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Payroll
Payroll management, processing, and compliance for businesses of all sizes
Med Spa Bookkeeping: How to Handle Injectable Inventory, Injector Commissions, and Membership Revenue
A practical bookkeeping guide for med spa owners covering the industry's hardest problems — tracking expiring injectable inventory with FIFO and treatment recipes, calculating 15–25% injector commissions from provider-level revenue, deferring membership and package revenue until services are delivered, and building a chart of accounts that shows which service lines actually carry margin.
Pay Transparency Laws Reach 20 Jurisdictions in 2026: A Remote Hiring Compliance Guide
Virginia's pay transparency law took effect July 1, 2026, and Maine's LD 54 follows on July 29, bringing active U.S. pay transparency jurisdictions to 20. Because the rules attach to where a remote candidate could work — not where your company is headquartered — a remote posting without a good-faith salary range can violate laws in states where you have no office. Here's what changed, why remote postings trigger multi-state obligations, and a practical compliance checklist.
Small Business Health Insurance in 2026: Why Premiums Are Up 11% and What Your Options Are
Small-group health insurance premiums are rising a median 11% for 2026, with single coverage averaging $703 a month and family coverage near $2,000 per employee. Here's why costs are spiking, how level-funded plans, QSEHRA, and ICHRA compare to traditional group coverage, and a five-question framework for deciding before your renewal deadline.
2026 State Minimum Wage Increases: A Multi-State Payroll Compliance Guide
Nineteen states raised their minimum wage on January 1, 2026 — Washington now leads at $17.13 an hour — and roughly 68 cities and counties set higher local rates. This guide lists every 2026 state rate, the mid-year changes in Florida and Oregon, new PFML payroll taxes in Maryland, Minnesota, and Delaware, and a seven-step checklist for keeping multi-state payroll compliant.
Traveling Carnival and Fair Concessionaire Bookkeeping: Gross-Revenue Splits, Multi-State Permits, and a Route of One-Week Stops
How carnival and fair concessionaires should keep books for a route business — recording 25–50% gross-revenue splits and guarantee floors per stop, registering for sales tax permits that differ by state (Ohio's statewide license vs. California's per-location permits vs. Illinois's changing-location filer status), reconciling cash daily against ticket counts, and tracking day-labor payroll and 1099 thresholds across state lines.
Virginia HB 238: The Three-Year Pay Stub Retention Rule Now Binding Every Employer
Virginia's HB 238, effective July 1, 2026, requires every employer to retain pay statements for at least three years, presumes workers are employees unless the IRS contractor test is met, and imposes treble damages for knowing wage violations. Here is what changed in Va. Code § 40.1-29 and a retention checklist that also covers federal FLSA, IRS, and public-works rules.
Workers' Comp Premium Audits: Which Payroll Records Prevent a Surprise Bill?
A workers' comp premium audit reconciles your estimated payroll against actual payroll, job classification codes, and subcontractor payments. Missing a subcontractor's certificate of insurance can add the entire contract amount to your auditable payroll — plus a 25–50% non-compliance surcharge. Here are the records to keep monthly, and the 30–60 day dispute window to know.
California's SB 525 Health Care Minimum Wage: July 2026 Rates, Tiers, and the Exempt-Salary Trap
California's SB 525 raised health care worker minimum wages to $22, $23, or $25 per hour on July 1, 2026, depending on facility tier — and pushed exempt salary floors as high as $78,000. Here's who is covered, the rate for each tier, and how to budget payroll facility by facility.
Car Allowance vs. Mileage Reimbursement: The 2026 Tax Math After the IRS's Mid-Year Rate Hike
A flat $600 monthly car allowance nets an employee roughly $410 after income and FICA taxes, while an IRS accountable plan reimburses up to 76 cents per business mile tax-free after the July 1, 2026 mid-year rate increase. Here's how taxable allowances, standard mileage reimbursement, and FAVR plans compare — and the three requirements that keep reimbursements out of taxable wages.
The DOL's 2026 Independent Contractor Rule: The Five-Factor Test Explained for Small Employers
The Department of Labor's February 2026 proposal would rescind the 2024 six-factor worker classification test and reinstate a five-factor economic reality framework where control and profit-or-loss opportunity carry the most weight. Here's what changed, what still applies, and how small employers should audit their 1099 contractor relationships now.
New Jersey's ABC Test: What the Final Independent Contractor Rule Means Before October 1, 2026
New Jersey's finalized ABC test regulations take effect October 1, 2026. Here's what each of the three prongs requires, what changed in the NJDOL's final rule, the penalties for misclassification — up to $1,000 per worker, 200% liquidated damages, and stop-work orders — and how to audit your 1099 contractor relationships before enforcement begins.
The Long-Term Part-Time Employee Rule: Why Your 401(k) Eligibility Tracking Needs an Update Right Now
Under SECURE 2.0, any employee who works 500+ hours in two consecutive 12-month periods and is 21 or older must be allowed to defer into your 401(k) — even if your plan requires 1,000 hours. Here's what the IRS's final LTPT regulations require, who qualifies, and the rolling two-year hours-tracking system small businesses need to avoid missed-deferral corrections.