Worm Farming Bookkeeping: Living Inventory, Castings Sales Tax, and Farm Tax Rules
Price worms and castings from a blended cost per pound, register castings as fertilizer, collect state sales tax, and pass the IRS hobby-loss test.
#inventory
Inventory
Inventory tracking, valuation, and management for businesses
The Retail Inventory Method, Explained: Estimating Ending Inventory Without Counting Every SKU
The retail inventory method estimates ending inventory at cost by applying your cost-to-retail ratio to unsold stock — no shelf count, just sales records.
Pallet Flipping Bookkeeping: Reading Manifests, Costing Mixed Lots, and Keeping Marketplace Fees From Eating Your Margin
Manifest math for pallet flippers: allocate landed cost per item, stack eBay and Amazon fees before you bid, and reconcile gross IRS 1099-K totals to deposits.
The Cost of Goods Manufactured Schedule: How Small Manufacturers Turn Raw Materials, Direct Labor, and Overhead Into a Real COGS Number
A COGM schedule turns raw materials, direct labor, and overhead into a real COGS — plus the WIP counts and Section 263A UNICAP limits that decide margin.
Hot Sauce Maker Bookkeeping: Why Your Home Kitchen Is Off-Limits and What a 5 oz. Bottle Really Costs
Hot sauce is an FDA acidified food, so most states bar it from home kitchens. Budget $500-$1,000 for process review and training before your first bottle.
Inventory Shrinkage and the Retail Safe Harbor: Deduct Theft and Breakage Without a Year-End Count
Section 471(b) lets US retailers deduct estimated shrinkage without a year-end count — a three-year shrink-to-sales ratio times stub-period sales, on Form 3115.
Donut Shop Bookkeeping: Costing 4 A.M. Labor, Fry-Oil Shrinkage, and the Wholesale-vs-Retail Split
Donuts cost cents to make, yet profit leaks through 4 a.m. labor, fryer oil, and day-old waste — track each line to hold food cost under 30%.
Furniture Flipping Isn't a Hobby to the IRS: A Reseller's Guide to COGS, Mileage, and the 2026 1099-K Rules
Flipping furniture is a Schedule C business, not a hobby: deduct per-piece COGS and 2026's split IRS mileage rate; expect no 1099-K under $20,000/200 sales.
Bookkeeping for Martial Arts Schools: Why Testing Fees, Merchandise, and Autopay Need Separate Revenue Lines
Split dojo income into six revenue lines — dues, testing, pro shop, privates, camps, parties — and carry prepaid tuition as deferred revenue, not income.
The Real Cost of Returns: How Refunds, Restocking Fees, and Reverse Logistics Quietly Eat E-Commerce Margins
A single return costs 20-65% of the item's value. US sellers cut the loss with tiered fees, exchanges-first policies, and ASC 606 refund accounting.
Powder Coating Shop Bookkeeping: Job Costing by Square Foot, Rack, and Cure
Powder runs $0.25 per square foot at 50% transfer efficiency — quote from that floor, allocate oven energy per cure, and reserve 2–5% of revenue for redos.
Self-Checkout Is Quietly Costing Retailers Billions: What the 2026 Shrinkage Data Means for Your Books
Stores with self-checkout post shrinkage 33% higher than stores without it, per the 2026 ECR study — book shrink in its own account to price the trade honestly.