Our SaaS accounting and bookkeeping recognizes revenue over each subscription, tracks deferred revenue, reconciles Stripe payouts and reports MRR every month, with cash-flow reporting and runway on Scale. Fixed monthly fees start at $150, inside your own QuickBooks Online or Xero, with one named contact.
Fixed monthly fees from $150/month
Six problems that distort a software company’s numbers, and what we do about each one.
Annual plans paid up front were booked as revenue in the month the cash arrived.
What we doPrepaid cash goes to deferred revenue, and one twelfth is recognized each month as the service is delivered.
MRR is a run rate and revenue is the accounting number. Annual plans, discounts, refunds and failed payments all open gaps.
What we doMRR reported next to recognized revenue each month, with the difference explained.
Payouts are net of fees, refunds and disputes, and they batch charges from several days.
What we doEach payout matched to the charges, fees and refunds behind it, so the deposit ties to the penny.
Cash-basis books cannot show deferred revenue, costs owed but not yet paid, or true burn.
What we doAccrual books every month, with burn and runway reported on Scale: the numbers investors and boards look at.
A cash-basis history, no deferred revenue schedule, and revenue that does not trace back to customers.
What we doA fixed-price cleanup first, then deferred revenue tracked as a liability every month.
Customers in many states, and nobody has checked which of those states tax software or where sales have passed a threshold.
What we doSales tracked by state against each threshold, and returns filed where you are registered.
An annual plan paid up front is cash today and revenue over twelve months. Get that wrong and everything downstream is wrong too: MRR, growth, margin and burn.
We keep revenue recognition and deferred revenue correct, so the numbers in your investor update match the books.
A $12,000 plan: cash once, revenue month by month.
| Month | Cash in | Revenue | Deferred |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $12,000 | $1,000 | $11,000 |
| February | $0 | $1,000 | $10,000 |
| March | $0 | $1,000 | $9,000 |
| April to November | $0 | $8,000 | $1,000 |
| December | $0 | $1,000 | $0 |
| Full year | $12,000 | $12,000 | $0 |
Book the $12,000 as January revenue and January looks like a record month, while February to December look like you sold nothing.
Under ASC 606, the US revenue standard, a subscription is earned as the service is delivered, not when the customer pays. Each way you bill needs its own treatment.
All of this needs accrual books. Cash books record money when it arrives, so they cannot show deferred revenue at all. Your tax return may still use the cash method if you qualify, and that is settled with whoever prepares it.
| Line | June |
|---|---|
| Opening balance, June 1 | $86,400 |
| Annual and multi-year plans billed | $31,200 |
| Recognized as revenue | ($24,700) |
| Refunds and credits | ($1,100) |
| Closing balance, June 30 | $91,800 |
How to record deferred revenue: when an annual plan is paid, cash and deferred revenue (a liability) go up by the same amount. Each month the earned share moves from deferred revenue to revenue.
Example only: a made-up business. The figures add up but belong to no real client.
A Stripe payout is not a sale. It is a batch of charges from several days, less refunds, disputes and fees, sometimes converted from another currency.
We break each payout back into its parts. Subscription charges go to revenue or deferred revenue, refunds and disputes come off revenue, and fees land as an expense. The deposit then ties to the bank to the penny, and the Stripe balance ties too.
Book only the net deposit and revenue is understated, fees disappear and the MRR in Stripe never matches the books.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Subscription charges | $8,420.00 |
| Refunds | ($310.00) |
| Disputes | ($120.00) |
| Stripe fees | ($256.19) |
| Payout to the bank | $7,733.81 |
Recorded gross: $8,420.00 of charges to revenue and deferred revenue, $430.00 of refunds and disputes against revenue, and $256.19 of fees as an expense.
Example only: a made-up business. The figures add up but belong to no real client.
The numbers founders and investors watch, next to the accounting numbers they come from: MRR every month, with burn and runway on Scale.
What active subscriptions are worth each month, and twelve times that. A run rate, not revenue.
What the books count as earned this month, with the gap to MRR explained.
How much cash the business used this month, after what came in.
