Bookkeeping & Billing for SAAS & Startups

Bookkeeping for SaaS companies and venture-backed startups: how LedgerBPO runs it

LedgerBPO provides bookkeeping for SaaS & startups on an accrual basis from day one: a named dedicated accountant recognizes subscription revenue under ASC 606 or IFRS 15, maintains the deferred revenue schedule, reconciles Stripe and Chargebee payouts to invoices, tracks burn and runway and closes the books monthly in QuickBooks Online or Xero so investors, lenders and your CPA see the same numbers.
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What we handle

LedgerBPO provides bookkeeping for SaaS & startups on an accrual basis from day one: a named dedicated accountant recognizes subscription revenue under ASC 606 or IFRS 15, maintains the deferred revenue schedule, reconciles Stripe and Chargebee payouts to invoices, tracks burn and runway and closes the books monthly in QuickBooks Online or Xero so investors, lenders and your CPA see the same numbers.
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Billing and books together

Subscription revenue recognized by contract term, with deferred revenue reconciled monthly
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Reconciled every month

Stripe, Chargebee and bank payouts matched to invoices, fees and refunds
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What you see

MRR, churn, burn and runway reported from the closed ledger, not a spreadsheet
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A named accountant, a backup and a team lead

Inside your own software, on a fixed close calendar, with a reply from a person within 1 business day. Call +1-657-777-0006 or start a quote.
Get a custom quote 06 / 06

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Bookkeeping for SaaS companies and venture-backed startups: how LedgerBPO runs it36 seconds · captions on · no audio

Updated September 2026 · Reviewed by Nimra Khalid

SaaS accounting challenges

01
Annual plans distort cash-basis books
A $12,000 annual subscription paid in January is $1,000 of revenue a month under ASC 606 and IFRS 15, not $12,000 in January. On a cash basis, a strong sales quarter looks like a spike and the following months look like collapse, which misleads the board and breaks any MRR calculation.
02
Processor payouts hide the real revenue
Stripe's standard US card pricing is 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful charge (Stripe pricing page), and payouts arrive net of those fees, refunds and disputes on a rolling schedule. Booking the payout as revenue understates both gross revenue and processing cost, and makes gross margin look better than it is.
03
Sales tax on SaaS varies by state and country
Roughly half of US states tax SaaS in some form, with the taxable definition and economic nexus thresholds differing by state (Avalara and TaxJar state guides). Add UK VAT, EU VAT OSS, Canadian GST/HST and Australian GST on digital services, and a startup selling online can owe tax in places it has never visited.
04
Investors expect metrics the ledger does not produce
MRR, net revenue retention, CAC payback and burn multiple are not general ledger accounts, so they are usually built in a spreadsheet that drifts from the books. The mechanism is simple: when a metric and the P&L come from different sources, a board member will eventually find the gap, and the finance team loses credibility at the worst moment.
05
Runway is the only number that matters and it is estimated
Net burn is cash out minus cash in, but accrued payroll, unpaid vendor bills and annual prepayments make the bank balance a poor proxy. A startup that reports runway from the bank balance can be two to three months off in either direction, which changes fundraising timing (mechanism: timing differences between cash and accruals).

What we handle for SaaS companies and venture-backed startups

Revenue recognition and deferred revenue

We recognize subscription, usage and implementation revenue by contract term under ASC 606 or IFRS 15 and maintain the deferred revenue roll-forward that ties to the balance sheet every month.

Billing system to ledger reconciliation

Stripe Billing, Chargebee, Recurly or Maxio invoices, credits and proration are reconciled to QuickBooks Online or Xero so the billing system and the books agree on revenue and receivables.

Payout and fee reconciliation

Our ReconBot workflow splits every Stripe, PayPal and Braintree payout into gross charges, fees, refunds and disputes, and clears the processor balance to zero at each close.

Burn, runway and cash forecasting

Monthly net burn and runway are calculated from the closed accrual books and reconciled to bank movements, with a 13-week cash view for the founders.

SaaS metrics from the ledger

MRR, ARR, churn, net revenue retention and CAC payback are built from reconciled billing and ledger data, so the board deck and the financials agree.

Multi-entity and multi-currency

US parent with UK or Canadian subsidiaries, intercompany charges, foreign-currency invoices and consolidation are handled inside your stack with eliminations documented.

