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How much are the annual bookkeeping, accounting, tax filing expenses for start-ups incorporated in Delaware US (C corp) ?

Vanessa Kruze Kruze Consulting

Vanessa Kruze

CEO and Founder of Kruze Consulting

Table of contents

Taxes

The taxes that you’ll need to pay depend on your unique situation, so it’s best to contact a professional. I’m a CPA/interim CFO and I work with over 650+ startups. Here’s an example of the myriad of filings and taxes that a VC backed Delaware C-Corp must pay:

  • Jan 31: Send out 1099s sent out to contractors, W2s to employees.
  • Feb 28: DE Franchise tax due (depends on your Balance Sheet and Stock issued/outstanding). Likely $400 if you are seed stage, ~$2000 if Series A. Get a better estimate using our Delaware Franchise Tax Calculator
  • Mar 15: C Corp Tax Return due (but can extend to 9/15 for Fed, varies for state).
  • SF / LA / NYC / Chicago: each of these cities and states have their own set of franchise, gross receipts, and payroll taxes. Contact me for the full breakdown (too expansive for here).

Visit our guide to startup taxes here. We breakdown many of the questions founders have around tax time, including what to file when and which documents to retain. 

Bookkeeping

A reasonable monthly time budget for startup bookkeeping depends on:

  1. The volume of your transactions: do you have 300 transactions hitting your bank account and credit cards every month, or 10,000 transactions? More transactions = more time = more money.

  2. The complexity of your transactions: even if you have relatively few transactions, they may be complex. For example, you may have prepaid Facebook $100,000 for advertising for the next year. You or your bookkeeper will then need to reconcile that account every month against what advertising amount you’ve actually used.

  3. Doing the work yourself: if you can train yourself to do some of the bookkeeping, you can definitely save money. Two caveats though, 1) your time is truly better spent growing and managing your startup and 2) if you get it wrong it will very likely be expensive to clean up the books.

  4. How you’ve leveraged technology: I can’t stress this enough… using technology will greatly reduce the amount of time (aka money) you have to spend on Accounting and HR. Here are my absolute essentials: QuickBooks, Gusto, Zenefits, Expensify, Bill.com, DropBox or Box, Gmail.

In sum, how much time you spend on bookkeeping depends on your unique situation. But just to give you an idea… If you are a Seed Stage DE CCorp startup based in SF, LA, NYC, or Chicago, have 10 FTEs, ~400 transactions a month and very few accruals… I’d say ~$650 per month.

READY TO CONNECT FOR A FREE CONSULTATION?

We are the experts at helping seed/VC-backed Delaware C-Corps with their accounting and finances!

Talk to an experienced accountant, not a generic sales person

 Kruze Consulting
Alex Janeck
 Kruze Consulting
Edith Silva
 Kruze Consulting
Ian Williams
Viz AI

$250M+ VC Funding Raised


"I had a great experience working with Kruze Consulting when we raised Series A. They know what VCs need to see, and how to present a startup’s books and finances. If you are going to raise venture capital, you need experts like Kruze."
Chris Mansi

Chris Mansi

CEO

Startup Venture Capital Assistance

With former venture capitalists on staff, our team is here to help you navigate the fundraising process and manage your board of directors

 Kruze Consulting
Scott Orn
COO | Former VC
 Kruze Consulting
Healy Jones
VP FP&A | Former VC
Pequity

Scale Remote Operations & Team


"Kruze has supported us above and beyond basic accounting needs by ensuring we have everything we need to expand and support our team wherever they may be located"
Zack Fisch

Zack Fisch

Head of Operations & Legal

Clients who have worked with Kruze have collectively raised over $12 billion in VC funding.

We set startups up for fundrising success, and know how to work with the top VCs.

 Kruze Consulting
Vanessa Kruze, CPA
Founder & CEO
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Experienced team helping you

Our account management team is staffed by CPAs and accountants who have, on average, 11 years of experience.

 Kruze Consulting
Bill Hollowsky, CPA
VP of Accounting Services
 Kruze Consulting
Claudine Vantomme, CPA
Controller
 Kruze Consulting
Morgan Avery
SUT/R&D Sr. Tax Accountant
 Kruze Consulting
Beth Bassler
Controller, CPA
Protara Therapeutics

Grew from a 2-person startup to a NASDAQ listed public company.


"The Kruze team helped us grow from a 2-person startup to a NASDAQ listed public company in 2 years. We wouldn’t have gotten public without Kruze’s support. Anyone thinking of launching a startup should make Vanessa their first call!"
Jesse Shefferman

Jesse Shefferman

CEO

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Get in Touch

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Our first response is typically via email, so please check your inbox.

Help us have a productive first consultation by providing some additional information.

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READY TO CONNECT FOR A FREE CONSULTATION?

We are the experts at helping seed/VC-backed Delaware C-Corps with their accounting and finances!


Talk with a real accountant, not a generic salesperson!

 Kruze Consulting
Scott Orn
 Kruze Consulting
Alex Janeck
 Kruze Consulting
Edith Silva

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