5 Best Outsourced CPA Services for Startups

Startup founders and entrepreneurs have endless responsibilities – often more than they have time for. Fortunately, outsourced CPA services can support founders with numerous startup accounting tasks while freeing up valuable time.

Finding the right certified public accountant (CPA) firm can be tricky – many outsourced accounting firms offer similar services, but you need professionals who cater to your industry.

To help you with your CPA firm search, we’ll explain how outsourcing accounting services can benefit your startup. We’ll also share our guide to the top outsourced CPA services for startups. 

What Do Small Businesses Need from Outsourced Accounting Services?

Outsourced CPA services represent a cost-effective alternative to hiring an in-house accountant. Rather than spending time and money on a full-time employee, startup founders can hire a CPA firm to handle financial and administrative functions. 

Outsourced CPA firms can provide the following services to startups and small businesses.

Outsourced Bookkeeping

Outsourced bookkeeping services support startups with various recordkeeping activities. Accurate bookkeeping facilitates business accounting and financial reporting tasks. 

For example, bookkeepers can provide the following services: 

• Account reconciliations
• Transaction categorization
• Financial statement preparation

Financial Statement Preparation

Professional accounting firms support startups with financial statement review and preparation. CPA firms can ensure your financials conform to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). 

Financial statements typically include the following: 

• Balance sheet
• Profit and loss (P&L) statement
• Statement of cash flows

Depending on your startup’s unique needs, your financial statements could require industry-specific reports. Your CPA can help you determine which financial records your startup should compile.

Accounts Receivable (AR) and Accounts Payable (AP) Management

Accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) management refers to tracking business invoices and payments. 

Most CPA firms include the following in their AP and AR management services: 

• Monitoring bill due dates
• Scheduling payments
• Tracking customer invoices
• Adding vendors into payment processing systems
• Calculating and writing off bad debts

Outsourced CFO Services

Many small businesses operate as lean teams or sole proprietorships – early-stage startups often function without an in-house CFO. Fortunately, CPA firms offer fractional CFO services so small businesses can gain financial advice without hiring a full-time CFO.

Outsourced CFOs offer the following financial services:

• Budgeting and forecasting
• Financial modeling
• Key performance indicator (KPI) analysis
• Growth strategy
• Startup consulting
• Transaction advisory

Tax Services

Outsourced CPA firms support startups with business and individual taxes. In addition to tax return preparation, accounting and bookkeeping firms offer various tax advisory and planning services. 

Outsourced tax services can include the following:

• Business tax return preparation and filing
• Personal income tax return preparation and filing
• Quarterly estimated tax calculations
• Tax planning and advisory
• Tax credit analysis
• Audit defense

Payroll Services

As your startup grows, outsourced payroll services can help your business prepare for hiring employees. Avoid complex payroll tax withholding calculations and time-consuming paperwork by hiring a CPA firm for the following activities.

• Paycheck processing
• Employment tax withholding
• Payroll tax return preparation and filing

5 Best CPA Services for Startups: Outsourced Accounting Firms for Every Industry

We’ve compiled our list of the top outsourced CPA services for startups. The following list includes accounting firms supporting startups in a variety of industries.

Indinero

Website: Indinero CPA Services

Services Offered

Accounting Services

• Accounting system setup and organization
• Invoice management and collections
• Accounts payable and expense management
• Financial analysis and reporting

Bookkeeping services

• Transaction categorization
• Monthly financial statements
• Accounts payable and receivable management
• Bank and credit card reconciliations

Business tax services

• Business tax planning and strategy
• Tax Preparation and filing
• Tax credit maximization
• International tax planning

CFO services

• Budget analysis and planning
• Business strategy
• Cash flow management
• Exit planning

Payroll processing

• Paycheck issuance
• Payroll tax calculation and withholding
• Employment tax filings

Specialization

• E-commerce
• Healthcare
• Non-profits
• Professional services
• Technology

Startup Clients Supported

• CommonCoach (education software)
• Gadget Flow (online marketplace)
• Moozicore (music streaming)

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Free consultation
• Indinero offers several solutions specifically aimed at supporting startup companies. 

Cons

• New customers must schedule a consultation with the sales team to determine monthly pricing.
• Pricing plans represent base-level packages. Complex companies may incur additional costs.

Pricing

Indinero offers two standard pricing tiers, with prices depending on the services requested. Large business owners can request a custom pricing plan consultation.

• Essential Plan: $750+ per month
• Growth Plan: $1,250 per month

Decimal

Website: Decimal CPA Services

Services Offered

Accounting and Bookkeeping Services

• Transaction categorization
• Daily expense reconciliations
• Bill & invoice payment matching
• Credit card reconciliations
• Financial reporting

AR and AP Management

• Vendor setup
• Invoicing support
• Accounts receivable tracking
• Customer onboarding
• Bad debt write-offs

Tax Services

• Personal and business tax return preparation
• Tax consulting services
• Estimated tax calculations

Payroll Support

• Benefit deductions
• Expense reimbursement
• Commissions entry

Specialization

• Construction
• E-commerce
• Healthcare
• Personal services
• Professional services
• Restaurants
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Trucking

Startup Clients Supported

• Brand (retail)
• HyperTrader (cryptocurrency trading platform)
• StarLifter (data analysis platform)

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Free consultation
• Decimal offers industry-specific accounting services, such as reports for contract-based businesses.

Cons

• New customers must schedule a consultation with the sales team to determine monthly pricing.
• Tax preparation and payroll support services require a contract with a third-party provider. 

Pricing

Decimal offers two pricing tiers, with pricing dependent on the level of support. New customers must contact Sales to learn about monthly costs.

