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Licenses

Track business licenses, renewals, and associated costs

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13 min read

31 States, One Playbook: What the Money Transmission Modernization Act Means for Your Money-Transfer Business

Thirty-one states have adopted the Money Transmission Modernization Act, harmonizing money transmitter licensing around three financial pillars — tangible net worth on a 3%/2%/0.5% sliding scale, a surety bond equal to 100% of average daily transmission liability between a $100,000 floor and a $500,000 cap, and permissible investments backing every outstanding customer obligation — plus one shared NMLS application process.

Mike Thrift

money-transmittermsbcompliance
13 min read

Polygraph Examiner Bookkeeping: Training Costs, Per-Exam Pricing, and EPPA Record Retention

A private polygraph exam bills $400–$1,150, the 400-hour APA-accredited examiner course runs $5,000–$8,000, and a computerized instrument costs $5,000–$12,000 — while EPPA requires a $50,000 bond, three-year record retention, and caps examiners at five tests per day. Here is how to structure revenue lines, deposit liabilities, and compliance costs for a polygraph practice.

Mike Thrift

small-businessbookkeepingcompliance
11 min read

Delaware's 4.5% Short-Term Rental Lodging Tax: A Host's Guide to the License and Monthly Filing

Delaware taxes short-term rental stays at 4.5% of rent for agreements entered on or after January 1, 2025. Who collects depends on the booking channel — platforms remit for platform bookings, but direct-booking hosts need the $25 accommodations intermediary license and must file monthly by the 15th, even for zero-income periods. Cleaning fees, linens, and deposits are excluded from the tax base.

Mike Thrift

tax-compliancereal-estateproperty-management
10 min read

Georgia Rewrote Its Specialty Contractor Licensing Law: What Your Shop Must Fix Before the Next Job

Georgia's SB 553 (Act 472) rewrote Chapter 14 contractor licensing effective July 1, 2026 — one year of experience now means 2,000 documented hours, license lending is explicit grounds for discipline, and advertising regulated trade services without a license counts as evidence of unlicensed practice. A record-keeping checklist for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, low-voltage, and utility shops.

Mike Thrift

licensespermitscompliance
11 min read

California SB 779 Raises Unlicensed Contracting Fines to a $1,500 Minimum: A Compliance and Bookkeeping Checklist for Contractors

California's SB 779, effective July 1, 2026, raised the minimum civil penalty for unlicensed contracting from $200 to $1,500 per violation, with a $15,000 cap, $30,000 for aiding unlicensed work, and inflation adjustments every five years. This guide explains the full penalty stack, including B&P Code 7031 disgorgement that lets clients recover every dollar paid, and gives contractors an eight-step compliance and bookkeeping checklist covering license verification, expiration calendars, subcontractor credential files and nondeductible fine accounting.

Mike Thrift

constructioncompliancelicenses
11 min read

Flipping Cars as a Side Hustle: Dealer License Limits, Curbstoning Laws, and the Books That Keep You Legal

How many used cars you can flip before your state calls you an unlicensed dealer (Illinois 4, Michigan 3, California no safe harbor, FTC Used Car Rule at 6), why title jumping is illegal everywhere, what curbstoning fines and dealer bonds cost, and how to keep per-VIN books that treat flips as Schedule C inventory subject to 15.3% self-employment tax.

Mike Thrift

side-hustlelicensesbookkeeping
17 min read

Missouri Just Cut 177 Child Care Licensing Rules: What Daycare Owners Need to Know for 2026

Missouri is eliminating 177 child care licensing rules — 79 for family homes and 98 for centers — and consolidating the remaining 1,400+ requirements into a single plain-language rulebook with age-appropriate standards, effective late 2026. This guide explains what changes, what stays, and how daycare owners should track compliance costs and update their books.

Mike Thrift

childcarecompliancesmall-business
13 min read

Your Liquor License Is a 15-Year Asset: Section 197 Amortization and Why Annual Renewals Are Different

Under IRC Section 197, a liquor license is an intangible you must capitalize and amortize straight-line over 180 months starting the later of acquisition or opening month — no bonus depreciation, no shorter life, no half-month convention. Routine annual renewal fees paid to the state to maintain a license you already hold are generally deductible in the year paid. This guide covers what belongs in basis, the journal entries, Form 8594 allocation when you buy a bar, and five bookkeeping mistakes that misstate hospitality books.

Mike Thrift

tax-deductionssmall-businessrestaurant
9 min read

Kentucky HB 185: How the New Occupational License Predetermination Law Affects Small Business Hiring

Kentucky's HB 185, in effect statewide since July 15, 2026, lets applicants with a conviction history request a binding predetermination from a licensing board before paying for training, and bars boards from treating any felony as automatically disqualifying — a change that directly affects the labor pool for small businesses hiring cosmetologists, HVAC techs, real estate agents, and other licensed trades.

Mike Thrift

small-businesshiringcompliance
7 min read

Bait and Tackle Shop Bookkeeping: Live Bait Mortality, Dealer Licenses, and Pass-Through Sales

Bait and tackle shops run three revenue models through one register — perishable live bait, hard goods, and state fishing-license sales. Live bait mortality should be booked as shrinkage expense (tracked by species and supplier), bait-dealer licenses are recurring compliance costs tiered by sales volume in states like Wisconsin, and license sales are commission revenue (typically 4.75%–5%) with the state's share held as a liability, never income.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessinventory
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