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I'm totally totally cheesin over Mixtape and not cheesin at all about TikTok's AI cat videos. Scuba! If none of that makes sense to you, you're about to be educated and embettered by this week's Out-of-Touch guide, where the secret world of young people is either explained or misunderstood, depending on whom you ask. What does "cheesin" mean? And how does it differ from "cheesing?"The slang word "cheesin'" refers to smiling, particularly a big, goofy smile. It comes from the common exhortation to "say cheese!" when a photograph is being taken. Here's an examples of how cheesin is used online: The word "cheesing," with a "g" at the end, often means the same thing, but it can also refer to the trend of throwing pieces of cheese at cars and/or people—the cheese sticks, and it's kind of hilarious. I know people shouldn't do it, because won't someone think of the cars? but it's still funny. Here's an example of the second kind of cheesing: Throwing cheese at people's cars isn't new online, and it doesn't seem to have ever been a huge trend, but it made enough of an impact this week that a teenager was arrested in Topeka and booked on two counts of aggravated assault after a cheesing incident. The unnamed youth allegedly cheesed someone, and when confronted by his victim, brandished a gun. In response to the cheesing, the Topeka Police Department issued a statement reminding the public that "social media trends and pranks can quickly escalate into dangerous situations with serious legal consequences.” Thanks, Topeka Police Department! Gamers are angry over Mixtape Gaming culture is getting weird again. On May 7, Annapurna Interactive released Mixtape, a story-heavy adventure game about the messiness and beauty of coming-of-age. Mixtape is to Call of Duty as Boyhood is to Avengers Endgame. Because professional game reviewers are largely sensitive fellows, they like this game a lot, but many of the "real" gamers out there do not like Mixtape. People are calling the game pretentious, boring, "too woke," and are questioning whether it's even a game at all. The backlash has mostly been limited to people complaining and some funny memes so far, but online types are making much of the fact that Annapurna Interactive was founded by Megan Ellison, daughter of super-rich Oracle founder Larry Ellison, leading to charges that the game only exists because of nepotism, and that its high review scores are dishonest or a result of reviewers being scared of angering a rich guy. It's starting to feel a little like Gamergate 2.0. There's something about gaming culture that leads to people picking bizarre hills to die on. Movie fans don't get morally indignant and organize doxxing and harassment campaigns because critics like Silent Friend better than Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. It's not like they won't put out the next Madden because Annapurna interactive wants to make another sensitive walking simulator. What does "Scuba" mean?I'm not sure why I know this off the top of my head, but "scuba" is an acronym for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus." That's not, however, what it means to young people. In slang, "scuba" is a verb. To scuba is to do the scuba dance (sometimes called the scuba juke) which I'll just show you rather than try to describe: Anyway, videos of people doing this simple dance are all over TikTok. The trend supposedly started with Desean Hawk Logan-Russell—he made the first Scuba video, and that's his sound bite behind rest—but it looks like a variation on 1960s dance the Swim to me. If you're ever thinking, "These online dance trends are so stupid," remember that The Swim was a huge craze. Viral videos of the week: cats vs. vegetable AI videosThis week's viral videos are a look into a dark and troubling future. There is a sub-genre of AI videos on TikTok in which anthropomorphic cartoon cats do disturbing things, and they are very popular. Channels like @cat_mind6, @the_meow_minute, @giselecat, @mixcat804 and dozens more post steady streams of AI vids of human/cat chimera stealing each other's eyeballs, being hit by trucks, putting roofies in drinks, and otherwise being extremely creepy. These video regularly go viral, and gain tens of millions of views. The weird-ass video below has been viewed over 120 million times. It's unlikely humans had any input in the "creative" part of these videos. AI makes the videos, posts them, analyzes what works and what doesn't based on view counts, then hones and perfect the formula for the next video, giving us a hazy view of a combination of humanity's collective unconscious and the programming of TikTok's algorithm. Meanwhile, the AI itself is prying secrets from the human soul by learning how we engage with this slop. This is how all entertainment will be made in the future; because it is what many, many people most want to watch, even if they'd never admit it. This video has over 148 million plays: A few weeks ago, something mysterious happened, and cat video accounts started posting videos of sentient fruits and vegetables being messed up instead of cats. @cat_mind6's last cat video, in which a cat-woman is sexually assaulted by a cat-man and a rabbit man, is dated April 24 and was watched fewer than 150,000 times, but the next day, the channel posted a video dramatizing an apple-woman's battle with explosive diarrhea that was viewed over 13 million times. @the_meow_minute's last cat video, in which a kitten is raised by gorillas, was posted in March. After that, it's all about a zucchini guy and a peach woman's abusive relationship. At the end of the chain of AI agents and TikTok video viewers, someone is making a ton of money. A video that hits 128 million views can generate between $60,000 and $100,000 from its creator through TikTok's Creator Rewards Program. And that's the tip of the iceberg, because those profits drive hundreds of latecomers to try to get in on the action. They probably won't make money, but they'll shovel cash into the pockets of the AI companies that make the programs that make the videos. I'm going to find an ice floe to float away upon now. View the full article

Streamlining your bookkeeping setup can remarkably improve your financial management. By organizing your financial documents, automating routine tasks, and scheduling regular reviews, you can boost accuracy and efficiency. Delegating responsibilities to a professional can further guarantee compliance and precision. Finally, continuously evaluating your processes allows for ongoing improvement. Comprehending these steps is essential for effective bookkeeping, but there’s more to explore about optimizing your financial practices for better results. Key Takeaways Organize financial documents using a logical folder structure and consistent naming conventions for easy retrieval and management. Automate routine bookkeeping tasks with accounting software to minimize manual entries and streamline invoicing and expense tracking. Schedule regular financial reviews to assess profit and loss statements, spot discrepancies, and identify trends for informed decision-making. Delegate bookkeeping responsibilities by hiring a professional or outsourcing tasks to reduce errors and ensure compliance. Continuously assess and refine processes by documenting inefficiencies and gathering feedback to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. Organize Your Financial Documents How can you effectively organize your financial documents to simplify your bookkeeping? Start by creating a logical folder structure on your computer or cloud storage. Categorize documents like invoices, receipts, and bank statements for easy access. Digital tools, such as receipt scanner apps, can help you capture and store receipts, keeping your records accurate and reducing physical clutter. Implement a consistent naming convention, like including the date and document type, to streamline retrieval. Regularly review and update your filing system to guarantee your financial records stay current and properly categorized. This will facilitate a smoother bookkeeping setup and support your business plan for bookkeeping business. Furthermore, establish a schedule to back up your financial documents, using cloud storage or external hard drives, to protect against data loss. This proactive approach will improve your bookkeeping efficiency and guarantee continuity in record-keeping. Automate Routine Bookkeeping Tasks Even though managing your bookkeeping can feel overwhelming, automating routine tasks can greatly ease your workload and improve accuracy. Implementing accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero allows you to automate invoicing, expense tracking, and report generation, which considerably reduces manual data entry and errors. Here’s a quick look at some automation tools you can use: Task Tool/Feature Invoicing QuickBooks, Xero Expense tracking Expensify, Dext Automatic bank feeds Accounting software Scheduled reminders Software settings Real-time data access Cloud-based solutions Utilizing automatic bank feeds syncs transactions seamlessly, minimizing reconciliation time. Additionally, integrating expense management tools captures and categorizes receipts automatically. Setting up scheduled alerts guarantees you follow up on outstanding invoices without manual oversight, making your bookkeeping process much more efficient. Schedule Regular Financial Reviews Scheduling regular financial reviews is crucial for maintaining the accuracy and relevance of your financial statements. By conducting these reviews monthly, you guarantee that profit and loss statements, along with balance sheets, are both accurate and up to date. Regular reviews help you identify financial trends, enabling informed decisions based on actual performance rather than assumptions. Moreover, they allow you to spot discrepancies early, facilitating timely corrections and preventing larger issues from developing over time. Utilizing accounting software can greatly simplify this process, generating reports and visualizations that provide insights into your financial health at a glance. These regular reviews promote accountability and encourage proactive financial management, leading to improved cash flow and overall business sustainability. Consistent engagement in financial reviews creates a solid foundation for your business’s financial success, making sure you’re always aware of your financial position and capable of making strategic decisions. Delegate Bookkeeping Responsibilities Delegating bookkeeping responsibilities not merely alleviates the burden on business owners but furthermore improves overall productivity. By hiring a professional bookkeeper, you can focus on your core activities, allowing for more time dedicated to revenue-generating tasks. Professionals can reduce the risk of costly errors and guarantee compliance with tax regulations, which is vital if you lack financial management expertise. Utilizing cloud-based bookkeeping solutions boosts communication and allows for remote collaboration, streamlining the management of your financial records. Outsourcing these tasks is often more cost-effective than handling them in-house, as it eliminates the cumulative expenses of hiring and training staff. In addition, by working with experts who stay updated on industry trends and best practices, you can gain valuable insights that improve your company’s financial health. This strategic delegation not only supports your operations but also cultivates a more efficient and productive business environment. Continuously Assess and Refine Your Processes Streamlining your bookkeeping processes doesn’t end with delegating responsibilities; it requires ongoing evaluation and refinement to guarantee maximum efficiency. To achieve this, consider the following steps: Regularly review and document all steps in your bookkeeping processes to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. This provides a clear comprehension of workflows. Utilize technology to automate repetitive tasks like data entry and invoicing. Automation can save you up to 40% of the time spent on bookkeeping activities, allowing for focus on more strategic tasks. Schedule monthly reviews of financial statements to assess accuracy and identify trends. This proactive approach enables informed decision-making and helps adjust your processes as needed. Additionally, gather feedback from your team and clients regarding the bookkeeping workflow. Continuous input can help pinpoint pain points and cultivate ongoing improvements, guaranteeing your processes remain effective and efficient. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 Steps of the Bookkeeping Cycle? The bookkeeping cycle consists of five crucial steps. First, you analyze transactions to assess their impact on accounts. Next, you create journal entries, recording the date, affected accounts, amounts, and a brief description. After that, you post these entries to the ledger, organizing them for future reference. Then, you prepare a trial balance to guarantee total debits equal total credits. Finally, you generate financial statements to evaluate your business’s financial health. What Are the Three Golden Rules of Bookkeeping? The three golden rules of bookkeeping are crucial for maintaining financial accuracy. First, separate your business and personal finances to simplify tracking and tax filing. Second, keep organized records of all transactions, including receipts and invoices, for up to six years to prepare for audits. Finally, regularly reconcile your financial statements with external sources, like bank statements, to catch discrepancies early and confirm your records are accurate. Following these rules leads to better financial management. What Is Streamlining Accounting Processes? Streamlining accounting processes means simplifying and automating your financial tasks to boost efficiency and accuracy. By using digital bookkeeping tools, you can reduce manual data entry, leading to fewer errors. Implementing a standardized filing system makes it easier to access important documents, ensuring better organization. Regularly reviewing financial statements helps catch discrepancies early, whereas automation allows you to focus on strategic decisions rather than repetitive tasks, in the end saving you time and resources. What Is 10 Key Bookkeeping? Key bookkeeping involves ten crucial practices that guarantee your financial records stay organized and accurate. You should separate business and personal finances, maintain a regular bookkeeping routine, and document every transaction. Automate processes with accounting software, reconcile your statements frequently, and track expenses diligently. Furthermore, consider professional support when needed, stay compliant with tax regulations, understand your financial reports, and regularly review your budget to make informed decisions. Conclusion Streamlining your bookkeeping setup is crucial for maintaining accurate financial records and ensuring compliance. By organizing documents, automating tasks, scheduling reviews, delegating responsibilities, and continuously refining processes, you can improve efficiency in your financial management. Implementing these steps will not just save you time but will additionally reduce errors, allowing you to focus on your core business activities. Embrace these strategies to create a more effective and reliable bookkeeping system for your financial health. Image via Google Gemini This article, "How to Streamline Bookkeeping Setup in 5 Easy Steps" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Streamlining your bookkeeping setup can remarkably improve your financial management. By organizing your financial documents, automating routine tasks, and scheduling regular reviews, you can boost accuracy and efficiency. Delegating responsibilities to a professional can further guarantee compliance and precision. Finally, continuously evaluating your processes allows for ongoing improvement. Comprehending these steps is essential for effective bookkeeping, but there’s more to explore about optimizing your financial practices for better results. Key Takeaways Organize financial documents using a logical folder structure and consistent naming conventions for easy retrieval and management. Automate routine bookkeeping tasks with accounting software to minimize manual entries and streamline invoicing and expense tracking. Schedule regular financial reviews to assess profit and loss statements, spot discrepancies, and identify trends for informed decision-making. Delegate bookkeeping responsibilities by hiring a professional or outsourcing tasks to reduce errors and ensure compliance. Continuously assess and refine processes by documenting inefficiencies and gathering feedback to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. Organize Your Financial Documents How can you effectively organize your financial documents to simplify your bookkeeping? Start by creating a logical folder structure on your computer or cloud storage. Categorize documents like invoices, receipts, and bank statements for easy access. Digital tools, such as receipt scanner apps, can help you capture and store receipts, keeping your records accurate and reducing physical clutter. Implement a consistent naming convention, like including the date and document type, to streamline retrieval. Regularly review and update your filing system to guarantee your financial records stay current and properly categorized. This will facilitate a smoother bookkeeping setup and support your business plan for bookkeeping business. Furthermore, establish a schedule to back up your financial documents, using cloud storage or external hard drives, to protect against data loss. This proactive approach will improve your bookkeeping efficiency and guarantee continuity in record-keeping. Automate Routine Bookkeeping Tasks Even though managing your bookkeeping can feel overwhelming, automating routine tasks can greatly ease your workload and improve accuracy. Implementing accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero allows you to automate invoicing, expense tracking, and report generation, which considerably reduces manual data entry and errors. Here’s a quick look at some automation tools you can use: Task Tool/Feature Invoicing QuickBooks, Xero Expense tracking Expensify, Dext Automatic bank feeds Accounting software Scheduled reminders Software settings Real-time data access Cloud-based solutions Utilizing automatic bank feeds syncs transactions seamlessly, minimizing reconciliation time. Additionally, integrating expense management tools captures and categorizes receipts automatically. Setting up scheduled alerts guarantees you follow up on outstanding invoices without manual oversight, making your bookkeeping process much more efficient. Schedule Regular Financial Reviews Scheduling regular financial reviews is crucial for maintaining the accuracy and relevance of your financial statements. By conducting these reviews monthly, you guarantee that profit and loss statements, along with balance sheets, are both accurate and up to date. Regular reviews help you identify financial trends, enabling informed decisions based on actual performance rather than assumptions. Moreover, they allow you to spot discrepancies early, facilitating timely corrections and preventing larger issues from developing over time. Utilizing accounting software can greatly simplify this process, generating reports and visualizations that provide insights into your financial health at a glance. These regular reviews promote accountability and encourage proactive financial management, leading to improved cash flow and overall business sustainability. Consistent engagement in financial reviews creates a solid foundation for your business’s financial success, making sure you’re always aware of your financial position and capable of making strategic decisions. Delegate Bookkeeping Responsibilities Delegating bookkeeping responsibilities not merely alleviates the burden on business owners but furthermore improves overall productivity. By hiring a professional bookkeeper, you can focus on your core activities, allowing for more time dedicated to revenue-generating tasks. Professionals can reduce the risk of costly errors and guarantee compliance with tax regulations, which is vital if you lack financial management expertise. Utilizing cloud-based bookkeeping solutions boosts communication and allows for remote collaboration, streamlining the management of your financial records. Outsourcing these tasks is often more cost-effective than handling them in-house, as it eliminates the cumulative expenses of hiring and training staff. In addition, by working with experts who stay updated on industry trends and best practices, you can gain valuable insights that improve your company’s financial health. This strategic delegation not only supports your operations but also cultivates a more efficient and productive business environment. Continuously Assess and Refine Your Processes Streamlining your bookkeeping processes doesn’t end with delegating responsibilities; it requires ongoing evaluation and refinement to guarantee maximum efficiency. To achieve this, consider the following steps: Regularly review and document all steps in your bookkeeping processes to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. This provides a clear comprehension of workflows. Utilize technology to automate repetitive tasks like data entry and invoicing. Automation can save you up to 40% of the time spent on bookkeeping activities, allowing for focus on more strategic tasks. Schedule monthly reviews of financial statements to assess accuracy and identify trends. This proactive approach enables informed decision-making and helps adjust your processes as needed. Additionally, gather feedback from your team and clients regarding the bookkeeping workflow. Continuous input can help pinpoint pain points and cultivate ongoing improvements, guaranteeing your processes remain effective and efficient. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 Steps of the Bookkeeping Cycle? The bookkeeping cycle consists of five crucial steps. First, you analyze transactions to assess their impact on accounts. Next, you create journal entries, recording the date, affected accounts, amounts, and a brief description. After that, you post these entries to the ledger, organizing them for future reference. Then, you prepare a trial balance to guarantee total debits equal total credits. Finally, you generate financial statements to evaluate your business’s financial health. What Are the Three Golden Rules of Bookkeeping? The three golden rules of bookkeeping are crucial for maintaining financial accuracy. First, separate your business and personal finances to simplify tracking and tax filing. Second, keep organized records of all transactions, including receipts and invoices, for up to six years to prepare for audits. Finally, regularly reconcile your financial statements with external sources, like bank statements, to catch discrepancies early and confirm your records are accurate. Following these rules leads to better financial management. What Is Streamlining Accounting Processes? Streamlining accounting processes means simplifying and automating your financial tasks to boost efficiency and accuracy. By using digital bookkeeping tools, you can reduce manual data entry, leading to fewer errors. Implementing a standardized filing system makes it easier to access important documents, ensuring better organization. Regularly reviewing financial statements helps catch discrepancies early, whereas automation allows you to focus on strategic decisions rather than repetitive tasks, in the end saving you time and resources. What Is 10 Key Bookkeeping? Key bookkeeping involves ten crucial practices that guarantee your financial records stay organized and accurate. You should separate business and personal finances, maintain a regular bookkeeping routine, and document every transaction. Automate processes with accounting software, reconcile your statements frequently, and track expenses diligently. Furthermore, consider professional support when needed, stay compliant with tax regulations, understand your financial reports, and regularly review your budget to make informed decisions. Conclusion Streamlining your bookkeeping setup is crucial for maintaining accurate financial records and ensuring compliance. By organizing documents, automating tasks, scheduling reviews, delegating responsibilities, and continuously refining processes, you can improve efficiency in your financial management. Implementing these steps will not just save you time but will additionally reduce errors, allowing you to focus on your core business activities. Embrace these strategies to create a more effective and reliable bookkeeping system for your financial health. Image via Google Gemini This article, "How to Streamline Bookkeeping Setup in 5 Easy Steps" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

