#small-business
Financial management strategies and tools for small business owners
How an outpatient PT practice should book insurance-billed visits under ASC 606, reconcile 835 ERAs to 837P claims, reserve for KX-modifier recoupments, and track the net collection rate, days-in-AR, and productivity KPIs that actually predict cash flow.
Painting contractors lose margin in three places — unmeasured prep hours, a wrong burdened labor rate, and unreserved callbacks. This guide shows the chart of accounts, EPA RRP cost treatment, warranty reserve journal entries, and lender-grade KPIs that keep residential and commercial painters profitable.
A 2026 bookkeeping guide for personal and private chefs covering ASC 606 principal-vs-agent grocery treatment, the 72.5¢ standard mileage rate, Section 179 equipment, cottage food law constraints, and quarterly estimated tax safe harbors for Schedule C filers.
How private RV park and campground operators should separate nightly, monthly, and seasonal site revenue under ASC 606, handle submetered utility pass-through, capture 15-year land improvements through cost segregation, and reconcile the per-site KPIs that lenders and buyers actually read.
Section 1361 sets five eligibility rules for S-corporations—domestic incorporation, 100-shareholder cap, eligible shareholders, one class of stock, and entity type. Routine business decisions like uneven distributions or a relocated shareholder can terminate the election; Section 1362(f) offers PLR-based relief that costs $30,000+ in user fees.
OBBBA made the Section 199A pass-through deduction permanent and widened the 2026 phase-in to $201,750 single / $403,500 MFJ. Here is how the 20% QBI deduction, the W-2 wages and UBIA caps, the SSTB phase-out, the new $400 minimum, and Form 8995-A aggregation actually work for S-corps, LLCs, and partnerships.
OBBBA restored immediate Section 174 domestic R&E expensing in 2026 and gives small businesses until July 6, 2026 to amend 2022–2024 returns. A practical guide to the Section 41 four-part test, the 14% Alternative Simplified Credit, the Section 280C reduced-credit election, and the $500,000 payroll tax offset for qualified small businesses.
A practical accounting framework for septic and onsite wastewater operators — splitting residential pumping, grease, portable toilet, inspection, and repair revenue; reconciling disposal manifests; expensing vacuum trucks under Section 179; and reserving for drain-field warranty claims.
How independent tow operators should segment revenue across cash calls, motor clubs, police rotation, and heavy recovery — plus accruing impound storage daily, handling mechanic's lien sales, applying Section 179 to wreckers, and reserving for on-hook claims.
How retail garden centers and wholesale nurseries should value live-plant inventory, set mortality reserves by category, decide whether to elect out of Section 263A under the two-year preproductive rule, treat greenhouse heat and labor as direct COGS, and forecast cash through a spring-heavy revenue cycle.
A practical bookkeeping guide for craft cideries — how to qualify for the $0.226 per wine gallon hard cider tax rate on TTB Form 5000.24, apply CBMA credits within the 750,000-gallon ceiling, track apple and pear inputs through WIP, segregate orchard costs under the Section 263A farming exception, and separate tasting room, DTC, wholesale, and self-distribution channels.
A guide to the bookkeeping decisions that move locksmith margins — separating emergency from standard revenue, per-SKU transponder inventory, Section 179 van elections, ALOA licensing tracking, and dispatch-software-to-GL reconciliation.
