CPA Services for Startups

Set the books up right the first time

The chart of accounts, cloud stack, and opening balances you choose in month one drive every report and tax return that follows. We build them for venture-backed and high-growth companies, not for a corner store.

• Delaware C-Corp or LLC entity formation review and post-incorporation cleanup
• QuickBooks Online or Xero setup with a startup chart of accounts
• Bank, credit card, Stripe, Shopify, and Bill.com / Ramp connections
• Document workflow for receipts, vendor W-9s, and expense policies
• Equity stack imported from Carta or Pulley for option-grant tracking

Accrual books, monthly close, ASC 606 SaaS revenue

Startups raise on accrual financials and get audited on accrual financials. We close the books to accrual every month, recognize SaaS revenue under ASC 606, and tie deferred revenue out at year-end.

• Accrual bookkeeping with monthly close by the 10th business day
• Revenue recognition under ASC 606 for SaaS contracts and usage-based billing
• Deferred revenue, prepaids, and accrued expense schedules tied out monthly
• Stripe, Shopify, and merchant-processor reconciliations against the GL
• Year-end tie-out package for tax prep and (if needed) audit readiness

Wages, equity, 83(b), QSBS — handled

Founder pay is half W-2 salary and half equity strategy. We coordinate reasonable-compensation analysis, the 30-day 83(b) clock, ISO/NSO planning, and the QSBS five-year hold for your eventual exit.

• Reasonable-compensation analysis for founder W-2 wages (C-Corp and S-Corp)
• 83(b) election filed within the 30-day IRS window after restricted stock grants
• ISO vs NSO planning and AMT exposure modeling for option exercises
• QSBS five-year holding tracking and exit planning
• Founder expense reimbursement and accountable-plan documentation

Up to $500K/year in payroll-tax offset

Pre-revenue startups can offset employer payroll tax with the federal R&D credit. We run the QRE study, file Form 6765 with the income-tax return, and claim the offset on Form 8974 every quarter.

• Qualified-research-expense (QRE) study covering wages, contractor costs, and cloud compute
• Federal R&D credit on Form 6765 with §41 documentation
• Pre-revenue payroll-tax offset on Form 8974 — up to $500,000/year
• State R&D credits where available (CA, NY, TX, AZ, MA, and others)
• §174 R&D capitalization handled on the income-tax return

Survive diligence on the first pass

When the term sheet lands, the data room opens within a week. We keep your trailing 24 months of financials, cap table, revenue schedules, and 409A coordination ready year-round so a raise doesn't trigger a cleanup project.

• Cap table tied out to Carta or Pulley and reconciled to equity on the balance sheet
• Revenue schedules and customer-level MRR for diligence
• Clean 409A coordination and stock-comp expense booked monthly
• Data-room financials: monthly P&L, BS, CF for trailing 24 months
• Audit-readiness checklist for Series B and beyond

1. 1
   How many venture-backed or high-growth startups do you currently work with?
2. 2
   Do you handle R&D credit, §174 capitalization, and Delaware franchise tax in-house?
3. 3
   What's your monthly close timeline, and what does the deliverable pack include?
4. 4
   Can you support a future audit, 409A valuation, and equity comp accounting?
5. 5
   How is pricing structured as we grow from pre-seed to Series A?