#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
The Complete Service Agreement Template Guide: Protect Your Business and Get Paid Faster
A working guide to service agreements for freelancers, consultants, and small businesses—covering scope, payment terms, IP ownership, termination, and the boilerplate that decides who wins a dispute.
Small Business Tax Deductions 2026: The Complete Master List
A category-by-category guide to every major small business tax deduction for 2026, including the $2,560,000 Section 179 cap, 60% bonus depreciation, the 68.5-cent mileage rate, the 50% meals rule, and the documentation needed to defend each one on audit.
What Tax Rate Do Small Businesses Actually Pay? A 2026 Guide by Entity Type
There is no single small business tax rate. Federal effective rates typically run 12–24% for pass-throughs and a flat 21% for C corps, with self-employment tax, the QBI deduction, and entity choice each shifting the bill by thousands per year.
17 SMB Tax Saving Strategies That Actually Move the Needle in 2026
A working playbook for small business owners filing in 2026 — covering the now-permanent QBI deduction, the $2.56M Section 179 cap, S-corp salary structure, Solo 401(k) limits up to $72,000, and the bookkeeping habits that make every other strategy survive an audit.
Sole Proprietorship Taxes: A Complete Guide to Schedule C, Self-Employment Tax, and Deductions
A practical 2026 walkthrough of how the IRS taxes sole proprietors — covering Schedule C, the 15.3% self-employment tax on 92.35% of net earnings, quarterly estimated payments, the QBI deduction, and the threshold where an S-Corp election starts paying off.
Switching from QuickBooks: A Complete Migration Guide for Small Businesses
An eight-step guide to migrating off QuickBooks without losing your audit trail, covering cutover timing, data export limits, parallel running, opening-balance imports, and how to evaluate replacements like Xero, FreshBooks, and plain-text tools such as Beancount.
Tax Credits Explained: The Complete 2026 Guide for Individuals and Businesses
A 2026 reference for U.S. tax credits — how they differ from deductions, which credits are refundable, and the major individual and business credits with current dollar limits, including the $8,231 EITC max, $2,200 Child Tax Credit, and up to $9,600 WOTC per qualifying hire.
Are Tax Preparation Fees Deductible? A 2026 Guide for Business Owners and Self-Employed Filers
Personal tax prep fees are no longer federally deductible after the 2026 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but business owners and self-employed filers can still deduct the business portion on Schedule C, E, F, 1065, 1120-S, or 1120—if they allocate and document it correctly.
The US Tax Code Explained: A Practical Guide for Small Business Owners
A structural breakdown of Title 26—the Internal Revenue Code—covering how the tax code is organized, the 2026 changes most relevant to small businesses (permanent 100% bonus depreciation, a $2.5M Section 179 cap, expanded QBI), and the records you need to defend every deduction you claim.
W-2 vs W-4: The Two Tax Forms Every Employee and Employer Must Know
A practical comparison of Form W-4 (the withholding certificate employees give employers) and Form W-2 (the year-end wage statement employers send the IRS), with 2026 OBBBA updates—$2,200 Child Tax Credit, qualified tips and overtime deductions—and the filing mistakes that quietly cost workers refunds.
How to Deduct Website Development Costs: A Tax Guide for Small Business Owners
A category-by-category breakdown of how small businesses deduct website costs in 2026 under Section 174A, including the OBBBA retroactive election deadline of July 6, 2026, and where each expense lands on Schedule C.
ACH Authorization Forms: How to Collect, Store, and Stay NACHA-Compliant in 2026
ACH authorization forms must include identifying information, bank account details, payment terms, revocation language, and a dated signature to meet NACHA rules. The 2026 NACHA update requires covered originators to implement risk-based fraud monitoring by June 22, 2026, with records retained for at least two years after termination.