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 $179/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 a bookkeeper, 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 $179/mo
Starting price. Final pricing depends on volume and complexity.
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 $179/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.
What seed founders say
Built for where you are right now
“StartupCFO gave us a finance team that feels in-house — ClariFi Decision Engine, a CFO who actually knows our numbers, and we were due-diligence ready in weeks, not months.”
“Anyone can pull numbers into a spreadsheet once. The difference is having a system that monitors your metrics continuously so you can be data-driven about growth.”
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.
45-day free trial · No credit card needed · No contracts