For the past two years, companies have been asking the wrong question: how do we use AI in our processes? That question made sense at the beginning. When large language models first appeared, the instinct was natural: take what already exists, from workflows to functions, decision chains, etc., and try to accelerate them. Add copilots. Add assistants. Add automation layers. Improve productivity. But as we’ve seen, that approach doesn’t scale. As I’ve argued in previous pieces, enterprise AI hasn’t failed because the technology doesn’t work. It has failed because we tried to place it in the wrong layer. Large language models were never designed to run a company, and embedding them into existing processes doesn’t change that structural mismatch. Now that the initial enthusiasm has collided with reality, a different question is starting to emerge, quietly, but unmistakably: what if the problem is not how to use AI in our processes, but that our processes were never designed for AI in the first place? The return of an old idea (this time for real) In the 1990s, business process reengineering (BPR) promised something radical: redesign companies around information systems instead of layering technology on top of existing workflows. The idea was compelling, but the execution was uneven. Many initiatives became expensive reorganizations with limited long-term impact, partly because the underlying systems were still rigid, fragmented, and unable to adapt in real time. This time is different. Back then, systems were passive. They stored information, enforced rules, and supported decisions made by humans. Today, systems are becoming active: they can generate, evaluate, coordinate, and increasingly, act. That shift changes the equation entirely. It means we are no longer just digitizing processes: we are redefining what a process is. McKinsey’s latest research on AI adoption reinforces this point: while usage is widespread, real impact correlates strongly with workflow redesign, not just tool deployment. Organizations that rethink how work is done, not just how it is assisted, are the ones seeing measurable gains. In other words, the original promise of BPR is resurfacing, but now the technology can finally support it. Why most processes are incompatible with AI The uncomfortable truth is that most enterprise processes today are not just inefficient. They are structurally incompatible with the kind of systems AI is becoming. They are: Fragmented: spread across tools, teams, and data silos Sequential: built around handoffs and delays Context-poor: dependent on individuals to reconstruct state Decision-latent: optimized for review, not action Human-centric by design: assuming that cognition, memory, and coordination are scarce These characteristics made sense in a world where humans were the limiting factor. They don’t make sense in a world where systems can maintain context, apply constraints, and operate continuously. Deloitte captures this tension clearly in its recent analysis of agentic AI: many organizations are trying to automate processes designed for humans instead of rethinking the work itself. The result is predictable: complexity increases, but outcomes don’t improve proportionally. That’s not a tooling problem: that’s a design problem. AI doesn’t optimize processes: it exposes them One of the most consistent patterns across enterprise AI initiatives is this: the more you try to apply AI to an existing process, the more visible that process’s limitations become. What was previously hidden behind human effort becomes explicit: missing data inconsistent rules unclear ownership duplicated work delayed feedback loops In that sense, AI behaves less like an optimization layer and more like a diagnostic tool. It reveals the gap between how a company thinks it operates and how it actually operates. This is why so many pilots stall. Not because the model fails, but because the process it is inserted into cannot absorb what the model produces. As MIT Sloan has argued, the challenge is not simply adopting AI, but redesigning organizations so that they can actually use it effectively. And that leads to a much more uncomfortable conclusion: the limiting factor is no longer the technology. It’s the company. From processes to systems If the previous phase of enterprise AI was about adding intelligence to tasks. The next one will be about redesigning systems so that intelligence is embedded from the start. That shift changes everything. Instead of asking: “How do we automate this step?” Companies will have to ask: “Why does this step exist at all?” “What would this process look like if it were designed around continuous context?” “Where should decisions actually happen?” “What constraints should be enforced automatically?” These are not incremental improvements. They are structural questions. And they point toward a different kind of organization: one where processes are no longer static sequences of actions, but dynamic systems that maintain state, integrate data, operate under constraints, and continuously adapt based on outcomes. The same characteristics that define the systems described in my previous article. The companies that move first will look very different This is where the shift becomes visible. The companies that successfully redesign their processes around these principles will not just be faster or more efficient. They will operate differently: decisions will happen closer to data coordination will require fewer handoffs feedback loops will shorten dramatically execution will become more continuous roles will evolve around systems, not tasks Microsoft’s Work Trend Index already hints at this transition, describing organizations moving toward more dynamic, outcome-driven structures where humans and AI collaborate around goals rather than functions. From the outside, these companies may not look dramatically different at first. But internally, their operating logic will have shifted. And that shift compounds. This is not optional It’s tempting to think of this as an opportunity. It is, it may well be. But it’s also something else: a constraint. Because once some companies begin to operate this way, the others are not competing against better tools. They are competing against a different kind of system. A system that: learns faster adapts continuously coordinates more efficiently executes with fewer delays That is not something you can match by adding another copilot or deploying another model. It requires redesign. The next phase of enterprise AI is organizational If the first phase of AI in the enterprise was about experimentation, and the second about realization, the next one will be about transformation. Not transformation driven by models, but by structure. We are not moving from “worse AI” to “better AI,” we are moving from companies built for humans, to companies that must operate with machines as part of their core logic. And that requires something many organizations have avoided for decades: rebuilding how they actually work. The real question So the question is no longer “how do we use AI?” It is: “are we willing to redesign our company so that AI can actually work?” Because if the answer is no, the outcome is already clear: AI will not fail. Your processes will. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Apple accessory pricing gets out of hand fast, especially once you start adding separate chargers for an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. The Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe simplifies that setup by turning everything into one compact charging block, and right now it’s down to $64.99 on Woot from its usual $129.99 price. According to price trackers, this is the lowest price it has reached so far, and it’s also cheaper than Amazon’s current $86.99 listing. You also get a 30W USB-C wall charger in the box, so you don't need to buy a separate power adapter. The deal is expected to stay live for about two weeks, unless the stock sells out first. Prime members get free shipping, while non-members will pay a $6 shipping fee. Anker 15W 3-in-1 MagSafe Wireless Charging Cube $64.99 at Woot $129.99 Save $65.00 Get Deal Get Deal $64.99 at Woot $129.99 Save $65.00 The charger supports Apple’s MagSafe standard with up to 15W wireless charging for iPhone 12 and later, and it folds into a cube when not in use, though at 14 ounces it feels dense and heavier than most portable chargers. That extra weight does have a practical upside—it stays planted on a desk or nightstand instead of sliding around every time you remove your phone. The hinged MagSafe pad also feels solid and lets you tilt your phone up to around 60 degrees, so it works well for watching videos, checking notifications, or using StandBy mode on newer iPhones. Switching between portrait and landscape orientation is smooth, and the magnetic connection feels secure enough that you don't constantly worry about knocking the phone loose. And while that sturdy build mostly carries across the entire charger, the pop-out Apple Watch charger on the side is the one part that feels a little less durable—it works fine, but the small extending arm has a slightly flimsy feel compared to the rest of the charger’s sturdy build. Around the back sits the charging spot for AirPods, though it can also charge other earbuds that support wireless charging. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $229.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Streaming Player With Remote (2025 Model) — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Sony’s SRS-XB100 is down to $43 from its usual $64.99. This is Sony’s entry-level portable Bluetooth speaker, and it shows in both good and limiting ways. It’s small, light, and built for casual use. At under 10 ounces and roughly the size of a coffee mug, it fits easily in a bag or clips onto a backpack with its included strap. The matte black finish keeps things simple, and the IP67 rating means it’s fully dust proof and can withstand submersion in water for up to 30 minutes. It’s a speaker you can bring to the pool, the shower, or a dusty worksite without worrying about damage. Sony SRS-XB100 Bluetooth Speaker $44.99 at Amazon $64.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal Get Deal $44.99 at Amazon $64.99 Save $20.00 The sound is better than you might expect from something this size. The upward-firing 2W driver and passive bass radiator add some punch to tracks with drum-heavy mixes, though it can’t reach true sub-bass depth. At higher volumes, the speaker relies on digital processing to prevent distortion, which slightly reduces bass impact, notes this PCMag review. Vocals come through clearly, though, making it suitable for podcasts and calls, and the built-in speakerphone mic is a real advantage here—it’s noticeably clearer than what you get from many small speakers. Battery life is solid, with up to 16 hours at moderate volume, though that drops to around five hours if you push it to max. On the downside, there’s no companion app, so you can’t adjust the sound or get updates later. You are also stuck with mono audio unless you buy a second unit and pair them for stereo sound–on its own, the SRS-XB100 is still a mono speaker with a limited soundstage. And while its Bluetooth 5.3 support is solid (and it works with AAC and SBC codecs), there’s no wifi connectivity or multi-room support. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $229.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Streaming Player With Remote (2025 Model) — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Investors might soon get a closer look at the financial details behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The rocket and satellite company, whose forthcoming initial public offering (IPO) is among the most-anticipated stock listings in years, could make its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) public as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg and other media outlets. Once its prospectus is public, anyone will be able to peruse closely guarded business metrics, such its historic revenue and profit, as well as SpaceX’s plans for future growth and its assessment of the broader marketplace in which it operates. The “risk factors” section of the document should be especially fascinating, as SpaceX has a stated goal of “establishing a self-sufficient city on Mars.” SpaceX filed preliminary confidential paperwork with the SEC in early April. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, it is aiming for a listing date of June 12. Fast Company reached out to SpaceX for comment. Largest IPO in history According to reporting from the Financial Times, which cited people familiar with its confidential S-1 filing, SpaceX is seeking to raise roughly $75 billion for a valuation of $1.75 trillion. That would make it the biggest market debut of all time, beating out Saudi Aramco, which raised $29 billion for its IPO in 2019. SpaceX is also proposing to hand enormous voting power to Musk, CEO and board chair, who will own a “supermajority of class B stock,” the FT further reports, a structure that could essentially prevent the billionaire from ever being fired. Over the years, SpaceX has all but cornered the market for commercial rocket launches, while its Starlink internet business has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit. More recently, Musk merged SpaceX with xAI, his artificial intelligence company, which owns the X social media platform and the Grok chatbot. SpaceX is planing to list its shares on the Nasdaq, Reuters reported. View the full article

Deal will cement group’s status as world’s biggest listed utility as AI drives boom in power demandView the full article

The Mortgage Bankers Association now predicts a Federal Reserve rate hike to arrive in 2027, as housing price growth also slows over the next two years. View the full article

