From Zero to One — Paying Yourself and Making Your First Hire
Starting your company usually feels like stepping into the unknown. You’re about to face a wealth of unpredictability as you try to navigate toward success. In some ways, though, things will never be simpler. That’s because once you hire your first employee,...
LLC vs S-Corp vs C-Corp: Tax and Fundraising Tips for Startup Founders
At ShayCPA, we meet founders at every stage of their journey—from the first spark of an idea to scaling with venture capital and beyond. One of the very first questions we hear is: “What’s the best business entity for my tech company: an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp?” It’s...
Getting Compliant for SaaS Sales Taxes
Companies that provide SaaS products need to take certain steps to make sure they’re compliant with any sales tax laws that apply to them. Doing that gets a lot easier when you know what those steps entail. With that in mind, let’s go over your SaaS company’s...
Section 174 has changed: what startups need to do for 2024–2025
If your company builds software or does any kind of product R&D, Section 174 affects your tax bill. Congress just split the old rules in two, and the IRS/Treasury issued transition guidance telling you how to switch (Rev Proc 2025-28). Here’s the plain English...
Sales Tax for SaaS Companies
We have an important alert for all software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies: you might be subject to sales tax. While most of us think of sales tax as applying to tangible goods, plenty of states have implemented this tax for software products, too. Fortunately, if...
FinTech Optimization: Creating the Right Stack for Your Company at Every Stage
Managing the company’s finances is one of the biggest — and, often, most daunting — to-dos for any founder. Fortunately, financial technology (fintech, for short) makes this a lot easier. It can automate time-consuming tasks, streamline reporting to generate insights...
Qualifying Small Business Stock – The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Expands QSBS
Capital gains tax is a particularly painful one. It directly eats into your profit, taking a significant chunk. That’s especially troubling to founders and investors who want to liquidate some of their shares. With capital gains in play, the amount of money you...
Section 174 Updates: With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, R&D Expensing Just Got Easier
On Independence Day 2025, President Trump signed a broad-sweeping piece of legislation into law. It’s been widely called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), but the name was stripped to “the Act.” This massive document covers so much ground that some lawmakers...
OBBBA (Now “The Act”) Individual Tax Provisions That Affect Founders and Investors
Now that the Act — commonly called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) — has been signed into law, it introduces a number of changes for individual taxpayers. Even as we await implementation action from the Treasury Department, people who want to plan ahead can...
Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting (BOI) and the Corporate Transparency Act: What Tech Companies Need To Know
At the start of this year (2024), new legislation was enacted requiring many companies operating in the U.S. to complete an additional filing. Before you start dreading this extra to-do, you should know a few things. First, the filing is relatively simple. Secondly,...
Innovating the Month-End Close Checklist: Fintech Tools that Can Help
The month-end close is a critical tool in any tech company’s arsenal. It’s also a lot of work. Gathering up all of the details you need to look back over the last month and account for every penny can be a major lift. Add in the need to update key financial reports...
Changing Your Fiscal Year for Your Tech Company
The IRS wants to see your books in twelve-month batches. That doesn’t mean you have to file your tax return based on the calendar year, though. If a January 1 start and a December 31 close doesn’t make sense for your business, you have the option to change to a fiscal...
The Ultimate Month-End Close Checklist for Tech Companies
Undertaking a month-end close serves your tech company in a myriad of ways. First, it ensures accuracy in your books. If you’re burning through your runway faster than expected, this regular check-in clues you into the issue early. Secondly, it gives you a clear view...
Wave vs. QuickBooks Online: Comparing Two Leading Accounting Softwares
There’s absolutely no reason to manually manage your accounting. Today’s accounting software can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, from compiling all of your transactions into a single place to creating key financial reports. In fact, the focus shouldn’t be on...
How to Move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online
More and more finance teams are making the jump from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online. And it’s not just because the online version maintains the user experience that you’re used to while allowing access from anywhere at any time. It’s because QuickBooks is in...
Refresh Your Finances: Spring Clean Your Bookkeeping to Prep for Your Next Fundraiser
‘Tis the season. As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, it’s time to undertake the annual chore of spring cleaning. This doesn’t just apply to your abode. Employing a spring-cleaning mentality at your startup — especially when it comes to your books — can...
Our 3 Top Accounting Trends for 2024
2024 is already well underway, but we’re definitely still early enough into the year that it could go any direction. To help our team and clients prepare for what this year will bring, we’ve spent some time thinking about changes coming down the pipe. As we zoomed...
Staying Ahead of 2024: Essential Accounting Tips for Founders
The new year is already well underway. That doesn’t mean it’s too late to start implementing some new best practices for 2024, though. When it comes to your accounting, employing a few tools and keeping key facts in mind can make your life a whole lot easier. That’s...
