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Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.

AUSTRAC Tranche 2: What Australian Accountants and Bookkeepers Must Do Before July 29, 2026

Australia's Tranche 2 AML/CTF reforms made accountants, bookkeepers, and tax agents AUSTRAC reporting entities on July 1, 2026, with enrollment due by July 29. Here are the nine designated services that trigger the obligation, what the enrollment form requires, and the penalties for missing it — up to $36.4 million per contravention for a corporation.

Amazon Is Ending Stickerless Commingled Inventory: What FBA Sellers Must Do Before March 31, 2026

Amazon ends stickerless commingled inventory on March 31, 2026. Resellers must apply FNSKU labels ($0.20–$0.50/unit) while Brand Registry owners get virtual tracking; unlabeled stock gets flagged defective. Here's the labeling deadline timeline, who pays what, and the lot-level costing and landed-cost accounting changes sellers need before the cutoff.

Aerial Banner Towing & Skywriting Company Bookkeeping: The FAA Waiver That Gates Every Flight Hour

How banner towing and skywriting operators should keep their books — track the FAA Certificate of Waiver (Form 7711-2) as the license that gates revenue, accrue engine-overhaul reserves per flight hour, treat client deposits as deferred revenue until the flight flies, and reserve peak-season cash against twelve months of fixed costs.

Talent and Modeling Agency Bookkeeping: Why "What We Kept" Is Not the Same as "What We Earned"

Talent and modeling agencies must record the full booking amount as gross revenue — not just the 10–20% commission they keep — hold client funds in a separate trust account (a legal requirement under California's Talent Agencies Act), and reconcile commission splits against contracts monthly. Five bookkeeping rules that prevent IRS 1099 mismatches, commingling violations, and talent payout disputes.

Split-Dollar Life Insurance, Explained: How Business Owners and Key Employees Share the Cost of a Policy

Split-dollar life insurance is an agreement — not a policy type — for an employer and a key employee to divide the premiums, cash value, and death benefit of one permanent policy. This guide compares the two structures (collateral assignment vs. endorsement), explains how the IRS taxes each under the economic benefit and loan regimes, why premiums are never deductible, and how to book the arrangement correctly from day one.

The Short-Term Rental Tax Loophole in 2026: Cost Segregation, 100% Bonus Depreciation, and the 7-Day Rule

How the short-term rental loophole lets W-2 earners deduct rental losses against salary — average guest stays of 7 days or less plus one of seven material participation tests move the property out of passive-loss rules, and a cost segregation study combined with the OBBBA's permanent 100% bonus depreciation can convert 20–30% of the purchase price into first-year deductions.

Sequence-of-Returns Risk: Why the Order of Market Returns Can Make or Break Your Retirement

Two retirees with identical average returns can end up decades apart in portfolio longevity — the order of returns decides it. How sequence-of-returns risk works, why the ten-year retirement risk zone hits business owners and freelancers hardest, and five defenses including cash buffers, bucket strategies, bond tents, and spending guardrails.