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Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Gymnastics and Cheer Gym Bookkeeping: Getting Tuition, Team Fees, and Meet Travel Right
A $3,600 competition-team fee paid in August isn't August revenue — it's deferred revenue recognized monthly across the season. How gymnastics and cheer gyms should book team fees, classify coaches (1099 vs. W-2), depreciate spring floors and mats under Section 179, and budget meet travel.
Idaho HB 559: Why 100% Bonus Depreciation Won't Apply on Your State Return
Idaho's HB 559, signed February 10, 2026, conforms to the OBBBA's expanded $2.5 million Section 179 cap but decouples from 100% bonus depreciation under Section 168(k), new Section 168(n) qualified production property expensing, and R&E transition relief — a divergence projected to cost Idaho businesses about $151 million in 2026. Here's who it hits and how the Form DBDA addback works.
Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island Privacy Laws Took Effect in 2026: What Small Businesses Need to Know
On January 1, 2026, Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island became the 18th, 19th, and 20th states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws. This guide compares their applicability thresholds (as low as 10,000 consumers in Rhode Island), cure periods, penalties up to $10,000 per violation, and gives small businesses a six-step compliance checklist.
Indoor Skate Park Bookkeeping: Why Three Revenue Streams Can Sink a Profitable Facility
An indoor skate park is three businesses in one — admissions with near-zero COGS, high-margin coaching, and pro shop retail carrying 55–70% cost of goods sold. This guide covers splitting the chart of accounts by stream, recognizing punch card and membership revenue under ASC 606, depreciating ramp systems over 5–7 years with Section 179, and building a margin-weighted break-even model against $25,000–$30,000 in monthly fixed costs.
Iowa's Captive Insurance Overhaul: What H.F. 2766's $100,000 Protected Cell Minimum Means for Small Businesses
Iowa's H.F. 2766, effective July 1, 2026, cuts the minimum capital for protected cell captives to $100,000, allows LLC and series LLC cells, and waives premium tax for captives that redomesticate. Here's when a captive pencils out for a small business — and how to spot abusive micro-captive tax shelters.
Iowa SF629: The New Expedited Business Filing Tiers, What They Cost, and When to Pay
Iowa Senate File 629, signed June 2, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, writes four expedited business filing tiers into Iowa Code section 9.15 — one-hour ($200), same-day ($125), two-day ($50), and five-day ($15) surcharges on top of standard fees — covering formations, amendments, mergers, foreign qualifications, and dissolutions for every entity type.
The Enrolled Agent Exam's 2026 Overhaul: PSI Replaces Prometric, and the Total Cost Rises to $317 Per Part
The IRS cut its Enrolled Agent exam fee from $99 to $66 per part in 2026, but new vendor PSI charges $251 versus Prometric's $168 — raising the total to $317 per part. The switch also brings a March–June testing blackout, a 200–800 scoring scale, and first-time remote proctoring for U.S. candidates.
June 2026 Inflation Report: Why a Cooler CPI Doesn't Mean Lower Supplier Costs
June 2026 CPI fell 0.4% — the largest monthly drop since April 2020 — cutting annual inflation to 3.5%, but core prices were flat and producer inflation still runs 5.5%. What the CPI/PPI gap means for small-business supplier costs, tariff pass-through, and fall contract negotiations.
Kansas Just Cut Business Filing Fees for the First Time Since 2008 — Here's What Changed
Kansas's 2026 fee overhaul — the first since 2008 — sets LLC, LLP, and LP formation at the same $90 online fee corporations pay, cuts PEO annual report fees from $1,000 to $250, and lowers biennial report fees, saving Kansas businesses over $3 million a year combined.
Maine's 2% Millionaire Surtax and the New PTET Election: What Business Owners Owe in 2026
Maine's 2% surtax on taxable income above $1 million ($1.5 million joint) took effect January 1, 2026, alongside a new pass-through entity tax election at 7.15% with a 90% refundable owner credit. Here's who owes the surtax, how the PTET election interacts with it, and why the two must be modeled together.
Bookkeeping for Medical Device Reprocessors: When the FDA Calls You a Manufacturer
Third-party reprocessors of single-use medical devices are regulated as full manufacturers under the FDA's QMSR (effective February 2, 2026) — same 510(k), MDR, and UDI obligations as the OEM. That reshapes the books; a three-stage inventory split, per-device-family COGS, recurring validation expenses, and product liability reserves sized by risk class.
New Jersey Cuts Business Formation Fees: What the July 2026 Reduction Means for LLCs and Corporations
New Jersey reduced business formation fees effective July 1, 2026 — LLC and corporation registration drops from $125 to $100, nonprofit registration from $75 to $50, with annual report, amendment, merger, and dissolution fees cut by about $25 each. Here's how the new rates compare nationally and what new founders should do next.