#compliance
Navigate regulatory compliance and maintain audit-ready financial records
Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island's consumer privacy laws took effect January 1, 2026, and two have no revenue threshold — here's how small businesses determine if they're covered and how to track the revenue percentages these laws require.
A chart-of-accounts guide for document shredding and data destruction companies covering three revenue streams (route, purge, hard drive destruction), NAID AAA certification costs ($3,000-$5,000 first year), chassis-vs-shredder depreciation, and treating paper recycling rebates as revenue rather than an unreconciled deposit.
Bait and tackle shops run three revenue models through one register — perishable live bait, hard goods, and state fishing-license sales. Live bait mortality should be booked as shrinkage expense (tracked by species and supplier), bait-dealer licenses are recurring compliance costs tiered by sales volume in states like Wisconsin, and license sales are commission revenue (typically 4.75%–5%) with the state's share held as a liability, never income.
Effective April 1, 2026, California's SB 22 raises the mandatory gift card cash-out threshold from $10 to $15 — the highest in the U.S. — and extends it to electronic and app-based cards. With nearly 200 lawsuits filed under the statute since 2008, here's the compliance checklist and the gift card liability bookkeeping retailers need before plaintiffs' investigators come testing.
The DOL's May 2026 final rule creates a Form LM-2 Long Form for unions with $40 million or more in annual receipts, raises LM-2/LM-3/LM-4 filing thresholds to $350,000 and $25,000, and adds a $5,000 foreign-transaction disclosure schedule — effective for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2026. Here's what changes for union bookkeeping.
The FTC has filed 13 "AI-washing" enforcement cases since September 2024, including a May 2026 action against marketing firms that sold small businesses a fake "AI-powered" listening tool for $930,000 in penalties — here's a vetting checklist before you buy any AI-branded product.
On June 24, 2026, the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility issued Alert 2026-19, its first guidance on AI under Circular 230. It requires human review of AI output, technological competence, secure handling of client data, written firm AI policies, and fees that reflect AI-driven time savings — here's what small business owners should ask their preparer.
A three-way reconciliation proves the bank statement, trust ledger, and every individual client ledger agree to the penny. It is the monthly process that keeps a pooled IOLTA account compliant with ABA Model Rule 1.15 and out of bar discipline.
A tow truck over 14,000 lbs GVWR can often be fully expensed under Section 179 the year it's placed in service — but only if the depreciation schedule starts that year. How towing companies should separate tow, impound, and lien-sale revenue, reconcile lot logs monthly, and price compliance costs into every job.
From April 6, 2026, HMRC can recover a UK umbrella company's unpaid PAYE and NICs directly from the recruitment agency — or the end client if no UK agency exists — with no reasonable-care defense. Here's who is in scope and the due diligence steps to take before the deadline.
Bill C-15 makes bare trust reporting mandatory in Canada for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2026, with T3 and Schedule 15 filings due March 31, 2027. Covers which small-business arrangements count as bare trusts, the narrow $50,000/three-month exemption, and penalties up to 5% of trust property value.
Chicago's BACP raised license fees in two waves on January 1 and February 1, 2026 — the Limited Business License doubled from $250 to $500, the Regulated Business License quadrupled to $1,000, and livery vehicle licenses rose 140% — weeks after the mayor's "Cut the Tape" small-business initiative. Here's which tier applies to you and how to budget for renewal.
