Lesson 1Month-end and year-end closing checklist for an accrual small business: reconciliations, cutoffs, deferred revenue, accrued liabilities, and fixed-asset rollforwardThis covers steps to close books at month or year end for a small business using accrual, including matching accounts, checking cutoffs, handling delayed revenue, noting liabilities, and updating fixed assets for true statements and audit prep.
Bank and credit card reconciliationsAged AR and AP review and adjustmentsRevenue and expense cutoff testingDeferred revenue and accrued expense entriesFixed‑asset rollforward and tie‑outsClose checklist, sign‑offs, and controlsLesson 2Fixed asset accounting for computer equipment and laptops: capitalization thresholds, useful lives, depreciation (MACRS vs book), asset tagging and disposalWe detail how to account for fixed assets like computers and laptops, including limits for capitalizing, how long they last, book vs tax depreciation, tagging them, getting rid of them, and keeping lists that match the ledger.
Capitalization policy and thresholdsDetermining useful lives for equipmentBook versus MACRS tax depreciationFixed‑asset subledger and taggingImpairments, disposals, and write‑offsReconciling fixed assets to the GLLesson 3Payroll accounting for California employees: gross to net payroll, employer payroll taxes, payroll accruals, recording payroll journal entries and benefitsThis focuses on payroll in California from total pay to what they take home, employer taxes, noting accruals, and entering payroll and benefits while following federal and state rules.
Gross‑to‑net payroll calculation stepsFederal and California payroll tax withholdingsEmployer payroll tax and benefit costsPayroll accruals at month‑end and year‑endRecording payroll and benefit journal entriesReconciling payroll reports to the GLLesson 4Foreign contractor payments (India): recording cross-border payments, GST considerations (if any for documentation), and monitoring for withholding requirementsWe address accounting for payments to workers from India, recording cross-border money, checking GST papers if needed, watching U.S. and Indian withholding, and handling currency and bank records.
Onboarding Indian contractors and KYCCross‑border payment methods and timingGST documentation and invoice reviewU.S. and Indian withholding checksFX rates, remeasurement, and gainsBank records and compliance supportLesson 5Software subscriptions and cloud services: expense vs capital treatment, prepaid arrangements, amortization of implementation costsWe explore how to account for software subs and cloud services, whether to expense or capitalize, prepaid deals, and spreading out setup costs under U.S. GAAP for a growing tech service business.
Identifying SaaS vs on‑premise softwareExpense vs capitalization assessmentAccounting for prepaid subscriptionsImplementation and setup cost amortizationVendor contracts and term reviewsSubledger and schedule maintenanceLesson 6Accounting for independent contractors: 1099-eligible payments, accrual vs cash recognition, withholding exceptions, and classification documentationThis explains accounting for freelance workers, spotting payments for 1099, accrual vs cash timing, when not to withhold, and keeping papers to back up if they are contractors or employees.
Contractor vs employee classificationTracking 1099‑eligible paymentsAccrual vs cash expense recognitionBackup withholding and exceptionsW‑9 collection and vendor setupYear‑end 1099 review and filingLesson 7Loan accounting: recording bank loan proceeds, amortization schedule, interest expense recognition, debt covenants and classification between current and long-term liabilitiesWe cover how to account for bank loans, noting the money received, payment plans, recognizing interest costs, watching loan rules, and sorting debt as short or long-term on the balance sheet.
Recording loan proceeds and feesBuilding an amortization scheduleInterest expense and effective rateCurrent vs long‑term debt classificationDebt covenants and monitoringLoan confirmations and reconciliationsLesson 8Accounts payable, accruals, and reconciliations: vendor invoice matching, month-end accruals for services, and supplier foreign paymentsThis focuses on money owed to suppliers, accruals, and matching, including checking vendor bills, end-of-month notes for services, payments to foreign suppliers, and controls for full, right, and on-time payments.
Three‑way match and invoice approvalsAP aging review and cutoff testingService accruals at month‑end closeForeign vendor payments and FX impactAP subledger to GL reconciliationsControls over disbursements and changesLesson 9Recording service revenue from U.S. and foreign clients: invoicing, foreign currency invoicing and translation, revenue recognition with milestone vs. time-based billingWe explain billing U.S. and foreign customers, dealing with other currencies, and recognizing revenue for milestone or hourly service deals, including papers, timing, and common mistakes for small businesses.
Standard and recurring invoicing workflowsForeign currency invoicing and FX translationMilestone‑based revenue recognitionTime‑based and retainer revenue recognitionHandling discounts, credits, and refundsRevenue documentation and audit trailLesson 10Operating expenses: travel, client meals, and online advertising — proper documentation, per-diem and meal deduction limits, allocation between marketing and client developmentThis addresses daily costs like travel, meals with clients, and online ads, stressing good records, daily allowances and meal limits for deductions, and sorting them into marketing, client growth, or admin categories.
Travel expense policies and approvalsClient meals and entertainment limitsPer‑diem rules and substantiationOnline advertising and campaign trackingAllocating marketing vs client developmentExpense documentation and retention
