Blog
Practical guides on budgeting, saving, paying off debt and planning with ADHD.
Batch tracking and recalls: FEFO, expiry and traceability
Allocate stock first-expired-first-out, compare markdown and write-off before a batch expires, and trace a blocked batch to every product and customer it reached.
CAM reconciliation: how to check your landlord's CAM charges
Rebuild a year-end CAM bill from your lease — gross-up, admin fee, cap, share — in the order the lease sets, and turn differences into documented questions.
Commission clawback calculation: tiers, splits and returns
How to calculate sales commission with marginal or retroactive tiers, split deals and collected revenue, and what a return after payout changes.
How to reconcile FBA lost inventory and reimbursements
Match lost, restored and reimbursed FBA units case by case, value open units on the eligible cost, catch reversals and keep claim windows visible.
How to audit shipping invoices for dimensional weight errors
Rebuild each parcel charge from your contract — rounding, dim divisor, rate table, fuel — separate proven differences from open questions and pick boxes that cost less.
How to calculate PTO accrual, carry-over and leave cover
Calculate a PTO balance in hours from accruals, caps, carry-over and expiry, then check that the team can cover the absence before you approve it.
How to compare family health plans beyond the premium
Replay the same family visits and prescriptions under each US health plan — premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, out-of-pocket limits and HSA money — to see the yearly cost.
How to split a parent's care costs between siblings
Find the monthly care funding gap, share it by agreed weights with credit for time given, check that every required hour is covered and see how long savings last.
How to check seller add-backs before you buy a business
Separate the seller's add-backs you can document from the ones you cannot, pay for the owner's work, and test the cash at closing and the debt cover before you sign.
Retainage billing: how progress payments and retention work
Calculate a progress payment with retainage, stored materials and advance recovery, and see why each application bills only the change since the last approved one.
Are my ads profitable? ROAS vs real profit
A high ROAS can still lose money. Work out the profit per order, the most you can pay for one, and test what ads really add with a holdout group.
How to check timesheets before payroll, step by step
Before payroll, check every shift for missing clock-outs, overlaps, wrong roles, overtime and duplicate extras. A worked café example with exact pay.
Contract auto-renewal: find your last notice day
The last day to cancel an auto-renewing contract is the end date minus the notice period, counted as the contract says. How to work it out.
Cost of poor quality: which defects cost the most?
Rank defects by what they cost, not how often they happen, then check whether a fix pays back. Rework and warranty cost formula with a worked example.
Recovering a late project: what does catching up cost?
Speed up only critical-path tasks, and only where a day saved costs less than a day late. How to find the cheapest recovery plan, with a worked example.
How many jobs fit in a day? Count travel honestly
Jobs per day = available minutes after breaks ÷ (job time + travel). How to plan a realistic field-service day and catch impossible arrivals early.
How much to charge for usage rights as a creator
Price creator content in two parts: production from your hours and costs, then paid ads, whitelisting and exclusivity per month. A brand-deal example.
How to balance a cash drawer at the end of a shift
Expected cash = float + cash sales + tips − refunds − payouts. Count, compare, keep the float, bag the rest and follow it to the bank. A worked example.
How to calculate your freelance rate and price a project
Your minimum hourly rate is what you need each month divided by the hours you can actually sell. Then price projects from scope, revisions and a reserve.
How to calculate landed cost per usable unit
Landed cost is price plus freight, duties, fees and financing, divided by the units you can actually use. Formula, worked example and switching test.
How to calculate a reorder point (with safety stock)
Reorder point = daily demand × supplier lead time + safety stock. Here is how to work it out from real sales, and how much to order within a budget.
How to calculate wholesale price for a whole order
A wholesale price must cover goods, order costs, commission, fees and the wait for payment. Check the whole order against your margin before you send it.
How to collect overdue invoices without losing the client
Rank overdue invoices by what blocks your cash, separate disputed amounts, chase broken promises first and offer terms that cost you the least.
How to follow up on a quote without losing the job
Give every open quote a next action with a date, follow up when the client is likely deciding, and close the loop. A follow-up system with real numbers.
How to price a contractor job without losing margin
Price a renovation from materials with waste, labour, subcontractors, overheads and a reserve, then check the cash timeline. A worked kitchen-job example.
How to reconcile card payouts with bank deposits
A payout is sales minus refunds, fees and reserves for one settlement ID. Match it to the bank deposit, explain every difference and close the month.
How to respond to a chargeback, step by step
Decide whether to fight a chargeback, gather evidence by dispute reason, build a clear timeline and submit before the deadline. A worked shop example.
How to set a customer credit limit and a safe deposit
Before you agree to Net 30, test the order against three limits: the customer's credit limit, the loss you can accept and your cash reserve.
