#bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Modern bookkeeping techniques using plain-text and automated workflows
Functional Expense Allocation for Nonprofits: A Practical Guide to the Statement of Functional Expenses and Form 990 Part IX
Nonprofits must report expenses by both nature and function under FASB ASU 2016-14. This guide explains the three functional categories, audit-accepted allocation methods like time-and-effort and square footage, and how to feed both the statement of functional expenses and Form 990 Part IX from one consistent system.
IFTA Quarterly Fuel Tax Returns: A Filing and Audit Guide for Owner-Operators
IFTA returns are due quarterly on April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31, and tax follows the miles you drove, not the fuel you bought. This guide shows owner-operators how to calculate fleet MPG, net taxable gallons, and surcharges, and which record-keeping habits survive an audit.
IOLTA and Client Trust Accounting: Three-Way Reconciliation, Earned vs. Unearned Fees, and the Mistakes That End Careers
How law firms run IOLTA accounts under ABA Model Rule 1.15 — separating earned from unearned fees, matching the bank statement to the master ledger and per-client sub-ledgers in a three-way reconciliation, and avoiding the four commingling mistakes (firm money in trust, firm expenses from trust, earned fees left in trust, one client's funds covering another's disbursement) that drive most bar discipline cases.
The Three-Way Reconciliation: How Law Firms Keep Client Trust Money Separate and Stay Off the Disciplinary Docket
A three-way reconciliation ties the bank statement, the trust ledger, and the sum of every client sub-ledger into one agreeing number. This guide explains how it works, how to keep earned and unearned fees separate, and which bookkeeping mistakes quietly build into a bar disciplinary complaint.
Restaurant Prime Cost: Why Weekly Tracking Beats the Monthly Close
Prime cost combines food, beverage, and labor as a percentage of sales—target 55–60% for quick-service and 60–65% for full-service. Tracking it weekly instead of monthly catches portioning and scheduling problems within seven days, while a 4% food cost variance on $1M in sales quietly costs $40,000 a year.
Bookings, Billings, and Revenue: The SaaS Reconciliation Triangle
How SaaS finance teams reconcile bookings, billings, and recognized revenue under ASC 606 — with a deferred revenue waterfall, an ARR bridge, and the five edge cases that quietly break most subledgers.
Section 105(h): The Self-Insured Health Plan Rule That Can Quietly Tax Your Best People
Section 105(h) requires self-insured health plans, including ICHRAs and HRAs, to pass an eligibility test and a benefits test each year. Fail, and a portion of a highly compensated individual's reimbursements becomes taxable W-2 income — calculated as the excess reimbursement.
The Section 199A Rental Real Estate Safe Harbor: A Guide for Schedule E Landlords
Rev. Proc. 2019-38 lets landlords claim the 20% QBI deduction if a rental enterprise logs 250+ hours of rental services a year with contemporaneous records and a signed election. Triple net leases and personal-use property are excluded.
Section 461(h) Economic Performance and the Recurring Item Exception: When Accrual-Basis Liabilities Are Actually Deductible
Section 461(h) layers an economic performance test on top of the all-events test, so accrual-basis taxpayers cannot deduct a liability until the underlying activity actually happens. The recurring item exception accelerates deductions for predictable expenses when economic performance occurs within 8½ months of year-end and four specific conditions are met.
Section 509(a) Public Support Test: How Nonprofits Stay Public Charities
The Section 509(a) public support test requires 501(c)(3) nonprofits to draw more than one-third of support from the public over a rolling five-year window. Fail it twice and you tip into private foundation status—facing a 1.39% excise tax on investment income, mandatory 5% annual payout, and donor deduction limits that drop from 60% to 30% of AGI.
Section 6603 Deposits: Stop IRS Interest Without Conceding the Audit
A Section 6603 deposit halts interest on a disputed IRS liability without paying the tax, conceding the position, or forfeiting Tax Court access. Revenue Procedure 2005-18 spells out the mechanics—a written designation that names the tax, year, amount, and basis for disputability.
Segregation of Duties When You Only Have Three Employees: A Practical Internal Controls Playbook for Small Businesses
A working blueprint for splitting authorization, custody, recording, and reconciliation across a three-person business — including the compensating controls that stop the $141,000 median fraud loss that hits small companies hardest.