#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Bookkeeping for Paragliding and Hang Gliding Schools: Ratings, Gear, and Weather-Delayed Revenue
How to set up bookkeeping for a paragliding or hang gliding school — split tandem vs. solo revenue by USHPA rating level, capitalize $4,500–$9,000 wing/harness/reserve setups as depreciating fixed assets, track PASA certification and site insurance as recurring compliance costs, and hold weather-delayed tandem deposits as unearned revenue until the flight is flown.
Pay Transparency Laws in 2026: A State-by-State Guide for Small Businesses
As of 2026, roughly 20 states plus Washington D.C. require salary-range disclosure in job postings, and the laws apply based on where a remote job could be performed — not where the employer is based. Employee-count thresholds range from 1 to 50+, and penalties run from $250 per violation in Illinois to $25,000 in Massachusetts. Here is what small businesses must disclose, how to handle "Remote — US" listings, and a six-step compliance checklist.
PBM Reform 2026: What Rebate Pass-Through Means for Small Employer Health Plans
Congress's February 2026 PBM reform mandates 100% rebate pass-through, bans spread pricing, and requires transparency reporting by August 2028. In West Virginia, an early rebate pass-through approach cut average 2026 group plan rate increases to 12.6% versus 19.5% under the old system. Here's what small employers should do before the 2029 enforcement date.
Print-on-Demand Bookkeeping: COGS, Royalties, and Sales Tax by Platform
Print-on-demand sellers run two different businesses — integration channels (Etsy + Printify) with real COGS, and marketplace channels (Redbubble, Amazon Merch) with none. This guide covers how to reconcile 1099-K gross figures, avoid double-counting platform fees, handle marketplace-facilitator sales tax, and structure a per-channel chart of accounts to track margins that range from 20% to 70%.
QuickBooks Online Payroll Now Auto-Pays Taxes at Run Time: What Changed on July 1, 2026 and How to Protect Your Cash Flow
As of July 1, 2026, QuickBooks Online Payroll automates all payroll tax payments and withdraws funds when you run payroll — not on the tax due date. Here's what changed, how it affects small-business cash flow, and a six-step checklist to avoid surprise withdrawals.
Where Did $90 Billion in Inventory Just Go? A Small Retailer's Guide to Booking Shrinkage Correctly
U.S. retailers lost $90–112 billion to inventory shrinkage in the latest reporting cycle, an average shrink rate near 1.6% of sales. This guide shows small retailers how to book shrink in a dedicated expense account instead of burying it in COGS — with the exact journal entries, cycle-counting schedules, materiality thresholds, and the process fixes behind the ~70% of shrink that isn't theft.
SBA SOP 50 10 8: What the New Collateral and Equity Injection Rules Mean for 7(a) Borrowers
SBA SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025, dropped the 7(a) collateral trigger from $500,000 to $50,000, requires liens on personal real estate with 25%+ equity for 20%+ owners, and tightened equity injection rules — HELOCs need outside income, seller notes must sit on full standby, and phased ownership buyouts are gone.
Should Your Small Business Use a PEO? Co-Employment, Costs, and Liability Explained
A PEO enters a co-employment arrangement that shares payroll tax and compliance liability with your business — pricing runs $40-160 per employee per month or 2-12% of payroll, and IRS CPEO certification determines whether the PEO fully absorbs federal tax liability.
Solo 401(k) for Self-Employed Owners in 2026: How to Actually Max It Out
In 2026 a Solo 401(k) lets a self-employed owner shelter up to $72,000 ($83,250 with the ages 60–63 super catch-up) across a $24,500 employee deferral and a 25%-of-compensation employer contribution. This guide covers the two-bucket math, the new mandatory Roth catch-up for W-2 wages over $145,000, first-year vs. ongoing deadlines, and the $250,000 Form 5500-EZ filing trigger.
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs): How Business Owners Move Future Growth Out of Their Estate
A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) lets a business owner move an appreciating asset — and all its future growth — out of the taxable estate while the beneficiary spouse retains access to distributions. With the 2026 lifetime exemption set at $15 million per individual, this guide covers the mechanics, valuation discounts, the reciprocal trust doctrine, and the divorce and death risks to plan around.
Square vs. Toast vs. Clover: How to Choose a POS System for Your Business Type
Square, Toast, and Clover each target a different business — Square starts free at 2.6% + 15¢, Toast locks restaurants into 2-year contracts, and Clover's hardware runs $500–$1,799+. This guide compares real costs by transaction volume and explains the three-way reconciliation problem POS data creates in your books.
Tax Liability Insurance in Small Business M&A: How to Close a Deal With a Known Tax Risk
Tax liability insurance transfers one specific, identified tax risk — an invalid S-corp election, a Section 382 NOL limit, QSBS eligibility — to an insurer instead of a price cut, escrow, or seller indemnity. Premiums run 2–5% of the insured limit, underwriting takes two to four weeks, and most carriers want exposure above roughly $1 million. Here's how it works and when to raise it before a closing deadline.