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Small Business

Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners

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July 16, 2026

The DOL's Fiduciary Rule Just Died Again: What Small Employers Running a 401(k) Need to Know Now

Texas federal courts vacated the DOL's Retirement Security Rule in March 2026, reverting fiduciary status for retirement advice to the 1975 five-part test — the second such rule struck down since 2018. Here's what 401(k) plan sponsors should check now: advisor fiduciary status in writing, compensation disclosures, and a documentation checklist, plus what the DOL's new alternative-assets safe harbor proposal means for small plans.

mike

retirement-plansfiduciarycompliance

July 16, 2026

Drone Light Show Bookkeeping: Depreciating a Fleet and Pricing Against Fireworks

A drone light show fleet is a depreciable capital asset, not a consumable, so operators need per-unit asset registers, Section 179 or MACRS five-year schedules, a budgeted attrition reserve, and job-costed FAA waiver and insurance fees to price a show correctly against fireworks.

mike

dronesdepreciationsection-179

July 16, 2026

Employee Monitoring Disclosure Laws in 2026: What Small Businesses Must Tell Their Teams

Five states — Maine, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Colorado — now require written notice before monitoring employees. Maine's 2026 law adds annual re-notice, disclosure during hiring, and $100–$500 fines per violation, while Connecticut's expanded rules take effect October 1, 2026. Here is how to write one monitoring policy that satisfies every state.

mike

compliancelegalsmall-business

July 16, 2026

The Free Lunch Is Officially Over: What OBBBA's 0% Meal Deduction Means for Your Business in 2026

Starting January 1, 2026, OBBBA's new IRC §274(o) cuts the employer deduction for on-site cafeterias, office snacks, and "convenience of the employer" meals from 50% (or 100%) to zero, while client meals, travel meals, and restaurant employee meals keep their old treatment. Here's the math on what the change costs and how small businesses should restructure their books.

mike

tax-deductionstax-planningsmall-business

July 16, 2026

Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition: How Search Funds Turn Managers into Owners

Search funds have returned a 33.9% aggregate IRR and 4.75x invested capital across 862 funds since 1984, per Stanford's 2026 study. Here's how entrepreneurship through acquisition works — traditional and self-funded search structures, SBA 7(a) financing, typical deal metrics, and why quality of earnings diligence decides the outcome.

mike

business-acquisitionbuying-a-businessentrepreneurship

July 16, 2026

EPA's PFAS Reporting Rule (TSCA 8(a)(7)): What Small Manufacturers and Importers Must Report Back to 2011

EPA's TSCA Section 8(a)(7) rule requires manufacturers and importers of roughly 770 PFAS chemicals to report production, use, and disposal data back to January 1, 2011. The submission window now opens January 31, 2027 (or 60 days after a final scope rule), with proposed exemptions for articles and concentrations at or below 0.1% — here's what small businesses should document now.

mike

compliancesmall-businessmanufacturing

July 16, 2026

Bookkeeping for Falconry Bird Abatement Businesses

Falconry-based bird abatement businesses must book raptors as fixed-asset overhead (roughly $1,500–$3,000+ per bird per year for food, vet care, and equipment) rather than supplies, and cost each contract individually since day rates and permit obligations vary by site and jurisdiction.

mike

small-businessbookkeepinglicenses

July 16, 2026

Farmers Market Vendor Bookkeeping: Reconciling Cash, SNAP/EBT Tokens, and Scale Tickets

How farmers market vendors keep cash, card, SNAP/EBT tokens, and nutrition-incentive matches reconciled — log every payment rail the same day, book market-reimbursed tokens as receivables rather than same-day revenue, retain NTEP-certified scale tickets as legal records, and split raw versus processed sales between Schedule F and Schedule C.

mike

farmingbookkeepingsmall-business

July 16, 2026

FASB's New Environmental Credits Standard (ASU 2026-02): What Topic 818 Means for Carbon Credits, RECs, and RINs

FASB's ASU 2026-02 creates Topic 818, the first GAAP framework for environmental credits, splitting carbon offsets, RECs, and RINs into compliance, noncompliance, and voluntary categories with different measurement rules, effective for public companies in fiscal 2028 and private companies in fiscal 2029.

mike

accountingtax-compliancesustainability

July 16, 2026

The New Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (ECCA): What Small Business Owners Should Know Before 2027

The Educational Choice for Children Act creates a $1,700 federal income tax credit for cash donations to K-12 Scholarship Granting Organizations, starting with the 2027 tax year — but only in states that opt in. Here is how the nonrefundable, cash-only Section 25F credit works, the five-year carryforward, the 90% pass-through rule for SGOs, and why pass-through business owners should track their state's participation through 2026.

mike

tax-creditstax-planningcharitable-giving

July 16, 2026

Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio: Formula and Worked Example

Learn the fixed charge coverage ratio formula with a worked example, how FCCR differs from DSCR, and how credit agreements define rent, taxes, and

mike

financial-ratiosloansbusiness-loans

July 16, 2026

Fleet Telematics ROI: The GPS Tracking Math Every Small Fleet Owner Should Run

A 10-vehicle service fleet spending about $1,000 a year on GPS tracking typically recovers $15,000 to $30,000 in fuel, labor, and insurance savings, with most adopters reaching positive ROI within 7 to 12 months.

mike

small-businesscost-managementexpense-management

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