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Maryland Medicaid launched its Annual Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Cost Survey on July 1, 2026. For many HCBS providers, this is a new financial reporting requirement—and it is an important one. The survey is due December 31, 2026, and Maryland Medicaid states that payments will be suspended for providers that are required to submit the survey but fail to do so by the deadline. Payments will resume once the completed survey is received. So what is the HCBS Cost Su

As the year comes to a close, many SMB owners naturally begin thinking about taxes. But before tax preparation starts, there is another step that can make the entire process much smoother: A year-end accounting cleanup. A cleanup is not necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. Even well-managed businesses can end the year with items that need to be reviewed, reconciled, clarified, or corrected before the financial records are considered complete. The goal is simple:

Policies, procedures, bylaws, employee handbooks, and other organizational documents are often introduced during important stages of a business—formation, licensing, hiring, expansion, or regulatory approval. For Maryland DDA providers, many of these documents are also part of the provider application, licensing, and ongoing compliance environment. But their value goes well beyond satisfying a requirement. When they are thoughtfully developed and regularly used, policies and

For many small and mid-sized business owners, financial statements are something their accountant sends each month—or documents they only think about when it is time to file taxes, apply for financing, or satisfy a reporting requirement. But financial statements are much more valuable than that. They tell the financial story of your business. They can help you understand what happened, why it happened, where your business stands today, and what decisions you may need to make

Operating as a Maryland DDA provider comes with more than delivering services and submitting claims. Providers are responsible for maintaining compliance across licensing, Medicaid enrollment, employee training, financial reporting, incident reporting, service documentation, insurance, and other provider requirements. The challenge is that these requirements do not all happen on the same schedule. Some are due quarterly. Others are annual, every two, three, or five years. And

Many business owners focus heavily on day-to-day operations. They think about staffing, schedules, customers or clients, service delivery, billing, and keeping the business moving. But operational decisions do not stay on the operational side of the business. They eventually show up in the financial results. That is why understanding service efficiency is so important. What Is Service Efficiency? Service efficiency is about how effectively a business uses its people, time, sy

If your business has never been through a financial statement audit, the process can sound much more intimidating than it actually is. For most small and mid-sized businesses, an audit is an independent examination of the company’s financial statements and the records supporting them. The goal is for an independent auditor to determine whether the financial statements are fairly presented based on the applicable accounting standards. Why Would a Business Need an Audit? An aud

Maryland DDA providers are required to submit their FY2026 General Ledger (GL) cost data by October 30, 2026. But what exactly is the GL Collection used for—and why does it matter? What Is the GL Collection? The Developmental Disabilities Administration requires providers to report detailed costs associated with delivering traditional DDA Medicaid services. According to DDA, the purpose of collecting this information is to inform rates and create consistent cost data across t

One of the biggest misconceptions about accounting is that every business needs the same level of support. Some business owners assume they need a monthly accountant as soon as they start making money. Others wait too long and only look for help when tax season is stressful, cash flow is tight, or someone asks them for financial statements. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Most businesses need accounting support at some point, but not every business needs monthly account

For many business owners, accounting can feel like a task you do just to check a box—reconcile accounts, close out the month, and prepare...

As the year comes to a close, business owners often find themselves in a frenzy trying to get their financials in order. Whether it's...