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Money, explained without the jargon.

Guides for people whose income doesn’t arrive on the 1st and 15th. Written to be useful whether or not you ever use BrassWell.

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George M. standing at a live-edge standing desk in a plant-filled room, checking his phone with a laptop open in front of him and a World's Best Boss mug on the desk. Start hereStory

Why we built BrassWell

Four or five systems, each with its own problem. A book that gave me the buckets but assumed a paycheck. And the guess that a few million other people are in the same shape.

· 10 min read A therapist in her forties sitting in an armchair in a calm, plant-filled private practice office between sessions, writing in a notebook on her knee with a small smile, an empty armchair soft in the foreground. For your trade

Therapists in private practice: the money side

Insurance 1099s at $2,000, the 15.3% nobody withholds, what you can deduct, how to keep client details out of your books, and a BrassWell setup for a solo practice.

· 9 min read A bakery owner in a flour-dusted apron sitting at a table in her shop after closing, reading a one-page printed statement with a pen in hand and a cup of coffee beside her. Getting set up

How to read a profit and loss statement in 5 minutes

A real P&L read line by line: the period, income, the biggest expenses, net profit and margin, what it cannot tell you, and how to get yours in BrassWell.

· 5 min read A print shop owner in his forties in a denim apron leaning on the counter of his small shop late in the evening, stacks of paper beside him and a large printer behind, with a relaxed, amused smile. Getting set up

10 things nobody tells you about running a small business

Nobody withholds your taxes, an LLC will not lower them, and your bank balance is not your money. Ten lessons, learned the cheap way.

· 7 min read A young videographer sitting cross-legged on the floor of a small apartment, typing on a laptop on a low stool, surrounded by cinema cameras, light stands, hard cases and a half-packed drone case. Taxes

You made $1,000 and bought $10,000 of gear

Can you write it all off? The LLC changes nothing, Section 179 counts your wages, camera gear is listed property, and the hobby-loss rules decide the rest.

· 11 min read A lone runner seen from behind on a dirt bluff trail above the Pacific in Encinitas at sunrise, surfers waiting in the water below. Story

Idea to web app to App Store: launching BrassWell

Most of shipping a finance app by yourself is not writing software. The real paper trail, the order it had to happen in, and five things the AI got confidently wrong.

· 10 min read A barber in his own shop between clients, mirrors and clippers behind him, checking his phone with a satisfied half-smile. Comparison

Looking for a QuickBooks Self‑Employed alternative?

QBSE has been retired and replaced by Solopreneur. An honest comparison for people whose income varies — including where BrassWell is the wrong answer.

· 6 min read A man working at a laptop in a high-rise coworking space, floor-to-ceiling glass looking out over the Medellín valley in afternoon light. Budgeting & saving

Your FU number: what freedom actually costs

Annual spending divided by a withdrawal rate — and in 2026 the experts disagree by half a million dollars on the same spending. With a calculator, and the health-coverage line that breaks most plans.

· 10 min read Overhead view of hands photographing a crumpled paper receipt with a phone, more receipts spread across a wooden table beside a cup of coffee. Taxes

What you can actually deduct when you work for yourself

Home office, vehicle, phone, equipment — what qualifies and how to apportion it. Plus the things people are certain they can write off and cannot.

· 6 min read A woman in her late thirties at a kitchen island with a closed laptop and a mug, arms folded, looking off to one side as she thinks something through. Taxes

Should you elect S-corp? The half of the sum nobody shows you

The self-employment tax saving is real and routinely overstated, because electing S-corp also shrinks your qualified business income deduction. Both halves, worked through at $90,000.

· 9 min read A man in his late twenties at a kitchen table, a sheet of paper raised in each hand, looking from one to the other with a puzzled half-frown. Taxes

“1099 employee” is not a thing

The phrase names two different jobs at once, and which one you actually have decides who owes the payroll tax. The three-part control test, and the form that reclaims the half you should never have paid.

· 11 min read A personal trainer leading a small group class in a bright gym, correcting one participant's form while the others work. For your trade

Personal trainer taxes and bookkeeping: the 2026 guide

What you can deduct and what you can’t, how much to set aside, the 2026 quarterly dates, why a package sold in January is January income in full — and where trainers stand on the tips deduction.

· 18 min read A woman in her late thirties at her kitchen counter, phone to her ear, one hand flat on a closed buff folder, half-smiling as she listens. Getting set up

You formed an LLC. Here is what you actually have to do now

Every guide answers whether to form one. This is the week after: the EIN rule stated properly, the FinCEN filing you no longer have to make, and the state report that quietly recurs.

· 11 min read A woman sitting back from a small wooden work table by a window, laughing, with a closed laptop and a shut buff folder in front of her. Taxes

Schedule C line by line: where your expenses actually go

Your tracker gives you a category total. The form wants a line number. Here is the mapping — and the four categories that look obvious and belong somewhere else entirely.

· 11 min read An empty barber chair beside a tall salon window in low morning light, tools on the counter behind it, the shop otherwise empty. For your trade

Hairstylist and barber taxes: booth rent, tips, and the new deduction

The IRS list of tipped occupations names barbers and hairstylists outright, against a deduction worth up to $25,000. The disqualifier almost nobody mentions is one page away.

