight Broker Bookkeeping: Factored Invoices, Carrier Payments, and the $75,000 Reserve
How freight brokers should structure their books — separate gross freight revenue from net margin, record factoring advances as loans (not income), track quick pay fees distinctly, and account for the FMCSA $75,000 bond or trust reserve that 2026 rules require replenishing within seven days of a claim.
Horse Boarding Bookkeeping: Per-Horse Costs, Pass-Throughs, and the Hobby-Loss Rule
Full-service horse board runs $650–$1,600 a month nationally, yet a 30-horse barn's real costs can near $60,000 monthly — here's how to build a per-horse chart of accounts, handle vet and farrier pass-throughs, recognize board revenue correctly, and stay clear of the IRS hobby-loss rule.
Illinois Drops the 200-Transaction Sales Tax Rule: What Remote Sellers Should Do in 2026
Effective January 1, 2026, Illinois eliminated the 200-transaction economic nexus threshold, leaving a single $100,000 trailing-12-month revenue test for remote sellers. Here's who gains or loses nexus, how the August–October 2026 amnesty program works, and how to structure your books to answer state-by-state sales questions on demand.
Independent Courier Bookkeeping: 1099 Taxes, Deadhead Miles, and the Cost-Per-Mile Math That Decides a Route
How independent couriers and last-mile delivery drivers keep real books on 1099 income — the 1099-NEC and 1099-K reporting thresholds, a 25–30% tax set-aside habit, standard mileage vs. actual expenses, and a cost-per-mile formula that counts the 20–25% of miles driven deadhead to tell profitable routes from money-losers.
Bookkeeping for Paragliding and Hang Gliding Schools: Ratings, Gear, and Weather-Delayed Revenue
How to set up bookkeeping for a paragliding or hang gliding school — split tandem vs. solo revenue by USHPA rating level, capitalize $4,500–$9,000 wing/harness/reserve setups as depreciating fixed assets, track PASA certification and site insurance as recurring compliance costs, and hold weather-delayed tandem deposits as unearned revenue until the flight is flown.
Print-on-Demand Bookkeeping: COGS, Royalties, and Sales Tax by Platform
Print-on-demand sellers run two different businesses — integration channels (Etsy + Printify) with real COGS, and marketplace channels (Redbubble, Amazon Merch) with none. This guide covers how to reconcile 1099-K gross figures, avoid double-counting platform fees, handle marketplace-facilitator sales tax, and structure a per-channel chart of accounts to track margins that range from 20% to 70%.
QuickBooks Online Payroll Now Auto-Pays Taxes at Run Time: What Changed on July 1, 2026 and How to Protect Your Cash Flow
As of July 1, 2026, QuickBooks Online Payroll automates all payroll tax payments and withdraws funds when you run payroll — not on the tax due date. Here's what changed, how it affects small-business cash flow, and a six-step checklist to avoid surprise withdrawals.
Where Did $90 Billion in Inventory Just Go? A Small Retailer's Guide to Booking Shrinkage Correctly
U.S. retailers lost $90–112 billion to inventory shrinkage in the latest reporting cycle, an average shrink rate near 1.6% of sales. This guide shows small retailers how to book shrink in a dedicated expense account instead of burying it in COGS — with the exact journal entries, cycle-counting schedules, materiality thresholds, and the process fixes behind the ~70% of shrink that isn't theft.
Square vs. Toast vs. Clover: How to Choose a POS System for Your Business Type
Square, Toast, and Clover each target a different business — Square starts free at 2.6% + 15¢, Toast locks restaurants into 2-year contracts, and Clover's hardware runs $500–$1,799+. This guide compares real costs by transaction volume and explains the three-way reconciliation problem POS data creates in your books.
Tuxedo and Formalwear Rental Shop Bookkeeping: Why the Real Profit Is in the Tenth Rental, Not the First
A $1,000 tuxedo rented at $196 a night needs five-plus rentals just to cover its cost — which is why formalwear rental bookkeeping treats garments as depreciating fixed assets, damage deposits as liabilities rather than revenue, and seasonal cash reserves as a line item. Here's the chart of accounts and depreciation method that make cost per wear visible.
Wagepoint's WagePro+ Partner Tiers: What Payroll Referral Incentives Mean for Your Small Business
Wagepoint's WagePro+ program (July 2026) gives accounting firms up to 20% discounts, matched co-marketing funds, and automatic tier upgrades from 1 to 500 payroll clients — here's how those incentives can shape the payroll recommendation you get, and five questions to ask your bookkeeper before signing up.