Regarding tax deductions, partnerships have various options to reduce taxable income. You can claim ordinary business expenses like advertising and professional services, but there are additionally specific rules for unreimbursed expenses and home office deductions. Comprehending what qualifies and how to document these expenses is essential for maximizing your deductions. As you explore these categories, you might find some surprising opportunities to save on your tax bill. Key Takeaways Partnerships can claim ordinary and necessary business expenses, including advertising, travel, and professional services on Form 1065. Meals incurred during business activities are deductible, but only up to 50% of the total cost. Unreimbursed business expenses, if ordinary and necessary, can be deducted on Schedule E of individual tax returns. Home office expenses are deductible if the space is used exclusively for partnership business, covering utilities and rent. State-specific taxes, such as franchise or excise taxes, may also impact partnership deductions, requiring careful compliance with local regulations. Understanding Partnership Deductions Comprehending partnership deductions is essential for partners looking to maximize their tax benefits during compliance with IRS regulations. When filing partnership taxes, you’ll use Form 1065 to report the partnership’s income and deductions. Partners in a partnership can claim deductions for ordinary and necessary business expenses, such as advertising, travel, meals (limited to 50%), and professional services. If you incur unreimbursed business expenses, you can deduct these on Schedule E of Form 1040, provided your partnership agreement specifies that you’re responsible for those costs. In addition, if you utilize a home office exclusively for partnership business, you can include those expenses as well. Partners are likewise allowed to deduct 50% of self-employment taxes on their personal returns, calculated using Schedule SE. Reimbursable vs. Unreimbursable Expenses When partners incur expenses related to their partnership activities, it’s crucial to distinguish between reimbursable and unreimbursable expenses for tax purposes. Reimbursed expenses, those costs covered by the partnership, can’t be deducted on individual tax returns, as they’re considered reimbursable and ineligible for deductions. Conversely, unreimbursed expenses can be deducted, but only if they meet specific criteria: they must be ordinary, necessary, and directly related to partnership activities. A clear written policy established by the partnership helps partners grasp which expenses qualify as reimbursable and which don’t. If you incur an unreimbursed expense expecting reimbursement that never comes, that expense becomes non-deductible for tax treatment. As a result, maintaining clarity around partnership expenses is critical for accurate tax reporting and minimizing liability. Comprehending these distinctions guarantees you navigate tax implications effectively and maximize your potential deductions. Home Office Expense Deductions Comprehending home office expense deductions is vital for partners who work from home and want to maximize their tax benefits. To qualify, your home office must be used exclusively and regularly for partnership business, serving as your principal place of business. This could be where you conduct primary income-earning activities or administrative tasks without relying on another fixed location. You can report these deductions on your partnership tax form, typically Schedule E, alongside other unreimbursed expenses. Eligible home office expenses may include a portion of utilities, rent, and depreciation, but must adhere to IRS qualification requirements. Moreover, you can deduct business mileage incurred when traveling from your home office to other work locations. The Importance of Documentation Keeping thorough records of your partnership expenses isn’t just good practice; it’s crucial for surviving an IRS audit. By maintaining organized documentation like receipts and invoices, you can clearly demonstrate the legitimacy of your deductions and differentiate between various expense types. Regularly reviewing these records likewise prepares you for compliance, reducing the risk of errors and potential penalties. Record Keeping Practices Effective record-keeping practices are essential for any partnership, as thorough documentation of expenses can greatly influence the ability to claim tax deductions. Maintaining detailed records supports the classification of expenses as ordinary and necessary, which is critical for tax purposes. Here are some key practices to keep in mind: Keep all receipts and invoices to substantiate your claims. Regularly categorize expenses to differentiate between reimbursable and non-reimbursable costs. Review your documentation practices often to guarantee compliance with IRS requirements regarding unreimbursed partnership expenses. Understand the tax implications of partnership distributions taxable to avoid penalties. Audit Preparedness Strategies Even though audits can be intimidating, having a robust documentation strategy can greatly ease the process and improve your partnership’s preparedness. Maintaining detailed records of all partnership expenses is crucial for substantiating claims during IRS audits. This includes keeping receipts and invoices organized for quick retrieval. It’s likewise important to categorize expenses clearly, as this helps you understand tax implications, including whether partnership distributions are taxable. Regularly reviewing your expense policies guarantees compliance with IRS guidelines, preventing discrepancies. Moreover, consulting tax professionals can improve your audit preparedness by making sure your documentation practices align with current tax laws and requirements, thereby reducing the risk of costly mistakes during an audit. Proper documenting expenses is key to a successful audit experience. Mileage and Travel Expenses When you travel for business as a partner in a partnership, it’s essential to understand how mileage and travel expenses can impact your tax deductions. Partnerships can deduct necessary and ordinary travel expenses, provided you maintain proper documentation. Here are key points to take into account: Mileage Deductions: Use the IRS standard mileage rate or actual vehicle expenses to calculate your deductions. Qualifying Trips: Trips from your home office to client meetings or temporary work locations are deductible. Multiple Locations: You can additionally deduct mileage when traveling between different business locations or offices. Documentation: Keep accurate records of each trip’s purpose and distance, in addition to receipts for lodging and meals. Establishing a Clear Expense Policy To guarantee that all partners comprehend what qualifies for expense reimbursement, it’s fundamental to establish a clear written policy outlining eligible and non-reimbursable expenses. This policy should detail procedures for submitting these expenses, emphasizing that unreimbursed costs can’t be deducted. As a partnership defined as a unique business structure, it’s significant to define partnership business activities clearly within this context. Including home office expenses can furthermore be beneficial since partners can claim these deductions if they meet IRS qualifications for exclusive and regular use related to partnership organization. A well-defined expense policy not merely empowers partners to confidently claim deductions but also guarantees compliance with IRS regulations, minimizing audit risks. Regularly reviewing and updating this policy will keep it aligned with current tax laws and accurately reflect your partnership’s operational practices. State Tax Considerations for Partnerships In terms of state tax considerations for partnerships, you’ll need to be aware of various filing requirements that differ from federal regulations. Many states require an informational return similar to the federal Form 1065, and some even allow you to file a composite return, simplifying your tax obligations. Moreover, consider any state-specific excise taxes or franchise taxes that might apply based on your partnership’s activities or structure. State Filing Requirements Comprehending state filing requirements is crucial for partnerships, as most states require an information return akin to the federal Form 1065, detailing income and allocations among partners. Here are some key points to examine: Filing Deadlines: State filing deadlines often differ from the federal due date, so verify specific state requirements. Composite Returns: Some states mandate composite returns, allowing partnerships to file a single state income tax return on behalf of multiple partners. State-Specific Taxes: Partnerships may face additional taxes, such as franchise or gross receipts taxes, depending on the jurisdiction. Stay Informed: It’s important to stay updated on changes in state tax laws that may affect your filing obligations and potential deductions. Understanding these state filing requirements guarantees compliance and optimizes limited partnership taxation. Composite Return Benefits State filing requirements can sometimes be intricate, especially for partnerships with multiple partners across different jurisdictions. One way to simplify this process is by utilizing composite returns, which allow partnerships to file a single state income tax return on behalf of all partners. This is particularly beneficial for partnerships with non-resident partners, as it reduces the need for individuals to file separate state returns. By opting for composite returns, you can avoid the intricacies of multiple state tax filings and minimize the risk of double taxation. Moreover, certain states have eligibility criteria for composite returns, but when met, these can lead to significant tax savings for partners by consolidating tax liabilities and streamlining compliance with state tax regulations. Excise Tax Obligations Have you considered the excise tax obligations that partnerships face? If your partnership engages in activities like selling alcohol, tobacco, or fuel, you’ll need to navigate both federal and state regulations. Here’s what to keep in mind: Understand your specific excise tax obligations based on your business activities. Be aware that each state may have its own excise tax rules, sometimes adding to federal requirements. Maintain accurate records of all excise tax payments and related activities for compliance. Remember to file information returns similar to Form 1065 to report these obligations clearly, especially for public partnerships LLC 1099. Getting familiar with these aspects guarantees your partnership company definition remains compliant and avoids penalties during audits. Seeking Professional Tax Advice Steering through the intricacies of partnership tax deductions can be challenging, and seeking professional tax advice is often essential. Tax experts can provide customized guidance on maximizing deductions, including unreimbursed expenses and home office costs. Regular consultations keep you informed about changes in tax laws that may impact your deductions and overall tax liability. Here’s a quick look at the benefits of engaging with tax professionals: Benefit Description Customized Guidance Personalized strategies for maximizing deductions. Compliance Assurance Guarantees adherence to tax regulations. Error Prevention Helps avoid costly mistakes on Schedule K-1. Knowledge Update Keeps you informed about tax law changes. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Tax Deductions for Partnerships? Tax deductions for partnerships include ordinary and necessary business expenses like travel, meals, and professional fees, but only if they’re unreimbursed. You can moreover deduct home office expenses if the space is used solely for business, covering a portion of utilities and rent. Furthermore, you can claim 50% of self-employment taxes and deduct business-related client entertainment expenses. Don’t forget to account for mileage incurred during business travel, including trips to clients. What Expenses Can You Claim as a Partnership? As a partnership, you can claim various expenses directly related to your business activities. These include travel costs, meals, and professional services, provided they’re not reimbursed. You can additionally deduct home office expenses if the space is exclusively used for partnership work. What Are the Deductions Available for Partnership Firms? Partnership firms can claim various deductions to reduce taxable income. You can deduct ordinary business expenses like travel, meals (limited to 50%), and supplies, provided they aren’t reimbursed. Home office expenses are likewise deductible if used exclusively for business. Furthermore, you can claim unreimbursed expenses on Schedule E of Form 1040. Don’t forget to document all deductions thoroughly, as the IRS may require proof during audits to guarantee compliance. What Is the $2500 Expense Rule? The $2,500 expense rule allows businesses to deduct certain tangible property expenses directly, simplifying accounting for small purchases. This rule covers items like equipment, supplies, and materials, as long as each individual expense doesn’t exceed $2,500 per item or invoice. To qualify, you need an accounting policy that treats these expenses as deductible. Always keep proper documentation, such as receipts, to support your claims during audits and guarantee compliance with IRS regulations. Conclusion In conclusion, partnerships can leverage various tax deductions to improve their financial efficiency, including ordinary business expenses, home office costs, and travel-related expenses. Grasping the difference between reimbursable and unreimbursable expenses is essential, as is maintaining thorough documentation. Establishing a clear expense policy helps guarantee compliance and maximizes deductions. Don’t forget to take into account state tax implications, and seek professional advice if needed, as maneuvering through partnership deductions can be complex but beneficial for your bottom line. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Deductions Can Partnerships Claim on Taxes?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Regarding tax deductions, partnerships have various options to reduce taxable income. You can claim ordinary business expenses like advertising and professional services, but there are additionally specific rules for unreimbursed expenses and home office deductions. Comprehending what qualifies and how to document these expenses is essential for maximizing your deductions. As you explore these categories, you might find some surprising opportunities to save on your tax bill. Key Takeaways Partnerships can claim ordinary and necessary business expenses, including advertising, travel, and professional services on Form 1065. Meals incurred during business activities are deductible, but only up to 50% of the total cost. Unreimbursed business expenses, if ordinary and necessary, can be deducted on Schedule E of individual tax returns. Home office expenses are deductible if the space is used exclusively for partnership business, covering utilities and rent. State-specific taxes, such as franchise or excise taxes, may also impact partnership deductions, requiring careful compliance with local regulations. Understanding Partnership Deductions Comprehending partnership deductions is essential for partners looking to maximize their tax benefits during compliance with IRS regulations. When filing partnership taxes, you’ll use Form 1065 to report the partnership’s income and deductions. Partners in a partnership can claim deductions for ordinary and necessary business expenses, such as advertising, travel, meals (limited to 50%), and professional services. If you incur unreimbursed business expenses, you can deduct these on Schedule E of Form 1040, provided your partnership agreement specifies that you’re responsible for those costs. In addition, if you utilize a home office exclusively for partnership business, you can include those expenses as well. Partners are likewise allowed to deduct 50% of self-employment taxes on their personal returns, calculated using Schedule SE. Reimbursable vs. Unreimbursable Expenses When partners incur expenses related to their partnership activities, it’s crucial to distinguish between reimbursable and unreimbursable expenses for tax purposes. Reimbursed expenses, those costs covered by the partnership, can’t be deducted on individual tax returns, as they’re considered reimbursable and ineligible for deductions. Conversely, unreimbursed expenses can be deducted, but only if they meet specific criteria: they must be ordinary, necessary, and directly related to partnership activities. A clear written policy established by the partnership helps partners grasp which expenses qualify as reimbursable and which don’t. If you incur an unreimbursed expense expecting reimbursement that never comes, that expense becomes non-deductible for tax treatment. As a result, maintaining clarity around partnership expenses is critical for accurate tax reporting and minimizing liability. Comprehending these distinctions guarantees you navigate tax implications effectively and maximize your potential deductions. Home Office Expense Deductions Comprehending home office expense deductions is vital for partners who work from home and want to maximize their tax benefits. To qualify, your home office must be used exclusively and regularly for partnership business, serving as your principal place of business. This could be where you conduct primary income-earning activities or administrative tasks without relying on another fixed location. You can report these deductions on your partnership tax form, typically Schedule E, alongside other unreimbursed expenses. Eligible home office expenses may include a portion of utilities, rent, and depreciation, but must adhere to IRS qualification requirements. Moreover, you can deduct business mileage incurred when traveling from your home office to other work locations. The Importance of Documentation Keeping thorough records of your partnership expenses isn’t just good practice; it’s crucial for surviving an IRS audit. By maintaining organized documentation like receipts and invoices, you can clearly demonstrate the legitimacy of your deductions and differentiate between various expense types. Regularly reviewing these records likewise prepares you for compliance, reducing the risk of errors and potential penalties. Record Keeping Practices Effective record-keeping practices are essential for any partnership, as thorough documentation of expenses can greatly influence the ability to claim tax deductions. Maintaining detailed records supports the classification of expenses as ordinary and necessary, which is critical for tax purposes. Here are some key practices to keep in mind: Keep all receipts and invoices to substantiate your claims. Regularly categorize expenses to differentiate between reimbursable and non-reimbursable costs. Review your documentation practices often to guarantee compliance with IRS requirements regarding unreimbursed partnership expenses. Understand the tax implications of partnership distributions taxable to avoid penalties. Audit Preparedness Strategies Even though audits can be intimidating, having a robust documentation strategy can greatly ease the process and improve your partnership’s preparedness. Maintaining detailed records of all partnership expenses is crucial for substantiating claims during IRS audits. This includes keeping receipts and invoices organized for quick retrieval. It’s likewise important to categorize expenses clearly, as this helps you understand tax implications, including whether partnership distributions are taxable. Regularly reviewing your expense policies guarantees compliance with IRS guidelines, preventing discrepancies. Moreover, consulting tax professionals can improve your audit preparedness by making sure your documentation practices align with current tax laws and requirements, thereby reducing the risk of costly mistakes during an audit. Proper documenting expenses is key to a successful audit experience. Mileage and Travel Expenses When you travel for business as a partner in a partnership, it’s essential to understand how mileage and travel expenses can impact your tax deductions. Partnerships can deduct necessary and ordinary travel expenses, provided you maintain proper documentation. Here are key points to take into account: Mileage Deductions: Use the IRS standard mileage rate or actual vehicle expenses to calculate your deductions. Qualifying Trips: Trips from your home office to client meetings or temporary work locations are deductible. Multiple Locations: You can additionally deduct mileage when traveling between different business locations or offices. Documentation: Keep accurate records of each trip’s purpose and distance, in addition to receipts for lodging and meals. Establishing a Clear Expense Policy To guarantee that all partners comprehend what qualifies for expense reimbursement, it’s fundamental to establish a clear written policy outlining eligible and non-reimbursable expenses. This policy should detail procedures for submitting these expenses, emphasizing that unreimbursed costs can’t be deducted. As a partnership defined as a unique business structure, it’s significant to define partnership business activities clearly within this context. Including home office expenses can furthermore be beneficial since partners can claim these deductions if they meet IRS qualifications for exclusive and regular use related to partnership organization. A well-defined expense policy not merely empowers partners to confidently claim deductions but also guarantees compliance with IRS regulations, minimizing audit risks. Regularly reviewing and updating this policy will keep it aligned with current tax laws and accurately reflect your partnership’s operational practices. State Tax Considerations for Partnerships In terms of state tax considerations for partnerships, you’ll need to be aware of various filing requirements that differ from federal regulations. Many states require an informational return similar to the federal Form 1065, and some even allow you to file a composite return, simplifying your tax obligations. Moreover, consider any state-specific excise taxes or franchise taxes that might apply based on your partnership’s activities or structure. State Filing Requirements Comprehending state filing requirements is crucial for partnerships, as most states require an information return akin to the federal Form 1065, detailing income and allocations among partners. Here are some key points to examine: Filing Deadlines: State filing deadlines often differ from the federal due date, so verify specific state requirements. Composite Returns: Some states mandate composite returns, allowing partnerships to file a single state income tax return on behalf of multiple partners. State-Specific Taxes: Partnerships may face additional taxes, such as franchise or gross receipts taxes, depending on the jurisdiction. Stay Informed: It’s important to stay updated on changes in state tax laws that may affect your filing obligations and potential deductions. Understanding these state filing requirements guarantees compliance and optimizes limited partnership taxation. Composite Return Benefits State filing requirements can sometimes be intricate, especially for partnerships with multiple partners across different jurisdictions. One way to simplify this process is by utilizing composite returns, which allow partnerships to file a single state income tax return on behalf of all partners. This is particularly beneficial for partnerships with non-resident partners, as it reduces the need for individuals to file separate state returns. By opting for composite returns, you can avoid the intricacies of multiple state tax filings and minimize the risk of double taxation. Moreover, certain states have eligibility criteria for composite returns, but when met, these can lead to significant tax savings for partners by consolidating tax liabilities and streamlining compliance with state tax regulations. Excise Tax Obligations Have you considered the excise tax obligations that partnerships face? If your partnership engages in activities like selling alcohol, tobacco, or fuel, you’ll need to navigate both federal and state regulations. Here’s what to keep in mind: Understand your specific excise tax obligations based on your business activities. Be aware that each state may have its own excise tax rules, sometimes adding to federal requirements. Maintain accurate records of all excise tax payments and related activities for compliance. Remember to file information returns similar to Form 1065 to report these obligations clearly, especially for public partnerships LLC 1099. Getting familiar with these aspects guarantees your partnership company definition remains compliant and avoids penalties during audits. Seeking Professional Tax Advice Steering through the intricacies of partnership tax deductions can be challenging, and seeking professional tax advice is often essential. Tax experts can provide customized guidance on maximizing deductions, including unreimbursed expenses and home office costs. Regular consultations keep you informed about changes in tax laws that may impact your deductions and overall tax liability. Here’s a quick look at the benefits of engaging with tax professionals: Benefit Description Customized Guidance Personalized strategies for maximizing deductions. Compliance Assurance Guarantees adherence to tax regulations. Error Prevention Helps avoid costly mistakes on Schedule K-1. Knowledge Update Keeps you informed about tax law changes. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Tax Deductions for Partnerships? Tax deductions for partnerships include ordinary and necessary business expenses like travel, meals, and professional fees, but only if they’re unreimbursed. You can moreover deduct home office expenses if the space is used solely for business, covering a portion of utilities and rent. Furthermore, you can claim 50% of self-employment taxes and deduct business-related client entertainment expenses. Don’t forget to account for mileage incurred during business travel, including trips to clients. What Expenses Can You Claim as a Partnership? As a partnership, you can claim various expenses directly related to your business activities. These include travel costs, meals, and professional services, provided they’re not reimbursed. You can additionally deduct home office expenses if the space is exclusively used for partnership work. What Are the Deductions Available for Partnership Firms? Partnership firms can claim various deductions to reduce taxable income. You can deduct ordinary business expenses like travel, meals (limited to 50%), and supplies, provided they aren’t reimbursed. Home office expenses are likewise deductible if used exclusively for business. Furthermore, you can claim unreimbursed expenses on Schedule E of Form 1040. Don’t forget to document all deductions thoroughly, as the IRS may require proof during audits to guarantee compliance. What Is the $2500 Expense Rule? The $2,500 expense rule allows businesses to deduct certain tangible property expenses directly, simplifying accounting for small purchases. This rule covers items like equipment, supplies, and materials, as long as each individual expense doesn’t exceed $2,500 per item or invoice. To qualify, you need an accounting policy that treats these expenses as deductible. Always keep proper documentation, such as receipts, to support your claims during audits and guarantee compliance with IRS regulations. Conclusion In conclusion, partnerships can leverage various tax deductions to improve their financial efficiency, including ordinary business expenses, home office costs, and travel-related expenses. Grasping the difference between reimbursable and unreimbursable expenses is essential, as is maintaining thorough documentation. Establishing a clear expense policy helps guarantee compliance and maximizes deductions. Don’t forget to take into account state tax implications, and seek professional advice if needed, as maneuvering through partnership deductions can be complex but beneficial for your bottom line. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Deductions Can Partnerships Claim on Taxes?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

China assumes that the island would be helpless without American support — that is a dangerous mistakeView the full article

