Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team.
Small business cyber insurance runs roughly $400–$1,600 a year for a $1 million limit, while the average breach recovery costs $120,000 and downtime $53,000 an hour. A guide to first-party vs. third-party coverage, 2026 premium drivers, and the social-engineering sublimits and MFA requirements that most often sink claims.
Since 2024, Part XX of Canada's Income Tax Act requires Uber, Airbnb, Etsy, and other platforms to report sellers with 30+ transactions or over $2,800 CAD directly to the CRA — including names, SINs, gross payouts, and fees. With two reporting cycles now on file and penalty relief expired, here's who gets reported, what data the CRA matches against your return, and how to reconcile before the next January 31 deadline.
California's Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL) took full effect July 1, 2026, with penalties up to $100,000 per day for unlicensed crypto activity. Who needs a DFPI license, who qualifies for the merchant and $50,000 de minimis exemptions, and what the NMLS application requires.
Australia's May 2026 Budget proposed making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent from 1 July 2026, but until the enabling Bill passes Parliament the legislated threshold reverts to $1,000 per asset. What qualifies, the car-limit and capital-works exclusions, and how to time purchases while the law is still pending.
Organizations now manage 109 machine identities per human employee, and small-business AI stacks run $100–$5,000 a month before hidden integration costs add 30–50% more. This guide explains why usage-based AI agents break traditional software budgets and lays out a three-step framework — discovery pass, dedicated chart-of-accounts category, quarterly review — to keep AI labor costs visible.
Washington, D.C.'s general sales tax rate rises from 6% to 7% on October 1, 2026, and the District taxes digital goods and SaaS at the full rate with no B2B exemption. This guide covers the delayed Budget Support Act increase, D.C.'s $100,000/200-transaction economic nexus thresholds, and a five-step compliance checklist for invoices that straddle the rate change.
In June 2026 a federal judge preliminarily approved the $38 billion Visa–Mastercard settlement, cutting average credit interchange by about 0.1 point for five years, capping standard consumer cards at 1.25% for eight years, and — with no sunset date — letting merchants surcharge by card type or decline premium card categories. Here is what the settlement permits, which states still ban or cap surcharging, and the network compliance checklist to follow before changing point-of-sale pricing.
Effective July 22, 2026, the U.S. Commercial Service eliminated small-business discount tiers, raising the Gold Key Service from $950 to $3,250 for small exporters (+242%) while fee increases across the schedule range from 67% to 520%. Here's what changed, why, and how SBA STEP grants can offset the new costs.
Since November 18, 2025, UK company directors and PSCs must verify their identity with Companies House under ECCTA — new appointments verify immediately, existing directors by their next confirmation statement (backstop November 18, 2026), with fines up to £5,000, filing lockout, and strike-off for non-compliance.
A UCC-1 financing statement lapses exactly five years after filing unless the lender files a UCC-3 continuation within the six months before the lapse date — and paid-off liens that never get terminated can quietly block your next SBA loan. Here's how to search your own UCC record and clear stale filings before a lender finds them.
Starting September 1, 2026, Texas SB 1036 requires residential solar retailers and salespersons to register with TDLR, with penalties up to $2,500 per violation ($10,000 when the customer is 65+) and contract-refund orders. Here's who must register, what the code of conduct prohibits, and how to prepare.
On July 9, 2026, Swift announced its blockchain-based shared ledger for tokenized deposits is ready for live pilots with 17 banks including HSBC, Citi, UBS, and Wells Fargo — a move that could turn 3-5 day international wires into same-day, 24/7 transfers. Here's how tokenized deposits differ from stablecoins and CBDCs, and what small businesses paying overseas contractors and suppliers should do now.
