#small-business

Small Business

Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners

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July 9, 20269 min read

AI Tool Subscription Sprawl: A Small Business Owner's Guide to Auditing and Budgeting an Exploding AI Stack

The median small business now runs five AI tools, and combined monthly spend on unaudited AI subscriptions can reach $3,000–$6,000. A five-step afternoon audit — find every AI charge including shadow spend on personal cards, price in the hours spent babysitting each tool, check seat usage, cut redundant overlap, and force a keep/downgrade/cancel decision — plus a lightweight budget structure that stops sprawl from creeping back.

Mike Thrift

aismall-businesssaas

July 9, 20268 min read

Board Game Cafe Bookkeeping: Cover Charges, Food, Retail & Game Library Depreciation

Board game cafes blend three businesses — admission fees, food and beverage, and retail — and each needs its own revenue and COGS account; the game library itself should be capitalized and depreciated over 3-5 years, not expensed, while shrink-wrapped retail copies stay inventory.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessaccounting-basics

July 9, 202610 min read

Consolidated vs. Combined Financial Statements: What Owners of Multiple LLCs Actually Need

Consolidated statements group a parent with the subsidiaries it controls under ASC 810; combined statements group entities that share a common owner with no parent-subsidiary link — the structure most multi-LLC owners actually have. Both require eliminating intercompany transactions, and neither changes how each LLC files taxes.

Mike Thrift

llcfinancial-statementsfinancial-reporting

July 9, 20269 min read

Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO): Formula, Benchmarks, and Why It Matters

Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO) measures the average number of days it takes a business to sell through its inventory, calculated as average inventory divided by cost of goods sold, multiplied by the number of days in the period.

Mike Thrift

financial-ratioscash-flowinventory

July 9, 20269 min read

Disc Golf Course Bookkeeping: Deferred Revenue, Depreciation, and Pro Shop Margins

Disc golf courses run four businesses in one — real estate, retail, memberships, and events — and each needs separate accounting for deferred membership revenue, 15-year land improvement depreciation, and pro shop cost of goods sold.

Mike Thrift

small-businessbookkeepingaccrual-accounting

July 9, 20269 min read

DOL Overtime Rule Reversal: What the $684 Salary Threshold Means for Small Employers

The DOL formally vacated the 2024 overtime rule on May 14, 2026, reverting the federal exempt salary threshold to $684/week ($35,568/year); small employers who reclassified staff in 2024 should re-check duties tests and state thresholds before undoing anything.

Mike Thrift

payrollcompliancesmall-business

July 9, 20269 min read

Driving School Bookkeeping: Deferred Revenue, Dual-Control Vehicles, and the 1099 Question

A $650 prepaid lesson package is a liability, not revenue, until the lessons are delivered. How driving schools handle deferred revenue, choose between Section 179 (up to $12,200 for light vehicles, $32,000 for 6,001–14,000 lb GVWR in 2026) and standard mileage on dual-control cars, classify instructors as 1099 or W-2 under the IRS three-factor test, budget for state surety bonds ($2,000–$50,000), and track the two KPIs — revenue per vehicle-hour ($70+ target) and instructor utilization (75–85%) — that predict margins.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessrevenue-recognition

July 9, 20268 min read

E-Invoicing 2026 Mandates: A Guide for US Exporters and SaaS Sellers

Belgium requires structured B2B e-invoices via Peppol from January 1, 2026; France follows September 1, 2026; Poland's KSeF phases in February–April 2026; Germany mandates issuing in 2027–2028. What US exporters and SaaS sellers must do — required formats (UBL, Factur-X, XRechnung), network access, and penalties up to 100% of the invoice's VAT.

Mike Thrift

invoicingtax-complianceinternational-tax

July 9, 20268 min read

Earned Wage Access Laws by State: A 2026 Guide for Small Employers

A dozen states now have earned wage access laws as of 2026, and the CFPB reversed its own TILA guidance in December 2025 — employer-sponsored EWA tied to verified wages is currently the lower-risk path, while California classifies direct-to-consumer EWA as a loan outright.

Mike Thrift

earned-wage-accesspayrollcompliance

July 9, 20269 min read

E-Bike and Scooter Rental Fleet Bookkeeping: Depreciation, Unit Economics, and Breakeven

Rental e-bikes and scooters are fixed assets, not inventory — and useful life ranges from under two months for early shared scooters to 2–3+ years for reinforced fleet hardware. How micromobility operators should structure a chart of accounts that separates batteries, theft, and field-ops labor, calculate contribution per vehicle per day, book damage deposits as liabilities, and find breakeven on blended seasonal utilization rather than peak-week numbers.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessfixed-assets

July 9, 20269 min read

E-Bike and Scooter Rental Fleet Bookkeeping: Depreciation, Per-Ride Economics, and the Path to Breakeven

A chart-of-accounts and depreciation framework for e-bike and scooter rental fleets, showing how to track vehicles by acquisition cohort, calculate gross margin per ride, and model a realistic path to breakeven by year three.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingaccountingdepreciation

July 9, 20269 min read

The Founder's Guide to ESOPs: Selling Your Business to Your Employees

How an ESOP lets founders exit on their own terms — 6,411 US ESOPs hold $2.1 trillion for 15.1 million employees. Covers Section 1042 capital gains deferral, the S-corp federal tax exemption, 2–4% deal costs, fiduciary and repurchase obligations, and which businesses actually fit the structure.

Mike Thrift

succession-planningbusiness-exitemployee-benefits

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