· 7 min read Three different work setups along one wall of a bright empty workspace — a bare desk with a laptop, a busier desk with paper trays and a blank wall calendar, and a standing desk with a stool — hard morning sun across the floor. Comparison

Best expense tracking for the self-employed in 2026

“Free” moved in both directions in 2026. Regular prices for every option, the caps that actually decide it, and an honest note about which one we sell.

· 9 min read A silver sedan parked at a suburban curb with the door open and an insulated delivery bag on the back seat, a woman standing beside it looking down the street. For your trade

Rideshare and delivery driver taxes: the 2026 guide

2026 needs two mileage calculations, split at July 1. And for a car you own, the choice between the standard rate and actual expenses is one you may only get to make once.

· 8 min read A woman sitting sideways at a desk in her own studio, one hand on a closed laptop, smiling as she looks toward a bright window. Comparison

Looking for a Wave Accounting alternative?

Bank feeds moved behind Pro on June 1 with no grandfathering. Invoicing stayed free. What actually changed, when staying put is right, and where Wave is simply cheaper than us.

· 8 min read A woodworker at a bench in a workshop, mid-task, afternoon light through the window behind him. Taxes

Quarterly estimated taxes: the four dates, and the rule that makes them survivable

Four due dates a year. The safe harbor turns an impossible forecast into arithmetic — pay last year’s number (110% of it if your AGI was over $150,000) and the penalty cannot reach you.

· 5 min read View from the passenger seat of a work van on a two-lane road in late afternoon sun, the driver's hands on the wheel and a clipboard on the seat. Taxes

The 2026 mileage rate changed in the middle of the year

72.5¢ a mile through June, 76¢ from July. A full year needs two calculations added together — and most pages about the 2026 rate only know about the first one.

· 4 min read A personal trainer standing in a bright, empty gym checking her phone, tall windows along the wall behind her. Year end & 1099s

Form 1099-K: the threshold went back to $20,000

More than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions — both, not either. But direct card payments have no threshold at all, which is the part almost nobody separates.

· 6 min read A caterer sliding covered trays into the back of a van in low evening light, photographed from inside the van. Year end & 1099s

1099-NEC: the threshold moved from $600 to $2,000

The first change since 1954, effective for payments made in 2026 — so most of what is published about this is now wrong. Who you file for, and who reports card payments.

· 6 min read A pair of hands pressing the lid onto a document storage box on a desk, files visible inside just before it closes. Year end & 1099s

The year-end checklist, and the one item everyone gets backward

Chasing invoices into December pulls income into this tax year. What genuinely expires on December 31, what waits until January, and why 2026 needs two mileage calculations.

· 7 min read A groomer in a denim apron steadying a small white dog on the table with one hand while checking her phone with the other, in a bright workshop. Getting set up

Your first year self-employed: the tax nobody warned you about

Self-employment tax starts at $400 of profit, not at the standard deduction. Why your employer’s half was invisible, and the one year the safe harbor is easy.

· 7 min read Looking down over someone's shoulder at a laptop, a coffee mug and an opened envelope on a kitchen counter in morning light, one hand resting on the trackpad. Taxes

Health insurance when you work for yourself

The deduction does not reduce self-employment tax, and one month of eligibility for a spouse’s plan disqualifies that month. Two rules that cost people money every year.

· 6 min read A man in his fifties seen from behind, standing at a large window with a coffee, looking out at a residential street in early morning, the room dark around him. Budgeting & saving

Retirement when nobody offers you a 401(k)

The 2026 limits, why a Solo 401(k) usually beats a SEP-IRA by a wide margin at modest income, and the $250,000 paperwork threshold nobody warns you about.

· 7 min read A woman in her forties leaning back in her chair mid-phone-call in an office in the early evening, jaw set, one hand flat on a stack of papers. Getting paid

What to do when a client will not pay

An escalation ladder with dates attached, what a demand letter needs, and why you probably cannot write the invoice off the way everyone assumes.

· 8 min read A phone lying face down on an open notebook on a cafe table, a pair of hands resting on either side of it and a coffee cup at the edge of the frame. Getting set up

Opening a business bank account when you work for yourself

Most sole proprietors are not required to have one — and it is still the best twenty minutes of admin available. Plus the FDIC rule that trips people up.

· 9 min read A small independent shop on an ordinary street seen from across the road in hard midday sun, roll-up door half up, deep shadows under the eaves. Getting set up

Do you need an LLC, or is a sole proprietorship fine?

Forming a single-member LLC does not lower your taxes — the IRS treats it as a disregarded entity. Here is what it actually changes, and two mistakes that cost money.

· 6 min read A tradesperson sitting on a tailgate at the end of a job, writing up an invoice on a phone. Getting paid

How to get paid faster — invoicing that actually works

Most late invoices are a wording problem, not a collections problem. Real dates instead of “Net 30”, deposits, one-click payment, and reminders that go out early.

· 5 min read A woman laughing at her desk in a plant-filled home office, laptop open, afternoon light across the room. Budgeting & saving

How to budget when your income is different every month

Fixed monthly budgets break the first thin month. Percentages don’t. The baseline-buffer-buckets method, and why it survives a dead April.

· 6 min read A baker in her thirties behind her counter, hands dusty with flour, smiling at the card reader by the register after a sale. Taxes

How much should you set aside for taxes when you’re self‑employed?

The honest answer is a range, not a number — but you can get close with two figures and about five minutes. Here’s the arithmetic, worked all the way through.

· 7 min read

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