Bookkeeping & Finance

Lives in: 07 — Firm Operations

How Confluxion Point handles money — bookkeeping, invoicing, taxes, and the practices that keep us out of trouble at year-end.

Bookkeeping software: Wave (free)

• What: Wave (waveapps.com) — free accounting software, no monthly fee
• Why it: Free, designed for sole proprietors and small partnerships, handles invoicing + receipt tracking + basic P&L + tax-ready exports
• Upgrade trigger: if/when we hit $250K annual revenue OR need to track inventory OR need payroll, switch to QuickBooks Online ($30/mo)

What lives in Wave

• All customer invoices
• All business expenses (linked to receipts)
• Bank feed from the business checking account (auto-categorize)
• Year-end P&L for taxes

What does NOT live in Wave

• Capital contribution log (lives in Drive — separate from operating expenses)
• Tax returns (lives in Drive /Firm Operations/Tax Filings/{year}/)

Invoicing

• Schedule: 50% at kickoff (signed agreement + tenant access). 50% at go-live (acceptance criteria met).
• Tool: Wave invoicing (free) with branded template — Confluxion navy + amber accent
• Payment methods accepted: ACH (no fee), wire (no fee), credit card (Wave charges 2.9% + $0.30 — pass through if customer chooses card)
• Net terms: Net 7 (we want money fast; we're not a big firm absorbing slow-pay)
• Late policy: 1.5%/mo on past-due balances over 30 days

Capital contribution log

Tracks every personal-paid expense for the firm. Counts toward each cofounder's tax basis in the LLC. Lives in Drive at 07 — Firm Operations (see Capital Contribution Log doc).

Bank accounts

• Business checking — Mercury (no fees, software-firm-friendly) OR Chase (in-person if needed)
• Business credit card — Chase Ink Business Preferred or AmEx Business Platinum (whichever has the better current bonus)
• Hard rule: never run personal expenses through business accounts, and never run business expenses through personal accounts. The bookkeeping nightmare isn't worth it.

Taxes

Quarterly estimated taxes

LLC partners pay quarterly estimateds. Default schedule:

Rule of thumb: set aside 30% of net partner draws for federal + UT state taxes. Adjust based on actual income.

Year-end

• 1099-NEC issued for every contractor we paid $600+ during the year (by Jan 31)
• Form 1065 (LLC partnership return) due March 15
• Each partner gets a K-1 from the LLC; they report on their personal 1040 by April 15

Recommended:

• CPA for year-end: ~$800–1,200 for a clean 1065 + 2 K-1s. Find a Utah CPA who's done LLCs before. Don't DIY.

Cash management rules

1. 3 months of operating expenses held in the business checking account at all times once we're past 3 paid engagements
2. Distributions to cofounders happen quarterly, equal split, only after the 3-month buffer is met
3. Insurance, software subscriptions, and legal fees auto-pay from the business card
4. No commingling — never the personal/business gray zone

Tools list (what we pay for)

Capital contribution log keeps the actual receipts.

Last updated: 2026-05-25