#plain-text-accounting
Discover the power of version-controlled, human-readable financial records
The OBBBA's one-time retroactive Section 174 election for 2022–2024 R&D amortization closed July 6, 2026, but the standard three-year R&D credit window and permanent 2025+ immediate expensing under Section 174A remain available to small businesses.
SpaceX's IPO filing shows FY2025 revenue of $18.7B (+33%) and a $4.9B net loss — Starlink earned a $4.4B operating profit at a 38.8% margin while the AI segment (X and xAI) lost $6.4B on $3.2B of revenue and consumed $12.7B of capex. A bull-vs-bear analysis backed by an open double-entry Beancount ledger covering FY2023 through Q1 2026.
US billboard ground leases pay landowners 15–20% of ad revenue or flat rent — tax treatment and escalators over 10–20 years.
First-time SBIR/STTR awardees rarely fail audits on the science — they fail on indirect cost rates, timekeeping, and commingled funds. How to calculate your own indirect rate (DOE now caps reimbursement at 15% for for-profits), log daily hours DCAA will accept, and segregate award money before the SF 1408 survey.
Amazon's 2026 FBA fee changes start the aged-inventory surcharge at 181 days instead of 271, add a steeper tier for stock over 12 months old, and raise the low-inventory-level fee threshold from 28 to 35 days of forecasted supply — now enforced per FNSKU variation. Here's who pays most, how to estimate your exposure, and why these fees belong as separate expense lines in your books.
Botkeeper, an AI bookkeeping platform that raised nearly $90 million over 11 years, shut down within weeks after losing 30-40% of its revenue when major accounting-firm clients consolidated, leaving hundreds of firms to scramble for replacement bookkeeping infrastructure and export data before access was cut off.
U.S. duty drawback refunds up to 99% of import duties when goods are re-exported or destroyed, and claims can reach back five years. Here's which tariffs qualify (Section 301, the 2026 Section 122 surcharge), which don't (Section 232), and the import records CBP requires to approve a claim.
Unreconciled books — not fraud — are the most common way campaigns and PACs draw FEC scrutiny. A treasurer's guide to the $200 itemization threshold, 2025–2026 contribution limits ($3,500 per election to candidates), the 2026 filing calendar, what triggers an audit, and the double-entry bookkeeping practices that prevent RFAIs.
US H-2A and H-2B visas in 2026: DHS caps, per-worker costs, and payroll/tax compliance small employers must budget for.
Painting contractors lose margin in three places — unmeasured prep hours, a wrong burdened labor rate, and unreserved callbacks. This guide shows the chart of accounts, EPA RRP cost treatment, warranty reserve journal entries, and lender-grade KPIs that keep residential and commercial painters profitable.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act locks the federal estate, gift, and GST exemption at $15 million per individual with no sunset. Here is what changes for SLATs, GRATs, dynasty trusts, GST allocation, and basis planning in 2026 — and what to actually do this year.
Bank feed rules cut bookkeeping time 40–60% and push error rates below 0.5%, but rule-only matching tops out at 60–70% accuracy. This guide shows how to set up rules that hold, catch silent drift, and decide where AI belongs.
