#small-business
Small Business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
Earnouts and Contingent Payment Accounting: How to Record a Deal's Contingent Portion When You Don't Know If You'll Collect It
Earnouts tie part of a sale price to future performance. Learn how buyers and sellers should book contingent payments, when to recognize revenue or adjust purchase price, and the tax traps that turn a good earnout into a bad surprise.
Embedded Insurance at Checkout: How the $180B+ Market for Software-Bundled Business Coverage Is Changing How Small Businesses Buy Insurance
Embedded insurance at checkout is a $180B+ market where coverage is sold inside the software you already use. Learn how checkout and API-bundled policies work, what they cover, and the bookkeeping that keeps bundled premiums auditable.
Escape Room Business Bookkeeping: Per-Room Revenue Tracking, Game-Master Payroll, and Budgeting the 8–12% Annual Equipment Depreciation Nobody Plans For
Escape rooms earn per session, but pay per hour and depreciate props fast. Learn per-room revenue tracking, game-master labor costing, and how to budget the 8–12% annual refresh that keeps rooms bookable.
Estate Sale Company Bookkeeping: Why Consignment Proceeds Are a Liability, Not Revenue, and How to Reconcile the Account-Sales Report Before You 1099 Anyone
Estate sale companies handle consignment proceeds that belong to the estate, not the company. Learn why gross sales are a liability, how to book the account-sales report, and the 1099-K vs. 1099-MISC decision before you report someone else's money.
The 2026 Estimated Tax Underpayment Penalty: How the IRS's 6–7% Quarterly Compounding Rate Actually Adds Up for Small Business Owners
The IRS underpayment penalty for 2026 is 6–7% with quarterly compounding. Learn how the penalty is calculated per quarter, the $1,000 safe harbors, and the bookkeeping that keeps a small business from paying interest on its own tax.
FASB's ASU 2026-01, Explained: How Founders and PE-Backed Companies Must Now Measure PIK Dividends on Preferred Stock
FASB's ASU 2026-01 changes how PIK dividends on preferred stock are measured — at fair value, not par — and requires retrospective application. Learn what it means for founders, PE-backed companies, and earnings per share.
Financial Data Security and Cybersecurity for Small Business Bookkeepers: NIST Frameworks, Encryption Standards, and the New SBA Cybersecurity Loan Program
Bookkeepers hold the keys to payroll, banking, and tax data. Learn the NIST-based controls small businesses should implement, what encryption and backups actually mean for a ledger, and how the SBA's new cybersecurity loans help fund the fix.
Why More Small Businesses Are Turning to Fintech Lenders: What the Fed's 2026 Small Business Credit Survey Reveals About Financing Access
The Fed's 2026 Small Business Credit Survey shows more firms turning to fintech and online lenders after bank declines. Learn why, what it costs, and the bookkeeping that keeps fintech APR visible before you sign.
Florida's New Restaurant Service Charge Transparency Law: What Owners Must Disclose Before Adding Automatic Gratuity
Florida's new service charge transparency law will require restaurants to clearly disclose any automatic gratuity or service charge — amount, label, and who keeps it — before guests order and on the receipt.
Foreign Exchange Risk, Explained: How Small Exporters Use Forward Contracts and Natural Hedging to Stop a Currency Swing From Eating Their Margin
A 4% currency swing can erase a small exporter's margin. Learn how forward contracts and natural hedging work, what they cost, and the bookkeeping that keeps FX gains and losses visible instead of buried in revenue.
Fractional CFO Services: What You Should Expect for $2,000–$5,000 Monthly, When to Hire One, and How to Pick Between a Part-Time Hire and an Agency
A fractional CFO gives you strategy, forecasts, and board-ready reporting without a $200K salary. Learn what $2,000–$5,000 monthly actually buys, when to hire, and how to choose between a single CFO and a firm.
Freelance Interpreter and Translator Bookkeeping: 1099-NEC Income, Certification and Software Deductions, and Reconciling Agency Payments Against What You Actually Earned
Freelance interpreters and translators juggle multiple agency payers and 1099-NEC gaps. Learn how to track income by payer, deduct certification and CAT tool costs, and reconcile agency statements against deposits before the IRS does.