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.
Choosing software
What each accounting tool costs and does for a startup, compared fairly.
- Best AI bookkeeping software for startups (October 2026): 8 tools compared with prices
- Best accounting software for startups: what to pick at each stage, with prices
- Digits vs Pilot: AI software you run yourself or a bookkeeper you hire?
- Puzzle vs Digits accounting software: prices, AI and which fits a startup in 2026
- 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: prices for 1, 3 and 5 companies, and which lets your AI agent write
- Mercury Books vs QuickBooks: what free through 2026 covers, and what it leaves out
- Digits vs QuickBooks: price per company, seats and what your CPA will say
- Puzzle vs QuickBooks for startups: prices, AI credits and the Accrual sale
- Accounting software for multiple businesses: the monthly price for 2, 3 and 5 companies
Switching tools
How to move your books without losing history or a month-end.
- Bench shut down: what to do with your books and your tax return
- How to switch from QuickBooks Online: 7 steps that keep your history
- How to export your data from Digits: ledger, financial package and chart of accounts
- Switching bookkeepers mid-year: a 10-step handover that keeps your books clean
- When to stop using spreadsheets for bookkeeping, and how to move
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, the $2,000 limit and the Feb 1 due date
- Form 1120 for startups: file it every year, even with no revenue
- Section 174 for startups: domestic software and research costs are deductible again from 2025
- R&D tax credit for startups: offset up to $500,000 of payroll tax a year
- 83(b) election: the 30-day deadline, Form 15620 and what your books must record
Month-end close
How books get closed, reconciled and ready for your CPA.
- Month-end close checklist for startups: 12 steps, a 5-day calendar and the adjustments that matter
- How to do a bank reconciliation: 7 steps and a worked example with real numbers
- Accrual vs cash accounting for startups: a worked example and when to switch
- Startup chart of accounts: a sample SaaS chart of about 45 accounts, by function
- How long should month-end close take? Benchmarks, startup targets and continuous close
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
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, the interest rate and the entries
- Should I set up a holding company? Pros, cons and the books it creates
- Form 5472 for a foreign-owned US LLC or subsidiary: who files and the $25,000 penalty
- QuickBooks for multiple LLCs: one login, but each company is its own subscription
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 your bookkeeping? What it can and can't do safely
- 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: Intuit's connector, the open-source server and community options compared
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
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: each payout, fee and refund 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 pay run posted with a read-only token
- Connect Slack to your books: one-tap answers and a weekly digest
- Connect Gmail and Google Drive to your books: receipts found and attached
- 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 subsidiary of a foreign parent: books, a US bank and Form 5472 records
- Accountable for accounting firms: free seats and 30% of every referral