AI may be attracting billions in venture capital, but money is not flowing to every founder with a chatbot demo and a slick deck. In fact, as AI makes building a great product faster and more accessible, founder behavior, judgment, and credibility become even more important. In a crowded market where every pitch claims “category-defining AI,” red flags can surface fast. Founders must recognize that most investors are not just underwriting your product. They are underwriting you as a person for the next seven to ten years. If they sense weak leadership, poor decision-making, or shaky ethics early on, the meeting or any next steps is often over before diligence even begins. Here are the top founder red flags VCs most commonly spot, and why they can kill your chances of raising capital as an AI company. 1. You’re Building a Thin Wrapper, Not a Real Business One of the fastest-growing concerns among investors is founders who simply place a user interface on top of third-party models and call it innovation. If your entire product depends on another company’s API, with no proprietary data, workflow integration, or defensible moat, VCs may see it as temporary value. Investors increasingly are moving away from “thin AI wrappers” and generic productivity tools because switching costs are low and it’s easy to launch copycats that can do what you do, but perhaps better. VCs want to know what remains valuable when the next model or release drops. If your moat is “we use GPT too,” expect skepticism and pushback. 2. You Claim There Are No Competitors Nothing damages credibility faster than telling investors you have no competition. I’ve heard too many founders share this with me. Every startup has competition: incumbents, internal workflows, spreadsheets, agencies, or customer inertia. Founders who insist they are alone in the market often signal naivety, weak market research, or ego. Investors are especially turned off when founders cannot articulate what could threaten their business. Strong founders understand risks. Weak founders deny they exist. Smart founders frame competition honestly by explaining who exists, why customers still struggle, and why now is the moment to win and scale at large. 3. You Treat Fundraising Like a Chore Many founders talk about fundraising like it distracts from the “real work” of building. But for venture-backed startups, raising capital is part of the job. Strong founders learn to value the process. Pitching sharpens the vision, investor questions test assumptions, and relationship-building can open doors long after the round closes. VCs want founders who understand that fundraising is not separate from building the company. It is part of building the company. 4. Your Numbers Feel Inflated or Misleading Metrics manipulation is one of the quickest ways to lose trust with an investor. That can mean overstating revenue, using vanity metrics in place of retention, redefining “active users,” or presenting aggressive projections with little evidence. Investors know early-stage metrics are imperfect. What they cannot tolerate is dishonesty. Misrepresenting numbers is an immediate deal-breaker for some investors. Once trust is broken, every other claim becomes suspect. Be clear and transparent. A flawed metric explained honestly is better than a perfect metric nobody believes. 5. You’re Defensive Instead of Coachable The best founders are confident enough to be challenged. VCs often test how founders respond to pushback. Do you get curious and thoughtful, or argumentative and combative? Do you treat every question as an attack? Investors know they will disagree with founders many times after investing. If you become defensive in a first meeting, they imagine years of friction ahead and won’t want to move forward. Coachability does not mean agreeing with everything. It means listening, reasoning clearly, and showing a learning mindset. 6. The Founding Team Dynamic Feels Off Investors study founder chemistry closely. Tension, disrespect, unclear roles, or one founder constantly interrupting another can sink confidence quickly. Visible imbalance between business and technical cofounders is a major warning sign. If one founder dominates every answer or speaks for the other’s domain, investors worry about future conflict and decision bottlenecks. 7. You Don’t Understand the Economics of AI Many founders underestimate the operational realities of AI businesses: inference costs, margins, data labeling expenses, enterprise sales cycles, compliance, and churn. VCs increasingly want founders who understand not just what AI can do, but what AI costs to run and scale. If your revenue model ignores compute spend or assumes infinite gross margins, it suggests superficial thinking. AI startups are not funded because they use AI. They are funded because they can build durable economics around it. 8. Your Vision Is Huge, but Your Execution Is Vague Saying you will “transform healthcare,” “reinvent legal work,” or “disrupt finance” is easy. Explaining your first expansion, customer acquisition motion, and adoption path is harder. Investors often reject founders whose vision is massive but whose go-to-market plan lacks clarity. Grandiosity without sequencing feels immature. The best founders think big and execute narrowly. They know exactly which customer pain point they solve first. 9. You Lack Self-Awareness Perhaps the most underrated red flag is a founder who lacks realism. If you insist everything is going perfectly, dismiss concerns, or believe intelligence alone guarantees success, investors may walk away. Startups are brutally hard. Strong founders know what they do not know. Self-awareness signals maturity, resilience, and leadership. Delusion signals future pain and potentially a sinking ship for an investor. VCs don’t expect perfection from founders. We do, however, expect honesty, clarity, adaptability, and evidence that you can navigate chaos. For AI founders, that means more than flashy demos or buzzwords. It means proving you understand your customers, your economics, your competition, and yourself. The companies that get funded are the ones whose founders remove doubt. View the full article

When Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon founded Spotify in April 2006, they were two Stockholm entrepreneurs with a prototype so skeletal that Per Roman, the cofounder of investors Bullhound Capital, who would later back the company, says his first look at it was “world-changing,” despite there barely being a product to look at. Two decades and 300 million subscribers later, Spotify has become a defining force in the Swedish tech scene: a company whose alumni have gone on to found, fund, or run many of the most ambitious startups Stockholm has produced, in much the same way Silicon Valley’s PayPal Mafia shaped the U.S. tech ecosystem. It’s one of several tentpole companies, alongside Skype, Klarna, and King, that have had an outsized impact on Sweden. Ex-Spotify engineers and operators now run venture firms backing the next wave of Swedish startups, including Lovable. Last month, Patrik Torstensson, one of Spotify’s most senior engineers during its growth years, was announced as Lovable’s new head of engineering, another addition to an alumni network that includes the founders of Tictail (acquired by Shopify), Soundtrack, Lifesum, Kovant, and Homer. But Spotify’s influence on Stockholm extends beyond headcount. The company helped instill a culture of ambition and a growing confidence that the Swedish capital can produce globally dominant consumer technology companies, and that failure, should it come, won’t be fatal. Fast Company spoke with several Spotify alumni who have since gone on to found companies of their own and further expand Stockholm’s startup ecosystem. Henrik Torstensson, partner, Alliance VC Henrik Torstensson joined Spotify in May 2010 as head of premium sales, when the company had around 300,000 paying subscribers. By the time he left three years later to cofound the wellness app Lifesum, that figure had grown to 6 million. He points to Spotify’s willingness, beginning around 2010, to hire commercial operators from top American companies—early Google ad sales staff, Facebook partnership leads—as the moment Stockholm’s talent pool truly leveled up. “You got a really good mix of very ambitious, very good, mostly Swedish engineers and product people with a commercial acceleration which would have taken much longer,” says Torstensson, who now invests in the Nordics’ next big startups at Alliance VC. Ali Sarrafi, cofounder and CEO, Kovant Ali Sarrafi arrived at Spotify just as it was launching its first iPhone app, working on the data and machine-learning team, and stayed through the company’s IPO. During that time, headcount ballooned from around 100 employees to roughly 3,000, growth so relentless that engineers on his team complained about spending too much time interviewing candidates. “We didn’t really think much of it back then, because we were in the midst of it,” he says. Sarrafi later left to build an industrial AI startup before founding Kovant, which sells autonomous agents to manufacturing firms grappling with what it estimates is a $3 trillion annual global efficiency gap. The cultural blueprint he learned at Spotify still shapes his company. “Best ideas, best facts, always win, not the person who’s the boss,” he says. Wilhelm Lundborg, founder, Homer; partner, Greens Ventures Wilhelm Lundborg has toured many of the biggest names in Stockholm tech: Spray, a Yahoo-like portal, in the late 1990s; Skype in the 2000s; Spotify from fewer than 100 employees to 3,500; then Tictail, which Shopify acquired; and now Homer, an AI-driven home-management app. He is also a limited partner in Greens Ventures, a venture fund made up mostly of ex-Spotify employees backing companies such as Lovable, Tandem Health, and Sana. Lundborg argues that the Jante law, a Scandinavian cultural convention discouraging people from standing out, is fading in Stockholm. “I’m prepared to call that dead,” he says. “Everybody’s super excited and super happy and celebrates the successes of each other.” Ola Sars, cofounder and CEO, Soundtrack Ola Sars never worked at Spotify, but his company likely would not exist without it. A five-time music startup founder, Sars led the launch of Beats Music in Los Angeles before returning to Stockholm burnt out and convinced there was a business-to-business opportunity Spotify wasn’t pursuing. In a secretive Stockholm bar, he pitched the idea to Spotify executives, who backed it. In 2014, the two sides jointly funded Soundtrack, which is now licensed in 75 countries with more than 50 million tracks and around 110,000 paying business customers spending roughly $30 per month. Spotify still holds a stake in the company. Sars says he values the village-like feel of Stockholm tech over what he sees as the Bay Area’s cutthroat culture. “My neighbors are C-levels at Spotify, and I can always ask Daniel or Martin or Alex what they think,” he says. “We’re not competing about shops here—we’re competing outside of Sweden.” View the full article

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. Modern CEO has reported on disparate levels of enthusiasm for AI between corporate leaders and the general public. More worrying, there’s an emerging trust gap in the workplace, with only 27% of workers in the U.S. saying they “trust their employers to use AI responsibly,” according to one survey. It’s not too late for CEOs to win employees’ trust on AI, says Mark Surman, president of Mozilla, known for its Firefox web browser and its long-standing support of open-source technologies. Indeed, Surman’s advice for CEOs is drawn from open-source principles and Mozilla’s experiences seeking to build a more trustworthy internet. Here’s his counsel. 1. Empower your team. “If you want to do right by your employees, have them be involved in how you reshape and rebuild the company,” Surman says. “Give them ways to create and learn and have agency over how [AI] is used.” Surman discourages companies from thinking of AI strictly as a productivity tool or a way to track workers’ keystrokes so machines can take over their tasks. (Indeed, research suggests that if employees know they are being mined for their data, they may withhold information.) Surman commends the efforts of Karim Lakhani, a Harvard Business School professor whose research suggests that AI-human collaboration can be potent and will require companies to reimagine the way organizations are structured and led. 2. Build the right guardrails. In the same way that the internet brought new safety issues that required cybersecurity experts, AI governance is becoming a specialty. Mozilla Ventures has invested in AI governance companies such as Fiddler AI and Credo AI, which Surman feels are leading the way in helping companies and nonprofits with oversight and control of their agents. “The CEO totally has to be on top of modernizing safety and security” in the age of AI, he says. “You can lean on people who are really experienced at building the guardrails and rules for how AI should work at your company.” 3. Be worthy of trust. “The consequences of being untrustworthy and ignoring accountability are through the roof,” Surman says. While he is excited about the creativity that responsible AI can unleash, he also acknowledges that AI can create slop and error-filled content that will erode trust in brands and institutions: “If trust isn’t something that you think about as a company, you are going to struggle in a world where people are more skeptical than ever about whether something is reliable.” Get your most pressing AI questions answered It’s not too late to sign up for our first Modern CEO live-streamed event, The CEO’s Guide to AI. Matt Fitzpatrick, CEO of Invisible Technologies, will help leaders understand where AI can have an impact—and what’s hype. You can RSVP here, and if you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up here. And if you have questions for Matt, you can submit them to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Read more: CEOs and founders love AI OpenAI says this is how founders actually use ChatGPT Claude productivity hacks CEOs can’t live without 7 CEOs explain how they use AI to do their jobs View the full article

A father-son duo has vibe-coded a gaming company that’s generated nearly 30 million plays and 20 million visits across four mini-games in just 90 days. Say hello to Dialed. Dialed is a gaming website that tests players’ senses and memory in games about color, sound, time, and shape. Geoff Teehan, chief design officer at the payments services company Lightspark and former vice president of design at Meta, created a color-matching game using Cursor and Claude during a hackathon. The project was inspired by an old college professor’s comment about how bad humans are at recalling color. “They think they’re really good at it, but you show them a color and then they go to a paint store and try to pick it out, and they forget it,” Teehan tells Fast Company. The color-matching game he vibe-coded is simple: It shows you a color for a few brief moments, and then takes it away and tests how well you can re-create it using controls to set hue, saturation, and brightness. Players are then scored based on how close they come to matching the original. Teehan says their data shows vivid blues and greens are some of the easiest colors for people to successfully recall, while cyans and reds are some of the hardest. Pastels are 7% harder to match than vivid colors, he says. The game launched in February after Teehan posted about it on Threads and X. It then “grew just way faster than I expected,” he says, with about half a million plays in a few days. He brought on his son Sam to run and grow it full time in hopes of turning the website into a real business, and it’s since expanded into more vibe-coded mini-games along similar lines. A sound game, in which players try to recreate a tone’s frequency, launched in March, followed by a time-matching game in April and a shape-matching game this past Tuesday. “I think we just figured out a simple formula that works,” Teehan says. “You’re going to perceive a stimulus, then you’re going to re-create it from memory using simple inputs or controls.” Players are scored, and they can share their scores and compete with friends. Simplicity is key. “We’re stripping out everything else that’s unnecessary,” he says. “There’s no instructions . . . there’s no sign-ups or logins. There’s no onboarding. There’s no app to download. You just click a link, and you’re playing.” Scaling the site from a single-use app to a multi-game page that supports millions of plays has been a learning curve for Teehan’s son, 23, who got his undergrad degree in finance and is now getting a crash-course education in growing a vibe-coding video game brand. “It’s just really fun to build these out and actually see in real time, when we launch a game, how people react,” Sam Teehan says. He gets game feedback, suggestions, and ideas from Dialed’s Discord server. Not every game idea has been shipped, and some of the concepts have been duplicative. The new shape-matching game combines earlier ideas for games they tried called Position, Rotation, and Scale. “We built out a bunch of other games that were, frankly, kind of bad, in order to get to that game,” Geoff Teehan says. “It’s a lot of experimentation.” He says the growth of Dialed shows how it’s easier than ever before to build products with just a few people. View the full article

In a recent speech at Rome’s La Sapienza University, Pope Leo XIV warned that investments in artificial intelligence and high-tech weapons could push the world into what he called a “spiral of annihilation.” Leo has identified AI as a critical issue for humanity and is expected to soon release a papal encyclical (a kind of open letter on Catholic doctrine) addressing the subject. His concerns reflect a broader debate taking shape across religious communities: Though artificial intelligence in its current form has only been in the marketplace for a few years, religious leaders and scholars from traditions stretching back centuries or more have already weighed in on the technology. While perspectives naturally vary across faiths and, in some traditions, between sects and congregations, many discussions have focused on the roles AI can and can’t play in religious teaching and study. Additionally, scholars are examining its implications for human labor, society, and the environment. AI and religious teaching and practice Some clerical leaders have experimented with using AI to draft sermons and other religious materials, while some faith communities have built chatbots designed to answer doctrinal and ethical questions. A team that included researchers from Kyoto University has even deployed a robotic Buddhist monk, dubbed the “Buddharoid,” at a temple in Kyoto, where it can assume postures associated with prayer. The project comes as Japanese Buddhism, like some other religious traditions around the world, faces declining numbers of adherents. Other developers have created AI versions of spiritual figures, including emulations of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and even Satan. But other leaders have been more cautious about how AI should be used in religious practice, often emphasizing the unique relationship between humans and the divine. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently told Decision magazine that a pastor who uses AI to write a sermon (versus using it for research) is essentially committing plagiarism. “Let’s just state the theological obvious: A pastor is a human being who is called to study God’s Word, to hear God’s Word, to preach God’s Word, and to obey God’s Word,” Mohler said. “A machine is called to none of those things and capable of none of those things.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints noted late last year that AI “cannot replace the gift of divine inspiration or the individual work required to receive it,” indicating that AI can be used for tasks like research, editing, and translating but not to “replace the individual work and spiritual guidance required to prepare divinely inspired talks, lessons, prayers, or blessings.” Pope Leo recently called on priests to avoid “the temptation to prepare homilies with artificial intelligence,” arguing that AI “will never be able to share faith.” Still, other Christian organizations have developed AI for purposes like training for missionary work and even answering questions about scripture. More than 600,000 people have used FaithBot, an AI tool launched by the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board last year, for instance. Overall, according to a survey from evangelical research organization Lifeway Research, only about 10% of U.S. Protestant pastors say they’re regular users of AI, with another 32% experimenting with it. Another 18% are actively avoiding it, while 20% are ignoring it, according to the survey. Pastors expressed concern about errors in AI content, while 55% agreed with a statement that “God has always shared His Word through people, and AI isn’t a person.” Protestant churchgoers surveyed are divided over the technology’s use in sermon preparation: About 44% say they don’t see anything wrong with pastors using it to prepare sermons, but 43% disagree. They’re also divided on the merits of hearing a sermon about “applying biblical principles to AI,” with younger churchgoers more likely to say such a presentation would be valuable. About 61%, though, say they’re concerned about AI’s influence on Christianity. Similar questions apply in other religions, with AI tools readily available for studying a variety of religious texts from essentially all major traditions, even amid concern that their responses may lack nuance, human wisdom, and divine inspiration. Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin, author of a question-and-answer column for Chabad.org, recently weighed in, saying that AI can’t “replicate the depth of human connection required for spiritual counseling and support” or substitute for a rabbi on questions of Jewish law. And Egyptian religious authorities have warned against the use of AI in interpreting the Quran, while writers for the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research recently cautioned allowing AI to devalue religious scholarship. “In the Islamic tradition, knowledge has never been an exercise in processing information; it is a moral and spiritual pursuit rooted in sincerity and realized through meaningful application,” wrote Mohamed AbuTaleb, Ibtihal Aboussad, and Kenan Alkiek. “Knowledge should draw us closer to Allah.” AI and labor Multiple religious leaders have expressed concerns about AI’s potential role in replacing human labor from both a theological perspective and a humanitarian one, with the pope recently advising that AI should be a tool to serve flesh-and-blood humans, not replace them. Mohler, of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, discussed “the possibility that AI could take away meaningful work and jobs from human beings who, as we see in the earliest chapters of Genesis, were made in God’s image and were made to work.” Conflating humans and AI can also risk devaluing human labor in general, some religious leaders say. Daniel Daly, executive director of the Center for Theology and Ethics in Catholic Health, recently warned that a human may come to be viewed as a “machine to be used.” And the technology’s occasional tendency to regurgitate existing material without properly citing or compensating the people behind it can disrespect those authors and go against religious precepts, warned Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman in a recent article. Other religious leaders have expressed concern about AI and copyright, too: “Islamic ethics place a high value on fairness and the protection of property,” the Yaqeen Institute authors noted. AI accuracy remains a concern as well, with hallucinations far from a solved problem. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints counseled last year that church leaders shouldn’t turn to AI to give church members advice on “medical, financial, legal, or other sensitive matters,” suggesting they turn to trained human professionals instead. Nor, say some religious leaders, can AI replace human creativity. “Artificial intelligence has certainly opened up new horizons for creativity, but it also raises serious concerns about its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, and capacity for wonder and contemplation,” Pope Leo said in December, warning about the displacement of human labor and the abandonment of God-given talents. While AI, in theory, can provide more time for rest and leisure, allegedly labor-saving devices certainly haven’t always done so, writes pastor and technology scholar A. Trevor Sutton in Christianity Today. True rest, he suggests, comes from following religious commandments to seek it—not simply from putting machines to work for us. Additionally, Jewish scholars have begun to weigh in on how and when AI may be used during the Sabbath, when work is generally forbidden, citing precedent from prior technologies. Social and environmental justice In a 2021 essay, Soraj Hongladarom, a philosophy professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, argued that ethical AI development can follow the Buddhist principle of seeking to eliminate world suffering. Some religious leaders hope for AI’s help in addressing humanitarian issues—from developing new health treatments to boosting food and industrial production. In 2023, Southern Baptist officials sought to “acknowledge the powerful nature of AI and other emerging technologies, desiring to engage them from a place of eschatological hope rather than uncritical embrace or fearful rejection.” But many faith communities have expressed concern about the negative aspects of AI, including labor issues, AI’s use in combat, the potential for generating misinformation, and the environmental costs of deploying sprawling new data centers. The pope recently warned that military AI should be monitored “so that it does not absolve humans of responsibility for their choices and does not exacerbate the tragedy of conflicts.” The World Council of Churches has similarly warned about the risk of “killer robots,” or autonomous weapons systems, to human life. Jewish scholars frequently compare modern technology and AI to the centuries-old legend of the golem, a clay creature who is brought to life to act as an obedient servant or protector but (in most stories) eventually becomes independent of its masters, spiraling out of control and wreaking havoc. Furthermore, religious leaders and scholars have warned about AI’s potential for misinformation—including false claims about religion and religious communities. “Because most of that data is Western and secular in origin, AI often carries blind spots about Islam and Muslims,” wrote the Yaqeen Institute authors. “Some models, for instance, have even failed to acknowledge real-world injustices, such as the persecution of Uyghur Muslims.” The American Jewish Committee has noted that many Jewish Americans are concerned about AI’s potential for spreading misinformation about Jews. And Pope Leo himself has been the target of AI misinformation. The potential environmental costs associated with data center use of water and power also haven’t gone unnoticed by faith communities—from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom—even as some express optimism that AI could help develop new technologies to aid the environment and humankind. Different communities are likely to reach different conclusions about those trade-offs. In some parts of the United States, Capital B News recently reported, reactions to data center projects have divided churches along racial lines. View the full article