• Plus Plan
• Premium Plan

Pilot

Website: Pilot CPA Services

Services Offered

Bookkeeping services

• Transaction reconciliations
• Monthly income and expense trend reports
• Monthly financial statements

Tax Services

• Federal and state corporate income tax filing
• Dedicated tax preparer
• Tax consulting
• R&D tax credit calculations

CFO services

• Budget vs. actual reports
• Industry-specific KPI dashboards
• Scenario planning

Specialization

• Consumer goods & retail
• Financial services
• Healthcare
• Professional services
• Technology

Startup Clients Supported

• Airtable (database platform)
• Lattice (human resources software)
• OpenAI (artificial intelligence)
• Scale (artificial intelligence)

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Pilot offers services aimed at helping startups grow.
• Pre-revenue startups may qualify for reduced monthly pricing.

Cons

• Pilot’s tax services offer limited business filings and exclude personal income tax returns.
• Monthly plan prices depend on your business revenues, so monthly costs increase as your business grows.

Pricing

Pilot offers two standard pricing tiers for accounting and bookkeeping services. Large business owners can request a custom pricing plan consultation. Outsourced CFO and tax services require an additional monthly commitment. 

Bookkeeping:

• Starter Plan (for pre-revenue companies: $349-849 per month
• Core Plan (for profitable, growing companies): $499-999 per month

Tax Preparation: $2,450-5,400 per year

CFO services: $1,750-$5,250 per month

Paro

Website: Paro CPA Services

Services Offered

Accounting and bookkeeping

• Account reconciliations
• Financial reporting
• AP and AR management
• Payroll services

Financial planning and analysis

• Budgeting and forecasting
• Business analysis: KPIs, Profitability, Pricing

Business Tax Compliance

• Business tax preparation and filing
• Tax return review
• Internal audit & assurance
• Tax advisory

Fractional CFO services

• Business process consulting
• Growth strategy
• Startup & fundraising consulting
• Transaction advisory

Startup Clients Supported

• Agency 39A (marketing agency)
• DrivenIQ (audience data platform)
• Keyo (biometric security software)

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Free consultation
• Paro’s platform matches your business with a dedicated accounting or finance expert, depending on your specific needs.

Cons

• Paro doesn’t provide pricing information on its website. New customers must schedule a sales consultation to learn about monthly costs.
• Paro’s accounting experts work as independent contractors, not Paro employees.

Pricing

New customers must schedule a consultation with Paro’s Sales team to learn about pricing.

1-800Accountant

Website: 1-800Accountant CPA Services

Services Offered

LLC and corporation business formation: Entity formation services streamline your business setup. 1-800Accountant can also help you obtain an EIN. Startups can benefit from legal entity services, such as the following:

• S corporation conversions
• LLC registration filings

Bookkeeping and accounting services: Bookkeeping services include industry-specific expertise from dedicated accountants and bookkeepers. Specialists take care of your tedious back-office tasks so you can focus on growing your business. You’ll also enjoy the following features:

• On-demand support
• Secure online portal
• Transaction categorization
• Account reconciliations
• Automatic bank account syncing
• Real-time financial data

Tax services: Small business tax preparation and filing services keep you in compliance with deadlines and tax laws. The services include:

• Tax return preparation and filing
• Tax return quality review
• Tax deduction and refund calculations
• Amended business tax return support
• Franchise tax return preparation and filing
• Sales tax return preparation and filing
• Personal income tax preparation and filing

Tax advisory: Small business tax advisory services include year-round tax strategy and advice so you can maximize deductions and lower your tax bill. 1-800Accountant offers the following services:

• Dedicated tax advisor
• Industry-specific expertise
• Entity structure review
• Unlimited tax consultations
• Audit defense

Quarterly estimated tax calculations: Quarterly estimate services help your startup manage your tax burden and avoid costly fines or penalties.

Payroll support: Payroll services can save your startup time by taking the payroll tax filings off your plate. 1-800Accountant can manage state ID registrations and offers on-demand payroll tax advice.

Specialization

• E-commerce
• Entertainment
• Food & beverage
• Personal care
• Professional services
• Retail
• Transportation

Startup Clients Supported

• Live 2 B Healthy (personal fitness): 1-800Accountant provides small business tax and accounting support.
• The Adventure Junkies (travel resource): 1-800Accountant supports The Adventure Junkies with small business accounting support and tax advice.
• Big 'Ol Box of Stuff (subscription service): 1-800Accountant provides small business tax and accounting support.
• Central Tex Data (online audience database): Central Tex Data uses 1-800Accountant's business formation and tax advisory services.

Pros

• Free consultation
• 1-800Accountant offerse flat monthly pricing and unlimited support with every accounting service plan.
• Each business works with a dedicated support team, including industry and state specialists.
• Every service plan includes year-round tax advice, financial planning, and a secure customer portal.
• 1-800Accountant's services support businesses at every stage, including entity formation, hiring, and ongoing financial management.

Pricing

1-800Accountant offers three standard pricing tiers. All monthly plans include unlimited support, so you don’t have to worry about hidden fees. 

• Business: Starting from $179 per month
• Core Accounting: Starting from $239 per month
• Enterprise: Starting from $399 per month

Outsource to 1-800Accountant: Expert CPAs with Startup Experience

1-800Accountant is our top choice for outsourced CPA services for startups. 

Small businesses get dedicated accounting, financial management, and year-round tax advice. Every monthly plan includes unlimited support at a flat monthly rate, making 1-800Accountant’s services budget-friendly for businesses of every size.

1-800Accountant offers a variety of services to help your startup grow. Schedule a free consultation with 1-800Accountant to learn how your business can benefit from outsourced CPA services.