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Compliance

Navigate regulatory compliance and maintain audit-ready financial records

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9 min read

NCUA Preempts State Interchange-Fee Laws: What the Credit Union Rule Means for Your Business

On June 30, 2026, the NCUA issued an interim final rule declaring that federal law preempts state laws — like Illinois's Interchange Fee Prohibition Act — that bar interchange fees on the sales-tax and tip portions of card transactions for federal credit unions. Here is what the rule says, why the litigation is far from over, and how small businesses should track card-processing costs while the rules stay unsettled.

Mike Thrift

paymentsbankingsmall-business
6 min read

New Hampshire's HB 1433 Child Care Tax Credit: What Employers Can Claim Against BPT and BET

New Hampshire's HB 1433, signed July 9, 2026, creates a Child Day Care Creation Tax Credit worth 50% of qualifying costs against the Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax, capped at $5 million statewide with a four-year carryforward. Here is who qualifies under the 12-slot rule, how it differs from HB 1634, and what to track before 2028 filings.

Mike Thrift

tax-creditstax-planningsmall-business
7 min read

New Jersey Legalizes Human Composting: Bookkeeping for a Natural Organic Reduction Facility

New Jersey's natural organic reduction law takes effect July 1, 2026, making it the 14th state to legalize human composting. The 45-day reduction cycle forces deferred-revenue treatment under ASC 606, unclaimed soil becomes a tracked inventory line, and NOR vessels need their own depreciation class — here's how funeral homes should set up the books.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businesscompliance
8 min read

NLRB Independent Contractor Rulemaking Petition: What the SuperShuttle Fight Means for Small Businesses

On February 11, 2026, fourteen trade groups — including the American Trucking Associations and the National Retail Federation — petitioned the NLRB to lock in a stable independent contractor standard after three different tests in roughly a decade. Here's how the NLRB test differs from the IRS and DOL frameworks, and what contractor-reliant businesses should do while the petition plays out.

Mike Thrift

independent-contractorcompliancepayroll
7 min read

Private-Label Pet Food Bookkeeping: Costing a Co-Packer's Formulation Fees, MOQs, and Recall Reserves Before You Ever Sell a Bag

Private-label pet food carries costs no co-packer invoice shows — kibble MOQs of 20,000–40,000 lbs, per-state AAFCO registration fees from $30 to $3,500 a year, and recall exposure running 3–5× direct costs. How to structure a chart of accounts, amortize per-SKU formulation fees, and fund a recall reserve before your first production run.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessmanufacturing
8 min read

Three-Way Reconciliation for Title and Escrow Agencies: How Trust Account Bookkeeping Actually Works

A three-way reconciliation matches three numbers every cycle: the adjusted trust bank balance, the book balance, and the sum of every client file ledger. Here's how title and escrow agencies run it under ALTA's roughly 10-business-day standard, the five discrepancies auditors flag most, and why it's the last defense against real estate wire fraud that cost victims over $275 million in 2025.

Mike Thrift

real-estatereconciliationbookkeeping
6 min read

The $2.25 Million Lesson: What the RentGrow FTC Settlement Means If Your Business Runs Background Checks

RentGrow paid a $2.25 million civil penalty to settle FTC allegations of FCRA violations: duplicated eviction and criminal records, an undisclosed data source, and mishandled consumer disputes. Here is what the consent order requires, and the separate FCRA obligations — permissible purpose, written consent, adverse action notices — that any business using screening reports must still meet.

Mike Thrift

compliancelegalproperty-management
7 min read

The 7(a) Program Risk Oversight Act: What SBA Lender Transparency Means for Borrowers

The 7(a) Program Risk Oversight Act would require the SBA to publish loan performance data by loan size, seasoning, borrower age, and lender type — and post it publicly within seven days of reporting to Congress. Here's what lender-level risk data means for the 70,000+ businesses borrowing $31 billion a year through the program, and how to keep your records audit-ready.

Mike Thrift

sbasba-loanssmall-business-loans
6 min read

SECURE 2.0's Paper Benefit Statement Rule: What the DOL's Temporary Relief Means for 401(k) Plan Sponsors

SECURE 2.0 requires 401(k) and other defined contribution plans to mail at least one paper benefit statement per year starting with plan years after December 31, 2025. With Q1 2026 statements due around May 15 and the DOL's implementing rule still a proposal, Field Assistance Bulletin 2026-02 pauses enforcement for plan sponsors who comply in good faith — here's what small businesses must still do.

Mike Thrift

401kretirement-plansemployee-benefits
8 min read

Sign Language Interpreter Agency Bookkeeping: Why a Two-Hour Minimum and a No-Show Fee Can Make or Break Your Margin

How interpreting agencies and freelance ASL interpreters should book VRI versus in-person revenue ($35–$100/hr versus $50–$145/hr with two-hour minimums), cancellation fees, deferred retainers, and 1099-vs-W-2 classification risk — plus revenue per bookable hour, the KPI that actually predicts margin.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessindependent-contractor
7 min read

USTR's Forced-Labor Section 301 Tariffs: What 10–12.5% Duties on 60 Economies Mean for Small Importers

In June 2026, USTR concluded 60 simultaneous Section 301 investigations and proposed additional tariffs of 10% (economies with an unenforced forced-labor import ban, including Canada, Mexico, and the EU) or 12.5% (the 54 economies with no ban, including China, India, and Vietnam) — duties that stack on top of existing Section 232, IEEPA, and China 301 rates. Here is who is on each list, how the surcharge compounds landed cost, and five steps small importers should take before the final rate publishes.

Mike Thrift

tariffscustomssmall-business
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