Blog
Plain-text accounting insights, tutorials, and updates from the Beancount.io team. Browse by tag.
Outsource Bookkeeping: When, Why, and How to Do It Right
A practical guide to outsourcing bookkeeping — covering the 6 warning signs it's time to hire out, realistic cost breakdowns ($200–$800/month vs. $39K+ in-house), and how to evaluate bookkeeping services before signing a contract.
IRS Audit Without Receipts: What to Do When You Can't Find Your Documentation
Facing an IRS audit with missing receipts? Learn how the Cohan Rule lets you claim deductions without documentation, which expense categories require strict proof, and how to reconstruct records step by step to minimize your tax liability.
How to Read Your Income Statement: A Complete Guide for Small Business Owners
Your income statement reveals whether your business model actually works—not just whether the bank balance is positive. Learn every line item from revenue to net income, how to calculate all three profit margins, and how to spot cost trends before they compound.
How to Keep Your Bookkeeping Up to Date (And Why It's Worth Every Minute)
Neglecting bookkeeping for a year costs $3,500–$8,000 in catch-up fees, plus a 30–50% CPA premium at tax time. Here's a practical system for staying current — daily, weekly, or monthly — and why real-time financial records are a business asset, not a chore.
How to Hire an Accountant for Your Small Business: A Complete Guide
A practical guide to hiring an accountant for your small business — covering when you actually need one, the difference between a CPA, general accountant, and enrolled agent, what to ask in an interview, and what you'll pay ($200–$5,000+ depending on scope).
How to Get a Business Loan: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
Only 41% of small business applicants receive all the funding they seek. This step-by-step guide covers loan types, lender requirements, approval rates by institution type, required documentation, and concrete steps to improve your eligibility before applying.
How to Calculate Your Tax Liability: A Complete Guide for Small Business Owners
Step-by-step guide to calculating federal tax liability for small business owners and self-employed individuals—covering gross income, 2025 tax brackets, self-employment tax at 15.3%, quarterly estimated payments, and legal strategies to reduce what you owe.
How to Calculate Sales Tax for Your Small Business: A Complete Guide
A practical guide to sales tax for small business owners — understand physical and economic nexus, apply the correct rate across 10,000+ U.S. jurisdictions, and avoid the penalties that catch most growing businesses off guard.
Form 1099-K: Complete Guide for Freelancers, Sellers, and Small Business Owners
The 2025 $20,000/200-transaction threshold for Form 1099-K is reinstated—here's what freelancers, gig workers, and online sellers need to know about reconciling gross receipts and reporting taxable income correctly.
FICA Tax: A Complete Guide for Business Owners and Employees
FICA taxes fund Social Security and Medicare at a combined 15.3% rate — 7.65% each from employer and employee. Covers 2026 rates, the $184,500 Social Security wage base, self-employment tax rules, exemptions, and the compliance mistakes that most commonly trigger IRS penalties.
Estimated Tax Payments: A Complete Guide for Freelancers and Small Business Owners
Self-employed workers and freelancers who skip quarterly estimated tax payments face IRS underpayment penalties even when they file on time — here's how the pay-as-you-go system works, how to calculate what you owe each quarter, and how the safe harbor rule protects you from guessing wrong.
Depreciation: The Complete Guide for Small Business Owners
A practical guide to business asset depreciation covering MACRS, Section 179 (2026 limit $2,560,000), bonus depreciation restored to 100%, five depreciation methods, recapture rules, and the most common mistakes that cause small business owners to overpay taxes.