Cash on hand divided by net burn: how many months the money lasts at this pace.
| Line | June |
|---|---|
| Starting MRR | $39,300 |
| New and expansion | $3,900 |
| Churn and contraction | ($1,600) |
| Ending MRR | $41,600 |
| Line | June |
|---|---|
| Cash on hand, June 30 | $612,000 |
| Net burn for the month | $38,000 |
| Runway | 16 months |
Example only: a made-up business. $612,000 divided by $38,000 is about 16 months.
Bookkeeping for startups changes once outside money arrives. The aim is one set of books that never needs rebuilding.
Usually founders, a few contractors and a Stripe account.
Investors expect a monthly update, and a board expects a budget.
Already a year in on cash-basis books? A fixed-price bookkeeping cleanup moves you to accrual, and catch-up bookkeeping fills any missing months first. Both are quoted before any work starts.
Everything runs inside your own QuickBooks or Xero for one fixed monthly fee. Each task links to the service that does it.
From $150/month. Payroll and its filings are part of Growth, from $350/month. Cash-flow reporting and fractional CFO support are part of Scale, from $650/month.
Starter covers the accrual profit and loss and balance sheet. Deferred revenue schedules and MRR reporting are priced into your fixed monthly fee after a short look at how you bill, and your quote lists each report.
Numbers you can watch: MRR and ARR, recognized and deferred revenue and cash on hand, plus monthly burn and runway on Scale.
Free books review
Add us as your accountant in QuickBooks Online, Xero or the software you use. You get a written list of what is misclassified or unreconciled, and what it would take to fix. Yours to keep.
Two minutes. Your software, and how you bill: monthly, annual or usage.
Invite hello@remotebookkeepersllc.com as your accountant in your QuickBooks Online, Xero or other software. We only read the file, and nothing in it changes.
Within about 48 hours, in plain English.
Free, no obligation. No sales call required. Nothing in your books changes.
We would rather tell you up front than take on work we cannot do well.
You keep your apps and your own QuickBooks or Xero file. Nothing to switch, and your data stays yours.
Stripe
QuickBooks
Xero
PayPal
Gusto
WiseYes. It is money customers have paid for service you have not delivered yet, so you owe them either the service or a refund. It sits on the balance sheet as a liability and moves to revenue as each month is delivered.
A growing deferred revenue balance is usually good news: more customers paying up front.
MRR is a run rate: what your active subscriptions are worth each month. Revenue is what the accounts recognize as earned. A $12,000 annual plan counts as $1,000 of MRR for the whole year, and $1,000 of revenue is recognized each month, even though the cash arrived on day one.
We report both and show why they differ.
Yes. Payouts are matched to the charges, fees, refunds and disputes behind them, including any currency conversion, so every deposit ties out.
Yes. Accrual books and clean revenue records set up before a raise cost far less than rebuilding them during due diligence. Starter, from $150/month, usually fits until you have people on payroll.
It depends on the state. Some states tax SaaS, some tax only certain kinds, and some do not tax it at all. The obligation usually starts when your sales into a state pass its threshold, so we track your sales by state and file returns where you are registered.
From tax years starting in 2025, US software development costs can again be deducted in the year they are paid, instead of being spread over several years. Work done outside the US is still spread over 15 years.
Your tax preparer applies the rules, and books that keep development payroll and contractors on their own lines make that straightforward.
Yes. A cleanup fixes miscoded, duplicated and unreconciled records and puts deferred revenue where it belongs. It is quoted as a fixed price before any work starts.
The free books review is the first step: it shows what needs fixing.
Starter, from $150/month, for founders without payroll. Growth, from $350/month, once you have a team on payroll and a return to file. Scale, from $650/month, when you report to investors and want cash-flow reporting and fractional CFO support.
The exact fee is confirmed after a short look. If your volume grows a lot, we talk first, and any change is agreed with you in advance. No long-term contract.
Still have a question? Book a free consultation (opens in a new tab)
Two free ways to start. No obligation, no long-term contract.
(906) 268-9778 hello@remotebookkeepersllc.com
Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm EST
We only read the file. Written findings in about 48 hours.
A free intro call at a time you pick. No pressure, no jargon.