The Augusta Rule: How to Price and Document 14 Tax-Free Home Rental Days
Section 280A(g) excludes rent for 14 or fewer home-rental days — but the business deduction needs fair market rent, a business purpose, and a paper trail.
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Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Bank Reconciliation Automation: Daily Matching, True Cash Balances, and the End of the Month-End Crunch
Automated matching cuts the average 6.1-day close to 3.4 days — connect bank feeds, match daily, and clear every exception before month-end.
Bank Reconciliation Explained: How to Catch Missing Transactions, Fraud, and Errors Before They Snowball Into Tax Problems
Bank reconciliation proves your cash balance monthly: match outstanding checks, deposits in transit, fees, and NSF items before the IRS notices the gap.
100% Bonus Depreciation Is Permanent Again: What the One Big Beautiful Bill Means for Equipment, Vehicles, and Qualified Production Property
IRS Notice 2026-11 locks in permanent 100% bonus depreciation for property acquired after Jan 19, 2025, with bigger Section 179 and expensable factories.
Bonus Depreciation Recapture: How Section 1245 Turns Your Equipment Sale Into Ordinary Income
Section 1245 taxes equipment-sale gains as ordinary income up to the depreciation claimed — with 100% bonus, the whole sale can be recapture.
Break-Even Analysis for Service Businesses: How Contribution Margin and Billable Hours Reveal Your Minimum Viable Sales
Divide fixed costs by contribution margin per billable hour to get your break-even — then test it against realistic 65–70% utilization before you quote.
Business Bank Reconciliation 101: Why Your Books Never Match Your Bank Statement and How to Fix Outstanding Checks, Deposits in Transit, and Errors
Your books and bank statement disagree over timing, fees, and errors — adjust both sides monthly until they land on one true cash figure.
Business Credit Scores Explained: D&B Paydex vs. Experian vs. FICO SBSS and How to Build From Zero
D&B Paydex grades payment speed 1–100, Experian forecasts delinquency risk, and FICO SBSS gates SBA loans at 155 — build all three from zero.
Business Line of Credit vs. Business Credit Card: When Revolving Debt Helps Your Cash Flow and When It Quietly Hurts
A line of credit beats a business card for balances held past 30 days — lower rates, higher limits, no grace-period trap.
Building a Chart of Accounts That Scales: How Small Businesses Design a COA That Survives Growth, Loans, and Your First Audit
Split current from non-current debt, give every loan its own account, and zero suspense balances monthly — an IRS-ready COA for lenders and auditors.
Chart of Accounts Template: The Five Account Types Every Small Business Needs From Day One
Every transaction lands in one of five account types: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, expenses. Copy this starter template and tailor it to your business.
DBA vs. Legal Business Name: When a Filing Protects Your Brand and Bank Account
File a DBA to bank and bill under your brand name — it links the trade name to your legal owner, and the IRS lists it as your EIN's trade name.