Guides & advice
Practical, number-heavy guides on bookkeeping, accounting costs, and choosing the right firm.
1099 Write-Offs: What Independent Contractors Can Deduct A 1099-NEC reports what you were paid, not what you owe tax on. What contractors can write off, how to reconcile the forms to your books, and the traps. 8 min read →Accounting Software Market Share: What 4,130 US Firms Name on Their Sites Of 27,281 US accounting firms, only 4,130 name any software on their site. QuickBooks appears on 3,369 of them, Xero on 339, and just 64 name Xero alone. 7 min read →Bank Reconciliation Example: A Full Month, Worked Line by Line A complete bank reconciliation example: one month of statement and ledger lines, every difference found and named, both adjusted balances, and the entries. 10 min read →Bank Reconciliation Template You Can Copy, Plus How to Fill It In A bank reconciliation template as a table you can paste into Excel or Sheets, the two supporting schedules it needs, the formulas, and how to fill every row. 10 min read →California Estimated Tax Payments: What the FTB Expects California runs its own estimated tax system through the Franchise Tax Board: uneven installments, a sticky e-pay rule, and a safe harbor not everyone gets. 8 min read →Chart of Accounts Numbering: The Ranges and Why They Exist Chart of accounts numbering explained: the 1000 to 9000 ranges, the sub-ranges inside them, how many digits to use, gap sizing, and what breaks if you renumber. 10 min read →Cost of an Accountant for a Small Business: A Budget by Stage What small businesses spend on accounting, line by line, from a sole trader to a company with payroll. Plus why only 11.6% of firms cover the whole stack. 7 min read →How Much Are Payroll Taxes? The Four Parts, and Who Pays Each Payroll taxes are four separate taxes, not one rate. Who pays each, what a wage base does mid-year, and exactly where to look up the number that applies to you. 8 min read →How Much Does an Accountant Cost? What 27,281 Firms Publish Accountant fees run from a few hundred dollars a return to a few thousand a month. Of 27,281 US firms we profile, only 146 publish a dollar figure. Here is why. 9 min read →How to Do a Profit and Loss Statement, From Trial Balance to Finished How to do a profit and loss statement in seven steps: close the period, reconcile, run a trial balance, map accounts to lines, total, tie out, and review. 10 min read →LLC Tax Write-Offs: What Changes Once You Have an Entity An LLC does not unlock new deductions. What it changes: tax classification, how owners get paid, reimbursements, state fees, and where write-offs sit. 8 min read →LLC vs S Corp vs C Corp: The Legal and Tax Choice, Separated An LLC is a legal entity; S corp and C corp are tax classifications. Untangling the two makes the choice obvious. Ownership rules, costs and when each one wins. 9 min read →Michigan Estimated Tax Payments: Who Owes Them and How to Pay Michigan estimated tax goes to Treasury on its own forms, and the city income tax sitting underneath it is the obligation people miss until a notice lands. 8 min read →QuickBooks Online vs Desktop: What Is Still Available in 2026 QuickBooks Online vs Desktop for US businesses: what Intuit still sells, what happens when a Desktop version is discontinued, and what a migration involves. 9 min read →Remote Accounting Firms: 2,681 of 27,281 Say They Work That Way Only 9.8% of US accounting firms say they work remotely. Catch-up bookkeeping runs at 36.3% remote, audit at 7.8%, and remote firms differ in one worrying way. 8 min read →S Corp vs LLC Taxes: Where the Saving Comes From, and Its Cost An S election splits profit into salary and distribution, and only the salary carries employment tax. Where the break-even sits, and what the split truly costs. 9 min read →Self-Employed Tax Deductions: What Schedule C Filers Can Claim What sole proprietors can deduct on Schedule C, which write-offs come off elsewhere on the return, and why a missed expense costs a self-employed person twice. 10 min read →Accountant Pricing Transparency: 140 of 27,281 Firms Name a Number Only 8% of US accounting firms publish anything about price, and just 140 name an actual figure. Here is what the other 2,036 say instead, and what to ask. 7 min read →27,281 Accounting Firms: What They Actually Advertise, Service by Service We counted every service advertised by 27,281 US accounting firms. Tax prep leads with 12,483, bookkeeping 11,715, and nothing is offered by a majority. 7 min read →How Many CPAs Are in the US? 17,702 Firms Mapped by State and Metro We cannot count individual CPAs, but we can count firms. 17,702 of 27,281 US accounting firms claim a CPA, and 45.7% of located firms sit in five states. 8 min read →1099 vs W-2: What Actually Decides It, and What It Costs Each Side The difference between a 1099 contractor and a W-2 employee is control over how the work gets done, not which form gets filed. What that means for your paycheck, and what misclassification costs a business. 9 min read →Bank Reconciliation: What It Is, With a Full Worked Example A bank reconciliation matches your books against the bank's record for the same period and explains every difference. The formula, a complete worked example, and what to do when it won't balance. 