President Donald The President just can’t quit tariffs. He suffered a major defeat when the Supreme Court ruled in February 2026 against the sweeping emergency tariffs he announced the previous year. Then, on May 7, a federal court knocked down the interim tariffs he announced after the high court’s decision. Yet The President appears undeterred and keeps finding a plan B—and then C and D. “So, we always do it a different way,” the president told reporters after the May 7 decision. “We get one ruling, and we do it a different way.” That different way, currently, is using an authority called Section 301. This option is likely to invite more litigation, but it may wind up more powerful and durable than previous levies. To that end, the administration has opened two probes, paving the way for fresh tariffs later this year against China and other major trading partners. Why does this matter? U.S. trade policy, to the average person, may seem like a complicated mess of acronyms and legalese. But as a trade economist who has been following the tariff wars, I believe The President’s strategy of making aggressive global tariffs the centerpiece of his foreign economic policy is quite clear—even as his trade policy overall remains deeply unpopular. And if he succeeds, the average levy may jump to the highs of the “Liberation Day” tariffs of April 2025, before some were scaled back in subsequent—if incomplete—deals with trading partners. A tariff obsession At first glance, The President’s fixation with tariffs may seem surprising. They have failed to stimulate U.S. manufacturing and employment, while consumers and importers have absorbed the brunt of the price hikes. But to The President, what seems to matter is that the Supreme Court took away his tariff-making power when it ended his emergency tariffs. He now wants that power back. Indeed, that power was the appeal of the Liberation Day tariffs, which let The President set tariff rates at any level and for any length of time, with the flexibility to assign different tariffs to different countries. With such tools, he could threaten more punishing levies to enforce bilateral trade deals. In addition, he saw the revenue that those tariffs brought in as a source of power and has resented the Supreme Court order that they be refunded to the U.S. companies that paid them. The President is even angry at any companies that have decided to collect the tariff refunds. But The President is especially furious at his Supreme Court appointees Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, whose votes swung the February decision, and continues to excoriate them. He declared he was “ashamed” of all the justices who voted to strike the tariffs, characterizing them as “fools” and “lapdogs” who didn’t have “the courage to do what’s right for our country.” The President also said the court’s decision would inadvertently push him to “impose tariffs more powerful . . . rather than less.” In short, The President is moving from his Liberation Day tariffs to what I call “revenge tariffs”—in an attempt to show the high court that it cannot stop him. Planning the next battle Section 301 of the 1971 U.S. Trade Act is designed to remedy foreign countries’ trade practices deemed discriminatory, unfair, unreasonable, or burdensome to U.S. commerce. It sets no limit on the tariff amount; lets the president discriminate among targeted countries; and generates tariff revenue without violating the Constitution’s taxation clause, a major element in the Supreme Court’s February decision. Another potential advantage: Federal courts have typically given the president discretion in determining the purpose, scope, and remedies chosen to implement Section 301. The main reason why The President didn’t use Section 301 last year for his Liberation Day tariffs—opting instead for another law, the International Economic Emergency Powers Act—was because he thought the latter would grant that kind of unlimited tariff authority but without any extra procedural requirements. To a certain point, that proved correct—until his Supreme Court loss. As for next steps, the The President administration has proposed two Section 301 investigations. One is against alleged “excess industrial capacity” among several countries—shorthand for overproduction through government intervention—and the other against alleged failures to enforce bans on trade using forced labor. To The President, the appeal is that these probes have a vast scope. And he has already indicated that he seeks to use any tariffs stemming from the probes as leverage: If a country that has inked a trade deal considers abandoning the agreement, for example, The President has warned that he could threaten Section 301 tariffs later. “Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to. BUYER BEWARE!!!” The President wrote on his social platform, Truth Social, in February. Using Section 301, in short, would be akin to declaring that every U.S. trading partner in some way damages the U.S. and will be targeted with punitive tariffs. This action would be unprecedented—and likely face legal challenges. These would first go to the Court of International Trade, which also nixed the interim tariffs, and appeals would go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The final instance of appeal would be the Supreme Court. Fair and balanced? International trade law has established mechanisms for trading partners to crack down on forced labor or address industrial capacity through policy changes or negotiations. In such a scenario, tariffs would provide the means, not the ends, to address these more substantive policy disputes. But so far, The President seems to have another goal: correcting the “unfair trade imbalances” that he also cited for the Liberation Day tariffs. One government Section 301 petition claims that foreign excess capacity is letting countries rack up “persistent” trade surpluses. Another claims that trade in forced-labor goods harms the U.S. trade balance by increasing U.S. imports of underpriced products and decreasing U.S. exports by forcing them to compete with cheap competition. If these petitions succeed, The President could then impose the Section 301 tariffs individually, country by country, as part of his global trade balancing goal. The President also wants to seize back the revenue that his tariffs generated. The catch is that Section 301 requires cases to be based on actionable practices, not trade balance outcomes. Moreover, the 2025 tariffs didn’t even accomplish any balancing: The U.S. deficit in goods actually increased that year. So using Section 301 is just as unlikely to improve the U.S. trade balance, which is determined by macroeconomic factors, not foreign excess capacity or imports of goods made with forced labor. A question of deference Will there be any guardrails on The President’s plan to introduce the new tariffs in July 2026, as he has indicated? This will depend in part on whether courts continue the traditional deference of the pre-The President era to the president in these cases. The President is counting on this, but it’s not a slam dunk. Many experts question whether overcapacity is a trade violation. And on the forced labor issue, the U.S. National Trade Estimate Report added potential offenders besides China only in March 2026—an announcement well timed in anticipation of the current Section 301 case. The forced labor case may in fact be intended to compel U.S. trading partners to abandon supply chains that include Chinese goods. But as it happens, the European Union and other countries are more effective than the U.S. in prohibiting forced-labor imports and therefore shouldn’t be targeted. Trade experts also point out that the U.S. itself produces forced-labor goods in private prisons and has often failed to stop forced-labor imports. It’s just as guilty as many other countries of not enforcing its ban on such trade, these legal scholars argue. Still, courts have traditionally given latitude to the president on Section 301. It lets the White House pursue trade liberalization while respecting the norms of global trade rules that the U.S. championed at the time. The President has, in contrast, made a practice of undermining those rules and can be expected to stretch Section 301 as far as possible. Indeed, his rhetoric seems to suggest that the Section 301 cases were chosen primarily to establish a permanent tariff regime by providing all-purpose bargaining leverage, not correcting damaging foreign trade practices. For these reasons, it’s likely that The President will face legal challenges—as well as a potential impact on his party at the midterm ballot box—as he tries to test the limits of U.S. trade law. Kent Jones is a professor emeritus of economics at Babson College. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

One cold Friday night a few years ago, I collapsed to the ground in the arrivals hall of a small French airport. I started sobbing and couldn’t stop. It took physical collapse for me to acknowledge that I was burned out and that my work life was unsustainable. In the time since my own burnout, the term has become ubiquitous. And given the abundance of research on the topic, I’m not going to deny its dangers. Burnout is real, serious, and measurable. However, I don’t believe that we’re living in a burnout epidemic. What we are living through is an epidemic of the use of the term burnout. And that overuse is blunting the urgency of a massive global issue. What burnout actually is Burnout is not a catch‑all synonym for “tired,” “busy,” or “stressed.” The World Health Organization defines burnout as a prolonged response to chronic workplace stress, characterized by three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism (or mental distance from work), and reduced professional efficacy. That specificity matters: burnout is contextual (it is about work), chronic (it builds over time), and multidimensional (it is not just “being exhausted”). Exhaustion can be horrible. But the term “burnout” loses its meaning when someone uses it to describe a bad week at work. Why “everyone is burned out” is bad data Headlines and social media captions routinely declare that “everyone is burned out,” often based on self‑report surveys that equate feeling stressed or tired with clinical‑level burnout. And yet peer‑reviewed studies paint a far more nuanced picture: prevalence varies widely depending on occupation, context, and, crucially, the definition and thresholds that they’re referring to. When a media outlet asks “Do you feel burned out at work?” in a poll and reports the percentage of “yes” answers as the burnout rate, it conflates a colloquial feeling with a clinically defined syndrome. That slippage fuels a dramatic narrative but weakens the scientific one. The epidemic of the term “burnout.” In the broader culture, burnout has become a catch‑all label for a number of things—from being overcommitted to feeling a sense of disillusionment with a job, career, or industry. Perhaps you’re struggling with your mental or physical health, or are just frustrated with the nature of late‑capitalist work. This is a textbook example of “concept creep,” where diagnostic or technical terms expand to cover increasingly mild or diverse phenomena. Concept creep isn’t neutral. While labels can increase empathy and legitimacy, they also inflate assumptions about chronicity. Often, when I introduce myself as a burnout prevention consultant, people respond with sneers and comments of “burnout’s all between your ears” or “I’m sick of people being lazy and blaming their workplace.” I’m not a fan of their response, but I understand it. When the word burnout creeps to include every instance of tiredness or dissatisfaction, we dilute its meaning. How overuse undermines the gravity of burnout Overusing the term burnout has several concrete downsides. First, it can reduce the urgency of cases that actually fit the definition of burnout. When everyone is “burned out,” it becomes harder to recognize and prioritize those at genuine risk of exiting the profession or experiencing long‑term health consequences. It can also lead to policy fatigue. If leaders rely on shaky data, they may roll out low‑impact wellness initiatives (think: fruit bowls and meditation apps) that fail to address structural drivers, leading to cynicism when nothing changes. If employees don’t know the difference between normal fluctuation in motivation, acute stress, and true burnout, it can make it harder to seek appropriate support or intervene early. And lastly, Concept creep can both destigmatize (“it’s normal to feel this way”) and inadvertently pathologize normal strain (“if I’m not thriving 24/7, I must be burned out”). In turn, this may undermine a sense of agency. Ultimately, by calling everything burnout, we make it harder to prevent and treat burnout. Five ways to shift the narrative For practitioners and leaders, the goal is not to police language for its own sake. We need to protect the precision that drives effective action. Here are five practical shifts. 1. Use the research definition, not the mood of the week Anchor your language to established frameworks. When you use the term burnout, check that you’re talking about the WHO definition. For everything else, name the experience more precisely. That might be “chronic time pressure,” “role conflict,” “moral distress,” or “demoralization.” 2. Be transparent about data limitations Before you cite statistics like “70% of workers are burned out,” interrogate the methodology: How was burnout defined? Which scale? What cut‑off? Was it a single‑item self‑label? Varying thresholds, instruments, and cultural norms produce wildly different prevalence rates. Commit to explaining, in plain language, how you or your own organization is measuring burnout and what those numbers actually mean. If you are only measuring exhaustion, call it that. 3. Re‑center systems, not self‑care The popular narrative frames burnout mostly as an individual resilience or self‑care deficit. The WHO classification is explicit: burnout is a workplace phenomenon resulting from chronic stress. Burnout is primarily a systems issue. Treat it as such. Shift your language from “You need better boundaries to avoid burnout” to “We need to address workload, role clarity, decision latitude, and psychological safety to prevent burnout.” Use burnout data to drive job redesign, resourcing decisions, and better leadership development – not just yoga classes and ping pong tables. 4. Create a vocabulary for shades of strain Most workplaces operate within a binary: you’re either “fine” or “burned out.” That leaves little room to talk about early warning signs or non‑burnout forms of suffering, Like boredom, disengagement, or moral injury. Conceptual clarity allows nuance. Co‑create a shared language for different states: terms like “stretched,” “struggling,” “at capacity,” “disillusioned,” and “on the edge” can be helpful. Pair each term with specific supports (e.g., workload review, values conversation, mentoring), and reserve “burnout” for when the triad of exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy is clearly present and persistent. 5. Tell more accurate stories about recovery Overblown narratives can make burnout seem inevitable (“everyone is burned out; it’s just modern work”) and recovery impossible (“once you’re burned out, you’re done”). Share case examples that highlight early recognition, negotiated workload changes, supportive supervision, and gradual restoration of engagement and efficacy. Emphasize that burnout is serious but not an identity. Subvert the dominant paradigm If we care about preventing burnout, we have to become more disciplined about how we talk about it. Overusing the term minimizes the very phenomenon we are trying to address. By reclaiming a precise, research‑grounded definition and pairing it with nuanced language about other forms of distress, we can respond more intelligently and design better workplaces. That way, when someone says, “I’m burned out,” or collapses at an airport, people will take them seriously rather than responding with a sneer. View the full article

