#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Canada GST/HST for Cross-Border Sellers: The CA$30,000 Worldwide Threshold
Canada's GST/HST small-supplier exemption is based on worldwide taxable sales, not Canadian-only revenue, so a US seller with zero Canadian sales can already owe registration once global sales pass CA$30,000 in a quarter or over four trailing quarters.
How to Bookkeep a Classic Car Restoration Shop: Job Costing and WIP Accounting
A frame-off classic car restoration can run $20,000 to $200,000 in labor and parts against a finished car worth less than the invoice, so restoration shops need per-job cost centers, a Work-in-Progress asset account, and phase-based billing to stay solvent across builds that last one to two years.
Commercial Diving Company Bookkeeping: Saturation Gear Depreciation, Hazard Pay, and Job Costing
Commercial diving companies that depreciate saturation systems on a flat calendar schedule, lump hazard pay and depth pay into a single wages line, or book topside support crew as overhead routinely misprice their bids — this guide covers usage-based depreciation for saturation gear, the diver pay stack, and job-costing topside labor specific to commercial dive operations.
Your Electricity Bill Isn't Wrong: Why Commercial Rates Keep Climbing and How to Budget for It
Commercial electricity rates have risen more than 20% nationally since 2018, and demand charges — the single highest 15-minute power spike in a billing cycle — can account for 30-70% of a business's bill; separating the two in your chart of accounts and shopping contracts 60-90 days before renewal are the most effective ways to control the cost.
Custom Guitar Luthier Shop Bookkeeping: Why Your Wood Rack Isn't Inventory and Your Deposits Aren't Revenue
Custom guitar luthiers should book customer deposits as a liability (deferred revenue) until delivery, track each tonewood set's acquisition cost and CITES paperwork individually rather than by replacement value, and use job-based WIP tracking to compare actual labor hours against a typical 40-80 hour build estimate.
The DOL Fiduciary Rule Is Dead Again: What It Means for Your 401(k) in 2026
The DOL's 2024 Retirement Security Rule was formally vacated in March 2026, reverting fiduciary status for 401(k) rollover advice to the 1975 five-part test — here's what plan sponsors and savers should ask advisors now.
Drone Photography and Aerial Inspection Bookkeeping: Tracking FAA Costs, Equipment Depreciation, and Per-Flight Job Profit
Commercial drone operators should separate FAA licensing costs, individually tracked aircraft depreciation, and per-job variable costs into distinct accounts, since a $200 real estate listing shoot and a $3,000 utility inspection job carry entirely different insurance, crew, and processing costs per flight hour.
State Employee Data Privacy Laws in 2026: A Small Business HR Records Guide
As of January 1, 2026, twenty states have comprehensive data privacy laws, but coverage of employee HR records varies sharply — California extends full consumer rights to employees while Colorado and Virginia exempt employment records except for a new Colorado biometric-data carve-out effective July 1, 2025.
FAA Part 108 Explained: A Small Business Guide to BVLOS Drone Rules
The FAA's proposed Part 108 rule creates two tracks for beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone flights — Permitted Operations capped at 100 delivery aircraft or 10 agricultural aircraft, and uncapped Certificated Operations — with a final rule expected around spring 2026 and implementation six to twelve months after.
FDIC Insurance and Payroll Accounts: A Small Business Guide to the Main Street Depositor Protection Act
The Main Street Depositor Protection Act (S. 4198) would raise FDIC coverage for noninterest-bearing business payroll accounts to between $250,000 and $5 million, up from today's flat $250,000 limit, but the bill had not passed Congress as of March 2026.
Finland's 2026 VAT Threshold: Why €20,000 Is Now All-or-Nothing for Freelancers
Finland's 2025 VAT reform raised the small-business exemption to €20,000 but eliminated the sliding-scale relief that used to soften the jump to full VAT liability at €30,000, so crossing €20,000 now means owing VAT on 100% of turnover with no phase-in.
Bookkeeping for Fire Alarm and Sprinkler Inspection Companies: Building Books Around the NFPA Compliance Calendar
Fire alarm and sprinkler inspection companies should track NFPA 25 and NFPA 72 testing cadences as separate recurring revenue streams, recognize prepaid annual contracts ratably per completed visit, and job-cost deficiency repairs separately from the flat inspection fee so true margins and contract renewal rates stay visible.