The Profitjets Blog
Finance Writing for People Running the Business
Practical articles on bookkeeping, accounting, tax, payroll and financial strategy, written for founders and operators rather than for other accountants.
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What is Bookkeeping: A Step-by-Step Guide
What bookkeeping covers, how it differs from accounting, and the five-step process behind a clean set of books.
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Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): How to Calculate It and Why It Matters
The formula, worked both ways, and what belongs in the cost.
Current Ratio and Quick Ratio: How to Measure Short-Term Liquidity
Current Ratio, Quick Ratio (Acid Test), and Why the Quick Ratio Matters More for Some Businesses.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) for Startups: How to Calculate and Reduce It
CAC Formula, Blended vs Channel-Specific CAC, and CAC Payback Period.
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): Formula, Calculator, and How to Improve It
LTV Formulas, LTV Calculator: Key Inputs, and LTV:CAC Ratio Benchmarks.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO): What It Is, How to Calculate It, and How to Reduce It
The formula, what the average hides, and how to bring it down.
Debit vs Credit: A Simplified Guide to Accounting Basics
What debits and credits actually mean, which accounts they move, and the myths.
Debt Financing vs Equity Financing: Key Differences for Business Owners
Cost, control, and what each provider is actually underwriting.
Debt-to-Equity Ratio: What It Is, How to Calculate It, and What It Means
The formula, what counts as debt, and why lenders watch it.
Deferred Tax Asset vs Liability: Major Differences
Why book profit and taxable profit differ, and what that leaves on the balance sheet.
Delaware LLC vs Wyoming LLC: Where Should You Incorporate?
Cost, privacy and law, and why your operating state usually decides.
Depreciation Formula: Methods, Examples, and IRS Rules
The Four Depreciation Methods, MACRS: The IRS Method for US Tax Purposes, and Section 179 vs Bonus Depreciation.
Differences Between Exempt vs Nonexempt Employees
The tests that decide it, and what getting it wrong costs.
Differentiating Financial Accounting vs Managerial Accounting
Who each one is for, what it produces, and why most businesses need both.
Digital Bookkeeping
What moves when books go digital, which software fits which business, and the questions to settle before you switch.
Direct Cost vs Indirect Cost: Key Differences
Which is which, how to allocate, and why pricing depends on it.
Do I Need a Business Bank Account? Here's the Answer
What mixing costs, what freelancers should do, and recording transfers.
Do's and Don'ts to Succeed at Offshore Accounting
What works and what fails when accounting moves offshore, from someone who runs it.
E-Commerce Accounting: Complete Guide for Online Sellers
Key Accounting Challenges for E-Commerce Sellers, Sales Tax Nexus After Wayfair, and Chart of Accounts for E-Commerce.
E-commerce Bookkeeping: How to do it?
Multi-channel sales, fees, inventory and sales tax, reconciled into one set of books.
EBITDA: What It Is And How To Calculate
How to calculate it, why buyers use it, and what it hides.
Employee vs. Employer Payroll Taxes: Key Differences
Who pays what, the true cost of a hire, and the deposit risk.
Everything You Need to Know Before Implementing Zero-Based Budgeting
How it works, where it repays the effort, and how to make it stick.
Excel Bookkeeping: A Comprehensive Guide for Small Businesses
A working spreadsheet setup, the free templates worth using, and the signals that say it is time to move on.
Expense Report Template: Streamlining Your Business Expense Tracking
The template, the policy behind it, and where claims go next.
What we write about
Eight topics we come back to
Pick a topic and the library above filters to it.
Bookkeeping
Clean books, reconciliations, chart of accounts and month-end close.
Accounting
Close process, financial statements, cash against accrual, and reporting that gets used.
Tax
Preparation, planning, entity choice, deductions, quarterly estimates and the IRS forms behind them.
CFO
Forecasting, cash flow, fundraising readiness and the executive roles founders confuse.
Payroll
Withholding, payroll taxes, W-2s and 1099s, and multi-state teams.
Metrics
The ratios and statements that tell you what is actually happening in the business.
Software
QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite and the tools that feed them.
Business Finance
Entity formation, banking, budgeting, funding and getting the finances in order.
Would You Rather We Just Did It?
Reading about reconciliation is useful. Not having to do it is better.