#checklist
Checklist
Practical checklists for accounting and financial tasks
Bank Reconciliation Checklist: How to Match Your Books to Your Bank Statement Every Month
A 9-step monthly bank reconciliation checklist that matches your book balance to the bank statement, separates timing differences from journal entries, and uses the divisible-by-9 rule to catch transposition errors in 30 to 60 minutes.
Mecklenburg County Now Charges 8.25%: The Charlotte-Area POS and Bookkeeping Checklist for the July 1 Sales Tax Increase
Mecklenburg County's combined sales tax rose to 8.25% on July 1, 2026 — the highest rate in North Carolina. This is the point-of-sale, invoicing, filing, and bookkeeping checklist Charlotte-area businesses need to collect and remit the new rate correctly.
How to Switch Business Bank Accounts Without Missing Payroll or Triggering a Fraud Hold
A six-week playbook for moving business bank accounts—inventory every ACH, wire, and payroll rail first; seed the new account to dodge Regulation CC holds; move payroll last with a prenote; and run both accounts in parallel with daily reconciliation before closing.
IRS Business Tax Account Revalidation: Why Your S-Corp or C-Corp Access Expires Every Year
The IRS requires S-corp and C-corp Designated Officials to revalidate Business Tax Account access every June 15 through July 29 or lose online access to payments, transcripts, and notices until they reapply from scratch.
Minimum Wage Rose in 20+ Jurisdictions on July 1, 2026: A Multi-State Payroll Update Checklist
More than 20 state and local jurisdictions raised their minimum wage on July 1, 2026 — Alaska to $14.00, Oregon and D.C. on their annual schedules, plus 17 city and county increases across California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon — lifting pay for over 360,000 workers by roughly $221 million a year. A seven-step checklist for employers who owe the highest rate where work is performed, including how to split a straddling pay period by work date rather than pay date.
QuickBooks Desktop 2023 Support Ended May 31, 2026: Your Migration Checklist
QuickBooks Desktop 2023 hit end of support on May 31, 2026 — payroll tax tables stopped updating, bank feeds, Desktop Payments, direct deposit, e-filing, Workforce, online backup and security patches all shut off on June 1, while local company files still open normally. A pre-migration cleanup checklist, the three viable paths (QuickBooks Online, Enterprise, or a different platform), the Desktop-to-Online export steps, and the post-migration reconciliation that proves the ledger moved intact.
OSHA's Hazard Communication Deadline Moved to November 20, 2026: A Small Business Compliance Guide
OSHA's January 2026 rule moved the Hazard Communication compliance deadline for employers to November 20, 2026 for substances (May 19, 2028 for mixtures). Here's what small businesses must update — labels, training, and written HazCom programs — plus penalties up to $16,550 per serious violation and the 70% reduction now available to employers with up to 25 workers.
FTC's 2026 AI Disclosure Rule for Influencers: A Compliance Guide for Small Businesses
The FTC's 2026 "double disclosure" rule requires sponsored posts to separately disclose AI involvement in addition to paid-partnership status, with penalties up to $53,088 per non-compliant post.
Rental Arbitrage Bookkeeping: How to Set Up Books for a Leased Airbnb Business
Rental arbitrage bookkeeping differs from landlord accounting because the lease is a pure operating expense with no equity, only furniture is depreciable over 3-5 years, and most operators land on Schedule C rather than Schedule E once average guest stays fall under 30 days with services provided.
California Pay Data Reporting: The May 2026 Deadline and What the CRD Requires
California employers with 100 or more employees must file a pay data report with the Civil Rights Department by May 13, 2026, using a snapshot pay period between October and December 2025, or face civil penalties of $100 to $200 per employee.
California's SB 68 Allergen Disclosure Law: A July 2026 Compliance Checklist for Restaurant Chains
California's SB 68 (the ADDE Act) requires restaurant chains with 20+ locations and at least one California site to disclose the nine major food allergens on every menu format starting July 1, 2026, with civil liability rather than regulatory fines as the primary enforcement risk.
The Mid-2026 State Privacy Law Wave: What Small Businesses Need to Know
On July 1, 2026, Connecticut lowered its privacy law threshold to 35,000 residents, Arkansas banned targeted ads to minors under ACTOPPA, and Utah added a data correction right, pulling more small businesses into scope than ever before.