Understanding NYC’s 401(k) Rules for Startups: A Guide for Small Employers
For startups in New York City, offering a 401(k) or other retirement savings plan is not only a smart move for attracting and retaining talent—it may also be required by law. New York City (and New York State) have enacted regulations that mandate eligible...
What Should I Look for in a CPA for My VC-Backed Company?
When your company taps into venture capital (VC) funds to build its runway, investors expect you to be diligent with every dollar. You probably want to be, too, since the more you can slow your burn, the longer you have to figure out how to make your business model...
Achieving Efficient Financial Management in 2025
When we start planning for a new year, things often look rosy. We might set sweeping goals and make ambitious projections. Then, the reality of life settles in. As the year gets underway, the busyness that comes with running a business has probably already presented...
Shutting Down Your Tech Company? Take These 5 Steps
Deciding to close down operations at a company you founded is never easy. This venture represents a lot of time, energy, and money. Shutting it down can feel like a major loss. At the same time, though, it might come with some measure of relief. By the time you’re...
Open Enrollment: Picking Providers and Managing the Process
As your startup grows, offering a solid benefits package helps you attract and retain the right talent. In our modern age, most employees expect their employer to provide health insurance for them. That means that even if you’re not legally required to offer this type...
Understanding New York’s “Convenience of the Employer” Rule: A Guide for Tech Companies with Remote Workforces
With remote work becoming more prevalent, especially in the tech industry, it's crucial for businesses to understand the tax implications of having employees work from various locations. One such consideration is New York's "Convenience of the Employer" rule, which...
Finding the Ideal Financial Tech Stack for Your Tech Company
The latest tech tools can make work easier, and that’s particularly true when it comes to your finances. Financial technology — or fintech, for short — automates time-consuming tasks like categorizing expenses. It can help you get the reporting you need to make...
4 Bookkeeping Tips for Your Tech Company
Earlier this year, we teed up some accounting tips to help set you up for success. Bookkeeping tips, then, might seem a little redundant. But there’s a key difference. Accounting requires some level of analysis of your company’s financial situation. Bookkeeping...
SBIR/STTR Grant Funding 101: How to secure non-dilutive funding for science & tech start-ups
In the competitive world of startups, finding money that lets you keep full control of your creative business is like finding a hidden gem. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs represent such a treasure,...
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: 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...
Meet Our Staff: Nina Lopez-Ortiz
Here at ShayCPA, we strive to deliver a personalized experience. We know that finances are a source of stress for a lot of tech startup founders, and we want to help alleviate that with our dedicated expertise and our friendly approach. With that in mind, we want to...
The Shay CPA Team is QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certified
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...
Our Team is Bill.com Certified
Let SHAY CPA P.C. help your startup with its A/P and A/R process. Each of our accounting staff members is certified in using Bill.com which helps set up a process for payments. This is great for companies that need a simple process for bill-pay/receivables management,...
Akshay Shrimanker awarded Forty Under 40 award by the NYSSCPA
The Forty Under 40 award recognizes NYSSCPA (New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants) members who demonstrated leadership in their organization, made significant professional achievements in the past year and have gone “above and beyond” in giving back...
Meet Our Team
In my three years of experience at Shay CPA, I’ve worked with many different tech companies and founders, from newly formed start-up companies to large publicly traded corporations. Working with these different companies allowed me to observe and learn about the tech...
Akshay Shrimanker’s Thoughts on 2019 Practice Management Survey
Akshay Shrimanker, the founder of Shay CPA P.C, recently spoke with The CPA Journal about the 2019 Rosenberg Survey -- which focused on nationwide CPA firm statistics. He discussed multiple topics ranging from the age difference between partners and staff to...
Cash Runway Management: Key Metrics and Tools for Early-Stage Startups
Cash is the lifeblood of an early-stage company. Since you’re probably not turning any significant profit yet — and potentially taking losses — managing the money you have is critical. The more you can extend your cash runway, the longer you buy to figure out how to...
What Should I Look for in a CPA for My VC-Backed Company?
When your company taps into venture capital (VC) funds to build its runway, investors expect you to be diligent with every dollar. You probably want to be, too, since the more you can slow your burn, the longer you have to figure out how to make your business model...
An Overview of the Business Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
July 4, 2025 wasn’t just the last Independence Day before the United States’s upcoming Semiquincentennial. It was also a historic day because it cemented one of the biggest pieces of legislation in recent history. The formerly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)...
How NYC Hotspot Empowers Innovation in Tech and Biotech Companies
New York City has established itself as a global leader in technology and biotech innovation, fostering an ecosystem that supports startups and established companies alike. A key initiative driving this growth is the NYC Innovation Hot Spot program—a state-backed...
Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) and Recent Court Cases
Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) is a significant tax incentive designed to encourage investment in small businesses. Introduced under Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code, QSBS allows non-corporate investors to exclude up to 100% of their capital gains from...
