Startup Bookkeeping · Columbia, SC

Bookkeeping for
Columbia Tech
Startups & SaaS.

The Midlands startup scene is real — USC's Darla Moore School of Business and the Columbia Technology Incubator have been turning out founders for decades, and Soda City Tech keeps the SaaS, civic-tech, and govtech community connected. We build investor-ready books that match how your business actually works.

No setup fees  ·  Cancel anytime  ·  Dedicated bookkeeper

At a Glance
What We Track for Tech & Startups
Everything handled monthly — nothing falls through the cracks
MRR / ARR Tracking✓ Reconciled
Runway & Burn Rate✓ Monitored
Investor-Ready Reports✓ Delivered
R&D Cost Categorization✓ Tracked
Subscription Revenue Recognition✓ Managed
SaaS Platform & Tool Costs✓ Catalogued
5.0
Star Rating
$0
Setup Fees
Built for the Midlands Innovation Scene

Startup Bookkeeping for
Columbia Founders.

Columbia's tech and startup community has a deeper bench than outsiders expect. Here's how monthly bookkeeping fits the founders building across Richland County and the wider Midlands.

The Columbia Technology Incubator is one of the oldest tech incubators in the Southeast and still anchors the city's startup pipeline, working hand-in-hand with the USC Darla Moore School of Business, the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator mentor network, and the Soda City Tech meetup community. Founders here come out of student venture programs, the McNair Aspiring Entrepreneurs program, and a tight-knit operator community that meets up at events like Soda City Tech and Innovate Columbia — and they need books that match how SaaS and tech businesses actually run.

Being two blocks from the State House also gives Columbia a civic-tech and govtech edge most cities don't have. Startups serving state agencies, public-sector RFP work, and the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina innovation lab drive a real chunk of local SaaS revenue, while a growing wave of B2B founders are building tools for healthcare, insurance, and education clients across the Southeast. Books that hold up to enterprise procurement and grant audits aren't optional — they're the price of doing business.

Investor-ready bookkeeping for early-stage SaaS looks different from generalist bookkeeping. It means ASC 606 revenue recognition on subscription contracts (not just cash in the door), MRR and ARR reconciled against your billing platform, a clean cap table and equity expense trail your attorney can defend, and runway and burn calculated from real numbers so you know exactly how long your seed or Series A lasts. For the broader local overview, see our Columbia bookkeeping services page.

Who It's For

Built for Every Stage of
Tech Company Growth

Whether you're pre-revenue or scaling fast — we build the financial infrastructure that serious tech companies need.

💡

SaaS Companies

Subscription revenue, deferred income, churn, and MRR tracking require a bookkeeping structure that most generalists can't support. We build it right from the start.

  • MRR and ARR tracking
  • Deferred revenue and subscription billing
  • Churn impact on revenue recognition
  • SaaS tool and infrastructure cost tracking
  • Contractor and employee payroll
  • Investor report preparation
🚀

Early-Stage Startups

Pre-revenue and early-revenue startups need clean books for fundraising, investor updates, and board reporting — even before you have meaningful revenue.

  • Runway and burn rate monitoring
  • Investor update financial support
  • Cap table and equity expense tracking
  • R&D and development cost categorization
  • Founder payroll and distribution tracking
  • Tax credit identification (R&D credits)
📱

App & Digital Product Companies

Consumer apps, B2B tools, and digital marketplaces with multiple revenue streams, platform fees, and variable developer costs.

  • App store fee reconciliation (Apple/Google)
  • Subscription and in-app purchase revenue
  • Development contractor payments (1099)
  • Cloud infrastructure cost tracking
  • Marketing and user acquisition expense
  • Revenue by product or feature tracking
Sound Familiar?

The Financial Headaches
We Fix

Tech companies and startups face financial challenges that general bookkeepers routinely miss. Here's what we hear from nearly every new client.

😩

Investor Reports Are Always Last-Minute

Your investors want monthly updates with clean financials. Without organized books, producing those reports means scrambling — every single month.

📉

You Don't Know Your Real Burn Rate

Gross burn? Net burn? Including contractor costs? Most early-stage founders don't have a precise number — and that's dangerous when you're managing runway.

