The Red-Flag Field Guide — 3-Card Quick Reference

Twelve sentences that reliably came just before somebody lost money — and the question that ends each one.

Three reference cards, built to be printed, trimmed and laminated, and kept where you actually take the call.

Card 1 — What you hear / what it means / what to ask. "It's passive income." "We have a proven system." "We'll handle the ungating." None of these proves dishonesty on its own. Each one shifts the burden of proof back onto the person asking for your money, and if that burden is refused, you have your answer.

Card 2 — The six that end accounts. Not judgment calls. These are the mistakes that don't degrade a business gradually; they end it.

Card 3 — Documents and numbers. Which invoices Amazon accepts and which it refuses, plus the six numbers worth memorizing before somebody quotes them at you: the 180-day/10-unit invoice window, real merchant-cash-advance factor rates, the reserve you shouldn't count on, the rolling window that can drop your health rating with no new violation, the reinstated 1099-K threshold, and how to work out your own break-even ACoS.

What you get: a 3-page print-ready PDF, 8.5 × 11.

Not legal, tax or accounting advice. Policy changes without notice — verify current requirements before you act.