How to track class packages and session credits
Track class packs and session credits: balance, expiry, freezes, late cancels, no-shows and unpaid amounts. A worked studio example with credit values.
Is a win-back discount worth it? Count the profit
A win-back offer pays only if the extra customers it brings back earn more than the discounts given to people who would return anyway. Worked example.
Lease or buy equipment? Compare the lifetime cost
Compare keeping, repairing, buying, financing, leasing or outsourcing by lifetime cost per unit and by the cash each option leaves. Worked example.
Profit per dish on delivery apps vs dine-in
A dish can earn half as much on a delivery app as in the dining room. Work out profit per plate by channel, after food, labour, packaging and app fees.
Real profit per marketplace order, after every fee
Profit per marketplace order is the price minus fees, goods, packaging, shipping, ads, returns and labour. Compare channels and promos before you run them.
Rental inventory: avoid double bookings, track deposits
Check rental availability with buffers, shared kit parts and late returns before you confirm, and keep deposits apart from revenue. A party-rental example.
Repair shop job tracking: intake to profit per repair
Track every repair from intake to collection: condition, approval, parts, time and rework. A worked example of profit per repair, including warranty work.
Salon profit per service hour: which treatments pay
Compare salon services by what each chair or desk hour leaves after products, card fees and staff pay — then see who is fully booked and what to change.
Should I refinance my business debt? Compare the full cost
A refinance is worth it only if it costs less in total and keeps your cash above its reserve. How to compare offers, with a worked example.
Small-batch production planning for makers
Plan small-batch production from orders, batch sizes, defects, curing time and materials on hand, so you know which order will be late and why.
Three-way match for a small business, step by step
Check every supplier invoice against the order and what you actually received before you pay. A worked example with price, quantity and duplicate checks.
The true cost of a return — and when to exchange
A return costs more than the refund: lost shipping and fees, the return label, handling and stock value. Compare refund, store credit and exchange.
Why do I agree to things in negotiations that I came in to refuse?
You came with a clear price and limits, and left with a different deal. Seven moments when a negotiation quietly changes direction, and the first thing to check.
Why do the same problems keep coming back in my business?
No owner for tasks, repeated mistakes, urgent work that eats every plan. Seven recurring business problems and where to look first.
Can I afford to hire an employee? A cash-first test
Two tests decide it: does the role pay for itself, and does your cash survive the months before it does? Formula, worked example and mistakes.
How long can my business survive without sales?
Cash runway in days, not guesses: the formula, a worked example that gives 83 days instead of 76, and the three lines most owners leave out.
How much deposit should I ask for on a big order?
The minimum deposit is the cash the order needs before the customer pays, minus the cash you can spare, divided by the price. Formula and worked example.
How much revenue from one client is too much?
Customer concentration measured by what you can survive, not a rule of thumb: the formula, a worked example and a limit you can calculate yourself.
How to stress test your small business cash flow
Test three shocks — sales down, costs up, customers paying later — then all three together. Formulas, a worked example and the breakpoints to write down.
What if my biggest client pays late? Net 30 to Net 60
Slower payment opens a one-time cash hole the size of the extra days' billing. How to size it, how many days you can absorb, and what to do first.
How to analyze a rental property before you buy
Cap rate, cash-on-cash, NOI and the 1% rule explained with a worked $250k example — the numbers that separate a good rental from a money pit before you ever make an offer.
How to budget a home renovation (without going over)
Why renovations quietly run thousands over, and the five things that keep them on track — a real contingency, three-bid comparison, budget-vs-contracted-vs-actual, a draw schedule and change-order control.
Boutique inventory by size and colour, not just by style
Why tracking apparel at the size-colour SKU level (not the style level) catches sold-out sizes early, plus sell-through, reorder points and markdown math.
How to Price Coffee Drinks and Keep Your Cafe Profitable
A practical guide to costing a cup of coffee, setting menu prices to a target margin, and controlling waste, freshness and stock in a small cafe.
How to price jewelry — metal, stones and making charge, correctly
A clear method for pricing jewelry from metal purity, net weight, stone carat and a making charge — plus margin, markup and buy-back.
How to price your home bakery so every bake actually pays you
A practical walkthrough of costing a recipe, separating margin from markup, and pricing cookies or cakes so the price covers ingredients, labour and overhead — not just flour and sugar.
Shoe store inventory: managing size runs, markup and reorders
Why the middle sizes sell out first, how to price with margin and markup straight, and how to time reorders and markdowns before a size run breaks.
How to write an ATS-friendly resume without falling for the myths
An applicant tracking system does not auto-reject your resume — a person does. Here is what ATS actually do, the formatting that genuinely breaks them, and the keyword advice that is real versus the folklore that wastes your time.
