#small-business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
In Q1 2026, 31% of small business owners named cash flow their top worry, passing inflation. With a 27-day median buffer, track runway in days.
Home-to-work driving is never deductible, but a qualifying home office or temporary site flips the same miles to IRS business mileage at 76 cents each.
There is no US accountant-client privilege: Section 7525 shields only civil IRS tax advice, while a Kovel arrangement via counsel also holds in criminal cases.
Cost UL 325 safety devices as their own COGS line, target 50% gross and 15–20% net, and book gate maintenance contracts as deferred revenue.
An EEOC charge is an allegation, not a verdict: block retaliation, file a documented position statement in ~30 days, and weigh free mediation (70%+ settle).
Off-highway gasoline earns $0.183/gal back and undyed diesel $0.243 — claim the federal credit on IRS Form 4136 with your return.
A written collections policy with a dated follow-up schedule gets invoices paid sooner — set terms, automate reminders, call at day 15, hold credit at day 45.
An MSO lets investors own a law firm's back office; an ABS lets them own the firm. Illinois HB 5487 now curbs both for contingency-fee practices.
New Hampshire HB 155 lifts the BET filing threshold to $400,000 from 2027, exempting ~4,000 small firms, and adds an automatic rate cut down to 0.25%.
An S-Corp loses its election if any share gets different distribution rights. Five IRS traps, plus the straight-debt safe harbor for shareholder loans.
Paraguay's IRE Simple taxes sole proprietors at 3% of gross up to G. 2 billion; if your margin is under 30%, the 10% actual-profit option costs less.
Price fuel in cents per gallon, book prebuy cash as deferred revenue, and forecast from heating degree-days to survive warm winters.
