Honest Buck Accounting

Honest Buck Accounting Learn more about how Honest Buck can optimize your profitability by visiting honestbuck.com.

Honest Buck Accounting provides expert accounting, tax, and advisory services for childcare providers, preschools, and non-profit schools, helping them streamline finances, save on taxes, and grow their businesses. Since 2007, Honest Buck Accounting has been committed to helping mid-size businesses make smart financial decisions through professional bookkeeping services, CFO services, and profit coaching. As experts in accounting and tax preparation, Honest Buck transforms messy financials into sustainable bookkeeping systems so business owners can focus on their business.

“Your center could save thousands” sounds good. “Here is what your center actually qualifies for” is more useful.That is...
10/09/2026

“Your center could save thousands” sounds good. “Here is what your center actually qualifies for” is more useful.
That is the approach we recommend for childcare tax planning.
Take the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC. It is a federal tax credit for hiring certain eligible workers, but the employee's circumstances, start date, paperwork, and state approval all matter.
Right now, it is not available for employees who started work after December 31, 2025. Eligible earlier hires may still deserve a review.
A useful conversation with your CPA should leave you knowing:
Whether your center has a supportable credit.
Which records are missing.
What action, if any, comes next.
Sometimes the answer is a tax benefit. Sometimes it is a clear explanation of why a credit does not apply.
At Honest Buck, we believe both answers are more valuable than a savings estimate your business cannot rely on. Tax planning should fit the center you actually run.
Read our childcare hiring tax credit guide: https://honestbuck.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-work-opportunity-tax-credit/

Childcare owners: if someone asked whether your center had ever claimed a hiring tax credit, would you know where to loo...
10/08/2026

Childcare owners: if someone asked whether your center had ever claimed a hiring tax credit, would you know where to look?
You do not need to know every tax form. But it helps to know who can find the answer.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC, is a federal tax credit tied to certain eligible hires. The review involves hiring records, state approval, payroll details, and the tax return.
Where would you start?
A. Our director or hiring administrator
B. Our payroll or screening provider
C. Our CPA
D. We would need to find out
There is no expectation that an owner should manage every step. We recommend choosing one person to coordinate the answers and keep track of anything unfinished.
One important distinction: the credit is not currently available for employees who started in 2026. This is a reason to check eligible past hires, not assume every new employee creates tax savings.
Use our guide to start the conversation: https://honestbuck.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-work-opportunity-tax-credit/
Which person would you ask first? Please leave employee names and private details out of the comments.

Your payroll provider says the hiring-credit paperwork was submitted. Does that mean your childcare center received a ta...
10/08/2026

Your payroll provider says the hiring-credit paperwork was submitted. Does that mean your childcare center received a tax benefit?
Not necessarily.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC, can reduce taxes for eligible employers that hire qualifying workers. But submitting an application, receiving state approval, and claiming the credit are separate steps.
For an eligible past hire, ask your team to connect the dots:
Was the required paperwork completed and submitted on time?
Did the state approve the request or ask for more information?
Were the employee's qualifying wages and hours checked?
Where does the credit appear on the tax return or the record of unused credits?
One person does not need to do everything. We recommend having one person coordinate the follow-up so nothing gets lost between your director, provider, and CPA.
The credit is not currently available for employees who started in 2026. Our updated guide explains why older files may still need attention.
See what to review with your CPA

Could someone you hired last year still matter to your childcare center's tax bill?The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or W...
10/06/2026

Could someone you hired last year still matter to your childcare center's tax bill?
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC, is a federal tax credit for hiring workers who meet specific eligibility rules. It is not a childcare-only program, and hiring a new teacher does not automatically qualify your center.
There is also an important limit: the credit is not currently available for employees who started work after December 31, 2025. But eligible past hires may still be worth reviewing.
Before counting on savings, ask:
Did we complete the required screening and submit the paperwork on time?
Did the state approve the employee's eligibility?
Did our tax preparer calculate and claim the credit?
An advertised maximum cannot answer those questions. Your center's records can.
Our updated guide explains what childcare owners should review, what the credit could be worth, and where to start with their CPA.
Read the childcare hiring tax credit guide: https://honestbuck.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-work-opportunity-tax-credit/

Our goal for your year-end planning meeting is not to give you more accounting homework. 🏫It is to help you leave with f...
10/02/2026

Our goal for your year-end planning meeting is not to give you more accounting homework. 🏫
It is to help you leave with fewer unanswered questions.
What needs attention in the books? Which decisions are worth modeling? What cash should stay available? Who is responsible for the next step?
At Honest Buck, we bring bookkeeping, advisory, and tax planning together for childcare businesses. We want the financial conversation to connect to the center you are running and the business you want to build.
That is the thinking behind our new year-end checklist. It starts with current records and ends with an action calendar, rather than a last-minute shopping list.
Use it with your current CPA, or as a starting point for deciding what you need from an ongoing accounting relationship.
Read the checklist: https://honestbuck.com/childcare-year-end-tax-planning/