To make room for more housing without losing green space, planners in a new Toronto neighborhood flipped the usual approach: Instead of carving out room for parks and plazas, they made the streets do that work instead. “The street is almost like a public courtyard,” says Rasmus Astrup, design principal and senior partner at SLA, the Denmark-based firm that was part of the design team for the new neighborhood, called Ookwemin Minising. The main street will be car-free, “like a linear park,” he says, and filled with 400 trees. Other streets will allow cars, but prioritize large swaths of green space. The design gives residents public space, and doubles as climate infrastructure that can reduce urban heat, support biodiversity, and capture water in storms. Rethinking development The area, south of downtown Toronto where the Don River meets Lake Ontario, used to be industrial. More than a century ago, the city channelized part of the river and filled in wetlands to make room for factories. The old infrastructure didn’t work well: The river and industrial zone became polluted and the changes to the river led to more flooding. But over a massive, decades-long redevelopment project, the local government cleaned up the waterfront, reshaped the river into a more natural shape, and added other new green space for flood protection. The larger project created an island where the new neighborhood will sit. The original plan for the neighborhood, released two years ago, called for more typical North American streets—wide and built for cars, lined with blocks of uniform apartment buildings. After negative community feedback, the public development agency running the project, Waterfront Toronto, realized that the neighborhood needed more apartments to help deal with Toronto’s housing shortage. It brought in a new design team, including SLA, and asked them to come up with a new plan that would increase density by 27%. “We thought, how are we going to do that? We don’t have the space,” says Astrup. They had to get creative with their approach and conceived of streets that perform like urban spaces. “The street is where you hang out, and where you read a book, and where you sit,” he adds. The design takes out street parking, making room for plantings and seating areas. It’s filled with trees—not just in straight lines at the curb, like typical street trees, but extending deeper into the road, so cars have to take a meandering route and slow down. On the side of one street, the “Sandbar Trail” follows the path of a former sandbar and is filled with plants. Trees will also be planted in a natural mix of species. Filling the space with nature makes it a place where people want to be. “It doesn’t work if it’s asphalt and concrete,” Astrup says. Directing the flow In a storm, the streets will suck up rainwater before it flows through traditional sewers. A “sponge” approach to street design, using green infrastructure, isn’t new. But it’s more often applied piecemeal to existing streets. Since the new neighborhood is built from scratch, planners could approach it differently. First, since the island isn’t entirely flat, the team looked at how the existing topography directs the flow of water. The designers wanted to get away from a traditional street grid. “It’s a very rational and highly engineered system that has nothing to do with the natural flows in nature, and it’s actually fragile,” says Astrup. The streets gently slope to guide water toward bioswales, or plant-filled channels designed to absorb rainwater. The streets also have traditional sewers, but nature captures and stores water first. “What this really does is provide resilience and reassurance,” says Jason Haelzle, market lead for property and buildings at GHD, an engineering firm that partnered on the design. The plants and soil type inside each bioswale are chosen both based on the stormwater needs at that location and other goals like biodiversity. Other partners on the project, Trophic Design and Monumental, considered indigenous design priorities like “co-living” with other species; a network of greenery throughout the neighborhood will help wildlife move through the space. Other cities could copy the nature-led approach, Astrup says. “I think we need to redefine what development means,” he says. View the full article

One of the best days of Gabriella’s career was also one of her hardest days as a parent. Gabriella, who asked for a pseudonym to protect her children’s privacy, had just filmed the launch video for her new company. On the train ride back home, she got a call from her daughter’s school. The new nanny she’d hired, who had been thoroughly vetted, had left her two-year-old son locked in the car in the school’s parking lot and disappeared for half an hour before teachers heard the crying and rushed to help. “I remember feeling so guilty and crushed, thinking, ‘Oh my God, I don’t feel like I can leave my children because I don’t know how to find childcare that I can trust,’” Gabriella says. It’s been a bad time for working women. Last year, men joined the workforce at three times the rate of women (572,000 men vs 184,000 women). Meanwhile, over 455,000 women left the workforce between January and August. Almost half (42%) cited caregiving as the reason. Lean In and McKinsey’s “Women in the Workplace” report found 60% of senior level women reported burning out, compared with about 50% of men. Two researchers at Rutgers University found that caregiving strain is the largest predictor of burnout and leaving a job, especially among women who are 10 to 15 years into their careers. The girlboss is out and the power pause is in. Fast Company put out a call on LinkedIn, asking senior-level mothers how they were doing it and what hacks they were using. Over 100 wrote in, and their responses totaled over 48,000 words—the length of a short mystery novel. What their responses reveal is that while senior-level women might be making it work, they’re barely hanging on. “Do other women have hobbies? Rich social lives? Energy enough to do much more than collapse into bed and scroll for a few minutes before passing out?” a chief content officer with one kid wrote. Some of the hacks they offered unconsciously mirrored the hellscape they lived in. One mother said she used AI to generate a bedtime story read aloud in her own voice for her children during business trips. Another gave her child a toy laptop and trained her to “work” on it while she works. “Stop hacking the system and literally burn the system down. It does not work, clearly,” Colleen Curtis, the head of community growth at Reddit and a single mother with two kids, commented. The intensification of everything Senior-level mothers are caught in a two-way trap: the intensification of work and the intensification of parenting. The pandemic gave rise to remote jobs, but it also gave rise to the infinite work day as organizations discovered the boundary between work and home could be erased. This is a gift for working parents juggling school pickup times and nap schedules, but it’s also an exhausting burden for moms trying to power down during non-work hours. According to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Annual Report, on average, workers receive 117 emails a day and 153 Teams messages, and go two minutes between interruptions whether it’s a meeting, email, or message. Emails sent after 8:00pm have increased 16% in the last year, and the average worker receives over 50 emails after work hours. One third of workers said the pace of work over the past five years has made it impossible to keep up. The intensification is hitting leaders hard. In its 2025 Global Leadership report, the leadership consultancy firm Development Dimensions International found 71% of the nearly 11,000 leaders it surveyed reported a significant increase in their stress level after taking on their current role, up from 63% in 2022. Another report found leadership burnout rose to 56% in 2024. Meanwhile, Gallup found about one third of leaders said they dealt with anger and sadness on a daily basis, and 46% were stressed every day—substantially higher than other employee groups. Parenting is experiencing the same trend. Since the 1980s, the average amount of time spent with children has increased by an hour a day for fathers, and 1.5 hours for mothers. In 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General wrote an op-ed declaring that parental stress is a public health issue: 48% of parents say most days their stress is overwhelming. “My current position: You can choose about 2-3 things to do ‘well’ on any given day, and the rest . . . well, my late thirties have been about making peace with letting the rest be imperfect or unfinished,” wrote a mother who’d stepped back from a fast-paced media job to work remotely. Mothers are bearing the brunt of this load. The Pew Research Center found mothers are more likely to help children with their homework, manage schedules, provide emotional support, and feed and bathe their child. On average, fathers have three more leisure hours a week than mothers. Meanwhile, according to the Women at Work report, in 2024 women with partners were more than three times as likely as men with partners to be responsible for all the housework. Parenting should be a two-body solution, but more often than not, the women who wrote in said they were shouldering most of the burden. “If I need to pick up kids at 4 p.m., there’s absolutely no way I’ll accept a meeting at that time, not even for Obama,” wrote a divorced mother of two in Mexico. “But flexibility comes both ways. I stop at 4 p.m., then I come back and finish stuff until 6 p.m. and if I’m missing something, I’ll open my laptop after the kids are asleep. The truth is I can manage work and kids. The one I’m missing is me. Healthy eating and a gym routine has been left as a fourth priority and I haven’t managed to make time for that. I hate that because it’s not what I want my kids to learn from me. Mom needs to take care of herself.” Hacks for surviving a broken system The vast majority of the hacks mothers offered were about carving out a few extra hours to survive in a broken system, and fell in three main buckets. First, hire as much help as you can afford, especially for tasks that you don’t like, whether it’s cleaning or cooking. However, many younger leaders said childcare was all they could afford. Second, outsource the mental load to AI agents: More than one mother had even built companies with AI products to help others do this. Third, become superhumanly organized: There were countless emails recommending batch cooking on weekends, time blocking and calendaring everything (“school pickup is a standing meeting”), and being ruthless about saying no. Very few hacks got at changing the system itself. Finding the right fit The mothers who were the happiest had one thing in common: They had found workplaces that genuinely believed in work-life balance. An overwhelming majority of the mothers who wrote in said they worked remotely, or switched to a remote job once they had children. One survey found that over a third of women (37%) who left their jobs in 2025 worked in companies without flexible schedules. Megha Sharma, the chief legal and people officer at Aryaka, a global network security company, has two children and says working mothers should evaluate prospective employers on two fronts. First, examine the company’s benefits: “If your organization is not providing parental leave, and only providing maternal leave, consider whether they are providing it only because it’s required by law or because they truly support working parents,” she says. “When they are not providing flexible spending accounts for childcare or other childcare-related benefits, ask yourself what is the company telling me? Is the company [in] early stages and therefore, truly not in a position to provide support [yet] or does the company simply not recognize . . . the demands on working parents . . . ?” Second, look up other employees on LinkedIn: “Are all employees in one age group? Are employees spread across age groups?” Sharma wrote. “[If so,] likely they’re encountering and supportive of employees who are . . . having varying life events, marriages, pregnancies, young children, older parents, caregiving responsibilities across the board.” Shamim Noorani Gillani, senior vice president of growth and client success at Carrum Health, took this a step further. During her maternity leave with her second child, she knew she needed to find a company that was more family friendly. She folded childcare into her interviews. At Carrum, she said, “The first [interview] was with the female chief growth officer. At one point I was like, ‘Hey, I’m sorry you hear that screaming. I have an infant. Can you give me a second?’ I just came back on video, and I had a cover, and I was breastfeeding on an interview . . . For [the follow-up] I had the baby strapped to me, because . . . it was during nap time. For the final round interview with our CEO . . . he said, ‘Please bring the baby, there’s no concern.’” He and Gillani met at the public gardens at a child-friendly coffee shop. Gillani admits she did not bring her baby to another company that invited her to bring the baby, but scheduled the interview at a high-end restaurant. She ended up with several offers. “The feedback I got throughout the interviews is, ‘Wow, if she can handle this stage in her life and also send very thoughtful follow-up with us, it seems like she can handle our clients and she can handle a large team.’” Ultimately, she chose Carrum because “it was a lot more accommodating and could read cues of what I needed for an interview.” Set your boundaries and hold firm Tamara Sykes, director of strategy and insights at Stacker, a content distribution platform, sends a “Get To Know Me” deck to everyone she works with. It includes a slide with her best meeting times (9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the school year) and she updates it to include her kids’ summer vacation schedule. She walks through it with new hires on her team, and sends it to her bosses as well as any other teams she might be working with. “It’s actually helped people stop looking at me in a negative light because I’m very honest . . . There’s a line in the deck that says, ‘I will always ask for a deadline’ because the truth is I’m playing calendar Tetris as a mom. That helped people understand that I wasn’t coming for them—I was asking so they could do their job well, and so I wasn’t the one holding things up.” Sykes got the idea from a female boss she had early on in her career who had gone through a divorce and was solo parenting. Michele Morris, vice president of U.S. marketing for Big Green Egg, an outdoor cooking brand, has two children. Every night from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. she and her husband put their phones in a drawer so they can be present with their kids. She listed this in her company onboarding document which she got at the start of the job. “I’m very clear about that boundary. . . . It’s not that I won’t respond to the ping, I’ll respond at 8:15 p.m.” However, both Morris and Sykes pointed out that the success of their boundaries rested on the shoulders of an understanding boss and company culture that did not penalize them for having boundaries. Slice and dice When Kelly Stack, now a vice president of midwestern partnerships at the adtech firm Big Happy, was pregnant with her first child she successfully negotiated to work four days a week. However, her friend Jessica Pfennig told her: “You’re going to work five days a week and only get paid for four.” Stack proposed that she and Pfennig split the job. Today, Stack works Monday through Wednesday, and Pfennig works Wednesday through Friday. They each receive 60% of a full-time salary and split their commissions 50/50, and have a shared login account to access of all their company’s systems. To get the arrangement approved, they put together a formal pitch deck, pointing out the savings—they would cover each other’s maternity leave and vacations. They were turned down at first, but finally negotiated a six-month trial period. It also helped that Stack was the top salesperson at the company. Thirteen years later, they’ve maintained this partnership at three different companies. The arrangement has allowed both—each a mother of three—to be present in their children’s lives. However, Pfennig points out that there’s a cost: “We’re vice presidents, but we’re still individual contributors. I think we could manage together fine, but I don’t think that’d be fair to the people we’d be managing because . . . they’d have [two] different expectations.” Literally burn the system down When she had her first child in 2020, Taylor Capuano was working a mid-level marketing role. She crunched the numbers. “I remember sitting at the counter with my husband looking at our expenses, going ‘I just don’t know if it makes sense for me to continue working.’ And I’m someone who gets a lot of fulfillment for my career.” Fast forward three years. Capuano did not stop working, but she and her sister Casey started a new company called Cakes, which makes silicone nipple covers. In 2024, Capuano had a second child: “I was in a very different financial situation, and I had sufficient childcare. I didn’t stress about great quality childcare when I was returning back to work. It was a very different experience when I didn’t have the emotional and financial burden of childcare costs. I was more productive, and rested.” “I realized it’s a luxury in our country to have good quality child care . . . I remember talking to my sister being like, ‘Well, I wish we could do something for our team, a lot of them are young moms . . .’ And she’s like, ‘Let’s just pay for their child care costs.’” Last year, Cakes started offering employees a $3,000 monthly childcare stipend for each child under the age of five. Since then, it’s seen a 10% increase in revenue, had a 0% attrition rate and gone viral. What’s less discussed is that Cakes also has an employee handbook that meticulously outlines what a parent-friendly work culture looks like in practice. Core hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in an employee’s time zone. “During this time, everyone should be reachable and meetings may be scheduled. Outside these hours, employees are empowered to structure their time around real life,” the handbook states. It goes on to list norms such as respond to Slack messages within two hours, email within 24, and Wednesdays are protected time with no meetings. It also acknowledges the realities of being a working parent and says: “Kids can unexpectedly appear on Zoom. Parents may turn their camera off while managing a little one in the background.” “A lot of times, like, companies will have flexible work policies, but they don’t really say what that means,” says Tracy Park, chief business officer at Cakes and a mother of two. “Something as little as your child can appear on screen during a Zoom, is not usually something you would think you’d need to call out, but I think seeing it there relieves the pressure.” The company also has a formal support system for employees returning from parental leave. These parents receive a 30-60-90 day reentry plan tailored to their role and a manager check-in protocol for the first three months back. This policy was created as Cakes prepared for its first two employees to go on leave. “A lot of the employees are working moms and we just think about what we would have loved to have as a working mom,” says Park. “It’s built into the culture: How should we help?” At the moment, the team is 87% female, and 58% are mothers. The company also has a one-month quiet period between December to January, akin to a summer vacation, which was created after Capuano and her sister went on back-to-back maternity leaves and the company saw 10x growth. “They realized as long as they planned for it and built it into the strategy, the whole company could take a month off,” Park says. The policy is enforced from the top down. “Managers and leaders are encouraged to model flexible behaviors, leaving for pickups and taking parental leave . . . Culture is set from the top,” the handbook says. “We measure our output, not hours.” No end in sight In many ways Cakes, which was built by working mothers for working mothers, is the prototype of what a healthy work culture can and should look like. It’s worth noting Cakes’ sales revenue was $95 million last year, up 240% YoY. This year it’s on track to make $120 million. Many women who are discovering that today’s work culture is no longer sustainable are following suit and building their own companies. In 2019, 24% of new businesses were started by women. By 2024, this had climbed to 49%, and today over half of solopreneurs in America are women. “As much as it pains me to say it, I’ve accepted that the corporate table wasn’t built to support working moms. Consulting gives me control over my time, income and my trajectory,” wrote Jess Santini, a mother of two and a former vice president of global marketing at a media agency who was laid off last year. She has since opened her own freelance business. “Consulting gives me control over my time, my income, and my trajectory and after years of working in the advertising industry, I’ve built enough contacts to gain a steady stream of client work.” Still, companies designed by women for women are the exception, not the rule. With the rise of AI, and the tight job market, there’s little incentive for large employers to change. At the policy level, advocates are busy fighting for baseline protections. For example, Chamber of Mothers, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of mothers in America, has identified the three most important policies working mothers need to fight for: paid parental leave, maternal health, and government-subsidized childcare. By comparison, the needs of senior-level women feel hardly urgent. After all, if these women are barely hanging on, the rank and file are on fire or have simply given up on having children. As Erin Erenberg, CEO and cofounder of Chamber of Mothers, points out, “Cultural flexibility inside the workplace happens once we live under federal and state norms that expect people to be taking time for care.” But she’s living the problem, too. When pressed further about what a workplace that allows women to be mothers would look like or what policies could facilitate this, Erenberg pauses. She’d built a national coalition of over 100,000 mothers with over 40 chapters. She’s also a lawyer specializing in intellectual property law and the founder of Totum, an advocacy platform for mothers. She tells me she’s struggling, mentioning her guilt over missing her son’s soccer games, which are an hour-and-a-half drive away. But Erenberg probably didn’t even need to tell me of her personal challenges and the ways in which the problem runs deeper than simple solutions. After I put out my request on LinkedIn, she was one of the first mothers who responded. Her practical solutions for managing her career and motherhood are very familiar: meal prepping and time blocking. View the full article

