Hiring Employees and Contractors in the U.S. and Abroad: Tax Considerations & Software Solutions
A good team is the backbone of any thriving company. And the rise of technology has made it easier than ever before to expand your hiring pool well outside the boundaries of your city or even your state. Before you seek out the best and the brightest, though, make...
6 Year-End Tax Planning Tips for 2023
As the year wraps up, it’s time to start making that list and checking it twice. No, it’s not your holiday gift list. It’s your year-end tax planning to-dos. Taking some time to get yourself sorted could mean thousands of dollars of savings between your startup’s...
Passing the Four-Part R&D Tax Credit Test
Who wouldn’t want to cut their tax bill by as much as $500,000? It’s no surprise, then, that a lot of companies — especially startups trying to extend their runway as much as possible — explore the R&D tax credit. Technically called the Credit for Increasing...
Budgeting for 2024 for Your Tech Company
Think back to the earliest days of your startup. What started off as nothing more than an idea bloomed into a company. How did that happen? To a large extent, you can probably chalk it up to careful planning followed by diligent execution. With the new year about to...
✨ Celebrating a decade of excellence at Shay CPA! ✨
November 15th, 2013, was my last day at my full-time job at WNET-Channel 13. That day was a culmination of a three-year journey prior where I was moonlighting and creating my CPA firm on the side - nights, weekends, and even lunch hours. Leaving a full-time job was a...
What New York-Based Tech Companies Should Know About QETC Filings
The state of New York offers some serious tax perks for tech startups operating within its borders. Specifically, if you can get certified as a qualified emerging tech company (QETC), you and your investors can claim some meaningful credits to lower your tax...
Three Ways Game Developers Can Claim R&D Tax Credits
Developing a game isn’t cheap. Even if you have a team of 3D modeling pros with lots of programming experience and heaps of creativity, the hours you’ll all dump into building your game are hours people expect to be paid. And even if your internal team can handle the...
Don’t Let New York’s Franchise Tax Sneak Up On You
When you think about taxes, you probably directly associate the money that goes out to tax authorities with the money that’s come in. Take sales tax as an example. The more you sell, the more you’re going to pay. Income tax isn’t so different: the more you earn, the...
Job Titles That Help Your Business Claim R&D Tax Credits
As a startup, you’re probably looking for every money-saving opportunity you can find. That’s particularly true when it comes to your taxes. Even if you’re operating at a loss and don’t have a tax liability yet, tax credits matter. The U.S. Code allows you to carry...
Budgeting for 2024 for Your Tech Company
Think back to the earliest days of your startup. What started off as nothing more than an idea bloomed into a company. How did that happen? To a large extent, you can probably chalk it up to careful planning followed by diligent execution. With the new year about to...
Understanding the Down Round in Tech Companies: Accounting & Tax Implications
Going through a down round isn’t ideal, but plenty of startups have successfully leveraged one — or several — on their way to success. Whether you’re considering this option because of internal factors (like lackluster financial performance) or external ones (like...
Understanding MRR vs. Recognized Revenue: A Guide for Startups
If you’re running a subscription-based business, you’ve probably already started exploring ways to measure your recurring revenue. When you track your recurring revenue with a metric like monthly recurring revenue (MRR), you get a way to keep a finger on the pulse of...
How to Safely Use ChatGPT for Your Tech Company Accounting
For years, forward thinkers have been having conversations about how artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the way we live and work. But it wasn’t until ChatGPT exploded onto the scene that everyday people started to sit up and take notice. With...
Crunching the Numbers: Decoding the Right Time for a Financial Statement Audit
There's an adage that says, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now." However, when it comes to financial statement audits, the timing isn't quite as forgiving as planting trees. Understanding the dynamics of your financial...
What are SAFE Agreements?
A relatively new tool has come into founders’ hands: simple agreements for future equity, or SAFEs. But are they, as the name suggests, simple? Not necessarily. They’re still worth wrapping your head around, though, because SAFEs could give you a way to get the...
What are Convertible Notes?
Finding investors for your early-stage startup can feel particularly challenging. When you’re working with what might amount to little more than a good idea and a basic product, it’s hard to quantify. And yet, so much of startup financing hinges on getting a valuation...
2023 Chart of Accounts for Tech Founders
When compared to traditional small businesses, early-stage technology startups have nuances that they need to consider when putting together their financial statements and chart of accounts. Often, I find that entrepreneurs have used a financial model to assist them...
Important Changes to R&D Deductions (Section 174) – FAQ
R&D Expenditure Capitalization Rules (New for 2022) The TCJA amended Section 174 relating to the federal tax treatment of research or experimental expenditures paid or incurred during the taxable year. The new Section 174 rules require taxpayers to...