Tax Filing Tips for VC-Backed Startups
By many accounts, it’s the least wonderful time of the year. As we venture from winter to spring, tax deadlines start to loom large. For a VC-backed startup, that means a fairly sizable list of to-dos. Don’t panic. Filing your company’s taxes could be easier than you...
Filing a Corporate Tax Extension: Everything You Need to Know Before April 15, 2025
As the April 15, 2025, deadline for filing corporate tax returns approaches, many businesses, especially early-stage technology companies, may find themselves in need of additional time to gather necessary financial records and finalize their tax filings. Fortunately,...
Your Essential Guide to the Delaware Annual Filing | 2025
Every corporation incorporated in Delaware must file an Annual Franchise Tax Report and pay franchise taxes. This requirement applies regardless of the company's activity level or income. Paying this tax ensures the corporation maintains good standing in the state....
2025 Tech Company Tax Tips: Deadlines to Know
Financially speaking, these are uncertain times for businesses across the U.S. As the new administration ramps up, many folks are speculating about whether the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) will expire later this year or get an extension. Talks of tariffs are adding...
1099 & Other Year-End Reporting Tips for Your Tech Company | 2025
Founders, as you embark on making sure your tech company is compliant with all of its tax obligations in 2024, a host of deadlines are upcoming for you and your finance team to navigate, which involve information returns (W2s, 1099s, and other reporting). For ...
Your Guide to the 2025 Tax Filing Season: What’s New For 2025?
As the year races past us, it’s nearly time to start preparing to close your books on 2024. And once you do, you’ll need to hand them over to the IRS fairly shortly. While April 2025 might feel like it’s a long way off right now, it can approach quickly. That’s...
Annual Budgeting & Forecasting Checklist
Whether you’re a startup working with a fractional CFO or a well-established tech company with a fully built finance function, this is a particularly important time of year. As we get into 2025, some steps you take now can set you up for financial success. That said,...
Fintech Foundations That Scale
As technology gets increasingly useful, most company founders are encouraged to think about their tech stacks even early on. Basically, your stack is the grouping of software solutions you use at your company. It’s called a stack because, in an ideal world, those...
Understanding Investor Information Rights
When you’re in the beginning stages of getting your company off the ground, it’s tempting to promise investors the moon and stars in exchange for the capital you need. Without their money, after all, you’re going to have a much harder time turning your dream into a...
Scaling Up a Startup’s Finance Team with the Right People at the Right Time
Overhead is one of the fastest ways to increase your burn rate and shrink your runway. As a result, hiring the help you need usually feels like a major undertaking. You want to be sure you’re getting someone with the expertise you need so you can see ROI on their...
Early-Stage Financial Strategy: Tips for Startups As Funding Slows Down
Not so very long ago, investors were thrilled about the opportunities tech presented to them. Everyone was on the hunt for the next unicorn, and founders had ample opportunity to build the runway they needed to get their companies off the ground. Things have changed,...
Enhancing Accuracy with a Month-End Close Checklist: Tips for Tech CFOs
Founders and finance teams want to keep a finger on the pulse of the company’s health. With a month-end close, they get the detailed look they need to evaluate their runway, revenue trends, and more. Plus, this regular step ensures that the financial reports investors...
What is a 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast?
When you’re getting into financial forecasting, you want to find the balance. Long-term forecasting is key, but if you only focus on the future, you risk burning through your runway too quickly and never making it there. Managing your weekly cash flow matters, too,...
What is VC Math & How Does It Impact Your Company?
If you’re planning to explore venture capital (VC) funding, it’s helpful to understand how VC firms make their money. A lot of founders operate under the assumption that every project a venture capital group funds needs to turn a profit. Actually, though, most firms...
How to Build Your Finance Team
In your early days, one person can probably handle the entirety of your startup’s finance function. The right person with the right level of expertise can stay on top of key areas like payroll and taxes. At the same time, they can help you forecast and make strategic...
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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...
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...
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,...
Nurturing Biotech Companies in New York
An Overview of START-UP NY, QETC, and Life Sciences R&D Tax Credit Program New York has long been a global hub for finance, fashion, and food. But the Big Apple is also a budding hotspot for biotech, offering a robust range of programs designed to foster...
Using Your R&D Tax Credit Against Payroll Taxes
As you wrapped up the 2022 books for your startup, you probably did some high-level financial review and analysis. Looking over key documents like your profit and loss statement, you get a better idea of what’s driving revenue — and where you’re spending. For most...
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...
Research and Experimental Expenditure (Section 174) Tax Treatment Changes Startups Need to Know
As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), there was a change to Section 174 that directly impacts the R&D tax credit many startups take. Beginning after 12/31/2021, research and experimental expenditures need to be capitalized instead of expensed as previously...
Your Guide to 2022 R&D Tax Credits
As a startup founder, you’re trying to keep as much money inside your business as possible. If you’re not capitalizing on the federal research tax credit — commonly called the R&D tax credit — you could be missing out in a major way here. This credit lets you...