Hayes CPA PLLC

09/02/2026

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸?

If you’re operating as a sole proprietor, there’s no legal separation between you and your business.

So if your business can’t pay a creditor or gets hit with a lawsuit, your personal savings, home, or vehicles could be exposed too.

As your business grows, make sure the way you operate reflects that growth.

That may mean forming an LLC or corporation, then moving your business banking, contracts, insurance policies, vendor accounts, and payment processors into the company’s legal name.

The goal is to create a clearer line between what belongs to you personally and what belongs to the business.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.

08/31/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻?
1. Map your annual lump-sum expenses alongside your regular monthly overhead.
2. Highlight your historical low-revenue months, so you know exactly when sales won't cover baseline costs.
3. Multiply your average monthly expenses by three to establish your ideal cash reserve buffer.

During peak months, sweep 5% to 10% of revenue into a separate reserve account to cover those lean periods without relying on high-interest credit lines.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸?

08/28/2026

What Qualifies For Research and Development Tax Credit Claims For Wilmington Small Businesses?

Find out what qualifies for research and development tax credit claims for small businesses, from software builds to 3D printing and test kitchens.

08/28/2026

𝗔𝗺 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜?

You could be. Time to fix that.

(We already make sure all privacy settings are enabled for any AI tools we use here.)

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-keep-ai-conversations-private-chatgpt-gemini-copilot-claude/

08/27/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆?

Instead of getting lost in long rows of financial data, focus on these three core metrics:

1. Gross profit margin: Reveals your core pricing power and production efficiency.
2. Days Sales Outstanding (DSO): Measures the exact number of days it takes to collect cash after an invoice goes out.
3. Quick ratio: Measures whether your business can cover immediate short-term debts without relying on new sales or clearing inventory.

Aim for a Quick ratio above 1.0 and keep your DSO under 30 days. Reviewing these metrics on the first of every month flags cash bottlenecks weeks before they hit your checking account.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸?
𝘈) 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯
𝘉) 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 (𝘋𝘚𝘖)
𝘊) 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰
𝘋) 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵

08/26/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

Beyond direct deposit, every task you automate gives you time back. To get the most out of your software, match its features to your daily operations:
• Hourly or service teams: Look for built-in time tracking, shift scheduling, and automatic PTO calculations.
• Project-based firms: Focus on platforms offering job costing, custom reporting, and direct accounting software sync.
• Subcontractors or consultants: Target options with quick 1099 payment processing and expense reimbursements.
• Growing teams: Choose software with simple onboarding paperwork and benefits management.

If you want to set up software that actually matches your workflow, send us a DM.

08/25/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?

A) Tracking down contractor W-9s and 1099s
B) Calculating job costing and labor margins
C) Fixing missed hours or PTO edits
D) Manually entering data into the accounting software
E) All of the above
F) Not sure... I just know it takes 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨

08/24/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

Whether it's reading a simple profit statement, staying on top of invoices, or keeping receipts organized, we’ve all had that "I wish someone showed me this sooner" moment.

What’s yours?

08/21/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺?

Two things you need to do:
1. Separate employer contributions from employee deductions in your systems to keep funding sources clear and prevent messy manual journal entries later.
2. Run test transactions to confirm your software maps custom benefit codes and sends funds straight to each child's trustee without glitches.

Building this structure upfront gives you a clean audit trail on your Profit & Loss statement, saving your team hours of digging during month-end closing.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗘 if you want help figuring this out for your business.

08/20/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?

Tracking a real return on family perks like Trump Accounts comes down to combining enrollment data with your payroll and retention numbers.

Focus on three main measurements:
• Track participation rates by comparing how many eligible working parents sign up versus your total headcount.
• Monitor participation across wage levels so your plan passes statutory nondiscrimination testing and stays compliant.
• Compare turnover rates among working parents before and after launch to see if the perk cuts your hiring costs.

To track this in your business, set up a dedicated sub-account in your general ledger for benefit contributions and administrative fees. Compare this specific P&L expense line item against your historical recruiting and onboarding costs every quarter.

𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘖𝘐 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳?