Mike Thrift
Marketing Manager
Food Truck Bookkeeping: Food Cost Percentage, Commissary Fees, and Daily Cash Drops
Food trucks average about $346,000 in annual revenue but net only 6-9% margins. This guide covers the three numbers that decide profitability: keeping food cost between 28% and 35%, breaking commissary invoices ($300-$1,500/month) into trackable sub-accounts, and reconciling the cash drawer after every service.
Form 8697 Look-Back Interest: Who Files, How the Calculation Works, and What the New IRS Calculator Does
Form 8697 look-back interest settles the gap between estimated and actual results on long-term contracts reported under the percentage-of-completion method — the IRS recomputes prior-year income with final figures and charges or refunds interest only, without reopening those returns. This guide covers who must file under IRC Section 460, the three-step calculation, the separate-filing rule for interest refunds, and what the Excel PCM calculator the IRS released on May 29, 2026 does and doesn't do.
FSIS Overtime and Holiday Inspection Fee Refunds: How Small Processors Claim the FY2026 Reduction
FSIS is using $20 million in FY2026 funds to cut overtime and holiday inspection fees 30% for small and 75% for very small meat, poultry, and egg establishments, retroactive to October 5, 2025. Here's how to file Form 5200-16 and why the refund should be booked as an expense credit, not revenue.
The FTC's Record $12 Million HSR Penalty: What Acquisitive Small Businesses Need to Know About Merger Filing Thresholds
On July 13, 2026, the FTC and DOJ obtained a record $12 million civil penalty from Edwards Lifesciences and Genesis MedTech for structuring a $115 million acquisition with a $25 million non-voting side investment to stay under the Hart-Scott-Rodino filing threshold. This guide explains the 2026 HSR thresholds — $133.9 million size-of-transaction and the size-of-person test — and why roll-ups, PE-backed platforms, and deals structured to "just miss" the line carry real filing risk.
The FTC's First INFORM Consumers Act Penalty: What Temu's $2 Million Settlement Means for Marketplace Sellers
In September 2025 the FTC fined Temu's parent Whaleco $2 million in the first-ever INFORM Consumers Act enforcement action. The law classifies anyone with 200 sales and $5,000 in revenue on a platform as a high-volume third-party seller — here's what verification, annual recertification, and the $20,000 disclosure trigger mean for Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Etsy sellers.
GAO Report: SBA Still Hasn't Fixed 14 of Its 17 Flagged Problems — What It Means If You're Relying on an SBA Loan or Portal
GAO's June 2026 follow-up (GAO-26-108956) finds SBA has implemented only 3 of 17 priority recommendations, leaving 14 open — including fraud-control gaps that produced ~2 million unusable COVID-EIDL fraud referrals and a Unified Certification Platform lacking basic risk and cybersecurity plans. Here's what that means for loan and certification applicants, and why airtight records are your best defense.
Illinois Banned Swipe Fees on Sales Tax and Tips — So Why Are You Still Paying Them?
Illinois's Interchange Fee Prohibition Act was supposed to stop banks from charging swipe fees on sales tax and tips, but after two effective-date delays to July 1, 2027, an OCC preemption rule, and a June 2026 permanent injunction covering national banks and card networks, merchants are still paying. Here's where the law stands and what it means for your processing costs.
Indiana Repealed Its Youth Employment System: What HB 1302 Means for Employers Who Hire Teens
On July 1, 2026, Indiana's HB 1302 decommissioned the Youth Employment System (YES) database, ending registration and self-reporting for employers with five or more minor employees — but hour caps for 14- and 15-year-olds, hazardous occupation bans, federal FLSA rules, and escalating state penalties all remain in force, making internal recordkeeping the employer's sole audit trail.
Inventory Turnover Ratio Explained: Formula, Industry Benchmarks, and How to Improve It
Inventory turnover ratio = COGS ÷ average inventory, and it shows how many times a business sells through its stock each year. This guide covers the formula, converting turnover to days sales of inventory, industry benchmarks from 2–4 turns (industrial parts) to 10–20+ (grocery), and why slow-moving stock costs 20–30% of its value annually to hold.
How to Get the IRS to Answer You in Writing: Private Letter Rulings and Determination Letters for Small Businesses
Oral advice from the IRS is not binding — a private letter ruling is. Under Revenue Procedure 2026-1, 9100 relief for a missed tax election generally costs about $14,500, with reduced tiers near $3,450 and $9,775 for smaller organizations, and the IRS must make contact within 21 days of a complete request. Here's when a ruling is worth the fee, what the request must contain, and the no-fee alternatives — Form SS-8, Form 3115, and Rev. Proc. 2013-30 — that cover most common cases.
Is B Corp Certification Worth It? A 2026 Cost-Benefit Guide for Small Businesses
B Corp certification costs small businesses $2,100 a year (under $5M revenue) plus roughly 12 months of assessment, legal restructuring, and audit work. Here's the 2026 fee schedule, what B Lab's V2 standards changed, and which businesses actually see a revenue payoff.
Letter of Intent for a Small Business Sale: What's Binding, What's Negotiable, and What Kills Deals
Most letters of intent are labeled non-binding, but exclusivity, confidentiality, and break-up-fee clauses inside them are typically enforceable. This guide covers LOI terms in sub-$10M business sales — asset vs. stock structure, 30–90 day exclusivity windows, working capital true-ups, price allocation, and the mistakes that cost sellers deals.