Skip to main content

#bookkeeping

Bookkeeping

Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows

2172 postsView all tagsBack to All Posts
10 min read

Self-Serve Dog Wash Station Bookkeeping: Reconciling Unattended Revenue, Costing Per Wash, and Depreciating Equipment

A bookkeeping guide for unattended self-serve dog wash stations: how to reconcile coin and card revenue against machine counters, calculate a true cost per wash (roughly $3.50 against an $18–20 session price), classify shampoo and consumables as COGS, and depreciate $20,000–$30,000-per-bay equipment — including Section 179 timing and separating payment terminals from wash tubs in your fixed-asset register.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessreconciliation
9 min read

When Does a Senior Living Placement Agency Actually Earn Its Referral Fee? A Revenue Recognition Guide

Senior living placement agencies earn 70–80% of a resident's first month's rent — but only at move-in, and often subject to 30-day clawback clauses. This guide explains when to recognize referral fee revenue under ASC 606, how to book refund liabilities from your historical clawback rate, and which pipeline metrics predict cash flow.

Mike Thrift

revenue-recognitionbookkeepingsmall-business
9 min read

Urgent Care Clinic Bookkeeping: Why One Wrong Code Can Sink a Month's Revenue

Urgent care bookkeeping hinges on details generic templates miss: the POS-20 place-of-service code that sets the reimbursement rate (and triggers denials at payers who contract clinics as offices), denial-reason tracking for the ~60% of billing work that happens after claim submission, and Section 179's $2,560,000 limit plus permanent 100% bonus depreciation for X-ray and lab equipment in 2026.

Mike Thrift

healthcarebookkeepingsmall-business
10 min read

DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-3: Why Mandatory Roll Call Counts as Hours Worked — and How Section 7(b) Changes the Overtime Math

In January 2026, the DOL's Wage and Hour Division ruled in Opinion Letter FLSA2026-3 that a mandatory 15-minute pre-shift roll call under a collective bargaining agreement is compensable hours worked — but a properly structured FLSA Section 7(b)(1) or 7(b)(2) exemption can absorb that time at straight-time pay instead of an overtime premium. Here's how the thresholds work and what the math looks like for a 20-person dispatch center.

Mike Thrift

payrollcomplianceemployee-hours
9 min read

Ghost Kitchen Bookkeeping: How to Stop Three Virtual Brands From Wrecking One P&L

Delivery platforms take an effective 30–40% of each order once commissions, promotions, and processing fees stack up — and a multi-brand ghost kitchen that books only net deposits can't tell which concept is profitable. This guide covers per-brand revenue categorization, three methods for allocating shared rent, utilities, and labor (square footage, revenue share, labor hours), per-brand food cost tracking, and a six-step monthly close checklist.

Mike Thrift

restaurantbookkeepingsmall-business
8 min read

Sale Barn Bookkeeping: How Livestock Auctions Must Handle Custodial Trust Accounts Under the Packers and Stockyards Act

Livestock auction markets are federal fiduciaries under the Packers and Stockyards Act — custodial accounts must be funded by the next business day, reimbursed in full within seven days, and reconciled monthly. This guide covers the chart of accounts a sale barn needs, how the required surety bond is calculated from sale volume, and why Beef Checkoff and brand-inspection fees must stay out of revenue.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingcompliancefiduciary
8 min read

MGA Bookkeeping: How to Account for Contingent Profit Commissions That Take Three Years to Settle

MGA profit commissions aren't calculated until 18–24 months after a policy year ends and don't finalize until the third anniversary. This guide covers accruing constrained estimates under ASC 606, keeping fiduciary premium trust accounts separate from operating funds, and a chart-of-accounts structure that keeps multi-year true-ups auditable.

Mike Thrift

insurancebookkeepingrevenue-recognition
6 min read

Your Amended Business Tax Return Now Takes Over a Year to Process — Here's Why, and How to Protect Your Cash Flow

The National Taxpayer Advocate's 2025 Annual Report to Congress found the IRS took over 13 months on average to process 1.6 million business amended returns, after a 27% workforce cut left the Small Business/Self-Employed division down nearly 38%. Here's what the report says and six concrete steps to shield your cash flow.

Mike Thrift

taxtax-compliancesmall-business
Start Free→Documentation