Jonathan Reich 
In the shifting tides of the 2026 digital economy, the merchant account has evolved from a simple bank-side necessity into a complex strategic engine. And in my opinion, for e-commerce brands, the stakes have never been higher. A decade ago, simply being able to accept a credit card was enough. Today, a merchant account must … Read more
As many business owners have learned, selecting a payment processor for your Shopify store isn’t just a “check the box” technical requirement. As a CPA, I view it as a fundamental strategic decision that dictates the health of your cash flow, the accuracy of your ledger, and the long-term scalability of your margins (I also … Read more
As a CPA, I’ve spent my fair share of time in the weeds of financial statements. I’ve seen the difference between a set of books that simply checks the compliance boxes and a financial strategy that can actually do something meaningful to gross revenue. For most growing businesses, there comes a point where the DIY … Read more
For decades, the trajectory of a successful company followed a predictable, almost rigid hiring roadmap. You started with a bookkeeper to keep the lights on, graduated to a controller to manage the ledger, and once the stakes were high enough, you hunted for a Chief Financial Officer. That “CFO” title was a status symbol, a … Read more
Growth feels great until the finance engine starts to stall. At first, finance is simple. You send invoices, pay bills, run payroll, and check the bank balance. A bookkeeper keeps things tidy. Your CPA files taxes. You look at profit and think, “We’re good.” Then you hire more people. You add products. You open a … Read more
Outsourced finance in 2026 looks less like “outsourced bookkeeping” and more like a modular finance team you can turn up or down. People who onboard these types of services now expect a provider to run core workflows (AP, AR, close), keep the books clean, and also help leaders make decisions with real numbers. Some also … Read more
Let’s immediately cut to the chase. Trust is the only currency that matters in a boardroom. If you can’t trust your numbers, then what are you doing in front of the people you probably owe a ton of money to? For a CFO, the speed of a month-end close is a vanity metric if the … Read more
In my years as a CPA, I have seen the same story play out dozens of times. A business scales quickly and their revenue looks great on paper, but the back office is a disaster. It’s a tale as old as time; they are using one system for their online store, another for their gateway, … Read more
As a CPA, I’ve spent far too much of my time staring at the fallout of “easy” decisions. Usually, it starts with a founder who wants to go live immediately and ends with a controller being upset over a reconciliation report that doesn’t tie out to the bank statement. In the world of payment processing, … Read more
When managing a business that operates across borders, the choice between international ACH (Automated Clearing House) and wire transfers often dictates your bottom line. While both methods move money from point A to point B, they function on entirely different infrastructures. An international wire transfer is like a private courier: fast, direct, and expensive. International … Read more
Payment reconciliation is where clean books either happen fast or drag on for days. If your bank, card, and processor deposits do not line up, you get bad cash numbers, messy month-end, and a lot of “why is this off by $312.19?” moments. As a CPA, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time … Read more
As a startup, you can have the best product-market fit in the world, but it won’t matter much if you run out of cash. This is where runway comes in and runway tracking tools with it. Runway is essentially how much time you have left. You calculate it by dividing your current cash balance by … Read more
Let’s talk about something that is mind-numbingly boring but SUPER important: revenue recognition. Recognizing revenue can be extremely tricky, having to follow specific accounting standards like ASC 606 if you want to ensure that financial statements reflect the true health of a business. I believe that as much of it as possible should be automated. … Read more
Payroll is rarely just about paying employees. For a founder, payroll can be the single largest data export in the business — a dense collection of liabilities, tax obligations, and cash outflows. Most teams start with Gusto because it handles the complexity of local tax filings and direct deposits with ease. However, this can later … Read more
In the modern financial ecosystem, the role of a corporate card has evolved far beyond a plastic rectangle used for office supplies and client dinners. For the contemporary startup, a platform like Brex serves as the primary nervous system for spend management, providing credit lines, expense tracking, and treasury services tailored to the needs of … Read more
Let’s face it…accounting has never been the flashiest, most cutting-edge profession. But as our world changes and Artificial Intelligence becomes more mainstream, even the most traditional industries are getting a digital upgrade—including accounting. AI is streamlining tedious tasks, catching errors before they snowball, and helping professionals make smarter decisions faster. The best AI accounting software … Read more