Startup bookkeeping
Startup Bookkeeping Services
Accrual books for venture-backed startups — ASC 606 deferred revenue, equity-comp expense, and a startup-grade chart of accounts, closed within 10 business days.
What you get
Built for startup books, not generic small business
Startup chart of accounts
COGS, R&D, S&M, G&A split the way investors and auditors read your P&L.
ASC 606 deferred revenue
Per-contract revenue schedule for SaaS, marketplace, and milestone billing.
Stripe + processor recs
Stripe, Shopify, Square, and Braintree tied out gross-of-fees, net-of-fees, and refunds.
Equity-comp expense
Carta or Pulley grants booked monthly so 409A and audit aren't a fire drill later.
Scope
What's in a startup bookkeeping retainer
- QuickBooks Online or Xero file setup or migration
- Startup-grade chart of accounts (COGS / R&D / S&M / G&A)
- Bank, credit card, and merchant processor reconciliations
- Accounts payable workflow with Bill.com, Ramp, or Brex
- Stripe, Shopify, and Recurly revenue tied out per contract
- Deferred revenue waterfall under ASC 606
- Inventory and capitalized prototype costs for hardware startups
- Equity compensation expense from Carta or Pulley
- Monthly close package: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, AR aging
- Catch-up and clean-up of behind books
FAQ
Startup bookkeeping questions
Do startups need accrual or cash-basis bookkeeping?+
Accrual. Investors, auditors, and 409A providers all expect accrual. Cash-basis works for owner-operator businesses but breaks at the first priced round.
Do you handle ASC 606 revenue recognition?+
Yes — contract-by-contract for SaaS, marketplace, milestone, and usage-based pricing, with a deferred-revenue waterfall delivered every month.
Can you reconcile Stripe and Shopify?+
Yes. Both should be booked gross-of-fees with separate processor-fee and refund accounts so revenue and COGS stay clean.
What if my books are 6 months behind?+
We scope a fixed-fee catch-up project before the monthly retainer starts, reconcile the opening balance, then keep books on a 10-day close from there.
Do you book equity compensation expense?+
Yes — pulled from Carta or Pulley and posted monthly so equity expense, additional paid-in capital, and the cap table reconcile to your trial balance.
Do you also do tax?+
Bookkeeping retainers usually pair with a separate or bundled tax engagement. See our startup tax planning page for details.
Vetting checklist
Questions to ask a startup CPA
- 1How many venture-backed or high-growth startups do you currently work with?
- 2Do you handle R&D credit, §174 capitalization, and Delaware franchise tax in-house?
- 3What's your monthly close timeline, and what does the deliverable pack include?
- 4Can you support a future audit, 409A valuation, and equity comp accounting?
- 5How is pricing structured as we grow from pre-seed to Series A?
Featured Professionals
Featured startup CPAs and firms
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Houston, TX
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Los Angeles, CA
LA's accountants specialize in entertainment, real estate, and creative-industry tax planning.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco CPAs serve startups, venture-backed companies, and complex equity-comp clients.
New York City, NY
NYC's accountants cover Wall Street, media, real estate, hospitality, and the small businesses of all five boroughs.
Miami, FL
Miami's CPAs specialize in international tax, real estate, hospitality, and Latin American business.
Chicago, IL
Chicago accountants serve professional services, manufacturing, logistics, and the Midwest's largest corporate base.
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta's CPAs support film, fintech, logistics, and one of the country's most dynamic small-business scenes.
Boston, MA
Boston-area accountants serve life sciences, higher education, financial services, and innovation-economy startups.
Seattle, WA
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Washington DC, DC
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Baltimore, MD
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