10 min read →Cash vs. Accrual Accounting: The Difference, With a Worked Example Cash basis records money when it moves; accrual records revenue when earned and expenses when incurred. A worked example showing the same month as a $21,000 profit or a $2,500 loss, plus who is required to use accrual. 9 min read →Chart of Accounts: What It Is, How to Number It, and What to Avoid A chart of accounts is the list of every account your transactions get sorted into. The five account types, how the 1000–6000 numbering convention works, a worked example, and the design mistakes that are expensive to undo. 10 min read →Construction Bookkeeping: Job Costing, WIP and Retainage Explained Construction books break normal bookkeeping: revenue is recognised across jobs, cash arrives late through retainage, and the WIP schedule decides whether you get bonded. What that means and what it costs. 4 min read →Estimated Tax Payments: Who Owes Them and When They're Due Who owes quarterly estimated taxes, the four payment periods and their usual due dates, how the safe harbor works, and why a big Q4 payment doesn't undo a missed June. 9 min read →How Do Tax Write-Offs Work? The Math Most People Get Wrong A write-off doesn't make anything free. It cuts your taxable income, so a $1,000 expense at a 24% marginal rate saves $240 and leaves you $760 out of pocket. The math, the real test for a deduction, and where people go wrong. 10 min read →Law Firm Bookkeeping: IOLTA, Three-Way Reconciliation and Trust Rules Law firm books carry a risk ordinary bookkeeping does not: mishandle a client trust account and the consequence is disciplinary, not financial. What IOLTA requires and how to hire for it. 4 min read →S Corp vs LLC: Which One Actually Saves You Money? An LLC is a legal entity; an S corp is a tax election — and an LLC can make it. Here's the self-employment tax math, a worked example at $120,000 of profit, and the point where payroll and filing costs cancel the savings. 9 min read →Nonprofit Bookkeeping: Fund Accounting, Form 990 and What It Costs Nonprofit books work differently: restricted funds, functional expense allocation, and a Form 990 that is public. What that changes, when you need an audit, and what firms charge. 5 min read →Profit and Loss Statement Template (With a Filled Example) A complete profit and loss statement template you can copy straight into Excel or Google Sheets, the formulas behind every subtotal, and a filled sample P&L for a small service business. 10 min read →Profit and Loss Statement: What It Is and How to Read One A profit and loss statement is revenue minus expenses over a period. A line-by-line worked example, gross vs. net margin, cash vs. accrual, and the mistakes that distort it. 10 min read →QuickBooks vs Xero in 2026: What 4,130 Accounting Firms Actually Use We checked which software 4,130 US accounting firms name on their own websites. QuickBooks appears on 3,369, Xero on 339 — and 81% of the Xero firms run both. What that means for your choice. 4 min read →Real Estate Bookkeeping: Per-Property Books, Depreciation and Trust Accounts Real estate books live or die on property-level separation, depreciation schedules and the repair-versus-improvement line. What investors, landlords and agents each need, and what firms charge. 4 min read →Small Business Tax Deductions: A Checklist by Category A category-by-category checklist of small business tax deductions — what qualifies, the mistake that gets each one disallowed, what is not deductible, and the records you need to keep. 10 min read →How Much Does a CPA Cost in 2026? Real Fees by Service CPA costs in 2026: $180-450/hr, $400-1,200 for a small business return, $2,500-8,000 for a review. What drives the price, and when a cheaper option does the same job. 4 min read →How to Find a Good CPA: A Practical Checklist How to find a CPA who fits your business: verifying a licence, the five questions that separate specialists from generalists, and the warning signs worth walking away from. 3 min read →Bookkeeper vs. Accountant vs. CPA: Which One Does Your Business Actually Need? The real differences between bookkeepers, accountants, and CPAs — what each does, what they cost in 2026, and when your business needs which. 6 min read →Catch-Up Bookkeeping: How to Fix Months (or Years) of Neglected Books What catch-up bookkeeping is, what it costs ($200-1,000+ per backlogged month), the step-by-step process, and how to never fall behind again. 7 min read →Ecommerce Bookkeeping: The Seller's Guide to Books That Match Reality Ecommerce bookkeeping explained: marketplace settlements vs deposits, COGS and inventory, sales tax nexus, and the A2X + QuickBooks/Xero stack. 7 min read →How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost in 2026? Real Price Ranges Bookkeeper costs in 2026: $20-60/hr freelance, $200-800/mo outsourced basic, $500-2,500/mo full-service. What moves the price and how to pay less. 6 min read →Restaurant Bookkeeping: The Owner's Guide to Books That Actually Run the Business Restaurant bookkeeping explained: daily sales journals, prime cost, 4-week periods, tip reporting, and how to choose a restaurant-specialist bookkeeper. 7 min read →When to Hire a Fractional CFO: Signals, Costs, and What They Actually Do What a fractional CFO does vs a bookkeeper or controller, the signals you need one, and 2026 costs: $3k-10k/month vs $250k+ for a full-time hire. 6 min read →