5.0 out of 5 based on 41 reviews
Startup Accounting Services
Books that will survive your next raise, set up before they need fixing.
★★★★★“Since adding Alex with Stronghold Accounting for our bookkeeping, it has truly been a Godsend for our business. Alex cleaned up a difficult QuickBooks transition and became a game changer for our month-to-month bookkeeping.”Patty LeslieTampa
★★★★★“I like that you're helping me strategize, not just giving me numbers. There were still blind spots that you've been able to uncover for me. I didn't think that was possible.”JoelService-business owner
★★★★★“Alex and his team helped bring the books current and continue to provide monthly support while helping plan for growth.”Dr. MaloneLake Mary
★★★★★“Alex is sharp, detail-oriented, and genuinely passionate about his work. He explains the numbers clearly and helps business owners gain more control over their finances.”Baxter McCoyOrlando
★★★★★“Since adding Alex with Stronghold Accounting for our bookkeeping, it has truly been a Godsend for our business. Alex cleaned up a difficult QuickBooks transition and became a game changer for our month-to-month bookkeeping.”Patty LeslieTampa
★★★★★“I like that you're helping me strategize, not just giving me numbers. There were still blind spots that you've been able to uncover for me. I didn't think that was possible.”JoelService-business owner
★★★★★“Alex and his team helped bring the books current and continue to provide monthly support while helping plan for growth.”Dr. MaloneLake Mary
★★★★★“Alex is sharp, detail-oriented, and genuinely passionate about his work. He explains the numbers clearly and helps business owners gain more control over their finances.”Baxter McCoyOrlando
★★★★★“Since adding Alex with Stronghold Accounting for our bookkeeping, it has truly been a Godsend for our business. Alex cleaned up a difficult QuickBooks transition and became a game changer for our month-to-month bookkeeping.”Patty LeslieTampa
★★★★★“I like that you're helping me strategize, not just giving me numbers. There were still blind spots that you've been able to uncover for me. I didn't think that was possible.”JoelService-business owner
★★★★★“Alex and his team helped bring the books current and continue to provide monthly support while helping plan for growth.”Dr. MaloneLake Mary
★★★★★“Alex is sharp, detail-oriented, and genuinely passionate about his work. He explains the numbers clearly and helps business owners gain more control over their finances.”Baxter McCoyOrlando
What makes startup accounting different
Runway. A profitable business measures performance. A startup measures how long it has left, and every accounting decision either sharpens that number or blurs it. Burn rate, months of runway and the date the money runs out are the outputs that matter, and none of them appear on a standard P&L.
RunwayBookkeeping services for startups are often bought late, after the first raise, when a data room deadline forces it. Outsourced accounting for startups is considerably cheaper bought early, because the work is structure rather than reconstruction. An accountant for startups earns their fee in the first three months by preventing a cleanup that would otherwise land at the worst possible moment.
The problems that only happen at startups
01Founder spending mixed into the businessAlmost universal in year one. A personal card used for a company subscription, a company card for a personal flight. It is fixable early and expensive later, and it is the first thing an investor’s accountant unpicks.
02Equity events recorded as nothing at allA SAFE, a convertible note, a priced round, founder shares vesting, an option grant. These are accounting events with balance sheet consequences, and startups routinely record the cash and ignore the instrument. A SAFE is not revenue and it is not equity yet either.
03Burn rate calculated inconsistentlyGross burn or net burn, including or excluding one-off costs, on cash or accrual. Founders quote a runway figure to investors calculated a different way each quarter without realising it.
04R&D tax credits left unclaimedStronghold flags potential eligibility, supplies the supporting accounting records, and coordinates with a specialist who handles qualification, documentation, and calculation.
05Contractor-versus-employee decisions made on cash flowEarly teams are built from contractors because it is cheaper and faster. Some of those relationships look like employment, and the exposure compounds quietly until a raise or an acquisition surfaces it.
06Cap table and books that disagreeThe cap table lives in a spreadsheet or Carta, the books live somewhere else, and nobody reconciles them until diligence.
07No accrual basis when investors expect oneCash basis is simpler and fine for a tax return. Investors read accrual statements, and converting under time pressure during a raise is a bad experience.
What we handle for startups
The problem
What we do
Founder spending
Clean separation of founder and company spending, from month one
Chart of accounts
A chart of accounts built for burn and runway reporting, not retrofitted later
Burn and runway
Monthly burn and runway reporting on a consistent definition
Equity events
Equity events recorded properly: SAFEs, notes, priced rounds, founder vesting, option grants
Cap table
Cap table reconciled to the balance sheet
Accrual basis
Accrual basis books where investors expect them
Contractor classification
Contractor classification review before the team scales
R&D credits
R&D credit support. Stronghold provides the accounting records and coordinates with a specialist rather than preparing credit studies internally.
Investor reporting
Investor-ready reporting packages for board or update cadence
Monthly close
CPA analysis of the monthly close
What we monitor for startups
Burn rateReported monthly on a consistent definition
RunwayMonths left, on the same definition every month
Recurring revenueTracked and tied to the general ledger
Cleanup costWhat delay costs when diligence arrives
Software we work in
QuickBooks Online for the general ledger, with experience in Stripe, Square, Harvest, and other operating systems.
Startups accumulate tools faster than any other client type. The question worth asking early is which of them the books depend on, because that decides what breaks when one gets replaced.
How it works
STEP 1Structure first. Chart of accounts, entity setup, and separation of founder spending before there is much history to fix.
STEP 2Equity baseline. Every instrument issued to date, recorded and reconciled to the cap table.
STEP 3Foundation Buildout, where the first year was done on the fly. The typical timeline is 2-4 weeks.
STEP 4Monthly close, with burn and runway reporting alongside the P&L.
What it costs
Startup accounting services generally start lower than other verticals, because volume is low early, and rise as the business grows.
Pricing is custom and flat-rate. The quote reflects company size, industry, headcount, bank and credit-card accounts, locations, entity count, transaction volume, and any cleanup required.
The client-results library includes quantified cleanup, law-firm, agency, and contractor engagements; startup-specific results will be added when publishable client data is available.Stronghold client results
Services startups usually need
See more services for startups
Common questions
Startup questions
Do you offer bookkeeping services for startups pre-revenue?
Yes. Pre-revenue is often the best time to start, because there is almost no history to correct and the structure gets set right from the beginning.
When does a startup actually need an accountant?
Earlier than most founders think, though not for the reason they expect. The value in year one is structure. Getting the separation and the chart of accounts right costs very little at the time and saves a cleanup during your first raise.
How do you record a SAFE?
Not as revenue and not as equity on receipt. It sits on the balance sheet until conversion, and the treatment depends on the terms. Recording it as income is one of the more common errors we see.
Can you handle our cap table?
We reconcile the cap table to the balance sheet. Maintaining the cap table itself is usually better done in Carta or similar, and we work from it.
Do you help with R&D tax credits?
Stronghold does not prepare R&D credit studies internally. We flag potential eligibility, provide the accounting records, and coordinate with a specialist.
Should we be on cash or accrual?
Cash is simpler and often fine for tax. Investors read accrual. If a raise is on the horizon within a year, start on accrual rather than converting mid-process.
Are you a fractional CFO for startups?
Fractional CFO services are available through an integrated partner. Stronghold handles the books, monthly close, and controller-level process; the CFO partner can support forecasting, fundraising, and board reporting when the business needs it. Controller services.
Do you work with startups outside Florida?
Yes. Offices in Tampa and Lake Mary, clients across the US.