Hire as early as incorporation or first revenue. Early engagement ensures clean books, prevents costly catch-up work, and supports compliance.

Consider hiring before your first capital raise, once monthly transactions exceed 50 to 100, when hiring your first employee, or if you spend over 5 hours weekly on finances. Proper early support frees the founder's time to focus on scaling and helps establish a solid foundation.

Record-keepers process transactions and invoices, reconcile accounts, and generate basic reports. Accountants prepare statements, ensure GAAP compliance, and handle tax preparation. Controllers oversee the function, implement internal controls, and manage teams.

CFOs provide strategic guidance, including liquidity planning, scenario modeling, and investor reporting. A strong outsourced partner like ACRU can cover all levels, scaling services as your business evolves.

Costs depend on your company's stage and the services required. Pre-seed businesses usually spend $500 to $1,500 per month for record-keeping and statements. Seed-stage companies with payroll and enhanced reporting typically pay $1,500 to $3,000 monthly.

Series A+ companies needing fractional CFO support and investor reporting may spend $3,000 to $8,000 per month. Outsourced support is often 50 to 70% less expensive than hiring full-time staff while providing broader expertise and backup coverage.

The simpler method is common for early-stage businesses with straightforward transactions. The accrual method records revenue when earned and expenses when incurred, offering a more accurate view of performance.

Transition to accrual when raising institutional capital, reaching $1M+ revenue, or needing detailed insights for strategic decisions. Professional guidance ensures the transition is smooth and aligned with your stage.

Yes. Outsourced support delivers broader expertise, established processes, backup coverage, scalability without hiring, cost savings, and objective guidance.

Many companies combine outsourced services with in-house finance analysts for day-to-day operations. This hybrid model provides enterprise-quality work without the overhead of a full internal team.

Clean, accurate books and well-documented assumptions build investor confidence, while organized data rooms, quick responses to questions, and trend analysis speed due diligence.

Proper recognition of income and polished board materials improve credibility. Companies that maintain professional practices close rounds faster and achieve stronger valuations.

Core metrics include runway, burn rate, and revenue trajectory. 

For SaaS businesses, focus on MRR or ARR, churn, and CAC/LTV, while e-commerce companies should track contribution margin, inventory turnover, repeat purchase rate, and CAC. Marketplaces pay attention to GMV, liquidity score, and cohort retention. 

Aim to monitor five to eight key KPIs, and use custom dashboards to ensure you’re focusing on the metrics that matter most for your business stage and model.

Audits are required for Series B+ rounds, revenue above $10M, preparing for acquisition or IPO, or when mandated by lenders.

Costs typically range from $15K to 50K+, requiring weeks of work. Maintaining clean, organized books ensures audits are smoother, faster, and less costly.

Clean books include accurately categorized transactions, reconciled accounts, proper income recognition, complete documentation, and timely month-end closes.

Clean records support strategic decisions, smooth tax filings, faster investor due diligence, and prevent costly errors. Consistent work builds trust and provides a solid foundation for expansion.

R&D credits reward innovation and can be worth $50K–500K+ annually for tech and product companies. Qualifying work includes development, product design, engineering experiments, and process improvements.

Credits can cover payroll, contractor fees, cloud computing, and materials. Proper documentation throughout the year ensures compliance and maximizes benefits.