5.0 out of 5 based on 41 reviews
SaaS Accounting Services
Deferred revenue handled properly, MRR that reconciles to the general ledger, and books that hold up in diligence.
★★★★★“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 SaaS accounting different
A SaaS business collects cash long before it earns the revenue, and the gap between the two is where most software company books go wrong.
Revenue recognitionCash received is a liability until the service is delivered, which means the bank balance and the income statement tell two different stories all year.
The problems that only happen at software companies
01Annual prepayments booked as revenue on receiptA customer pays $24,000 for twelve months in January. That is $2,000 of revenue a month and a $22,000 liability on day one. Book it all in January and the year opens with a quarter that will never repeat, and closes with what looks like decline.
02ASC 606 applied loosely or not at allThe standard governs when revenue can be recognized across a contract. Small SaaS companies frequently ignore it until an investor, an acquirer or a lender asks, and by then the restatement covers years rather than months.
03MRR that does not reconcile to the general ledgerMost SaaS teams track MRR in Stripe or a spreadsheet and revenue in the accounting system, and the two never agree. When a diligence process asks why, the answer is usually that nobody has ever checked.
04Deferred revenue nobody is schedulingWithout a deferred revenue schedule, the liability is a plug figure. It is one of the first things an acquirer tests and one of the fastest ways to lose credibility in a data room.
05Stripe payouts recorded as revenueA Stripe deposit is net of fees, refunds and chargebacks, and covers a settlement period rather than a billing period. Recorded as a single revenue line, gross revenue is understated, fees vanish into nothing, and refunds are invisible.
06Capitalised development costs, or the absence of themWhether internally developed software should be capitalised or expensed changes both profit and the balance sheet. Most early-stage companies expense everything by default and have never made it a decision.
07Sales tax on softwareEconomic nexus rules mean a SaaS business can owe sales tax in states it has never visited, and treatment of software varies by state. It accrues silently and surfaces during an acquisition.
What we handle for SaaS businesses
The problem
What we do
Deferred revenue
Deferred revenue schedules, maintained monthly rather than reconstructed
Revenue recognition
Revenue recognized across the contract term, aligned to ASC 606
MRR and ARR
MRR and ARR reconciled to the general ledger, so one set of numbers exists
Billing settlements
Stripe, Chargebee or Recurly settlements broken into gross revenue, fees, refunds and chargebacks
Churn and expansion
Churn and expansion tracked in a way that ties to recorded revenue
Gross margin
Gross margin after hosting and infrastructure, which most software P&Ls bury in overhead
R&D capitalization
R&D capitalization policy, made deliberately
Sales-tax exposure
Sales-tax exposure monitoring, with dedicated compliance software or a specialist recommended when multi-state nexus becomes complex.
Monthly close
CPA analysis of the monthly close
What we monitor for SaaS businesses
Gross marginAfter hosting and infrastructure
MRR and ARRReconciled to the general ledger
ChurnTied to recorded revenue
Deferred revenueScheduled monthly, not reconstructed
Software we work in
QuickBooks Online for the general ledger, with experience integrating Stripe and other operating systems. The integration that matters is the billing system into the ledger. If Stripe is posting a single net deposit line, the revenue detail is already lost.
How it works
STEP 1Revenue review first. How billings are currently recorded and what the deferred revenue balance should be.
STEP 2Schedule build. A deferred revenue schedule from existing contracts.
STEP 3Foundation Buildout, where prior periods recognized subscription revenue on receipt. The typical timeline is 2-4 weeks.
STEP 4Monthly close, with a deferred revenue roll-forward and MRR reconciliation alongside the P&L.
Proof
30+Systems worked with across multiple industries
2-4 weeksTypical Foundation Buildout timeline
What it costsSaaS accounting services are priced above standard bookkeeping because deferred revenue and billing reconciliation add monthly work. SaaS bookkeeping also requires recurring-revenue and deferred-revenue reconciliations that standard monthly work may not include.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.
See pricing →Stronghold has worked with more than 30 systems across multiple industries, including Stripe, while standardizing the general ledger in QuickBooks Online.Across multiple industries
Services SaaS businesses usually need
See more services for SaaS businesses
Common questions
SaaS questions
Do we need to follow ASC 606?
If you produce financial statements anyone relies on, yes. Investors, acquirers and lenders all assume it, and retrofitting compliance during diligence is expensive and badly timed.
A customer paid for a year up front. Is that revenue?
Not yet. It is deferred revenue released monthly as you deliver the service. See section 3.
Why doesn’t our MRR match our revenue?
Usually because MRR is tracked in the billing system on a subscription basis and revenue is recorded from Stripe payouts on a cash basis. They are measuring different things. Reconciling them is part of what we do.
Should we capitalise our development costs?
It depends on the stage of the work and how you want the balance sheet to read. It should be a decision with a documented policy rather than a default.
Do we owe sales tax on our software?
Possibly. Stronghold flags potential exposure, recommends a dedicated compliance platform or sales-tax specialist when nexus is complex, and reconciles the resulting activity in the books.
Are you set up for a due diligence process?
That is largely what this page is about. Clean deferred revenue schedules and reconciled MRR are the two things that get tested first.
Do you prepare our tax return?
Stronghold handles proactive tax planning and works with an integrated tax-preparation partner for filing. We coordinate the year-end handoff so the books, planning, and return preparation stay connected.