Hiring Employees and Contractors in the U.S. and Abroad: Tax Considerations & Software Solutions
A good team is the backbone of any thriving company. And the rise of technology has made it easier than ever before to expand your hiring pool well outside the boundaries of your city or even your state. Before you seek out the best and the brightest, though, make...
What’s the Difference Between a Controller and a CFO?
When your tech startup is young and scrappy, people wear a lot of hats. In fact, in its early days, you might have even overseen the company’s finances. As you grow, though, you want to bring in people with the required expertise to continue scaling successfully. And...
Transfer Pricing Basics for Tech Companies
As an early-stage tech company, expanding your operations overseas can provide access to new markets and tap into a global talent pool. However, hiring software developers and engineers in foreign countries requires having a transfer pricing agreement in place. ...
Cash Management: How to Manage Cash for Your Startup — and Why It Matters
You’ve probably heard it before: cash is the lifeblood of a business. You need it running through your company’s veins to keep things functioning. Without it, you’ll struggle to do core things like pay employees and maintain your office space, let alone market your...
5 Steps to Build an Expense Policy for Your Tech Company
Last summer, we talked about some best practices for a tech company’s expense policy. If you read it, it probably got your wheels turning. As it turns out, solid — and IRS-compliant — expense management means a lot more than cutting a check for the amount of the...
How Layoffs Affect Your Tech Company’s Books and Payroll
In the grand scheme of things, layoffs can be a critical strategic move to help your company survive long-term. But if you’re in the middle of a round of layoffs or even considering them, it’s hard to get that high-level view. Layoffs are painful and can get...
How Do I Organize the Finance Department at my Startup?
As you grow your startup, you know you need to prioritize building the right team. And that means finding the right people with the right skill sets, which definitely isn’t easy. That gets even harder when you’re hiring for finance functions. You’re probably not an...
What the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Means for Tech Startup Founders
Akshay Shrimanker, our Founder and CEO, recently joined Blake Oliver, David Leary, and a panel of other accounting experts (Mike Moiśe CPA, Matthew May CPA, and Reynaldo Arellano CPA) on a special episode of the Cloud Accounting Podcast. With everything that’s been in...
1099 + Other Year-end Reporting Tips for Your Tech Startup – 2023
Founders, for 2022, the threshold to issue a 1099-NEC remains $600 for payments made in the calendar year 2022. You must issue a 1099-NEC to the following: Services performed by someone who is not your employee (including parts/materials) – (box 1) Payments to an...
When and How to Raise a Series A
You’re past seed-stage funding, but unless your startup is particularly lucky, that doesn’t mean you’re past needing outside investing to continue your growth. Sure, some businesses can bootstrap. But if you’ve got a vision that you want to bring to life on any kind...
Protecting Your Funding: FDIC Insurance and Beyond
When you’re building your business, securing a new round of funding marks a huge milestone. But as a founder, you know what really matters is what happens next. How you handle that money shapes your business. It can literally make or break you. That means you’re...
What is a Fractional CFO?
A lot of pieces make up a successful startup: a great idea, an innovative team, willing investors — the list goes on. But at the end of the day, there’s one key component that can make or break everything else: your finances. The way your organization manages its...
The 5 Most Important Metrics for Startups to Track
Startup founders risk information overload. As you grow your team, you’ll probably get reports and updates on how various facets of your startup are faring. It’s a lot to take in. You might even reach a point where you start to miss the forest for the trees. It’s...
What is a 409A Valuation?
Once your startup goes public, any and everyone can see what you’re worth. But when you’re private, you still want to have a way to know where you’re valued. Fortunately, you don’t have to fly blindly here. You can get a 409A valuation. This valuation, which you...
Accrual-Based (GAAP) Accounting and Its importance for Tech Companies
Accounting can be more complicated than you expect. Even if you feel completely comfortable monitoring your personal finances, once you found a startup, there’s more to consider. Specifically, companies have to factor in accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable...
Congrats you raised your Series A – Make your next hire- A FULL-TIME CFO!
With a Series A fundraise we see typical raise sizes in the range of $10M+. Being a good financial steward for that amount of money as a founder is a lot of responsibility and for that reason, I would encourage any Founder at this stage to make your next C-Suite hire...
Budgeting and Forecasting Tips for Your Tech Company
Running a tech company requires you to keep a lot of plates spinning. You might not feel like you have time for financial planning and analysis (FP&A) — but you need to make time. Without proper budgeting and forecasting in place, you’re flying blind. You need a...
What do VC’s look for in early-stage founders?
By: Kacie Goff Funding-wise, things generally get easier as your business grows and gains traction. It’s getting the funding you need to finance the early stages of your company that’s the trick. And that’s precisely what prevents a lot of good ideas from becoming...
