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Small Business

Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners

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10 min read

New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor Licensing: What Changed and How to Stay Compliant

New Jersey is converting home improvement contracting from registration to licensure under P.L.2023 c.237, with licensing provisions effective February 1, 2026. Registration still costs $110 a year, requires $500,000 in general liability coverage and a displayed 13VH number, and any contract over $500 must be written — violations are automatic Consumer Fraud Act unlawful practices carrying treble damages plus attorney's fees, while unregistered contractors generally cannot sue to collect payment.

Mike Thrift

constructionlicensescompliance
8 min read

OBBBA and the Cash Method in 2026: the $32 Million Test, the Manufacturer Lane, and a July R&D Deadline

For tax years beginning in 2026 the Section 448(c) gross-receipts threshold is $32 million, up from $31 million. OBBBA adds a reported $80 million lane for qualifying manufacturers and lets small businesses elect retroactive 2022–2024 R&D expensing under Section 174A by July 6, 2026 — here is the threshold math, who is forced onto accrual, and how a method change works.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-planningtax-compliance
10 min read

State Price-Gouging Laws: What Retailers Can Legally Charge During a Declared Emergency

Nearly 40 states cap emergency price increases — California at 10% above your own pre-emergency price — and most statutes require no proof of bad intent, only an increase past the threshold. Penalties reach $5,000 per violation in North Carolina and $20,000 in Texas, and the cost-justification defense works only if dated price snapshots and supplier invoices already exist.

Mike Thrift

retailcomplianceconsumer-protection
9 min read

Provisional Patents for Small Inventors: What $65 Buys and the 12-Month Deadline You Cannot Extend

A provisional patent application costs $325, $130, or $65 depending on entity size, establishes a priority date, and lets you say "patent pending" — but it is never examined and goes abandoned exactly 12 months after filing, a statutory deadline that cannot be extended. Here is what to file, how to qualify for micro-entity status, and how to track the costs.

Mike Thrift

legalstartupentrepreneurship
10 min read

The S Corporation AAA: How the Accumulated Adjustments Account Decides Whether Your Distributions Come Out Tax-Free

An S corporation distribution is tax-free only to the extent of the Accumulated Adjustments Account once the company carries C-corporation earnings and profits. This guide covers what moves AAA up and down, the four-step distribution ordering rules, a worked $40,000 example with two opposite outcomes, and five bookkeeping mistakes that turn owner draws into taxable dividends.

Mike Thrift

s-corporationowner-distributionsstock-basis
9 min read

Senior Move Management Bookkeeping: Project Fees, Estate-Sale Proceeds, and the Vendor Maze

Senior move managers bill roughly $3,000 per three-to-five-week project across hourly labor, flat fees, marked-up supplies, and estate-sale commissions. This guide shows how to split that revenue by stream, hold deposits and client sale proceeds as liabilities, keep pass-through vendor bills off the P&L, and budget NASMM dues and certification — plus the five numbers to review monthly.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessjob-costing
10 min read

Virginia's New Paid Sick Leave Law: The Small Employer's Timeline, Payroll, and Bookkeeping Guide

Virginia's SB199/HB5 phases paid sick leave in by employer size — 50+ employees on July 1, 2027, 25+ on January 1, 2028, and every employer with at least one employee on January 1, 2029. Employees accrue one hour per 30 hours worked up to 40 hours a year, unused leave carries over, and violations expose employers to double damages plus attorney's fees. Here is how to configure payroll, audit an existing PTO policy, and book the compensated-absence liability.

Mike Thrift

payrollcompliancesmall-business
10 min read

Air Duct and Dryer Vent Cleaning Bookkeeping: Price Per Vent, Track Every Upsell, Depreciate the Rig

Residential duct cleaning runs roughly $25–$50 per supply vent (about $75 for returns) and dryer vent add-ons average $145, so a one-line invoice hides your margin. This guide itemizes base fees, vent counts and add-ons, costs the four buckets behind each job, capitalizes a $9,000 vacuum rig instead of expensing it as supplies, and tracks the five KPIs — revenue per vent, revenue per tech-hour, upsell attach rate, callback rate, revenue per truck per day — that decide whether the next rig pays for itself.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businesstrades
13 min read

Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors: The Faster, Quieter State-Law Alternative to Chapter 7

An assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC) lets an insolvent business liquidate under state law in months rather than a year, with an assignee the owner chooses instead of a court-appointed trustee — but it carries no automatic stay and no debt discharge. Here is how the five-step process works, how it compares to Chapter 7, and the bookkeeping that keeps a wind-down orderly.

Mike Thrift

business-closurebusiness-exitsmall-business
11 min read

Austin's New STR Rules Put Your Listing on a 10-Day Clock: A Host's Compliance and Bookkeeping Guide

Since July 1, 2026, Airbnb and Vrbo must verify Austin STR license numbers, refuse unlicensed bookings, and remove flagged listings within 10 days of city notice, with fines up to $500 per day. Here are the license costs ($836.30 new, $385.30 renewal, two-year term), the 17% occupancy-tax stack, the quarterly filings platform collection does not cover, and the per-property books that keep it provable.

Mike Thrift

real-estateproperty-managementtax-compliance
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