#bookkeeping
Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows
Discord issues 1099-Ks through Stripe reporting gross subscriber payments, not your net payout after the ~10% platform fee, Stripe processing, and app-store cuts. Here's how server owners reconcile the gap on Schedule C, what the restored $20,000/200-transaction federal threshold means for 2026, and the self-employment tax that applies either way.
Divorce mediators should book retainers as a liability until sessions are billed, claim the home-office deduction on genuinely low overhead, and track referral relationships with attorneys and therapists as a real marketing channel.
Starting January 1, 2026, OBBBA's new IRC §274(o) cuts the employer deduction for on-site cafeterias, office snacks, and "convenience of the employer" meals from 50% (or 100%) to zero, while client meals, travel meals, and restaurant employee meals keep their old treatment. Here's the math on what the change costs and how small businesses should restructure their books.
Falconry-based bird abatement businesses must book raptors as fixed-asset overhead (roughly $1,500–$3,000+ per bird per year for food, vet care, and equipment) rather than supplies, and cost each contract individually since day rates and permit obligations vary by site and jurisdiction.
How farmers market vendors keep cash, card, SNAP/EBT tokens, and nutrition-incentive matches reconciled — log every payment rail the same day, book market-reimbursed tokens as receivables rather than same-day revenue, retain NTEP-certified scale tickets as legal records, and split raw versus processed sales between Schedule F and Schedule C.
Learn the fixed charge coverage ratio formula with a worked example, how FCCR differs from DSCR, and how credit agreements define rent, taxes, and
A float center costs $250,000–$750,000 to open, and its books must handle three oddities most small businesses never face — Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation on tank-heavy build-outs, membership dues booked as deferred revenue under ASC 606, and per-float costs (salt, utilities, laundry) that erode the visible 80% margin.
How freelance designers should handle taxes and bookkeeping — Schedule C reporting, the 15.3% self-employment tax, quarterly estimates, recognizing retainers as unearned revenue, and why royalties from licensing your own design work belong on Schedule C (not Schedule E) with a 1099-MISC, not a 1099-NEC.
A freelance translator invoicing €450 can receive as little as $431 due to a 3%-4% PayPal exchange-rate markup that never appears as a labeled fee, which is why translators and interpreters need to log invoiced and received amounts as separate figures and post the difference to a dedicated Bank & FX fees expense category.
Home care agencies collect from private pay, Medicaid MCOs, and VA Aid and Attendance on three different timelines while caregiver payroll runs on a fixed biweekly schedule, so tracking AR by payer separately (not blended) is the key to forecasting cash and catching the 2026 EVV hard-edit denials that make unresolved visit exceptions permanently unbillable.
Home inspectors average one liability claim over a career and pay roughly $989/year for E&O insurance, so amortizing that premium per job and tracking mileage, report-writing time, and licensing renewals on Schedule C is what separates a profitable inspection business from one guessing at its margins.
Cleaning franchise royalty (4–8%) and ad fund (1–3%) fees are calculated on gross sales — before discounts and comp cleans — and the total franchise fee load commonly runs 12–15% of revenue. Here's how to book royalties, brand fund contributions, and per-territory P&Ls correctly, with a worked $95,000/month reconciliation example.
