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Small Business

Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners

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8 min read

FedNow and Instant Payments Are Changing Small Business Treasury: What ISO 20022 Means for Your Books in 2026

FedNow and RTP now reach roughly 75% of U.S. bank accounts, settling payments in seconds, 24/7/365, with a $10 million network transaction limit. This guide explains how ISO 20022 structured remittance data changes invoice matching and reconciliation, why irrevocable instant payments demand wire-transfer-level fraud controls, and what small businesses should ask their bank and accounting software in 2026.

Mike Thrift

paymentsbankingfintech
9 min read

FreshBooks vs. Wave vs. Zoho Books: Which Fits a One-Person Business?

Wave is free but gates automatic bank feeds behind its ~$19/month Pro plan; FreshBooks Lite costs ~$19/month and caps you at 5 billable clients with no bank reconciliation; Zoho Books includes real double-entry accounting free under $50,000 annual revenue. Here is how the three compare for solo founders and freelancers, including the payment-processing fees that often exceed the subscription price.

Mike Thrift

accounting-softwaresmall-businessbookkeeping
8 min read

Georgia's SB 69 Litigation Funding Law: NMLS Registration, the $25,000 Discovery Rule, and What Small Businesses Should Check Before Signing

Georgia's SB 69, effective January 1, 2026, requires litigation funders to register with the Department of Banking and Finance via NMLS, makes funding agreements of $25,000 or more discoverable, caps funder fees at net recovery, and bars foreign-adversary funding. Here's what small business owners should verify before accepting a litigation funding offer.

Mike Thrift

legalsmall-businesscompliance
8 min read

HMRC Just Got the Legal Right to Inspect Your Cloud-Hosted Records: What the UK's Modernized Section 114 Powers Mean for Digital Bookkeeping

Draft Finance Bill 2026-27 clauses published on L-Day (July 13, 2026) modernize HMRC's Schedule 36 inspection powers to explicitly cover cloud-hosted accounting records, with consultation open until September 7, 2026. Here's how the change interacts with Making Tax Digital and what UK small businesses should do now.

Mike Thrift

tax-compliancecloud-accountingbookkeeping
9 min read

How to Start a Bookkeeping Business in 2026: Certifications, Costs, Pricing, and Your First Clients

A solo bookkeeper with 15–20 clients on $300–$500 monthly retainers can earn $54,000–$120,000 a year, often with under $3,000 in startup costs. This guide covers certification tiers (free QuickBooks/Xero, NACPB CPB at $80–$100, AIPB CB at $479–$574), a realistic startup budget, 2026 retainer benchmarks by client size, niche selection, and the client-acquisition channels that work for new practices.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessentrepreneurship
7 min read

KPMG Australia Cut Partner Pay 20% Over an Ethics Scandal. Here's How to Vet Your Own Accountant.

KPMG Australia is preparing to cut over 1,000 of roughly 10,000 jobs and reduce partner pay by up to 20% after admitting it mishandled a 2024 whistleblower complaint alleging misuse of confidential client data. The same five independence threats behind the scandal — self-interest, self-review, advocacy, familiarity, and intimidation — apply to any local CPA firm, and this guide covers the red flags plus a five-step due-diligence checklist (license lookup, peer review report, references, commission disclosure, engagement-letter scope) for vetting your own accountant.

Mike Thrift

auditcpacompliance
7 min read

Is Medical Debt Still on Your Credit Report in 2026? A State-by-State Guide for Small Business Owners

The CFPB's nationwide medical debt credit reporting ban was vacated by a Texas federal court in July 2025, leaving protection to 15 state laws and the bureaus' voluntary policies — paid debts, collections under $500, and a 365-day grace period stay off reports everywhere. Here's what still applies in your state and how to keep a medical collection from raising your business loan rate.

Mike Thrift

creditpersonal-financesmall-business
7 min read

Your Credit Union Trust Account Just Got a Simpler (and Possibly Smaller) Insurance Rule

Effective December 1, 2026, the NCUA insures all credit union trust accounts — revocable and irrevocable alike — under one formula, $250,000 per beneficiary capped at $1,250,000 per owner per credit union, matching the FDIC's 2024 bank rule. Trusts naming more than five beneficiaries may lose coverage they hold today, so this guide walks through a five-step balance check to run before the deadline.

Mike Thrift

bankinginsurancecompliance
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