Advantages of 13 Week Cash Flow Model for Small Businesses and Startups

1099s Are Coming: What Business Owners Need to Know Before January 31st

December 11, 2025

If your business paid contractors, landlords, or attorneys, there is a good chance you have 1099 filing obligations—and the IRS is not known for its sense of humor when it comes to missed forms.

What Is a 1099, Really?

“1099” is not one form, but a family of information returns used to report various types of non-wage income to both the IRS and the recipient. For most small and mid-sized businesses, the key players are Form 1099-NEC for nonemployee compensation and Form 1099-MISC for certain miscellaneous payments like rents and legal fees.

While W‑2s are for employees, 1099s are for most nonemployees you pay in your business or nonprofit organization. Getting this line wrong can trigger penalties, payroll tax exposure, and some very uncomfortable IRS letters. To help you determine whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee, see Pub. 15-A.

1099-NEC vs 1099-MISC

Here’s a quick side‑by‑side you can use in the blog to clarify the most common confusion:

Feature	1099-NEC	1099-MISC
Primary purpose	Report nonemployee compensation and attorney fees paid to a law firm.	Report certain miscellaneous payments for each person to whom you have paid during the year. (rents, prizes and awards, etc.)
Typical recipients	Independent contractors, consultants, freelancers, and attorneys paid in connection with legal services	Landlords, recipients of prizes/awards and certain other payments
Dollar threshold	$600 or more	$600 or more

Go to IRS.gov/Form1099MISC or IRS.gov/Form1099NEC or General Instructions for Certain Information Returns at IRS.gov/1099GeneralInstructions

Who You May Need to Issue a 1099 To

From a practical business-owner standpoint, year-end 1099 reviews typically focus on the following categories:

Nonemployee service providers: Independent contractors, consultants, and other nonemployees you paid in your trade or business are often reported on Form 1099-NEC once total payments reach the $600 threshold for the year.
Landlords and property owners: Rent payments made during the year are generally reported on Form 1099-MISC if they meet the reporting threshold.
Attorney Fees: Payments made to attorneys, including law firms, and are reportable on Form 1099-NEC, even when paid to incorporated entities.

Now is the time to ensure you have all of your W-9 information so the 1099’s are accurate and backup withholding risks are minimized.

Note – Typically, there are exceptions to 1099 reporting for payments made to corporations, however, a detailed review with your tax accountant is necessary to determine what exceptions may apply.

Key Considerations – 1099-MISC

Generally, payments to a corporation (including a limited liability company (LLC) that is treated as a C or S corporation) do not have to be reported on Form 1099-MISC
Reportable payments to corporations – The following payments made to corporations must generally be reported on Form 1099-MISC:
Deceased employee’s wages – When an employee dies during the year, you must report the accrued wages, vacation pay, and other compensation paid after the date of death. Whether the payment is made in the year of death or after the year of death, you must also report the payment to the estate or beneficiary on Form 1099-MISC.
Rent Payments:
- Real estate rent paid during the year for office space. However, you do not have to report these payments on Form 1099-MISC if you paid them to a real estate agent or property manager.
- Machine rentals (for example, renting a bulldozer to level your parking lot). If the machine rental is part of a contract that includes the use of the machine.

Key Considerations – 1099-NEC

Payments to attorneys – The term “attorney” includes a law firm or other provider of legal services. Attorneys’ fees of $600 or more paid in the course of your trade or business are reportable in box 1 of Form 1099-NEC, under section 6041A(a)(1).
Include fees, commissions, prizes and awards for services performed as a nonemployee, and other forms of compensation for services performed for your trade or business by an individual who is not your employee.
Exchanges of services between individuals in the course of their trades or businesses. For example, an attorney represents a painter for nonpayment of business debts in exchange for the painting of the attorney’s law offices. The amount reportable by each on Form 1099-NEC is the FMV of their own services performed.
Fees paid by one professional to another, such as fee-splitting or referral fees.

Key Deadlines – When to File

File and furnish a copy of Form 1099-NEC on paper or electronically by February 2, 2026
File Form 1099-MISC by February 28, 2026, if you file on paper, or March 31, if you file electronically

If you are using QBO then visit intuit’s tutorial on how you can create and file your 1099’s from the data already in Quickbooks. QBO tutorial to filing 1099’s in Quickbooks

The above does not constitute tax advice and is for informational purposes only. Please consult your tax advisor.

Don’t lose six figures due to poor internal controls

November 7, 2025

A Cautionary Tale for Small Business Owners

An article featured in a Local Newspaper highlighted an office manager who wrote checks to herself for over 4 years, allegedly stealing more than $200,000 from her employer.

