#small-business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Under the FTC's revised Endorsement Guides and the 2024 fake-reviews rule, a small business is liable when its influencers fail to disclose paid or gifted posts, with civil penalties reaching about $53,088 per violation. How to disclose correctly and keep the campaign bookkeeping clean.
Illinois' Interchange Fee Prohibition Act bans swipe fees on the sales tax and gratuity portions of card transactions starting July 1, 2026 — the first US law of its kind. Learn how to prove tax and tips per transaction, choose between the real-time exemption and the 180-day rebate, and structure a chart of accounts that captures every dollar either way.
Mecklenburg County's combined sales tax rose to 8.25% on July 1, 2026 — the highest rate in North Carolina. This is the point-of-sale, invoicing, filing, and bookkeeping checklist Charlotte-area businesses need to collect and remit the new rate correctly.
Microsoft's first commercial price increase since 2022 takes effect July 1, 2026 — Business Basic rises to $7, Business Standard to $14, and E3 to $39 per user per month, with Frontline F1 up 33%. This guide covers when you actually pay the new rate, how to audit and right-size seats before renewal, and how to record the change on accrual and cash-basis books.
IRS Publication 463 and Section 274(d) require a contemporaneous log with date, destination, miles, and business purpose for every trip.
Missouri is eliminating 177 child care licensing rules — 79 for family homes and 98 for centers — and consolidating the remaining 1,400+ requirements into a single plain-language rulebook with age-appropriate standards, effective late 2026. This guide explains what changes, what stays, and how daycare owners should track compliance costs and update their books.
Monument shops collect deposits months before delivery and carry $25,000 to $90,000 in granite — so deposits must sit as deferred revenue until installation, granite must be costed by specific identification including freight, and retail walk-ins need a completely separate profit center from cemetery wholesale.
Ohio H.B. 96 creates the nation's first permanent escheat at scale — unclaimed funds reported on or before January 1, 2016 vest permanently in the state on January 1, 2026, with a rolling 10-year bar thereafter, and $1.7 to $1.9 billion is slated for the new Cultural and Sports Facility Fund including $600 million for a Cleveland stadium.
Hit one estimated-tax safe harbor and the IRS underpayment penalty disappears — pay 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% if prior-year AGI topped $150,000) through timely quarterly payments. Covers the 2026 penalty rate (7% Q1/Q3, 6% Q2, compounded daily), the four due dates, and a bookkeeping system that keeps you penalty-free.
Congress tucked sweeping PBM reforms into the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 — banning spread pricing and rebate retention from 2028, mandating semiannual transparency reports, and creating any-willing-pharmacy and essential retail pharmacy protections from 2029. Here is what changes, when, and how to rebuild your books.
Pilot's February 2026 AI Accountant claims to run the entire bookkeeping lifecycle — onboarding, categorization, reconciliation, and monthly close — with zero human intervention. This guide explains what fully autonomous actually covers, where it helps, where governance and auditability still matter, and how to choose the right bookkeeping stack for your business.
Congress set a 10-year statute of limitations for PPP fraud, so a loan funded in 2020 can be charged until 2030 and forgiveness is not a defense. This guide covers False Claims Act liability, the five eligibility tripwires still generating cases, and the six-year record-retention rule borrowers must meet.
