#revenue-recognition
Revenue Recognition
Revenue recognition principles and accounting standards
Spec Home Builder Bookkeeping: WIP Schedules, Percentage of Completion, and Why Profitable Builders Run Out of Cash
A monthly work-in-progress (WIP) schedule turns four numbers per job — contract price, estimated cost, costs to date, and billings to date — into an early warning for overbilling and underbilling, the cash-flow gaps that sink profitable builders. Spec builders also differ from contract builders on revenue recognition, since homes held as inventory typically use the completed contract method under the IRC Section 460 home construction exemption.
WordPress Plugin & Theme Bookkeeping: License Renewals, Merchant-of-Record Tax, and Reconciling Envato, Freemius, and Stripe Payouts
Envato's July 1, 2026 move to a flat 50% author revenue share replaces tiered rates that ran as high as 87.5%, and it exposes a deeper bookkeeping gap for WordPress plugin and theme businesses selling across Envato, Freemius, and direct Stripe checkout — gross revenue, marketplace fees, and license-renewal deferred revenue all need separate tracking, not one blended bank-deposit number.
Bookkeeping for Assistance Dog Training Nonprofits: Tracking a $25,000 Dog Across a Two-Year Pipeline
Producing one service dog costs $25,000–$60,000 over an 18–24-month cycle. How assistance dog nonprofits should structure per-dog cost centers, record breeding-cooperative puppy exchanges at fair value, apply GAAP (ASC 958-605) to puppy-raiser volunteer time, and release restricted sponsorships on the same timeline as expenses.
Chrome Extension Developer Bookkeeping: Reconciling Payouts After Google Killed In-App Payments
Google deprecated Chrome Web Store Payments in 2021, leaving extension developers to reconcile Stripe, Paddle, or ExtensionPay payouts by hand — here is a three-way match workflow, per-extension ledger structure, and how to treat review-delay refund spikes as a distinct bookkeeping category.
Bookkeeping for Commercial Composting and Food-Waste Haulers: Tipping Fees, Volume Contracts, and Diversion Savings
With landfill tipping fees averaging $35–125 per ton and rising 3–7% annually, food-waste haulers and composting operators need books that separate revenue by contract type, track tipping fees by disposal site, and isolate contamination costs — here is a chart-of-accounts structure that makes landfill-diversion savings pitches defensible.
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.
Loyalty Points Are a Liability, Not Revenue: How to Book Breakage and Deferred Revenue Under ASC 606
Under ASC 606, loyalty points are a deferred revenue liability until customers redeem them or you can prove breakage — Starbucks booked $200.4M in breakage revenue in FY2025 this way. This guide covers the journal entries for issuance and redemption, the 12-month data requirement for breakage estimates, and the rollforward schedule that keeps a rewards program auditable.
Podcast Sponsorship Revenue Recognition: Why That $12,000 Check Isn't All Yours Yet
Podcast sponsorship payments received upfront aren't income until the sponsored episode airs — under ASC 606 they're deferred revenue, a liability, until each performance obligation is fulfilled.
When Does a Senior Living Placement Agency Actually Earn Its Referral Fee? A Revenue Recognition Guide
Senior living placement agencies earn 70–80% of a resident's first month's rent — but only at move-in, and often subject to 30-day clawback clauses. This guide explains when to recognize referral fee revenue under ASC 606, how to book refund liabilities from your historical clawback rate, and which pipeline metrics predict cash flow.
Yoga Studio Bookkeeping: Why Class Packs Are Liabilities, Not Revenue
A prepaid class pack is a liability until the classes are taught. This guide covers deferred revenue for yoga studios — recognizing pack and membership income as classes are attended, writing off breakage, classifying instructors as 1099 contractors vs W-2 employees, separating taxable retail from service revenue, and a five-step monthly close.
FASB Settles How to Account for Factored Receivables Billed Before the Work Is Done: ASU 2025-12 Issue 20 and ASC 860
FASB's ASU 2025-12 (Issue 20) clarifies that receivables recognized before performance is complete — annual SaaS billed upfront, retainers, construction progress billings — fall under ASC 860's transfer rules when sold or factored, not ASC 470 debt guidance by default. The fix takes effect for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026, with issue-by-issue early adoption, and sale treatment still requires passing the true-sale test.
ASC 606 for Indie App Developers: Should You Record App Store Revenue Gross or Net?
Most indie developers are principals under ASC 606's principal-versus-agent test, so a $9.99 App Store sale is $9.99 of revenue plus a $3.00 platform-fee cost of sales — not a $6.99 net deposit. Here's the three-indicator control test, current Apple and Google fee tiers, and the exact journal entries to book it correctly.