Guides
Startup accounting, answered
Plain answers to the questions founders ask about their books, taxes, deadlines and tools, with every rule and price sourced and dated.
Popular questions
What founders ask most before choosing AI bookkeeping, each answered on one page.
- What is AI accounting software, and which is best for a startup?
- What is the best AI bookkeeping software for startups?
- Can ChatGPT do my bookkeeping?
- What is the cheapest bookkeeping for a seed-stage startup?
- Can I see cash and accrual accounting side by side?
- How do I keep my books investor-ready for due diligence?
- What does AI replace in a bookkeeper's work, and what does a CPA still do?
- Is there an accounting MCP server for Claude?
- How do founders who own several companies keep their books?
Choosing software
What each accounting tool costs and does for a startup, compared fairly.
- Best AI bookkeeping software for startups: 8 tools compared
- Best accounting software for startups: what to pick at each stage
- Digits vs Pilot: software you run or a bookkeeper you hire?
- Puzzle vs Digits accounting: prices, AI and the Accrual sale
- QuickBooks vs Xero for startups: prices, users and AI in 2026
- Bench alternatives after the shutdown: what to use in 2026
- Digits vs Kick accounting: which fits your companies?
- Mercury Books vs QuickBooks: what free through 2026 leaves out
- Digits vs QuickBooks: prices, seats and what your CPA will say
- Puzzle vs QuickBooks for startups: prices, AI credits and the Accrual sale
- Best accounting software for multiple businesses, by monthly price
- Digits accounting review: pricing, what works and what founders complain about
- Kick vs QuickBooks accounting: price, several companies and agent access
- Pilot vs Zeni: two bookkeeping services priced side by side
- Cheapest bookkeeping for a seed-stage startup: free plans and $30 software
- AI accounting software for startups: what to look for before you buy
- AI accounting software vs AI bookkeeping software: what is the difference?
- Best AI accounting software for small businesses and startups (2026)
- AI accounting software pricing: what startups pay in 2026
Switching tools
How to move your books without losing history or a month-end.
Taxes and deadlines
The filings a US startup owes, when they are due, and what they cost.
- Delaware franchise tax for startups: how to pay $400, not $85,000
- Startup tax deadlines for a Delaware C corp: the dated 2027 calendar
- Form 1099-NEC for startups: who gets one and when
- Form 1120 for startups: file it every year, even with no revenue
- Section 174 for startups: US software and research costs are deductible again
- R&D tax credit for startups: use it against payroll tax
- 83(b) election: file within 30 days, and record it
Month-end close
How books get closed, reconciled and ready for your CPA.
- Month-end close checklist for startups: 12 steps in 5 days
- How to do a bank reconciliation, with a worked example
- Accrual vs cash accounting for startups: which should you use?
- Startup chart of accounts: a sample SaaS chart by function
- How long should month-end close take? Benchmarks, startup targets and continuous close
- Cash and accrual side by side: see both at once
Burn, runway and reporting
The numbers investors ask for and how to get them right.
- How to calculate burn rate: gross burn, net burn and an example
- How to calculate startup runway: formula, example and default alive
- Investor update template: a monthly email with real numbers
- Deferred revenue for SaaS: journal entries for annual prepaid plans
- ASC 606 for SaaS startups: the 5 steps with a worked example
- SaaS gross margin: the formula, what counts and real benchmarks
- How to keep your books investor-ready for due diligence
Several companies
Books for founders who run more than one company.
- How to consolidate financial statements: a small-company example with eliminations
- Intercompany transactions accounting: loans, cost sharing and due to and from
- A loan between my two LLCs: the note, rate and entries
- Should I set up a holding company?
- Which foreign-owned US companies file Form 5472?
- QuickBooks for multiple LLCs: one login, one subscription each
- Xero for multiple companies: one login, one bill per organization
AI and agents
What AI can do with your books today, and how to let it safely.
- Accounting MCP server: what it does and which ones exist
- Can ChatGPT do my bookkeeping? Yes, inside your live books.
- How to use Claude for accounting, and where to stop
- How AI bookkeeping works: from bank feed to closed month
- Is AI bookkeeping accurate? What to check before you trust it
- QuickBooks MCP server: seven ways to connect an AI agent
- Claude accounting skills: five that work on real books
- What AI replaces in bookkeeping, and what your CPA still does
- How accurate is AI accounting software? Test it before you trust it
- Is AI accounting software safe? Approvals, audit logs and undo
Bookkeeping basics
The accounting ideas every founder meets in year one.
- Bookkeeping for startups: what to set up in your first year
- Do you need a bookkeeper or a CPA for your startup?
- How to categorize business transactions, with a startup cheat sheet
- How to account for Stripe payouts: gross, fees, refunds and clearing
- Mercury bank bookkeeping: four ways to keep your books
- Startup financial statements: P&L, balance sheet and cash flow explained
- Gusto payroll journal entry: a worked example with taxes and benefits
Integrations
How each bank, card, payroll and AI tool you use lands in your books.
- Accounting software for Mercury: every account in your books within minutes
- Accounting software for Brex: every card transaction posted and matched
- Accounting software for Ramp: every card transaction matched
- Stripe accounting: every payout booked and matched to the bank
- Accounting software for Gusto: each pay run booked from the payroll journal
- Accounting software for Rippling: each pay run booked from the journal report
- Accounting software for Deel: each contractor payment posted with a read-only token
- Connect Slack to your books: one-tap answers and a weekly digest
- Receipts from email and Google Drive, attached to your payments
- Connect Claude to your books, with approval for big changes
- Connect ChatGPT to your books, with every change logged and undoable
- Connect Cursor to your books: build on your real numbers
Who it's for
Books for your kind of company, and the jobs that come with it.
- Accounting for founders who run several companies: one login, separate books
- Accounting for SaaS startups: Stripe, deferred revenue and ASC 606
- Accounting for AI startups: model API spend, cloud credits and gross margin
- Accounting for a US company owned from abroad
- Accountable for accounting firms: free seats and 30% of every referral