If you’ve been following technology news recently, you’ve probably noticed a sudden increase in references to a 19th-century economics theory called the ​Jevons Paradox​, which is named for the neoclassical economist William Stanley Jevons, and captures the observation that increasing the efficiency of a resource can lead to greater consumption. Jevons first articulated this idea in an 1865 book, pithily titled, ​The Coal Question: An Inquiry Concerning the Progress of the Nation, and the Probable Exhaustion of Our Coal-Mines​. He argued that building more efficient steam engines – ones that required less fuel to generate the same power – would not solve the problem of England’s diminishing coal supplies. If you made the engines more efficient, Jevons predicted, people would find more applications for steam power, and even more coal would be burned overall. This is indeed what happened. (At least, the part about increased coal consumption. The feared coal shortage was averted through new mining techniques.) The Jevons Paradox is popular again because it provides a useful frame for understanding the potential impact of AI on jobs. Many fear that this technology will make workers so efficient that the labor market will shrink. If one programmer can now do the work of five, then companies will fire 80% of their programmers! The Jevons Paradox implies the opposite might occur. If you make workers more efficient, their output will become cheaper, and the demand for their services might grow. If one programmer can now do the work of five, the effective cost of creating software will become so cheap that many more individuals and organizations will now pay to develop their own tools and applications. This is a fascinating prediction that’s worth keeping an eye on. (For a deeper dive into the counterintuitive economics of AI, I recommend Derek Thompson’s ​recent interview​ with Alex Imas.) But there’s also a darker side to the Jevons Paradox that hasn’t been discussed as much recently: suddenly increasing demand for a resource can create unexpected negative side effects. More efficient steam engines, for example, led to soot-stained buildings and the smoky start to the era of human-driven climate change. More recently, in the context of knowledge work, the arrival of digital communication tools such as email and Slack created similar unanticipated problems. By making communication significantly more efficient, the demand for fast interaction exploded, leading to our current moment in which the average knowledge worker is now interrupted once every ​two minutes​. (For more on how this descent into communication madness occurred, check out my 2021 bestseller, ​A World Without Email​.) If AI ends up making certain types of workers more efficient, I hope the Jevons Paradox holds, as it’s better than the alternative of labor market contraction. But we need to remain vigilant about its side effects. It’s tempting to assume that increasing efficiency, in any context, can only make things better, but economic history has often told a more complicated tale. The post The Dark Side of the Jevons Paradox appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article

When managing multiple legal entities, selecting the right multi-company accounting software is essential for streamlining financial operations. These solutions offer features like automated intercompany transactions, real-time reporting, and multi-currency support, which improve efficiency and accuracy in financial management. Comprehending the key offerings of top software solutions, such as QuickBooks and NetSuite, can greatly impact your decision-making. Let’s explore the best options available and how they can benefit your organization. Key Takeaways QuickBooks allows management of up to 40 companies from one account, offering customizable invoicing and easy expense tracking for efficient operations. Xero provides a user-friendly, cloud-based accounting solution that enables real-time collaboration and extensive integrations for multi-company management. Sage Intacct features advanced financial management with automated intercompany transactions and real-time visibility into multi-entity performance for better oversight. NetSuite is a comprehensive ERP solution that automates intercompany transactions and offers robust financial reporting with unified dashboards for decision-making. Microsoft Dynamics 365 includes foundational multi-entity features with customizable automation options, tailored to meet specific business accounting needs. What Is Multi-Company Accounting Software? Multi-company accounting software serves as a vital tool for organizations operating multiple legal entities or locations, simplifying the management of their financial operations. This type of software is particularly designed for multi-entity environments, allowing you to maintain separate financial records for each business unit while additionally providing consolidated financial statements for thorough oversight. With the best multi-company accounting software, you can automate intercompany transactions and manage multi-currency requirements, which is critical for businesses operating internationally. Furthermore, these platforms improve your financial visibility by offering real-time dashboards and reporting tools, enabling you to analyze financial data at both the entity and corporate levels. Popular options like QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, and NetSuite cater to various business sizes and intricacies, ensuring that you find a solution customized to your unique needs. This software streamlines bookkeeping and reporting processes, finally enhancing overall efficiency. Key Features of Multi-Company Accounting Software When evaluating multi-company accounting software, you’ll find several key features that improve financial management. Entity-level reporting capabilities allow you to maintain distinct financial records for each business as you still consolidate data for overall insights. Furthermore, automated intercompany transactions and multi-currency functionality simplify processes and support global operations, making your accounting practices more efficient and accurate. Entity-Level Reporting Capabilities Entity-level reporting capabilities are essential for businesses managing multiple companies, as they enable the generation of detailed financial statements for each entity. These features provide a thorough view of performance, allowing for better oversight. Here are some key aspects of entity-level reporting: Customizable Dashboards: Access key performance indicators (KPIs) and financial metrics designed for each entity. Automated Consolidations: Streamline data aggregation, reducing manual errors and ensuring timely reporting. Intercompany Eliminations: Accurately account for intercompany transactions to reflect true financial positions. Advanced Reporting Options: Drill down into specific transactions for insightful decision-making and resource allocation. With these capabilities, you can effectively monitor financial health across your organization and make informed strategic decisions. Automated Intercompany Transactions Managing multiple companies often involves complex financial transactions between them, making automated intercompany transactions a vital feature of accounting software solutions. This functionality streamlines billing processes by automatically generating invoices and journal entries, which reduces the risk of human error and saves valuable time. Many software options likewise offer automatic eliminations of intercompany transactions, preventing double counting in consolidated financial statements. With custom approval workflows, you can guarantee all intercompany transactions receive the necessary oversight before finalization, enhancing financial controls. In addition, real-time reporting and dashboards give you insights into these transactions, allowing you to effectively monitor and manage financial activities across all entities, facilitating better decision-making and operational efficiency. Multi-Currency Functionality During the process of maneuvering through the intricacies of global business operations, having robust multi-currency functionality in your accounting software can greatly improve financial management. Here are key features to take into account: Automated Currency Conversion: Seamlessly manage transactions in multiple currencies without manual calculations. Real-Time Exchange Rates: Verify your financial reports reflect accurate values at the time of each transaction. Comprehensive Module Support: Benefit from multi-currency functionality across accounts payable, accounts receivable, and inventory management. Advanced Financial Reporting: Generate consolidated financial statements that account for currency fluctuations, enhancing your overall performance analysis. Incorporating these features can simplify your operations and guarantee compliance with local tax regulations, making your global business management more efficient. Top Multi-Company Accounting Software Solutions In relation to managing multiple companies, selecting the right accounting software is crucial for efficiency and accuracy. QuickBooks and Xero are popular choices, allowing you to manage several businesses under one account while providing distinct financial reporting for each entity. Sage Intacct stands out with its thorough financial management and customized reporting features, improving oversight for multi-company operations. For those handling complex global operations, NetSuite offers robust multi-entity and multi-book capabilities, delivering real-time data insights. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management includes foundational multi-entity features and can be improved with solutions like AMCS, promoting automation and compliance. Each option presents unique advantages, so consider your specific needs, such as global operations or real-time reporting, when making a decision. Tipalti: Streamlining AP Automation Tipalti streamlines your accounts payable process with efficient invoice processing and advanced error detection. By utilizing paperless systems and OCR technology, it reduces manual data entry errors, whereas its 3-way matching system guarantees accuracy in transactions. Furthermore, with global payment solutions supporting over 120 currencies, Tipalti facilitates seamless international operations for your business. Efficient Invoice Processing When businesses seek to improve their accounts payable (AP) processes, efficient invoice processing becomes a crucial component. Tipalti automates this process, enabling you to manage and process invoices quickly through paperless methods. Here’s how it streamlines your AP operations: OCR Scanning: Automates data entry, reducing manual errors. 26,000 Payment Rules: Detects discrepancies with a robust 3-way matching system. Self-Service Supplier Onboarding: Validates suppliers against blacklists for improved security. AI-Driven Insights: Offers data analytics for informed decision-making. Global Payment Solutions Managing global payments can be a challenging task for businesses, especially those operating in multiple countries. Tipalti offers a cloud-based accounts payable automation solution designed to streamline these payments across over 200 countries and 120 currencies. Its self-service supplier onboarding feature allows for efficient validation against blacklists, reducing fraud risks. The platform’s paperless invoice processing, driven by OCR scanning, automates invoice handling, whereas more than 26,000 payment rules improve efficiency. Furthermore, Tipalti Pi delivers AI-driven insights, providing actionable analytics for better decision-making. With built-in compliance for local tax regulations and automated intercompany transactions, Tipalti is an ideal tool for managing multiple entities globally, ensuring your payment processes run smoothly and efficiently. Advanced Error Detection Effective accounts payable processes hinge on robust error detection, which considerably mitigates the risk of payment inaccuracies. Tipalti’s advanced features guarantee accuracy through a combination of methods: 26,000+ payment rules identify discrepancies and guarantee compliance. 3-way matching cross-verifies invoices, purchase orders, and receipts to improve payment accuracy. Self-service supplier onboarding validates against blacklists, preventing fraud before it occurs. Paperless invoice processing uses OCR scanning to automatically extract data for precise recording. These elements streamline your accounts payable workflow, markedly reducing manual oversight and errors. With AI-driven insights from Tipalti Pi, you can proactively analyze payment trends, allowing for informed decision-making and greater efficiency in your financial operations. QuickBooks: Affordable Multi-Entity Management QuickBooks stands out as a practical choice for businesses looking to manage multiple entities efficiently. With its multi-entity capabilities, you can handle up to 40 different companies from a single account, making it a cost-effective solution for small to mid-sized businesses. You’ll enjoy easy toggling between entities, which allows seamless access to individual financial reports and statements. QuickBooks also supports basic multi-currency functionality, letting you conduct transactions in various currencies during managing exchange rates with ease. Additional features like customizable invoicing, expense tracking, and automated reporting improve your financial management across multiple entities. Here’s a quick overview of its key features: Feature Description Multi-Entity Management Manage up to 40 companies from one account Currency Support Conduct transactions in multiple currencies Customizable Invoicing Tailor invoices to fit your business needs Expense Tracking Track expenses easily for all entities Automated Reporting Generate reports automatically for better insights With plans starting at a competitive price point, QuickBooks remains an affordable option for growing businesses. Xero: Cloud-Based Simplicity Xero is a leading cloud-based accounting software that allows you to manage multiple businesses efficiently from a single account during keeping their financial records separate. This platform is crafted to improve your accounting experience with several key features: Real-Time Collaboration: Multiple users can access and work on financial data simultaneously from anywhere, improving efficiency and communication. Multi-Currency Support: It seamlessly handles transactions in different currencies, making it ideal for international businesses. User-Friendly Interface: The customizable dashboards provide key financial insights and performance metrics customized for each business entity. Extensive Integrations: With over 1,000 third-party applications, you can easily boost its functionality to meet your specific operational needs. Sage Intacct: Advanced Financial Management Sage Intacct offers advanced financial management features that are crucial for multi-entity organizations like yours. With capabilities such as seamless intercompany transactions, real-time financial visibility, and strong role-based access controls, you can improve accuracy and efficiency across your business. Let’s explore the key features and integration capabilities that make Sage Intacct an influential tool for managing your financial operations. Key Features Overview When managing finances across multiple entities, having a robust software solution can markedly streamline the process. Sage Intacct stands out with its advanced financial management capabilities, offering you several key features: Real-time visibility into multi-entity financial performance via customizable dashboards. Automated intercompany transactions that reduce manual errors and simplify data consolidation. Multi-currency support and local tax compliance for global operations with diverse financial needs. Role-based access controls that improve data security and create customized workflows for various users. These features work in harmony, ensuring you can efficiently manage complex financial environments as you maintain compliance and accuracy in reporting across your entities. Sage Intacct is designed to empower you with the tools necessary for effective financial oversight. Integration Capabilities Explained To effectively manage multi-entity finances, integration capabilities play a pivotal role in enhancing the overall functionality of accounting software. Sage Intacct offers seamless integration with various third-party applications, including CRM systems and e-commerce platforms, which boosts operational efficiency. Its open API allows for easy data exchange, enabling you to customize and connect Sage Intacct with your existing systems for customized workflows. Pre-built integrations with tools like Salesforce, ADP, and Bill.com streamline accounting and payroll processes, reducing manual entry and errors. Furthermore, you can automate intercompany transactions and consolidations, improving financial oversight across multiple entities. Advanced features support real-time data synchronization, ensuring accurate financial reporting and insights for informed decision-making throughout your organization. NetSuite: Comprehensive ERP for Complex Needs NetSuite stands out as a thorough ERP solution customized for businesses with intricate multi-company accounting needs, providing you with real-time visibility and control over global operations. This platform shines in multi-entity management with features designed to streamline your financial processes. Here are some key benefits: Automated intercompany transactions: Simplifies the handling of transactions between entities. Currency conversions: Facilitates operations across different currencies, ensuring accurate financial reporting. Compliance with local tax regulations: Helps you navigate varying tax laws in different regions, reducing legal risks. Robust financial reporting: Generate consolidated statements as you maintain separate books for each entity, enhancing transparency. With a unified dashboard displaying key performance indicators, you can make informed decisions based on detailed insights. NetSuite is scalable, making it ideal for mid-sized to large enterprises that need to adapt to growing financial intricacies. Tips for Selecting the Right Software Selecting the right accounting software for multi-company operations involves careful consideration of various factors that align with your organization’s specific needs. First, assess your organization’s unique multi-entity requirements, including the number of businesses and locations, to guarantee the software can accommodate them effectively. Next, evaluate the integration capabilities with existing systems like ERPs or financial tools, as this facilitates seamless data exchange and maintains operational efficiency. Prioritize software that offers robust reporting features, allowing for both entity-level and consolidated views, which support informed decision-making across all businesses. Additionally, consider user limits and subscription plans; some software may charge based on the number of entities or users, potentially impacting overall costs as your organization grows. Finally, look for customer satisfaction ratings and reviews to gauge the reliability and effectiveness of the software, guaranteeing it meets your expectations for usability and support. Customer Success Stories in Multi-Company Accounting Success stories from organizations utilizing multi-company accounting software illustrate the transformative impact these solutions can have on financial operations. Here are some notable examples: The Language Group reduced data entry hours and payment runs by using Tipalti’s automation, streamlining their accounts payable processes across multiple entities. Lantern Community Services improved error tracking and data accuracy by integrating AI-driven insights through Sage Intacct, boosting financial management for their multi-entity operations. NEXT Insurance automated their invoice processes with FreshBooks, saving numerous weekly hours and promoting more efficient financial oversight across business segments. SmartShoot saved days on payouts and mitigated tax penalty risks by leveraging automation features in NetSuite, showcasing efficiency gained through advanced multi-entity accounting solutions. These stories highlight how multi-company accounting software can greatly boost operational efficiency, reduce errors, and improve financial management across various organizations. Frequently Asked Questions What Software Do Most Companies Use for Accounting? Most companies use accounting software to streamline their financial operations and improve efficiency. Popular options include QuickBooks for its affordability, Xero for its user-friendly interface, and Sage Intacct for advanced features customized for multi-entity management. Larger enterprises often opt for NetSuite because of its extensive ERP capabilities. These tools help businesses manage finances effectively, reduce closing times, and support better decision-making across various locations or business units. What Software Do Big 4 Accounting Firms Use? Big 4 accounting firms primarily use advanced ERP systems like SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics for financial management. They often incorporate specialized tools such as Hyperion for financial planning and analysis. Cloud-based platforms like Workday and NetSuite help boost collaboration and provide real-time insights. Furthermore, firms utilize data analytics tools like Tableau and Strength BI to improve financial reporting. Many likewise develop proprietary software to meet specific client needs and streamline operations. What Is the Best Quickbooks for Multiple Companies? For managing multiple companies, QuickBooks Online is your best option. It allows you to easily switch between different entities as you keep their financial records separate. You’ll benefit from features like multi-currency support, customizable reporting, and automated invoicing, which improve efficiency. The tiered subscription plans let you choose the right features based on your needs. Can I Use Xero for Multiple Companies? Yes, you can use Xero for multiple companies. It allows you to manage various business entities from a single account, so you won’t need separate logins. Each company can maintain its own financial data and reports, keeping everything organized. You’ll additionally benefit from a centralized dashboard for overall insights, and Xero supports multi-currency transactions, making it suitable for global operations. Plus, it integrates with various third-party applications for improved functionality. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right multi-company accounting software is essential for efficient financial management across diverse operations. By comprehending key features and evaluating top solutions like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, you can better align your organization’s needs with the software’s capabilities. Consider factors such as automation, reporting, and multi-currency support to make an informed decision. In the end, the right software not just streamlines processes but additionally improves financial accuracy and decision-making for your business. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Best Multi-Company Accounting Software Solutions" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When managing multiple legal entities, selecting the right multi-company accounting software is essential for streamlining financial operations. These solutions offer features like automated intercompany transactions, real-time reporting, and multi-currency support, which improve efficiency and accuracy in financial management. Comprehending the key offerings of top software solutions, such as QuickBooks and NetSuite, can greatly impact your decision-making. Let’s explore the best options available and how they can benefit your organization. Key Takeaways QuickBooks allows management of up to 40 companies from one account, offering customizable invoicing and easy expense tracking for efficient operations. Xero provides a user-friendly, cloud-based accounting solution that enables real-time collaboration and extensive integrations for multi-company management. Sage Intacct features advanced financial management with automated intercompany transactions and real-time visibility into multi-entity performance for better oversight. NetSuite is a comprehensive ERP solution that automates intercompany transactions and offers robust financial reporting with unified dashboards for decision-making. Microsoft Dynamics 365 includes foundational multi-entity features with customizable automation options, tailored to meet specific business accounting needs. What Is Multi-Company Accounting Software? Multi-company accounting software serves as a vital tool for organizations operating multiple legal entities or locations, simplifying the management of their financial operations. This type of software is particularly designed for multi-entity environments, allowing you to maintain separate financial records for each business unit while additionally providing consolidated financial statements for thorough oversight. With the best multi-company accounting software, you can automate intercompany transactions and manage multi-currency requirements, which is critical for businesses operating internationally. Furthermore, these platforms improve your financial visibility by offering real-time dashboards and reporting tools, enabling you to analyze financial data at both the entity and corporate levels. Popular options like QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, and NetSuite cater to various business sizes and intricacies, ensuring that you find a solution customized to your unique needs. This software streamlines bookkeeping and reporting processes, finally enhancing overall efficiency. Key Features of Multi-Company Accounting Software When evaluating multi-company accounting software, you’ll find several key features that improve financial management. Entity-level reporting capabilities allow you to maintain distinct financial records for each business as you still consolidate data for overall insights. Furthermore, automated intercompany transactions and multi-currency functionality simplify processes and support global operations, making your accounting practices more efficient and accurate. Entity-Level Reporting Capabilities Entity-level reporting capabilities are essential for businesses managing multiple companies, as they enable the generation of detailed financial statements for each entity. These features provide a thorough view of performance, allowing for better oversight. Here are some key aspects of entity-level reporting: Customizable Dashboards: Access key performance indicators (KPIs) and financial metrics designed for each entity. Automated Consolidations: Streamline data aggregation, reducing manual errors and ensuring timely reporting. Intercompany Eliminations: Accurately account for intercompany transactions to reflect true financial positions. Advanced Reporting Options: Drill down into specific transactions for insightful decision-making and resource allocation. With these capabilities, you can effectively monitor financial health across your organization and make informed strategic decisions. Automated Intercompany Transactions Managing multiple companies often involves complex financial transactions between them, making automated intercompany transactions a vital feature of accounting software solutions. This functionality streamlines billing processes by automatically generating invoices and journal entries, which reduces the risk of human error and saves valuable time. Many software options likewise offer automatic eliminations of intercompany transactions, preventing double counting in consolidated financial statements. With custom approval workflows, you can guarantee all intercompany transactions receive the necessary oversight before finalization, enhancing financial controls. In addition, real-time reporting and dashboards give you insights into these transactions, allowing you to effectively monitor and manage financial activities across all entities, facilitating better decision-making and operational efficiency. Multi-Currency Functionality During the process of maneuvering through the intricacies of global business operations, having robust multi-currency functionality in your accounting software can greatly improve financial management. Here are key features to take into account: Automated Currency Conversion: Seamlessly manage transactions in multiple currencies without manual calculations. Real-Time Exchange Rates: Verify your financial reports reflect accurate values at the time of each transaction. Comprehensive Module Support: Benefit from multi-currency functionality across accounts payable, accounts receivable, and inventory management. Advanced Financial Reporting: Generate consolidated financial statements that account for currency fluctuations, enhancing your overall performance analysis. Incorporating these features can simplify your operations and guarantee compliance with local tax regulations, making your global business management more efficient. Top Multi-Company Accounting Software Solutions In relation to managing multiple companies, selecting the right accounting software is crucial for efficiency and accuracy. QuickBooks and Xero are popular choices, allowing you to manage several businesses under one account while providing distinct financial reporting for each entity. Sage Intacct stands out with its thorough financial management and customized reporting features, improving oversight for multi-company operations. For those handling complex global operations, NetSuite offers robust multi-entity and multi-book capabilities, delivering real-time data insights. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management includes foundational multi-entity features and can be improved with solutions like AMCS, promoting automation and compliance. Each option presents unique advantages, so consider your specific needs, such as global operations or real-time reporting, when making a decision. Tipalti: Streamlining AP Automation Tipalti streamlines your accounts payable process with efficient invoice processing and advanced error detection. By utilizing paperless systems and OCR technology, it reduces manual data entry errors, whereas its 3-way matching system guarantees accuracy in transactions. Furthermore, with global payment solutions supporting over 120 currencies, Tipalti facilitates seamless international operations for your business. Efficient Invoice Processing When businesses seek to improve their accounts payable (AP) processes, efficient invoice processing becomes a crucial component. Tipalti automates this process, enabling you to manage and process invoices quickly through paperless methods. Here’s how it streamlines your AP operations: OCR Scanning: Automates data entry, reducing manual errors. 26,000 Payment Rules: Detects discrepancies with a robust 3-way matching system. Self-Service Supplier Onboarding: Validates suppliers against blacklists for improved security. AI-Driven Insights: Offers data analytics for informed decision-making. Global Payment Solutions Managing global payments can be a challenging task for businesses, especially those operating in multiple countries. Tipalti offers a cloud-based accounts payable automation solution designed to streamline these payments across over 200 countries and 120 currencies. Its self-service supplier onboarding feature allows for efficient validation against blacklists, reducing fraud risks. The platform’s paperless invoice processing, driven by OCR scanning, automates invoice handling, whereas more than 26,000 payment rules improve efficiency. Furthermore, Tipalti Pi delivers AI-driven insights, providing actionable analytics for better decision-making. With built-in compliance for local tax regulations and automated intercompany transactions, Tipalti is an ideal tool for managing multiple entities globally, ensuring your payment processes run smoothly and efficiently. Advanced Error Detection Effective accounts payable processes hinge on robust error detection, which considerably mitigates the risk of payment inaccuracies. Tipalti’s advanced features guarantee accuracy through a combination of methods: 26,000+ payment rules identify discrepancies and guarantee compliance. 3-way matching cross-verifies invoices, purchase orders, and receipts to improve payment accuracy. Self-service supplier onboarding validates against blacklists, preventing fraud before it occurs. Paperless invoice processing uses OCR scanning to automatically extract data for precise recording. These elements streamline your accounts payable workflow, markedly reducing manual oversight and errors. With AI-driven insights from Tipalti Pi, you can proactively analyze payment trends, allowing for informed decision-making and greater efficiency in your financial operations. QuickBooks: Affordable Multi-Entity Management QuickBooks stands out as a practical choice for businesses looking to manage multiple entities efficiently. With its multi-entity capabilities, you can handle up to 40 different companies from a single account, making it a cost-effective solution for small to mid-sized businesses. You’ll enjoy easy toggling between entities, which allows seamless access to individual financial reports and statements. QuickBooks also supports basic multi-currency functionality, letting you conduct transactions in various currencies during managing exchange rates with ease. Additional features like customizable invoicing, expense tracking, and automated reporting improve your financial management across multiple entities. Here’s a quick overview of its key features: Feature Description Multi-Entity Management Manage up to 40 companies from one account Currency Support Conduct transactions in multiple currencies Customizable Invoicing Tailor invoices to fit your business needs Expense Tracking Track expenses easily for all entities Automated Reporting Generate reports automatically for better insights With plans starting at a competitive price point, QuickBooks remains an affordable option for growing businesses. Xero: Cloud-Based Simplicity Xero is a leading cloud-based accounting software that allows you to manage multiple businesses efficiently from a single account during keeping their financial records separate. This platform is crafted to improve your accounting experience with several key features: Real-Time Collaboration: Multiple users can access and work on financial data simultaneously from anywhere, improving efficiency and communication. Multi-Currency Support: It seamlessly handles transactions in different currencies, making it ideal for international businesses. User-Friendly Interface: The customizable dashboards provide key financial insights and performance metrics customized for each business entity. Extensive Integrations: With over 1,000 third-party applications, you can easily boost its functionality to meet your specific operational needs. Sage Intacct: Advanced Financial Management Sage Intacct offers advanced financial management features that are crucial for multi-entity organizations like yours. With capabilities such as seamless intercompany transactions, real-time financial visibility, and strong role-based access controls, you can improve accuracy and efficiency across your business. Let’s explore the key features and integration capabilities that make Sage Intacct an influential tool for managing your financial operations. Key Features Overview When managing finances across multiple entities, having a robust software solution can markedly streamline the process. Sage Intacct stands out with its advanced financial management capabilities, offering you several key features: Real-time visibility into multi-entity financial performance via customizable dashboards. Automated intercompany transactions that reduce manual errors and simplify data consolidation. Multi-currency support and local tax compliance for global operations with diverse financial needs. Role-based access controls that improve data security and create customized workflows for various users. These features work in harmony, ensuring you can efficiently manage complex financial environments as you maintain compliance and accuracy in reporting across your entities. Sage Intacct is designed to empower you with the tools necessary for effective financial oversight. Integration Capabilities Explained To effectively manage multi-entity finances, integration capabilities play a pivotal role in enhancing the overall functionality of accounting software. Sage Intacct offers seamless integration with various third-party applications, including CRM systems and e-commerce platforms, which boosts operational efficiency. Its open API allows for easy data exchange, enabling you to customize and connect Sage Intacct with your existing systems for customized workflows. Pre-built integrations with tools like Salesforce, ADP, and Bill.com streamline accounting and payroll processes, reducing manual entry and errors. Furthermore, you can automate intercompany transactions and consolidations, improving financial oversight across multiple entities. Advanced features support real-time data synchronization, ensuring accurate financial reporting and insights for informed decision-making throughout your organization. NetSuite: Comprehensive ERP for Complex Needs NetSuite stands out as a thorough ERP solution customized for businesses with intricate multi-company accounting needs, providing you with real-time visibility and control over global operations. This platform shines in multi-entity management with features designed to streamline your financial processes. Here are some key benefits: Automated intercompany transactions: Simplifies the handling of transactions between entities. Currency conversions: Facilitates operations across different currencies, ensuring accurate financial reporting. Compliance with local tax regulations: Helps you navigate varying tax laws in different regions, reducing legal risks. Robust financial reporting: Generate consolidated statements as you maintain separate books for each entity, enhancing transparency. With a unified dashboard displaying key performance indicators, you can make informed decisions based on detailed insights. NetSuite is scalable, making it ideal for mid-sized to large enterprises that need to adapt to growing financial intricacies. Tips for Selecting the Right Software Selecting the right accounting software for multi-company operations involves careful consideration of various factors that align with your organization’s specific needs. First, assess your organization’s unique multi-entity requirements, including the number of businesses and locations, to guarantee the software can accommodate them effectively. Next, evaluate the integration capabilities with existing systems like ERPs or financial tools, as this facilitates seamless data exchange and maintains operational efficiency. Prioritize software that offers robust reporting features, allowing for both entity-level and consolidated views, which support informed decision-making across all businesses. Additionally, consider user limits and subscription plans; some software may charge based on the number of entities or users, potentially impacting overall costs as your organization grows. Finally, look for customer satisfaction ratings and reviews to gauge the reliability and effectiveness of the software, guaranteeing it meets your expectations for usability and support. Customer Success Stories in Multi-Company Accounting Success stories from organizations utilizing multi-company accounting software illustrate the transformative impact these solutions can have on financial operations. Here are some notable examples: The Language Group reduced data entry hours and payment runs by using Tipalti’s automation, streamlining their accounts payable processes across multiple entities. Lantern Community Services improved error tracking and data accuracy by integrating AI-driven insights through Sage Intacct, boosting financial management for their multi-entity operations. NEXT Insurance automated their invoice processes with FreshBooks, saving numerous weekly hours and promoting more efficient financial oversight across business segments. SmartShoot saved days on payouts and mitigated tax penalty risks by leveraging automation features in NetSuite, showcasing efficiency gained through advanced multi-entity accounting solutions. These stories highlight how multi-company accounting software can greatly boost operational efficiency, reduce errors, and improve financial management across various organizations. Frequently Asked Questions What Software Do Most Companies Use for Accounting? Most companies use accounting software to streamline their financial operations and improve efficiency. Popular options include QuickBooks for its affordability, Xero for its user-friendly interface, and Sage Intacct for advanced features customized for multi-entity management. Larger enterprises often opt for NetSuite because of its extensive ERP capabilities. These tools help businesses manage finances effectively, reduce closing times, and support better decision-making across various locations or business units. What Software Do Big 4 Accounting Firms Use? Big 4 accounting firms primarily use advanced ERP systems like SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics for financial management. They often incorporate specialized tools such as Hyperion for financial planning and analysis. Cloud-based platforms like Workday and NetSuite help boost collaboration and provide real-time insights. Furthermore, firms utilize data analytics tools like Tableau and Strength BI to improve financial reporting. Many likewise develop proprietary software to meet specific client needs and streamline operations. What Is the Best Quickbooks for Multiple Companies? For managing multiple companies, QuickBooks Online is your best option. It allows you to easily switch between different entities as you keep their financial records separate. You’ll benefit from features like multi-currency support, customizable reporting, and automated invoicing, which improve efficiency. The tiered subscription plans let you choose the right features based on your needs. Can I Use Xero for Multiple Companies? Yes, you can use Xero for multiple companies. It allows you to manage various business entities from a single account, so you won’t need separate logins. Each company can maintain its own financial data and reports, keeping everything organized. You’ll additionally benefit from a centralized dashboard for overall insights, and Xero supports multi-currency transactions, making it suitable for global operations. Plus, it integrates with various third-party applications for improved functionality. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right multi-company accounting software is essential for efficient financial management across diverse operations. By comprehending key features and evaluating top solutions like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, you can better align your organization’s needs with the software’s capabilities. Consider factors such as automation, reporting, and multi-currency support to make an informed decision. In the end, the right software not just streamlines processes but additionally improves financial accuracy and decision-making for your business. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Best Multi-Company Accounting Software Solutions" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

