Startup & Tech Accounting
Startup founders do not run their companies from behind a desk – they run them between investor meetings, product sprints and a cap table that keeps changing. Apex Accounting Solutions works with SaaS founders, tech startups and high-growth scale-ups across Melbourne who need accounting support that fits around fundraising, hiring sprints and runway maths.
Our startup accountants understand the realities of equity, ESOPs, R&D Tax Incentive claims, SAFE notes, founder shareholder loans and the cash flow swing between funding rounds. We handle the compliance side so you can focus on building, and we translate the numbers into plain English so you always know where the company actually stands.
Our Services
Startups have their own rhythm — long zero-revenue runways, fast hiring spikes, equity rather than cash, R&D claims and a compliance load that only gets heavier with every funding round and overseas customer. Our startup accounting services are built to match that reality, not a generic small-business template.
We lodge your BAS, IAS, PAYG and ASIC obligations on time, and keep your books clean enough to drop into a data room when the next round starts so the ATO and your investors stay off your back.
We scope, document and lodge R&D Tax Incentive claims and identify state and federal grants you qualify for, turning eligible engineering and product spend back into cash that extends your runway.
We model burn rate, runway and revenue scenarios month by month so you know how long the round really lasts and when to start the next one — long before the bank account flashes red.
Cap table maintenance, employee share schemes, founder structuring, SAFE and convertible note treatment, and smart tax planning — all handled so equity decisions today do not become tax problems tomorrow.
What It’s Like to Work With Apex
We have worked with dozens of Melbourne startups and scale-ups — from pre-revenue founders working out of a kitchen to Series A SaaS companies hiring across multiple countries. That experience turns into sharper advice, cleaner structuring and fewer ATO surprises.
Your dedicated Apex team member learns how your startup actually works — how you raise, how you ship, how you compensate your team — and structures your accounting around that, not the other way around.
Most of our startup clients move to a fixed monthly fee so they always know what their accountant is costing them. Pick up the phone, send an email, book a chat — it is all included, so advice never feels like it has a meter running.
Our Process
We start with a free consultation to understand your business, current setup, and what you need — from tax and bookkeeping to structure and compliance.
We review your financials, clean up anything needed, and set up the right systems and accounting platforms to keep everything accurate and compliant.
We manage your ongoing accounting, BAS, and tax, while providing proactive advice and support throughout the year as your business grows.
Testimonial
You can absolutely use a general accountant, but a specialist startup accountant will save you money and headaches. Startups have their own quirks — R&D Tax Incentive, ESOPs, SAFE and convertible notes, founder shareholder loans, cross-border revenue and runway-driven decisions — and we have seen them all. That experience turns into better structuring, better tax outcomes and fewer surprises.
Yes. A large share of our startup clients are pre-revenue or pre-seed founders. We will set up your company structure, handle your tax return, BAS and bookkeeping at a fair fee, and give you the same strategic advice we give our funded scale-ups so you can grow on your terms.
Absolutely. We set up Xero with a SaaS-friendly chart of accounts, tracking categories for products, customers and channels, and the right integrations with Stripe, your billing platform and your payment processors. You get real numbers on real metrics — MRR, ARR, gross margin, CAC and runway — not just a P&L at tax time.
We work with you and your engineering team to identify eligible R&D activities, scope expenditure correctly, prepare contemporaneous documentation, and lodge your registration with AusIndustry and your tax claim with the ATO. Done well, the R&D Tax Incentive often returns a meaningful share of your engineering spend as cash.
Most startups raise from day one inside a Pty Ltd company, but the trigger points for restructuring are usually around taking on outside investment, issuing ESOP options, bringing in co-founders, or planning offshore expansion. We will walk you through the numbers, the duty implications and the risks before you commit to anything.
Yes. We look after everyone from first-time pre-revenue founders through to funded scale-ups with team members and customers in multiple countries. As the company grows, our involvement grows with you — more reporting, more planning, more strategic support, including investor and board-ready packs.
Book a free consultation with our team today and discover how specialist startup accounting can keep your runway, your team and your next round on track.
