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Mike Thrift

Marketing Manager

5126 postsView all authorsBack to All Posts
8 min read

The $15 Million Estate Tax Exemption: What OBBBA Means for Business Succession Planning

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently raised the federal estate and gift tax exemption to $15 million per person ($30 million per couple) starting in 2026, eliminating the scheduled TCJA sunset to roughly $7 million. Here's what changed, which existing plans are now outdated, and the succession moves business owners should make — from portability filings to buy-sell agreement reviews and state estate tax exposure.

Mike Thrift

estate-planningsuccession-planningtax-planning
7 min read

Expensify's MCP Server: What Connecting an AI Assistant to Your Books Actually Means

Expensify launched an MCP server on June 8, 2026, letting Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor query live expense data via OAuth 2.1. Here is what Model Context Protocol means for small business books, which access questions to check before connecting — read-only vs. write, revocability, data retention — and why clean records matter more in the AI era.

Mike Thrift

aiexpense-managementaccounting-software
9 min read

Med Spa Bookkeeping: How to Handle Injectable Inventory, Injector Commissions, and Membership Revenue

A practical bookkeeping guide for med spa owners covering the industry's hardest problems — tracking expiring injectable inventory with FIFO and treatment recipes, calculating 15–25% injector commissions from provider-level revenue, deferring membership and package revenue until services are delivered, and building a chart of accounts that shows which service lines actually carry margin.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessbeauty
7 min read

Newfoundland and Labrador Is Cutting Its Small Business Tax Rate to 1% — What the Phased Cut Means for Your Corporation

Newfoundland and Labrador's April 2026 budget phases its small business corporate tax rate from 2.5% to 1.0% by 2028, retroactive to January 1, 2026 — dropping the combined federal-provincial rate from 11.5% to 10.0%. Here's the year-by-year math, the dollar savings at the $500,000 limit, and the planning moves worth reviewing.

Mike Thrift

small-businesstaxtax-planning
7 min read

Pay Transparency Laws Reach 20 Jurisdictions in 2026: A Remote Hiring Compliance Guide

Virginia's pay transparency law took effect July 1, 2026, and Maine's LD 54 follows on July 29, bringing active U.S. pay transparency jurisdictions to 20. Because the rules attach to where a remote candidate could work — not where your company is headquartered — a remote posting without a good-faith salary range can violate laws in states where you have no office. Here's what changed, why remote postings trigger multi-state obligations, and a practical compliance checklist.

Mike Thrift

compliancehiringremote-work
8 min read

Recording Studio Bookkeeping: Why 'Fully Booked' Studios Go Broke and How to Find Your Real Break-Even Rate

Recording studios typically cost $50–$120 per hour to operate before profit, yet many collect payment for only 60–70% of hours worked. How to calculate a true break-even rate (fixed costs plus debt service divided by realistic billable hours), track session vs. package vs. mixing revenue separately, handle album deposits as unearned revenue, and depreciate gear correctly under 5-year MACRS or Section 179.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businesscreative-industries
9 min read

Roller Skating Rink Bookkeeping: How to Account for Five Businesses Under One Roof

A roller rink runs admissions, skate rentals, birthday parties, concessions, and merchandise under one roof — and well-run rinks post 20–35% margins while others limp at 10% on the same traffic. This guide shows how to split the chart of accounts by revenue stream, hold party deposits as deferred-revenue liabilities until the event happens, capitalize the rental fleet, and track KPIs like revenue per visit and ancillary revenue share.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessrevenue-recognition
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