Imagine your next year-end planning meeting is over. What would make you say, “That was worth my time”? 👇A. I understand...
10/01/2026

Imagine your next year-end planning meeting is over. What would make you say, “That was worth my time”? 👇
A. I understand the numbers.
B. I know which decisions need attention.
C. I know who is doing what, and by when.
D. All three.
Our vote is D.
You can bring a detailed list of questions and still leave without a clear next step. We recommend ending the meeting with a short action plan: the decision, the responsible person, the deadline, and the cash commitment.
For a childcare owner, that might mean comparing a planned classroom purchase with the need to preserve operating cash. Or getting the CPA and payroll provider aligned before the final payroll.
Which part would improve your next meeting most?
Our 2026 year-end checklist includes a working list you can bring to the conversation: https://honestbuck.com/childcare-year-end-tax-planning/

Childcare owners: ask for three numbers in your next tax-planning meeting. 📊Not just, “How much will I owe?”Ask for:• Yo...
10/01/2026

Childcare owners: ask for three numbers in your next tax-planning meeting. 📊
Not just, “How much will I owe?”
Ask for:
• Your projected total tax under the assumptions you reviewed
• What has already been paid or will be withheld
• The remaining amount to reserve, with expected payment dates
Then ask what would change the forecast.
Is enrollment coming in above plan? Is a facility project moving into next year? Has anything changed in your household income?
We recommend keeping those assumptions next to the numbers. That gives you a starting point for the next conversation instead of a forecast you cannot explain.
Our new year-end checklist helps childcare owners organize the records, decisions, and follow-through. It is an agenda for a better planning meeting, not a promise that every strategy fits every center.
Read it here: https://honestbuck.com/childcare-year-end-tax-planning/

Before you ask, “What should my childcare center buy before December 31?” try a different question. 🧾“What decisions wou...
09/29/2026

Before you ask, “What should my childcare center buy before December 31?” try a different question. 🧾
“What decisions would put us in a stronger position next year?”
That is the starting point we recommend for year-end planning. The conversation should connect your tax forecast to enrollment, staffing, debt payments, and the cash you want available in January.
Bring three things to the meeting:
• Current financial statements
• A list of purchases or changes you are considering
• The amount of operating cash you want to protect
Then ask your CPA to help you compare the options, not just identify something deductible.
Our 2026 Year-End Tax Planning Checklist for Childcare Centers gives you a practical agenda, from reviewing the books to assigning deadlines.
What is the biggest decision on your center’s year-end list?
Read the checklist: https://honestbuck.com/childcare-year-end-tax-planning/

Why does Honest Buck focus on childcare accounting? 🐻Because a childcare center’s financial reports only make sense when...
09/25/2026

Why does Honest Buck focus on childcare accounting? 🐻
Because a childcare center’s financial reports only make sense when the accounting team understands how the center operates.
💵 Tuition may be collected before it is earned.
🏷️ A discount funded by the center is different from an amount due from a subsidy program, grantor, or employer partner.
👥 Payroll data must connect to benefit invoices, employee deductions, and payroll liabilities.
📊 Company-wide profit may hide significant differences between classrooms, programs, or locations.
A reconciled bank account and an accurate, on-time tax return are essential. But they are not the entire job when an accounting firm has also been hired for bookkeeping, financial reporting, tax planning, or advisory services.
Childcare leaders should receive financial information they can use to make decisions about:
✅ Enrollment
✅ Staffing
✅ Tuition
✅ Benefits
✅ Facilities
✅ Growth
They should also receive explanations they can understand—without needing to become accountants themselves. 🧭
That is the standard we built Honest Buck around: accounting that reflects how childcare actually works.
Learn more:
honestbuck.com

Childcare owners and leaders: Which question would be the hardest for your current accounting team to answer? 🤔🅰️ Why do...
09/24/2026

Childcare owners and leaders: Which question would be the hardest for your current accounting team to answer? 🤔
🅰️ Why doesn’t tuition revenue match our bank deposits?
🅱️ How are our discounts, subsidies, and scholarships recorded?
🅲 What tax-planning issues should we evaluate before year-end?
🅳 Who reconciles payroll, benefits, and employee deductions?
🅴 Which classroom or location contributes the most to profit?
🅵 None—our accounting team can answer all five clearly.
There is no automatic “fire your CPA” answer here. The issue may be:
📄 A gap in the scope of your engagement
⚙️ An accounting process that needs improvement
🎓 A lack of childcare-industry experience
Comment with your letter below. I’ll share the most practical follow-up question to ask your accounting team. 💬
You can also read the full article here:
honestbuck.com/childcare-cpa-warning-signs/

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