🧾

Revenue Recognition Is Tricky

SaaS and subscription revenue doesn't always recognize the month you receive it. Without proper deferred revenue accounting, your P&L doesn't reflect the true state of your business.

😰

R&D Costs Are a Mess

Development contractors, hosting, software tools — these costs are real and potentially eligible for R&D tax credits. Disorganized books mean you miss the credit and can't defend it in an audit.

What Tides Delivers Every Month
So you never deal with any of those problems again
MRR & Burn Rate Tracked MonthlyPrecise numbers every month — gross burn, net burn, and runway calculated from actual data.
Investor-Ready Reports DeliveredP&L, balance sheet, cash flow, and key metrics — formatted for investor readability.
Deferred Revenue Handled CorrectlySubscription revenue recognized in the right period — P&L reflects your true performance.
R&D Costs DocumentedEvery development cost categorized and ready to support a tax credit claim.
One Dedicated BookkeeperA real person who understands startup financials and responds fast.
What's Included

Everything You Need,
Nothing You Don't

Every Tides plan includes all seven core services. Tech and startup clients get specific treatment for SaaS revenue recognition, burn rate tracking, and investor-ready financial reporting.

📈

Financial Reporting

Monthly reports that show your income, expenses, and profit — so you always know where you stand.

Monthly Reports
🏦

Bank Reconciliation

Every business account and credit card matched and verified each month. No mystery charges. No unresolved transactions. No surprises.

📄

Accounts Payable & Receivable

We track vendor bills and outstanding invoices so your cash flow stays healthy and nothing gets missed or paid twice.

🔄

Catch-Up Bookkeeping

Months or years behind? We clean it all up before we start your regular monthly service — no matter how far back the backlog goes.

💼

Payroll Support

If you have team members, we coordinate payroll processing and keep your tax filings clean and on schedule.

★★★★★

“Our investors actually commented on how clean our financials looked. Tides gave us credibility we didn't have before.”

NA
N.A.
SaaS Founder  ·  Verified Client
Common Questions

Tech & Startup
FAQ

Questions we hear from clients before they sign on with Tides.

Yes — MRR and ARR tracking is something we set up specifically for subscription businesses. We reconcile your subscription billing platform against your bank, track new MRR, churned MRR, and expansion MRR, and give you a clear monthly revenue picture that matches how investors think about your business.
We set up your books to recognize subscription revenue in the correct accounting period — not just when cash is received. This gives your P&L an accurate picture of your business performance and ensures your financials meet investor and audit standards.
Yes — we produce a monthly package that includes P&L, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and key metrics (burn rate, runway, MRR). It's formatted for investor readability, not just accounting accuracy, so you can drop it into your monthly update without any reformatting.
We calculate both gross and net burn rate monthly from your actual financial data. Runway is calculated based on your current cash balance and net burn — giving you a real-time picture of how long your current funding lasts. We flag when runway thresholds are approaching so you're never surprised.
We categorize your R&D and development expenses in a way that makes it easy for your CPA to identify potential R&D tax credit eligibility. We don't file taxes, but clean, well-organized R&D cost records are the foundation of a successful credit claim.
Flat monthly pricing based on transaction volume. No hourly rates, no setup fees. Free call for an exact quote. Startup-friendly pricing that scales with your growth.
Yes — we work with founders across the Midlands, from Columbia Technology Incubator companies and USC Darla Moore spinouts to govtech and civic-tech startups serving state agencies. We set up ASC 606 subscription revenue recognition, track MRR and ARR against your billing platform, keep your cap table and equity expenses clean for investors, and report runway and burn from real numbers — entirely remote, with secure bank feeds and QuickBooks Online.
📍 Service Coverage

Based in Greenville, SC —
Serving Clients Nationwide

100% remote bookkeeping for small businesses across South Carolina and throughout the United States.

12 Industries

Beyond Tech & Startups,
We Serve All These Businesses

Tides Bookkeeping specializes in bookkeeping across 12 distinct industries. Industry-specific expertise means fewer errors, better categorization, and a bookkeeper who already understands how your business makes money.

View All Industries →
Get Started Today

Build Your Product.
We'll Handle
The Books.

Schedule a free 15-minute call. We'll review your current setup, answer your questions, and give you a flat monthly quote — no pressure.

No credit card required  ·  No long-term contracts  ·  Cancel anytime