INDUSTRY · STARTUPS
Bookkeeping for startups,
so burn and runway come from real books.
Startup bookkeeping records every transaction on the accrual basis, keeps investor money apart from revenue, and closes each month fast enough to report burn and runway. Investors and the year-end tax filing both expect it. ZeraBooks bookkeeping services do the monthly books for startups from $150 a month, with your own read-only login.
Free call · from $150 a month (USD) · founders anywhere · we keep the books, your CPA files
STARTER CHART
What chart of accounts does a startup need?
A software or product startup can start with about twenty accounts. The numbers follow the ranges in our chart of accounts template, so the reports sort cleanly as the company grows.
| Number | Account | Type | What goes there |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10100 | Operating checking | Asset | The main bank account |
| 10200 | Treasury or high-yield account | Asset | Raised money parked for runway |
| 12000 | Accounts receivable | Asset | Invoices customers haven’t paid |
| 14000 | Prepaid expenses | Asset | Annual software and insurance paid upfront |
| 20100 | Company card | Liability | Card charges not yet paid |
| 21000 | Accrued expenses | Liability | Costs incurred but not yet billed |
| 24000 | Deferred revenue | Liability | Annual plans paid upfront, not yet earned |
| 26000 | SAFEs and convertible notes | Liability or equity | Investor money before a priced round; your CPA decides which |
| 30100 | Common stock and paid-in capital | Equity | Founder and priced-round shares |
| 40100 | Subscription revenue | Revenue | Recurring revenue as it is earned |
| 50100 | Hosting and infrastructure | Cost of revenue | Cloud costs that grow with customers |
| 60100 | Payroll: engineering | Operating expense | Wages for the people building the product |
| 60200 | Payroll: sales and operations | Operating expense | Everyone else on payroll |
| 60500 | Contractors | Operating expense | Freelancers paid on a 1099-NEC |
| 61000 | Software and tools | Operating expense | Monthly subscriptions |
| 62000 | Rent and coworking | Operating expense | Office or desks |
| 63000 | Legal and accounting | Operating expense | Incorporation, financing documents, the tax return |
| 80100 | Interest income | Other income | Interest on the treasury account |
Splitting payroll by team from day one is what lets your accountant find research costs at year end without a forensic exercise.
Tell us about your books. We’ll scope the work and quote it before anything starts.
A WORKED MONTH
How do you calculate burn and runway from the books?
Lumen Labs is a fictional seed-stage software company. In March 2026 it closed a $250,000 SAFE, collected $28,500 from customers and paid its usual costs. Here is the month’s cash, straight from the reconciled bank account:
| March 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Opening cash | 412,000.00 |
| SAFE investment received | 250,000.00 |
| Customer payments collected | 28,500.00 |
| Payroll (wages, taxes, provider fee) | (46,800.00) |
| Contractor | (8,400.00) |
| Cloud hosting | (3,150.00) |
| Software | (1,240.00) |
| Rent | (4,500.00) |
| Card payment | (2,910.00) |
| Closing cash | 623,500.00 |
| Gross burn (all cash out) | 67,000.00 |
| Net burn (cash out less customer payments) | 38,500.00 |
| Runway at this net burn | 16.2 months |
The SAFE is not revenue and doesn’t lower burn: it is money in from investors, kept out of the profit and loss. Runway is closing cash divided by net burn: 623,500 ÷ 38,500 = 16.2 months. A shop that books the SAFE as income would show a profitable March and the wrong runway. The card payment counts once, as cash leaving the bank; the charges behind it are already on the card.
STARTUP-ONLY DATES
What deadlines do startup books need to support?
These come up for most U.S. startups. Your accountant or lawyer files them; the books supply the numbers.
Delaware franchise tax and annual report
Due March 1 each year for Delaware corporations, per the Delaware Division of Corporations. The assumed-par-value method needs total gross assets from the balance sheet, which can lower the bill a lot compared with the default method.
Section 83(b) elections
Founders and early employees with restricted stock file within 30 days of receiving it. It’s a legal and tax filing, not a bookkeeping entry, but the share purchase it describes should match the books.
Research credit against payroll tax
A qualified small business can apply up to $500,000 a year of research credit against payroll taxes, claimed on Form 6765 with the return. Payroll split by team is the starting point.
Form 1099-NEC
Due to each contractor and the IRS by January 31 for the previous year’s payments.
Investor updates
Monthly or quarterly: revenue, burn, runway and headcount. Only as good as how quickly each month closes.
CASH OR ACCRUAL
Should a startup use cash or accrual accounting?
Accrual, once you have revenue or investors
Annual plans paid upfront are earned month by month, so revenue matches the work. Investors, auditors and acquirers expect accrual statements.
Cash is fine before revenue
With no customers and few bills, cash and accrual barely differ. Switch before the first annual contract.
Two numbers to watch
Deferred revenue (cash collected, not yet earned) and accrued expenses (costs incurred, not yet billed). Most startup P&L surprises come from one of them.
WITH ZERABOOKS
How does ZeraBooks keep a startup’s books?
The same routine every month, on our own AI-native ledger.
- 1
Statements in the portal
Bank, treasury, card and payroll reports go in your upload portal. Investment wires get their own question so they never land in revenue.
- 2
Every account reconciled
A month only closes when each account matches the statement’s printed balances.
- 3
Reports for the board deck
Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow on your schedule, with cash in and out ready for the burn calculation above.
- 4
A clean year for the CPA
At year end your accountant gets the full package for the return and the Delaware filing. If you sell physical products too, bookkeeping for ecommerce covers payouts and inventory.
How much does bookkeeping for a startup cost?
ZeraBooks starts at $150 a month in U.S. dollars, agreed after a free call based on accounts, volume and reporting needs. Catch-up for months since incorporation is quoted on its own.
Is a SAFE revenue?
No. A SAFE is investor money. It goes on the balance sheet, as a liability or equity depending on its terms, and your accountant makes that call. It never belongs on the profit and loss.
Do startups need a bookkeeper or a CPA?
Both, for different jobs. The bookkeeper closes every month; the CPA files the return, advises on the research credit and handles the year-end entries. See bookkeeper vs accountant.
Can founders do the books themselves?
Early on, often yes. ZeraBooks AI bookkeeping reads statements, categorizes and reconciles from $79 a month billed annually. Most founders hand it over around the first raise or the first hire.
Does ZeraBooks connect to Stripe, Brex or Mercury?
No. ZeraBooks works from the statements and reports you upload, which is what lets every month be proven against the bank’s own balances.
WE DO YOUR BOOKS
Know your runway
from books that tie to the bank.
Tell us your accounts and when your next investor update is due. We’ll quote monthly bookkeeping from $150 a month. Book the free call.
Last updated October 18, 2026 · Written by Damin Mutti, founder of ZeraBooks