#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
FTC Franchise Rule 2026: What Undisclosed Fee Guidance Means for Renewals and Transfers
FTC staff guidance issued in 2024 bars franchisors from using operations manual updates to impose fees not disclosed in the FDD, and by 2026 is reshaping how renewals and transfers get documented — here's how franchisees should audit fees against Item 6.
H-1B $100,000 Fee Struck Down: What the First Circuit Ruling Means for Small Employers
On July 24, 2026 the First Circuit denied a stay of the Massachusetts district court's vacatur of the $100,000 H-1B supplemental fee, so the charge is not currently being collected while the government's appeal proceeds — but the ruling isn't final and could reverse.
The Mandatory Roth Catch-Up Rule: What Business Owners Over 50 Need to Know for 2026
Starting January 1, 2026, anyone whose 2025 FICA wages exceeded $150,000 must direct their entire 401(k) catch-up contribution — $8,000 standard or $11,250 for ages 60-63 — into a Roth account, with no pre-tax option and no opt-out.
Mobile IV Therapy Bookkeeping: Corporate Practice of Medicine, Medical Director Fees, and Nurse Classification
Mobile IV and wellness injection bars must structure ownership as a physician-owned PC plus an MSO to satisfy corporate-practice-of-medicine rules, pay medical directors a flat monthly fee rather than a percentage of revenue, and classify nurses as W-2 employees in ABC-test states — each decision maps directly to a different chart-of-accounts structure.
Nacha's 2026 ACH Fraud Monitoring Rule: What Every Business Must Do
Nacha's Phase 2 ACH fraud monitoring rule took effect June 19, 2026, requiring nearly every business that originates ACH payments to run a documented, risk-based fraud monitoring process covering account ownership verification, change monitoring, anomaly detection, and audit trails.
New York's 2026 Cash Acceptance Law: Penalties, Exceptions, and Compliance Guide
New York's General Business Law § 396-ii took effect March 21, 2026, requiring statewide retailers and restaurants to accept cash and barring cash surcharges, with civil penalties up to $1,000 for a first violation and $1,500 for each one after.
Pricing a Bowl: Why the Diameter × Height Formula Hides Your Real Costs
The diameter × height × multiplier formula that most bowl turners use to price work ignores cracked blanks, drying time, and overhead — accounting them correctly as a separate spoilage loss (not folded into COGS) reveals whether a shop's pricing actually covers its real costs.
The SBA's 8(a) Program Just Dropped Its Racial Presumption: What the 2026 Rule Means for Federal Contractors
The SBA's June 11, 2026 proposed rule eliminates the 8(a) program's race-based social disadvantage presumption for individually owned firms, requiring every applicant to document group-level discrimination and personal material harm instead — with the public comment period closing July 13, 2026.
Sri Lanka's 18% Digital Services VAT: What Foreign SaaS and App Sellers Must Register For
Sri Lanka now charges 18% VAT on digital services sold by non-resident providers once revenue exceeds LKR 36 million a year or LKR 9 million in a quarter, effective July 1, 2026, with quarterly filing and registration due within three months of crossing the threshold.
State Privacy Laws 2026: Indiana, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Texas Rules Small Businesses Must Know
Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island's consumer privacy laws took effect January 1, 2026, and two have no revenue threshold — here's how small businesses determine if they're covered and how to track the revenue percentages these laws require.
What It Actually Costs to Sell Your Business: Broker Fees, the Lehman Formula, and Hidden Costs
Business brokers and M&A advisors charge Double Lehman commissions of 10% down to 2% by tier, but minimum fee floors, non-creditable retainers, expense reimbursement, and tail clauses routinely add 5-20% on top of the quoted success-fee percentage.
Pet Cremation Bookkeeping: Pricing Tiers, Veterinary Referral Splits, and Retort Depreciation
Pet cremation businesses run three revenue models at once (tiered cremation service, veterinary referral commissions, and merchandise sales), and the retort itself depreciates as 7-year MACRS equipment eligible for 100% bonus depreciation on property placed in service after January 19, 2025 — not as a 39-year building improvement.