This isn’t just a shocking headline; it’s a crucial cautionary tale for every small business owner. It’s common for dedicated office managers or administrative staff to handle bookkeeping to save costs. While convenient, this practice can create massive, unseen risks when proper oversight is missing.

The core issue is a lack of internal controls. When one person has the authority to both write checks and manage the books, there is no system of checks and balances. This is why segregation of duties is not just corporate jargon; it’s a fundamental principle for protecting your assets.

Key controls to implement include:

Ensuring the person who authorizes payments is different from the person who makes them.
Having a separate individual reconcile bank accounts from the one handling daily transactions.
Requiring owner or senior manager review and approval of all bill payments and financial statements each month.
Utilize credit card payments or ACH in conjunction with Spend Management platforms like Ramp, Bill.com, or Stampli that centralizes AP, approvals, and supporting documents all in one platform.

Many business owners believe they are saving money by avoiding professional accounting help. However, as this $200K case illustrates, the potential cost of fraud, undetected errors, and inaccurate financial reporting can be catastrophic. Proactive accounting and financial oversight are not an expense; they are a critical investment in your company’s long-term health and security.

What if founders could simplify one of the trickiest areas: stock compensation?

September 5, 2025

Startups are always racing against time and cash—and every minute spent on technical accounting is a minute NOT spent building the dream.

Big news for private companies: ASC 718’s practical expedient lets startups use a 409A valuation to determine the current price input of equity-classified share-based awards issued to both employees and non-employees using the reasonable application of a reasonable valuation method, sparing them complex models and wall-to-wall spreadsheets. This means startup teams can focus on scaling, not sweating over share price calculations.

For founders, this is more than technical relief—it’s a chance to keep accounting streamlined and VC investor-ready, with fewer headaches before potential exits or public listings.

Smart finance isn’t just reporting; it’s about staying nimble while building the vision ~ that’s where a Fractional Controller can help.

💡 If your startup is looking to offload the accounting and GAAP compliant financial reporting requirements for your investors (👋ASC 606, Internal Use Software, Lease Accounting) Contact Tekio Advisors Today❗️

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#SAAS

Advantages of a 13-week cash flow model for Small Businesses in New York City

July 16, 2025

A 13-week cash flow forecast is a crucial tool that can help you forecast your cash available to meet operating expenses.

Timing differences from your net income from your profit and loss statement to the cash in your bank include the following:

Revenue recognized in Quickbooks vs cash received due to timing of the collection of accounts receivable.
Prepaid expenses – upfront cash outlays for insurance, rent, advances to suppliers, etc. while GAAP or accrual basis accounting recognizes the expenses over the respective term or when incurred.
Capital expenditures – Upfront cash outlays for equipment while the expense is recognized ratably over the estimated life of the fixed asset.

Advantages of Utilizing the 13-week cash flow model:

Flexible and Forward Looking – The 13-week horizon is long enough to provide meaningful forward visibility but short enough to adjust the model as your business adapts to changing circumstances.
Spend Management – By assessing your cash inflows and outflows week by week, startups and growing businesses gain a clear, actionable view of their cash position, enabling better operational control and expense / spend management.
Proactive liquidity & risk assessment – The model helps identify potential cash shortfalls or liquidity risks well in advance, giving startups time to take corrective action—such as needing to draw down on a line of credit, raise funds from venture capital firms, managing expenses, or assessing receivables and identifying slow paying customers.
Transparency with investors and banks – The model serves as a transparent, data-driven tool for communicating financial health, liquidity, and assessing working capital needs which builds trust with your investors and lenders. Positive cash flow and working capital are important metrics for lenders and investors and as such, preparing for any compliance and reporting requirements with detailed cash flow forecasts and updates on any changes to the model is important will enable positive relationships with your stakeholders.

Accounting Advisory Tip – Diversify Funding – Concentrations in a single funding source increases vulnerability! Establishing multiple financing sources from venture capital, credit lines, and traditional bank loans, startups and small businesses reduce dependency and improve resilience against unforeseen circumstances such as rising interest rates, or tightening of credit standards. Additionally, monitoring useful KPI’s such as AR turnover, DSO (days sales outstanding), and Inventory Turnover to ensure you are getting the best utilization of assets to generate cash flow.

Conclusion: In summary, a 13-week cash flow model is a valuable tool that helps startups and small businesses in Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and NYC manage cash proactively, make informed decisions, and build credibility with key stakeholders. Let Tekio Advisors LLC focus on your small business accounting services and Cash Flow Forecasting with our Fractional CFO Services – Whether you prefer to utilize Excel or Forecasting software such as Dryrun or Helm.