Pre-Seed & Seed Stage
Accounting & CFO Support Built for Seed-Stage Startups
Investor-grade books, a runway model that actually reflects your plan, R&D tax credits that land real dollars, and a fractional CFO on call — starting at $129/mo.
At seed stage, founders don't need a CFO full-time. They need one when it matters: before a board meeting, during a fundraise, at year-end, or when a pricing decision could make or break runway. StartupCFO gives you an accountant, a CPA, and a fractional CFO as one integrated team — running the playbook other seed-stage founders wish they'd had.
What You Get
One plan. Everything a seed-stage founder needs to run finance without hiring.
- Monthly close with GAAP-compliant books
- Runway, burn, and cash forecast (13-week and 18-month)
- Board-ready monthly investor update
- R&D tax credit study (up to $500K/yr payroll tax offset)
- Delaware franchise tax filing and federal/state tax prep
- Fractional CFO on call for fundraising, pricing, and hiring
First 30 days
Books migrated and cleaned. ClariFi live with your KPIs. First monthly close delivered. Tax posture reviewed.
Pre-board-meeting
Board pack delivered 72 hours before the meeting. CFO walk-through to prep you on likely questions and metrics.
Fundraise prep
Data room assembled. Financial model built to your narrative. Pitch deck financial slides drafted and stress-tested.
Year-end
R&D credit study complete. Federal, state, and Delaware tax filed. 1099s issued. Clean year-end financials for diligence.
Seed-Stage Finance, Priced Right
No $150K/year CFO hire. No $5K/month CPA firm retainer. Just the right level of support for where you are.
In-house finance hire
Controller + benefits
$120K–$180K/yr
Traditional CPA firm + bookkeeper
Two vendors, disconnected tools
$2K–$4K/mo
StartupCFO (seed-stage)
Accountant + CPA + fractional CFO + ClariFi
From $129/mo
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a seed-stage startup really need a CFO?
Not a full-time one — that typically comes at Series B+. But every seed-stage startup needs CFO-level thinking for board updates, runway modeling, fundraising, and R&D credits. A fractional CFO gives you that at a fraction of the cost of a hire.
How much should a seed-stage startup spend on finance?
Most well-run seed-stage startups spend $150–$800/month on outsourced finance. StartupCFO plans start at $129/mo for pre-seed and scale to $799/mo when you need a full fractional CFO. A full-time in-house CFO at seed stage usually isn't the right spend.
What investors expect at seed stage
Monthly reporting with MRR/ARR (if SaaS), burn rate, runway, and a current cash balance. Most seed investors also want to see a simple 12–18 month financial model before re-upping. We produce all of this automatically in ClariFi.
Can you help us close our seed round?
Yes. We build fundraising models, help you frame metrics for pitch decks, set up a data room, and produce the financial statements and cap-table detail investors request in diligence. Growth-plan clients get a dedicated fractional CFO through close.
What about R&D tax credits for seed stage?
Seed-stage startups often have $100K–$400K/year of qualifying engineering spend. That translates to $10K–$40K of R&D tax credit against payroll tax — real money. We run the study, file Form 6765, and coordinate with your payroll provider so the credit actually lands.
Seed-Stage Finance, Live in 48 Hours
Book a free consultation and we'll walk through how we'd run your books, taxes, and CFO support at seed stage.
