Bookkeeping fundamentals and accounting tips for freelancers and small business owners. Pre-accounting, paperless bookkeeping, invoice basics, and getting started with business finances.
A chart of accounts is the organized list of every account your bookkeeping posts to, grouped into five types. This guide builds one for a one-person business and maps each expense account to the exact IRS Schedule C line it feeds, so your books and your tax return speak the same language.
Gross profit measures whether your product makes money. Net profit measures whether your business does. This guide runs one coffee-roasting business's month down the income statement, maps each subtotal to its Schedule C line, and shows why a 40% gross margin can still leave a 6% net margin.