It’s graduation season and my email inbox is flooded with inquiries from students entering the workforce, looking for career advice. How do I land my dream job? What should I do at the company where I’ve been recently hired to get where I really want to be? How do I go from what I have to do to what I want to do? What I’ve gathered from these students is not much different from what we more seasoned professionals struggle with day in and day out. How do we square the incongruence between our duty—the thing we have to do to survive, pay our bills, and keep the lights on—and our conviction—the thing we feel called to do? The job, of course, is our duty. The gift is our conviction. For most of us, the two seem as far apart as east and west, and never the twain shall meet. For only a few lucky ones, their job and their gifts coexist, at least, that’s what we’ve told ourselves. But what if that’s not the case at all? What if we could have our cake and eat it, too? We invited Najoh Tita-Reid onto the latest episode of the From the Culture podcast to help us explore this tension. She is the former global chief growth officer at Mars Petcare, former global CMO at Logitech, and former VP of marketing at Bayer Consumer Care—a three-decade-plus veteran. Yet despite her incredible resume of leading big brands, she recently walked away from all of it, not because the work was bad but because her conviction was bigger. Tita-Reid had been working on her gift right alongside her duty for quite some time before she left the C-suite. She didn’t see the two as a mutually exclusive proposition, but more as a game of catch-up. Her corporate duty had been hard at work long before her gift began to manifest. It took years before she realized her conviction—her ability to peek around the corner and see change. Like a canary in a coal mine, as Tita-Reid puts it, she’s been able to sense shifts long before they happen. This ability started as a whisper and increasingly got louder, but by the time it registered that she was a “canary,” she was deep into her marketing career and her conviction seemed underdeveloped relative to her duty skills. So, she’d wake up at 5 o’clock to do the conviction work before the duty work began. For her, that meant teaching herself AI from independent instructors, on her own time, on her own dime, while her C-suite job was still going. The duty kept her solvent. The conviction kept her alert. Before long, she was bringing her newly developed canary skills to her marketing work, and it helped her rise through the ranks and up the corporate ladder, until her conviction and her duty were equally yoked. That’s when Tita-Reid realized that her conviction could lead her duty, so that the curiosity of her gift could actually become her duty. That is when she decided to disembark the traditional corporate train and ride her convictions into the sunset. As a career marketer myself, I relate to this deeply. I was a few years into my career before I realized my conviction. I became insatiably curious about the social sciences and their application to behavioral adoption. I wanted to study it, teach it, and practice it. By the time I became aware of it, I was already running a full department at an advertising agency, and, like Tita-Reid, my duty skill set far surpassed my curiosity. So, I did exactly what she did: I began to work on my conviction before and after work. I read nonstop—Kahneman, Ariely, Thayler, Lowenstein. One scholar led me to another and helped me build a theoretical repertoire. I taught classes about my learnings on the weekends, at night, and even in the early mornings. And the more I did it, the closer these two disparate worlds became. I even got a doctorate in the conviction while working my duty. This went on for over a decade before my conviction and my duty were parity, and it was at this point that, like Tita-Reid, I, too, allowed my conviction to lead me. So, I say to you what Tita-Reid told us and what I tell my students: Do your duty while developing your conviction skill set. Work your 9-to-5 and your 5-to-9 so that before long, your 5-to-9 becomes your 9-to-5. This is not a side hustle, but an investment. You’re investing in yourself today to realize the interest tomorrow. Because of those many years of investing in myself while also investing in my place of work (my duty), I can truly say that I’m now living in my gift—and it is a gift. I get to teach at one of the best schools in the world (the University of Michigan), work with some of the biggest brands in the world (Google, TikTok, and McDonald’s), and put ideas in the world through platforms like this article you’re reading, books, and stages. It’s not a dream; it’s compound interest, and it’s available to you, too. Check out our full conversation with Najoh Tita-Reid on the latest episode of From the Culture here. View the full article