How to check a medical bill for errors before you pay it
The summary bill hides the mistakes. Get the itemized bill, line it up against your EOB, and check for the errors that actually recur — duplicate charges, upcoding, unbundling and services you never got. Plus what the No Surprises Act makes illegal in 2026.
Life after Mint: what the budgeting apps cost in September 2026, and what happens to your data
Mint closed on 23 March 2024 and millions of people had to pick something else. Here is what the replacements charge today, checked on their own pages on 6 September 2026, which two of them raised prices, who actually receives your bank login, and what happened to the data of an app that switched itself off this summer.
How to calculate IFTA fuel tax, step by step (worked quarter)
A worked IFTA quarter, line by line — 5,400 miles, 850 gallons, fleet 6.35 MPG, $61.75 due. Why you owe Ohio $103.40 without buying a gallon there, why Kentucky is owed $9.87 while its own fuel line is a $12.32 credit, and why moving the same 850 gallons between states swings the return from $61.75 to $3.47. Every figure recomputed by the verified model behind our free calculator.
What can I actually write off? The three deductions a checklist cannot size (US, 2026)
A list of thirty write-offs is easy. The hard part is how much, and why not more. On $78,000 of revenue the deductions come to $20,728 — and three of the biggest are capped by questions no checklist asks: your business income, your spouse's employer health plan, and the price of a single laptop.
Why your bank reconciliation doesn't balance — and which entry did it
You have been down the column three times. You don't have to do a fourth. The difference itself tells you what kind of mistake it is — divides by nine means two digits swapped, twice an entry means the wrong side, and each one narrows the search to a single line.
Your solo 401(k) limit is not 25% of your profit (US, 2026)
On $90,000 of net profit the business side of a solo 401(k) is $16,728, not the $20,911 a "25% of profit" calculator gives you. Half your self-employment tax comes off first, and IRS Publication 560 then reduces the rate from 25% to 20%. The full order of operations, what the ceilings actually cap, and why the age-60 catch-up ends at 63.
How much to set aside for tax when you are self-employed (US federal, 2026)
The usual answer is 25–30% of profit. Run the 2026 forms and a single sole proprietor on $60,000 owes 20.06%, while the same $80,000 of profit costs one household 18.57% and another 30.49%. Every figure here comes from our own verified US federal tax engine.
Missed a quarterly estimated tax payment? What it actually costs (US, 2026)
A $3,000 instalment missed on 15 June costs $51.70 if you clear it by 15 September 2026 — and $173.67 if it waits for the April return. The penalty is a daily clock at 7%, not a flat fine. What to pay now, how the safe harbour decides the amount, and when Schedule AI says you never missed anything.
Savings challenges, ranked by what they actually bank by Christmas
Started this week, the famous 52-week challenge puts away $136 by 18 December — and the same printable run backwards puts away $712. Every popular savings challenge re-run on the 16 weeks that are actually left, with the weekly rate each one really asks for.
How much to save each week for Christmas, starting today
There are 16 whole weeks between today and 18 December. Here is the division that turns a December total into a weekly transfer, which total to run it on, and what the alternative costs in interest.
How to budget on an irregular income (the percentile method)
Standard budgets assume a fixed salary. Here is the arithmetic that works when every month pays a different amount — self-paycheck, volatility, and a buffer sized from your own numbers.
How big should an emergency fund be? Three months is the floor, not the answer
“Three to six months” gives everyone the same target. Here is a rule that sizes the fund from your own income volatility, with the arithmetic shown.
Zero-based budgeting: how to give every dollar a job
One month worked all the way through, line by line, until income minus assignments equals exactly zero — plus the three places the method genuinely breaks and what to do instead.
50/30/20 rule: what it is, when it works and when it doesn't
Where the rule came from, how to sort needs from wants in the awkward cases, worked examples at three incomes, and what if rent alone is half.
Budgeting by paycheck instead of by month
Monthly budgets break when bills and paydays don't line up. How to map bills to pay periods, with a worked biweekly example and the 3-paycheck month.
Debt snowball vs debt avalanche: the honest maths
One real example — $17,000 across four debts at $600 a month — through both methods: the real month counts, the real interest, and who should pick which.
How to budget with ADHD when normal budgeting doesn't work
Why "just track everything" fails, and what works instead: externalising memory, automation, the 15-minute money date and the impulse pause.
How to make a budget spreadsheet that you'll actually keep using
Four decisions, then a step-by-step build in Sheets or Excel with the real SUMIFS formulas, and the five mistakes that kill budgets by week three.
Sinking funds: the budgeting habit that ends "unexpected" expenses
Most surprise expenses are not surprises. How to set up sinking funds, the 12 categories people forget, and how to hold them all in one account.
