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Compliance

Navigate regulatory compliance and maintain audit-ready financial records

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New York's Gig Delivery Worker Law: What the $22.13 Pay Floor, Tip Rules, and Weekly Payouts Mean for Your Restaurant's 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.

mike

restaurantsmall-businessbookkeeping

NYC Banned Hidden Hotel Fees and Surprise Card Holds: A Compliance and Bookkeeping Guide

Since February 21, 2026, New York City requires hotels and short-term rental hosts to advertise an all-in total price including every mandatory fee, and to disclose credit card holds and advance deposits before the guest pays. Here is how the rule differs from the federal FTC junk-fee rule, what counts as mandatory, and how to keep room revenue, fee revenue, deposits, and incidental holds straight in your ledger.

mike

junk-feesall-in-pricingpricing-transparency

Why Splitting Cash Deposits to Stay Under $10,000 Can Be a Federal Crime — Even When the Money Is Clean

Structuring — breaking cash into sub-$10,000 deposits to avoid a Currency Transaction Report — is a felony under 31 U.S.C. 5324 carrying up to 5 years in prison, and the government never has to prove the money was dirty. Here is how CTRs and Form 8300 actually work, which innocent deposit habits look like evasion, and the cash records that prove your intent.

mike

compliancebsafincen

The Student FICA Exemption: Who Qualifies, and Where Payroll Gets It Wrong

Wages paid to a student by the school they attend are exempt from the 7.65% FICA tax under IRC Section 3121(b)(10), but only when the worker clears all four Revenue Procedure 2005-11 tests — at least half-time enrollment, under 40 hours a week across all campus jobs, no professional role, and no career-employee benefits. This guide covers the safe harbor, the five-week break rule, the graduation cliff, and how to correct withholding in either direction.

mike

payrolltax-compliancewithholding

When a TPS Work Permit Expires: A Restaurant Employer's I-9 Reverification and Payroll Playbook

Haiti and Syria TPS employment authorization documents have lapsed after a summer of shifting USCIS dates, and continuing to schedule an affected worker exposes a restaurant to per-worker penalties under INA section 274A. This guide covers the Form I-9 Supplement B reverification sequence, the five mistakes that turn paperwork into a discrimination claim, and how to book the overtime, temp-agency, and recruiting costs of rebuilding a roster.

mike

restaurantpayrollcompliance

Trump Accounts and ERISA: How to Offer the $2,500 Employer Contribution Without Creating a Plan

DOL Technical Release 2026-02 says employer Trump Account contribution programs generally are not ERISA pension plans, provided participation is voluntary and the employer adds no conditions, investment influence, ERISA claims, or extra consideration. This guide covers the four conditions, how the $2,500 per-employee and $5,000 per-child caps interact, and the payroll coding that keeps both reconciled.

mike

employee-benefitspayrollcompliance

Wales Business Rates 2026: The Three-Tier Multiplier and the £116M Transitional Cushion

From 1 April 2026 Wales replaced its single non-domestic rates multiplier with three — 0.350 for retail under £51,000 rateable value, 0.502 standard, 0.515 above £100,000 — and is phasing revaluation increases above £300 at 33% in 2026-27 and 66% in 2027-28 with £116 million of transitional relief. Here is how to check which multiplier applies, verify the relief line on your bill, and budget the pre-programmed step-ups.

mike

tax-compliancesmall-businessretail

California Is About to Regulate Franchise Brokers: What SB 919 Means Before You Sign

Starting July 1, 2027, California's SB 919 requires franchise brokers to register annually with the DFPI, deliver a standardized disclosure document — including how they are paid — before pitching any franchise, and keep five years of auditable records. Here is what the law changes, why broker commissions of 40–50% of the franchise fee matter to buyers, and how to vet a broker before the rules take effect.

mike

franchise-bookkeepingcaliforniaregulatory

Is Your ELD Still Legal? What the FMCSA's Revoked-Device Purge Means for Your Trucks and Your Books

The FMCSA revoked 67 electronic logging devices in 2026 — including Safe ELD and MYLOGS ELD — each starting a 60-day replacement clock, after which a revoked device counts as no ELD at all. Here is how small carriers verify their device against the live registry, avoid out-of-service orders and CSA points, and book the forced swap as a clean per-truck deduction.

mike

truckingcomplianceregulatory
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