Venture-Backed Startups & Global Entrepreneurs Accounting & Tax in Australia

Our Australian startup accounting services are designed for high-growth companies at every stage of their funding journey:

• Pre-Seed & Seed Stage Startups: Companies raising their first capital from angel investors or VCs and needing to establish a professional, investor-ready finance function.
• R&D-Intensive Tech Startups: Companies investing heavily in developing new technology who can claim a significant cash refund through the R&D Tax Incentive.
• Early Stage Innovation Companies (ESICs): Startups that meet specific criteria, making them highly attractive to investors who can receive significant tax offsets.
• Venture-Backed Companies (Series A and beyond): Startups that have closed institutional rounds and are now accountable for providing detailed monthly management accounts, cash flow forecasts, and KPI dashboards to their board.
• Companies Building a Team: Startups looking to attract top talent by offering equity through an Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP).

Specialized startup accounting is mandatory from the moment you decide to raise external equity capital. It becomes critical at these key milestones:

• Before Approaching Investors: To attract sophisticated investors, you need a solid business plan with defendable financial projections and a strategy for accessing tax incentives like ESIC status.
• When You Incur R&D Costs: To maximize your R&D Tax Incentive claim, you must have detailed, contemporaneous records of your eligible activities and expenditure.
• When You Issue a SAFE Note or Equity: Fundraising instruments must be correctly recorded on your balance sheet and cap table.
• After Closing a Funding Round: Your new investors will require professional, timely, and accurate financial reporting (a "board pack" or MIS) as a condition of their investment.
• During a Due Diligence Process: A potential investor or acquirer will conduct a thorough review of your financial history, ASIC compliance, and cap table. Any discrepancies can kill the deal.

Accounting for venture-backed startups is a strategic function that supports fundraising and unlocks valuable tax refunds. The pricing reflects this high level of expertise.

• Seed-Stage Package: AUD $1,500 - $3,500 per month. This covers AASB-compliant bookkeeping, payroll, BAS, and preparation for R&D tax claims.
• Series A Package: AUD $3,500 - $8,000 per month. This includes everything in the seed package plus detailed monthly investor reporting, departmental budgeting, cash flow forecasting, and ESOP administration.
• Virtual CFO for Startups: Often starting from AUD $8,000+, this provides fractional CFO services for strategic planning, board meeting participation, and fundraising support.

For an Australian startup, financial and regulatory missteps can be fatal to its fundraising ambitions.

• Failed R&D Claim: A claim rejected by the ATO due to poor record-keeping means losing a critical source of non-dilutive funding, which can shorten a startup's runway by months or even years.
• Failed Due Diligence: Messy financials, a disorganized data room, or a history of ASIC non-compliance are the fastest ways to fail an investor's due diligence process.
• ESIC Non-Compliance: If your company fails to maintain its ESIC status after taking investment, your investors could lose their valuable tax incentives, causing catastrophic reputational damage.
• Cap Table & ESOP Errors: Mismanaging your capitalization table or incorrectly accounting for share options can create serious legal disputes and complicate future funding rounds.

Hiring a full-time CFO with startup experience in Australia is a major expense, often exceeding AUD $250,000 per year—capital far better spent on product development and growth. Outsourcing to a specialized firm like YourLegal provides access to an entire team of startup finance experts at a fraction of the cost.

We are your strategic finance partners. We manage the entire process of preparing and lodging your R&D Tax Incentive claim. We prepare the exact board reports that top VCs in Australia expect to see. Our service scales with you, providing basic support in your early days and growing into a full-fledged virtual CFO function as you raise larger rounds. By partnering with us, you ensure your financial house is always in order, giving you the solid foundation you need to build a category-defining company.