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#bookkeeping

Bookkeeping

Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows

Vermont Saves and New York Secure Choice: The 2026 Auto-IRA Rules for Small Employers

Vermont Saves reached employers with five or more workers on July 1, 2026, and New York Secure Choice finished its three-wave rollout on July 15, 2026. What each program requires, the penalties ($20 rising to $75 per employee in Vermont, $250 per employee per year in New York), and how to book the withholding as a payroll liability rather than an expense.

Why Zelle Never Sends You a 1099-K (and Why That Doesn't Mean the Money Is Tax-Free)

Zelle is not a third-party settlement organization under Section 6050W, so it files no 1099-K at any amount — while Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, Stripe, and Square do once the federal threshold of more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions is met, restored retroactively by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Income is taxable either way, and this guide shows the reconciliation system that keeps multi-rail freelance books accurate.

Your Workers' Comp Premium Audit Is Coming: How to Pass Without a Surprise Bill

A workers' comp premium is payroll ÷ 100 × class rate × experience mod, so the year-end audit re-tests both variables against your actual records. This guide covers the three audit types and what triggers each, the documents auditors request, why overtime premium is only excludable when recorded separately by employee and week under NCCI Rule 2-B-2, the 2026 NCCI officer caps of $3,400 weekly maximum and $1,700 minimum, and why payments to a subcontractor without a current certificate of insurance get charged to you as payroll.

The Federal 1099-K Threshold Is $20,000 Again — But Your State May Still Require One at $600: A State-by-State Guide for Online Sellers and Gig Platforms

Federal 1099-K filing reverted to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions for 2026, but Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, DC, Montana and North Carolina still require it at $600 — learn which states keep the lower threshold, how payment-card and TPSO rules differ, and how to book gross, fees, and sales tax so your books tie to every form you receive.

Cigar Lounge and Retail Tobacco Shop Bookkeeping: State Excise Tax, Humidor Inventory, and the Membership-Locker Revenue You Are Probably Booking Wrong

Premium cigar lounges pay OTP excise as a capped percentage of wholesale, carry humidor inventory at landed cost with FIFO or average costing, and must defer locker and membership fees as unearned revenue until each month is provided — separating all three keeps margins, taxes, and audits accurate.

New Jersey's New ABC Test Regulations Take Effect October 1, 2026: What Businesses Hiring Contractors Must Prove

New Jersey's ABC test regulations become operative October 1, 2026, clarifying that every worker is an employee unless you prove freedom from control, work outside your usual course or places of business, and an independently established trade — learn the three prongs, five common mistakes, and a pre-deadline audit checklist.

Parking Garage and Valet Bookkeeping: Reconciling Five Revenue Streams and the 30-Day Client Float

A parking operator's chart of accounts and close process — how to separate transient, monthly permit, corporate, valet, and event revenue, book monthly permits as deferred revenue, back parking tax out of tax-inclusive rates, and hold at least 1.5× one month's gross client collections before signing a management agreement with 30-day remittance terms.

Amazon's 2026 FBA Fee Overhaul: How the Fuel Surcharge, Price Bands, and Low-Inventory Fees Change Your Per-Unit Margin Math

Amazon's 2026 FBA fee overhaul restructured US fulfillment fees into price bands (under $10, $10–$50, over $50), layered on a 3.5% fuel surcharge that is excluded from the published rate card, and moved the low-inventory fee to the per-SKU level — changes that quietly reshape per-unit margin math for FBA sellers.