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,...
Updates to Section 174 and How They Impact Your Company
Back in 2017, as the holiday season was well underway, startups got what many consider the opposite of a gift. With the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), companies lost the right to take a tax deduction for R&D expenses in the year in which those...
What Tech Companies Need to Know About Commercial Rent Tax (CRT) in NYC—and Why Startups Should Be Extra Cautious
For tech startups operating in Manhattan, especially those that have recently raised Seed or Series A rounds, the Commercial Rent Tax (CRT) can be an unexpected expense. If you're leasing office space in Manhattan south of 96th Street and your annual rent exceeds...
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...
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...
What To Do If Your Startup Gets Audited
Getting an audit notice from a tax authority is enough to stop most founders in their tracks. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve done anything wrong, though. While things like high deductions can definitely trigger an audit, it’s also possible to get chosen at...
Shay CPA’s 3rd Annual Company NYC Retreat Recap
This year, Shay CPA hosted its third annual company retreat in the heart of New York City, an event packed with learning, connection, and celebration. From engaging presentations to immersive team-building workshops and a fun-filled final day, the retreat offered our...
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...
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,...
Best Practices for Your Tech Company’s Expense Policy
When you’re an agile startup, allowing your employees to expense items and ask for reimbursement can give you a level of flexibility that you probably need. But it can also add a layer of complexity that you probably don’t need. That’s especially true if you don’t...
Startups – What’s your burn rate?
It might be time to update the old adage. Maybe it’s not cash that’s king, but cash flow. One study conducted by U.S. Bank concluded that 82% of business failures can be chalked up to bad cash management. When your startup’s in its early days, it probably isn’t...
Founders – Bookkeeping vs. Accounting: What’s the Difference?
When it comes to differentiating bookkeepers from accountants, a lot of startup founders primarily focus on when to hire them. For example, you might hire a bookkeeper on an ongoing basis, but only work with an accountant during tax filing season. The trick, though,...
2021 Year-end tips for your Technology Company
As we head into the end of another wild year, you might be feeling particularly ready to wrap things up. But you might also be feeling some fatigue from all of the uncertainty — not to mention the hustle of growing your tech startup. Whether looking to 2022 feels...
The Best Bookkeeping Tips for Tech Startups
When you’re in the early days of your startup, a lot comes down to money. So much of your focus has to go toward finding the funding you need to get your idea off the ground. After all the work you put into finding investors, securing grants, or forging other paths...
Do You Need Bookkeeping as a Pre-Revenue Startup Company?
If your startup is in its early stages, your plate probably feels overly full. With so much to do to get your idea off the ground, fund your growth, and scale your operations, it’s easy to push things that can wait to the back burner. The thing is: bookkeeping isn’t...
Convertible Notes vs SAFE’s – Accounting/Tax Considerations
Disclaimer: The terms below are discussed in the context of financing that occurs in the United States for Early-Stage Technology companies. We would strongly advise anyone to seek out a professional to help with their individual company circumstances. Earlier this...
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.’ What is revenue recognition you may ask? Revenue recognition is the process of recognizing...
Chart of Accounts for Tech Founders
Early-Stage technology startups have nuances compared to more traditional small businesses 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 in...
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...
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:...
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...
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...
Shutting Down a Tech Company – Some Tax/Accounting Tips
The time has come. You’re at the end of the road. Whether you’re dissolving your business or handing it over to another company that’s acquired it, you might be looking forward to the day when there’s a lot less on your plate. You’re not there yet, though. Before you...
What is an 83(b) election?
As a founder, you get one of the biggest perks through equity in your company. In your early days, you probably aren’t raking in a huge salary or taking sizable owner draws. But you can still be padding your pockets through your shares in your company. While these...
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...
Accounting/Financials + Tax 101 for Early Stage Startups
On Wednesday, October 23rd, Akshay Shrimanker of Shay CPA P.C. conducted an accounting, finance, and tax workshop for early-stage startups inside New Lab -- a coworking space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard which is home to over 130 startups and considered an oasis for...
Tax & Accounting 101 Workshop for Budding Entrepreneurs
Akshay Shrimanker, President of Shay CPA P.C., gave an accounting and tax workshop to small startups inside the Zahn Innovation Center at City College this past Thursday. The attendees to the workshop include Fitko, STEM Hive, Luxz, and Flora Mind -- who were all...
Business Development Workshop at Queens College Tech Incubator
Akshay Shrimanker, President of Shay CPA P.C., gave a two-hour business development workshop this Tuesday alongside Michael Maldonado of America’s SBDC located at Queens College. The workshop was held inside the Tech Incubator at Queens College and was aimed to...
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Form 6166, Tax Residency, and Why It Matters for Your Startup
Expanding your operations abroad means that your business is doing well enough to scale in a big way. It’s a major milestone. But it can also come with a major tax burden if you’re not careful. Once you start operating internationally, your startup could be subject...
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...
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...
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...
2023 Tech Company Tax Tips
Does thinking about filing your taxes put some tension on your shoulders? If so, it’s probably because you’ve had a less-than-ideal filing experience in the past. And in most cases, those unwelcome filing instances come from surprises. Or you might be feeling...
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...
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...
What are Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC)? Organic vs. Paid
In an ideal world, your startup’s product or service would be so wow-worthy that people would be falling over themselves to buy it. And you might have some cases of that. But it’s no way to build a business. If it was, sales and marketing departments wouldn’t exist. ...
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...
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...
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...
Non-Dilutive Funding Options Available to Tech Founders
By: Kacie Goff In the early days of your business, funding makes all the difference in the world. But even established tech companies may find themselves in a situation where additional funding could enable a big win, like a venture into a new product or service. ...
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