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Hiring

Financial considerations when hiring employees or contractors

EU Platform Work Directive Deadline: What US Businesses Hiring European Freelancers Must Do Before December 2, 2026

The EU Platform Work Directive (2024/2831) must become national law in all member states by December 2, 2026, creating a rebuttable presumption that platform workers are employees. US businesses hiring EU-based freelancers through digital platforms face reclassification risk, algorithmic transparency duties, and new data-processing bans — this guide covers the six pillars, a 10-month compliance playbook, and the bookkeeping changes to make now.

The 'Mutual Election' Fix: What a Proposed Third Worker Category Would Mean for Your Freelancer Bookkeeping

The 21st Century Worker Act (S. 2159) would set one federal classification test and add a third "mutual election" category letting a business and worker jointly choose contractor or employee status, defaulting to contractor if they disagree. Here is what it would change for freelancer bookkeeping and how to keep contractor records defensible now.

The CPA Search Now Takes 73 Days: A Small Business Guide to the Accountant Shortage

Filling a CPA-credentialed role now averages 73 days, 41% longer than non-credentialed roles, while the number of candidates sitting for the CPA exam fell from over 100,000 in 2016 to about 67,000 in 2022. This guide explains what is draining the pipeline, what the shortage costs in fees and delayed closes, and five ways small businesses keep books clean and filings on time without waiting in line for a firm.

Virginia's New 5-Employee Discrimination Threshold: An SB 637 Compliance Guide

Effective July 1, 2026, Virginia's SB 637 drops the Virginia Human Rights Act employer threshold from 15 employees to 5 and extends the filing window from 300 days to two years. Any business with five or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks is now covered for every prohibited practice — not just discharge. Here is the 20-week counting rule, a seven-step compliance checklist, and the payroll and retention records an investigator asks for first.