Accounting Software for Startups in the United States
Built for Delaware C-corps, SaaS revenue under ASC 606, multi-state nexus, and the kind of cap-table that takes a 409A every twelve months.
A US startup's books look nothing like a small business's. From the day a Delaware C-corp opens its first business checking account, the founder is making accounting decisions that compound: whether to capitalize software development under ASC 350-40, whether deferred revenue from an annual Stripe subscription belongs in Q1 or spread across twelve months, whether the contractor in Austin triggers payroll-tax nexus, whether the R&D tax credit is on the table for this year's return. HelloBooks is built around those decisions instead of around them. The chart of accounts ships pre-mapped to the standard SaaS template you'd hand a controller: deferred revenue, contract acquisition costs, restricted cash for security deposits, capitalized software. Stripe and bank feeds post into the ledger automatically, recognized revenue spreads across the subscription term, and the cap table sits alongside the books so a 409A or a Series A diligence pack doesn't take a week. We don't pretend a 1099-NEC is the same as a W-2, we don't lump SaaS revenue into a single "Sales" line, and we don't make you maintain a spreadsheet next to the books to track what's actually deferred.
Why HelloBooks for startups in United States
Built around the obligations and workflows that venture-backed and bootstrapped software startups actually face — not retrofitted from a generic small-business template.
ASC 606 revenue recognition on every Stripe charge
Annual and multi-month subscriptions are deferred and recognized rateably, with the schedule visible at the customer level. You can audit revenue from the invoice back to the contract terms without rebuilding the math in Excel.
R&D tax credit prep, not just R&D expense tracking
Engineering payroll, AWS, software subscriptions, and outside contractors flagged as qualified research expenses (QREs) for Form 6765. The work happens during the year, not the week before the return is due.
Multi-state nexus tracking on every sale
Every Stripe charge carries the customer state. When economic-nexus thresholds (typically 200 transactions or $100k in a state) approach, you see it in the dashboard, not in a notice from the Department of Revenue six months later.
1099-NEC and 1099-K reconciliation built in
Contractors are tagged on payment, W-9s are tracked, and the 1099-NEC pack is generated from the payments ledger in January. Stripe-issued 1099-Ks are reconciled to your books so you don’t end up with phantom 1099 income.
What HelloBooks does for venture-backed and bootstrapped software startups
Pre-built SaaS chart of accounts
Deferred revenue, contract acquisition costs (ASC 340-40), capitalized software, restricted cash. Mapped to the GAAP statement format that diligence and VC controllers expect, so you don't reorganize the books before a fundraise.
Stripe revenue with deferred recognition
Stripe webhook pushes both the cash side and the contract terms. HelloBooks defers the revenue, recognises it across the subscription, and journals the deferred balance every month — no manual top-side adjustments.
Bank feeds across 11,000+ US banks via Plaid
Operating account, AmEx, Brex, Mercury, SVB, Chase — all reconcile automatically. AI categorisation learns the chart-of-accounts mapping after a few corrections and applies it forward.
Burn-rate and runway in the same ledger
Monthly burn, gross margin, and runway months calculated from the live ledger — same numbers the board deck uses. The CFO doesn't have to reconcile a side spreadsheet to QuickBooks every Friday.
Contractor payments + 1099-NEC
Pay US contractors via ACH, collect W-9s, and generate 1099-NECs at year-end. Marketplace 1099-Ks from Stripe Connect or Shopify are imported and reconciled, not double-counted.
Sales-tax nexus monitoring
Every shipped or digital-good sale is mapped to a state. When you cross an economic-nexus threshold (commonly 200 transactions / $100k), the dashboard flags it and links to that state's registration page.
Questions venture-backed and bootstrapped software startups ask
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