Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
ISO vs. NSO Stock Options: A Startup Employee's Tax Guide to AMT, 83(b), Early Exercise, and the $100K Limit
A practical tax playbook for startup employees holding ISOs or NSOs — covering AMT exposure via Form 6251 line 2i, the 30-day Section 83(b) deadline, the two-year-and-one-year qualifying disposition rule, the $100,000 first-exercisable ISO cap, and the 1099-B cost basis error that causes double taxation.
Laundromat Bookkeeping: Coin, Card, and Mobile-Pay Reconciliation, Utility COGS, and Section 179
A bookkeeping framework for coin-op and wash-dry-fold laundromats — channel-separated revenue, utilities tracked as COGS, per-machine profitability, Section 179 timing on equipment refreshes, and cash controls that surface both theft and failing machines.
Roofing Contractor Bookkeeping for Storm Restoration: ACV, RCV, Mortgage-Endorsed Checks, Supplements, and Warranty Reserves
A working guide to bookkeeping for storm-restoration roofers — splitting insurance and retail revenue, tracking ACV and recoverable-depreciation receivables, modeling mortgage-endorsement float, booking supplements as scope adjustments rather than new sales, accruing 1–3 percent workmanship warranty reserves, and applying Section 179 to trucks, dumpsters, and tear-off equipment.
Section 736 Payments to Retiring or Deceased Partners: 736(a) vs. 736(b), Hot Assets, and the Goodwill Lever
Section 736 splits liquidating payments to a retiring partner into 736(b) property payments (capital gain, no firm deduction) and 736(a) income or guaranteed payments (ordinary income with self-employment tax, deductible by the firm). The service-partnership carve-out, Section 751 hot assets, and Section 754 election together determine whether six- or seven-figure tax dollars land on the retiree or the firm.
Specialty Mushroom Farm Bookkeeping: A Practical Guide for Indoor Cultivators
A working guide for indoor gourmet mushroom growers — Schedule F treatment, the Section 263A pre-productive-period exception, a mushroom-specific chart of accounts, flush-by-flush yield tracking, channel-by-channel margins, Section 179 depreciation on fruiting chambers, and ASC 606 deferred revenue for CSAs and workshops.
Title Insurance and Settlement Agent Bookkeeping: ALTA Best Practices, Three-Way Reconciliation, and the Compliance Realities of Closing Other People's Money
How title insurance agencies and settlement firms keep escrow trust books — three-way daily reconciliation, ALTA Best Practices controls, premium remittance liability tracking, RESPA Section 8 compliance, and the wire-fraud controls that survive a state department of insurance audit.
Wedding and Event Venue Bookkeeping: Deferred Revenue, Pass-Through Catering, and Per-Saturday Profitability
A practical guide to bookkeeping for wedding and event venues, covering ASC 606 deferred revenue on booking deposits, the principal-versus-agent test for pass-through catering and bar, refundable damage deposit liabilities, per-Saturday fixed-cost allocation, and cancellation reserves.
AIA-Style Progress Billing With Forms G702 and G703: A Contractor's Guide to Schedule of Values, Retainage, Change Orders, and ASC 606
How AIA Forms G702 and G703 work together, how to build a defensible schedule of values, handle retainage and change orders on the continuation sheet, and reconcile progress billings to ASC 606 revenue recognition for U.S. general contractors.
ASC 606 Variable Consideration and Stand-Ready Obligations: A Practical Guide
How to estimate variable consideration under ASC 606 — volume rebates, performance bonuses, royalties, and SLA penalties — choose between the expected-value and most-likely-amount methods, apply the reversal constraint correctly, distinguish a stand-ready obligation from a series of distinct services, and book journal entries that survive an audit.
Car Wash Bookkeeping: ASC 606 Deferred Revenue, Cost per Car, and 15-Year MACRS Tunnel Depreciation
How express car washes should recognize unlimited membership revenue ratably under ASC 606, allocate variable cost per car across water, electricity, and chemicals (~$1.50/car target), and depreciate tunnel equipment under 15-year MACRS with cost segregation and bonus depreciation.
Commercial Drone Photography Bookkeeping: Part 107, Section 179, Battery Cycles, and Stock Footage Royalties
How to set up books for a Part 107 commercial drone business — separate revenue lines by service type, capitalize airframes and payloads as distinct assets, track per-flight battery cycles as cost of service, and apply the 2025 permanent 100% bonus depreciation under OBBBA.
Embedded Leases in Service Contracts: An ASC 842 Field Guide for Controllers
ASC 842 treats many service contracts — IT hosting, 3PL warehousing, power purchase agreements, equipment-as-a-service — as leases when the contract names an identified asset and the customer directs its use. This guide covers the two-test framework, the four contract categories where embedded leases hide, the practical-expedient trade-offs, and a procurement-to-accounting screening workflow.