SaaS software we work in

SaaS compliance notes

ASC 606 and IFRS 15 revenue recognition

Revenue is recognized when performance obligations are satisfied: subscriptions ratably over the term, usage as consumed, implementation fees over the period your accountant determines, and multi-element contracts allocated on standalone selling prices. We apply the policy your CPA or auditor sets and document the judgment for each contract type. Investors and acquirers expect this from the first institutional round.

Deferred revenue and contract liabilities

Cash collected ahead of service is a contract liability, not income, and the balance must roll forward every month: opening, billings, revenue recognized, closing. We maintain that schedule by customer and contract and tie it to the balance sheet and to the billing system, which is the first thing a diligence team tests.

Sales tax, VAT and GST on software

SaaS is taxable in a large share of US states and subject to VAT or GST on digital services in the UK, EU, Canada and Australia, each with its own registration threshold. We track taxable sales by jurisdiction, configure Stripe Tax, Avalara or TaxJar where you use them, and prepare filing workpapers for your tax adviser. We do not provide tax advice or file returns; your adviser or registered agent does.

SaaS metrics and investor reporting

MRR, ARR, gross and net churn, net revenue retention, CAC payback and burn multiple are reported from reconciled billing and ledger data with definitions documented. Board decks, lender covenant reports and data-room packs use the same figures as the monthly close, so nothing needs restating at the next round.

KPIs we report

KPI	Why it matters
Books closed on an accrual basis within 5 business days of month-end	Investor updates and board decks go out in the second week, and they need closed numbers.
Deferred revenue roll-forward tied to the balance sheet and the billing system every month	A deferred revenue gap is the first diligence finding in most SaaS acquisitions.
Stripe and billing system clearing accounts at zero at every close	Unreconciled processor balances mean revenue, fees or refunds are misstated.
MRR reported from the ledger matches the billing system within 1%	Metrics and financials that disagree destroy board confidence.
Net burn and runway reported within 7 business days of month-end	Fundraising timing depends on knowing runway to the month, not the quarter.

Services for SaaS companies and venture-backed startups

Frequently asked questions

Do you do accrual accounting for startups or just cash-basis bookkeeping?

Accrual, from the first month, because SaaS revenue and investor metrics do not work on a cash basis. Subscriptions are deferred and recognized over the term, expenses are accrued when incurred and prepayments are amortized. Your CPA can still file on a cash basis if that suits the company's tax position; we keep the books on the basis the board needs.

How do you reconcile Stripe to QuickBooks Online or Xero?

At the payout level through our ReconBot workflow. Each payout is split into gross charges, fees, refunds and disputes; charges are applied to invoices, fees go to processing expense and the net matches the bank deposit. The Stripe balance and the clearing account are zero at each close. The same workflow covers PayPal, Braintree and Paddle.

Can you calculate MRR, churn and net revenue retention from our books?

Yes, we build MRR, ARR, gross and net churn, net revenue retention and CAC payback from your billing system and the reconciled ledger, with each metric's definition written down. The figures in the board deck match the financials because they come from the same closed data. The KPI dashboard page for SaaS explains the standard tiles.

Do you handle sales tax on SaaS subscriptions?

We track taxable sales by state and country, maintain nexus and registration status with your tax adviser, configure Stripe Tax, Avalara or TaxJar where you use them and prepare filing workpapers. Your adviser decides where to register and files the returns. We do not give tax advice, and in the UK, Canada and Australia the same applies to VAT, GST/HST and GST.

Can you support a company with a US parent and a foreign subsidiary?

Yes, each entity keeps its own ledger in QuickBooks Online or Xero, intercompany charges are recorded on both sides monthly, foreign-currency balances are revalued at month-end and consolidation eliminations are documented. Payroll runs in each country's platform. Your CPA and the local accountant handle transfer pricing and statutory filings; we keep the books consistent across entities.

What do founders receive from you each month?

Accrual-basis P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, the deferred revenue roll-forward, MRR and churn reconciled to the billing system, net burn and runway, and a short note on what moved. Everything passes our Two-Tier Review before it reaches you. Data-room versions of the same reports are kept current so a fundraise does not start with a cleanup.

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Bookkeeping and billing for saas & startups