✨ Celebrating a decade of excellence at Shay CPA! ✨
November 15th, 2013, was my last day at my full-time job at WNET-Channel 13. That day was a culmination of a three-year journey prior where I was moonlighting and creating my CPA firm on the side - nights, weekends, and even lunch hours. Leaving a full-time job was a...
ShayCPA’s 2nd Annual Retreat Recap: Uniting for Growth
We're excited to share the incredible experiences and moments from our 2nd Annual Company Retreat in New York City. Over three days, our team united for collaboration, gained insights, and enjoyed thrilling adventures that left us with unforgettable memories. Let's...
Insights from ShayCPA’s QBO ProAdvisor Certifications
Super proud of our team for completing their QBO ProAdvisor and Advanced ProAdvisor Certifications this week. Here are some takeaways from our training that can help our finance leaders in the technology space. Deferred Revenue: Deferred Revenue is finally...
Tech Day- Founders Summit 2022
SHAY CPA P.C. sponsored TechDay HQ's 2022 Founder's Summit event in NYC. TechDay HQ's Founder's Summit is a highly focused conference designed exclusively for startup founders and their c-suite executives. The conference featured educational sessions presented by...
2022 ShayCPA Quickbooks ProAdvisor Update
When it comes to picking an accounting system for your technology company, Quickbooks is a great place to start. ShayCPA’s team is Quickbooks Online Advanced Certified. What does that mean? Advanced Certification for the Quickbooks Online System requires our team to...
The Truth About Being a Tech Company Service Provider
As a CPA, I’ve been working with technology companies since 2010. It started out as something I did on the side, but it turned into a full-time business in late 2013. The tech industry is a unique animal, and I’ve learned a lot over the last decade. As I’ve been...
Meet Our Staff: Megan Mahlstadt
In case you missed it, we’ve been using our blog page to introduce you to our ShayCPA team members. As we continue growing, it gives us an excellent opportunity to make sure you know the people who might be answering your email or phone call. Plus, it’s a chance to...
Meet Our Staff: Elias Bardis
As our ShayCPA team grows, we've had the opportunity to bring some fantastic talent onboard. Elias is no exception. We'd like to give you the chance to get to know him a little better in our latest edition of the Meet Our Staff feature. Elias joined us at the very...
Meet Our Staff: Grace Tsou
Lots of kids dread going to math class — but Grace has always been different. She’s had what she calls an “amicable relationship” with numbers since her youth. That made her a perfect fit for a career in accounting. As our longest-tenured staff accountant here at...
When and How to Raise a Series A
You’re past seed-stage funding, but unless your startup is particularly lucky, that doesn’t mean you’re past needing outside investing to continue your growth. Sure, some businesses can bootstrap. But if you’ve got a vision that you want to bring to life on any kind...
Revenue Recognition for SaaS Companies
Founders, as you embark on your journey of starting your SaaS-based business, one thing that will come up time and time again will be the concept of “revenue recognition.” That, of course, begs the question: what is revenue recognition? In short, it’s the process of...
What is Financial Due Diligence?
When you’re trying to get people excited about your idea, it’s tempting to want to gild the lily. But startup founders should never put themselves in a position where they’ve overpromised only to underdeliver. It can — and almost always will — catch up to you because...
Protecting Your Funding: FDIC Insurance and Beyond
When you’re building your business, securing a new round of funding marks a huge milestone. But as a founder, you know what really matters is what happens next. How you handle that money shapes your business. It can literally make or break you. That means you’re...
What is a 409A Valuation?
Once your startup goes public, any and everyone can see what you’re worth. But when you’re private, you still want to have a way to know where you’re valued. Fortunately, you don’t have to fly blindly here. You can get a 409A valuation. This valuation, which you...
Tax Benefits for Founders: Qualifying Small Business Stock (QSBS)
As a founder, you’re probably going to issue yourself a significant number of shares in your company. The goal there, of course, is to make some (ideally, a large amount) of money down the road. But the amount you’ll be able to pocket hinges on how you handle your...
Does Your Startup Need a Technical Founder?
When you’re building a startup, you know that the people you gather around you matter more than almost anything else. If you’re launching a tech company and you don’t have a programming background yourself, that becomes particularly important. That’s why a lot of...
How to Create an Executive Summary That Will Wow Investors
When your startup is in its seed stage, you face a catch-22. On the one hand, you need investors to power your growth. But, on the other hand, you need to grow to have something tangible to show investors why it’s worth betting on you. Fortunately, you can lean on an...
The Right Finance Stack for Seed-Stage Tech Companies
When you’re building a tech company, putting the right pieces in place early makes a huge difference. That means hiring the right team, establishing the right processes, and building the right tech stack. That last bit rings particularly true when it comes to your...
Transfer Pricing Basics for Tech Companies
As an early-stage tech company, expanding your operations overseas can provide access to new markets and tap into a global talent pool. However, hiring software developers and engineers in foreign countries requires having a transfer pricing agreement in place. ...
Safeguarding Your Intellectual Property and Financial Assets
A couple of years ago, we explored how tech companies can put measures in place to protect their physical, financial, and intangible assets. But in light of the increasing complexity around intellectual property (IP) rights and the fallout of the Silicon Valley Bank...
5 Steps to Build an Expense Policy for Your Tech Company
Last summer, we talked about some best practices for a tech company’s expense policy. If you read it, it probably got your wheels turning. As it turns out, solid — and IRS-compliant — expense management means a lot more than cutting a check for the amount of the...
How Do I Organize the Finance Department at my Startup?
As you grow your startup, you know you need to prioritize building the right team. And that means finding the right people with the right skill sets, which definitely isn’t easy. That gets even harder when you’re hiring for finance functions. You’re probably not an...
What to know about the SVB Shutdown
Latest FDIC update: Sunday, March 12th: Depositors will have access to all their SVB stored funds starting Monday, March 13. Recent FDIC Press release: https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23017.html FDIC FAQ page:...
Section 195: What Every Founder Should Know About Startup Expenses
Getting a business off the ground requires capital. As they say, you need to spend money to make money. But Section 195 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) brings some good news. Once you launch your startup, you may be able to recoup some of those costs in the form of...
Deel vs. Remote: Your Guide to International Payroll
Digitalization makes our world smaller by the day. And that means that as you’re hiring for your startup, you don’t necessarily want — or need — to limit yourself to recruiting domestically. Historically, the problem with hiring someone in another country has largely...
Founders – Get Huge Tax Breaks by acting now!
Founders - check out our tips below that can save your Startup thousands of dollars in Income Taxes, Payroll Taxes, Sales Taxes, and foreign taxes. R&D Tax Credits: Did you know that if your startup conducts R&D activities it can qualify for up to $500,000 in...
The 5 Most Important Metrics for Startups to Track
Startup founders risk information overload. As you grow your team, you’ll probably get reports and updates on how various facets of your startup are faring. It’s a lot to take in. You might even reach a point where you start to miss the forest for the trees. It’s...
6 Year-End Tax Planning Tips for 2023
As the year wraps up, it’s time to start making that list and checking it twice. No, it’s not your holiday gift list. It’s your year-end tax planning to-dos. Taking some time to get yourself sorted could mean thousands of dollars of savings between your startup’s...
Passing the Four-Part R&D Tax Credit Test
Who wouldn’t want to cut their tax bill by as much as $500,000? It’s no surprise, then, that a lot of companies — especially startups trying to extend their runway as much as possible — explore the R&D tax credit. Technically called the Credit for Increasing...
What New York-Based Tech Companies Should Know About QETC Filings
The state of New York offers some serious tax perks for tech startups operating within its borders. Specifically, if you can get certified as a qualified emerging tech company (QETC), you and your investors can claim some meaningful credits to lower your tax...
Three Ways Game Developers Can Claim R&D Tax Credits
Developing a game isn’t cheap. Even if you have a team of 3D modeling pros with lots of programming experience and heaps of creativity, the hours you’ll all dump into building your game are hours people expect to be paid. And even if your internal team can handle the...
Don’t Let New York’s Franchise Tax Sneak Up On You
When you think about taxes, you probably directly associate the money that goes out to tax authorities with the money that’s come in. Take sales tax as an example. The more you sell, the more you’re going to pay. Income tax isn’t so different: the more you earn, the...
Job Titles That Help Your Business Claim R&D Tax Credits
As a startup, you’re probably looking for every money-saving opportunity you can find. That’s particularly true when it comes to your taxes. Even if you’re operating at a loss and don’t have a tax liability yet, tax credits matter. The U.S. Code allows you to carry...
Understanding the Down Round in Tech Companies: Accounting & Tax Implications
Going through a down round isn’t ideal, but plenty of startups have successfully leveraged one — or several — on their way to success. Whether you’re considering this option because of internal factors (like lackluster financial performance) or external ones (like...
Boost Your Startup with the Revamped R&D Tax Credit: What You Need to Know
The landscape for small businesses and startups is constantly evolving, especially when it comes to taxes. One area ripe for taking advantage of is the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit. Recent changes in tax laws have made this opportunity even more...
How to Claim R&D Credits During Clinical Trials
Because our team here at ShayCPA specializes in providing accounting services to tech companies, we spend a lot of time working with Section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code. IRC § 41 is what makes it possible to claim a tax credit for research and development,...