Creative & Digital · Brisbane
Accountants for Startups
Get the structure, cap table and records right in year one — because fixing them during a raise costs far more than doing it properly now.
What should a startup get right first?
Four things, in order: a company structure with share classes and a founder vesting arrangement your future investors will accept; clean records and a cap table from day one; awareness of the incentives you may qualify for — the R&D Tax Incentive refundable offset, and ESIC status which gives your early investors tax offsets and CGT concessions; and a runway model that shows months of cash remaining under real assumptions.
- Specialist support for startups and early-stage companies
- Fixed monthly packages from $220
- BAS, payroll and year-end handled together
- Benchmarked against ATO industry figures
What we watch
What matters most for startups and early-stage companies.
Structure investors accept
A company with clean share classes, not a trust or a partnership that has to be unwound mid-raise at a CGT cost.
R&D eligibility from the start
The refundable offset requires contemporaneous records of experimental activities. Reconstructing them a year later rarely survives review.
ESIC qualification
Early Stage Innovation Company status gives investors an offset and CGT exemption — a genuine fundraising advantage, tested against specific criteria.
Employee share schemes
ESS rules changed favourably for startups, but plans need to be designed and documented properly to get the concessional treatment.
Deductions
Startups — what you can claim.
A working checklist we go through with every client in this sector. Substantiation requirements differ by item — we'll tell you which need records and which don't.
- Founder salaries once paid through payroll
- Software, hosting and development tools
- Contractor and development costs
- R&D activities (via the incentive rather than a simple deduction)
- Legal and accounting on structure and IP
- Coworking and office costs
- Marketing and customer acquisition
- Equipment and computers
- Company setup and ASIC fees
How we help
Services startups and early-stage companies use most.
Tax Returns
Individual and business returns prepared accurately, lodged fast, with every deduction claimed.
Learn more →Tax Planning
Year-round planning that lowers your tax bill before 30 June — not after it.
Learn more →Business Accounting
Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and management reporting handled end to end.
Learn more →Self-Managed Super (SMSF)
SMSF setup, administration, compliance and audit coordination in one place.
Learn more →Business Advisory
Structuring, cash-flow forecasting, growth strategy and succession planning.
Learn more →Financial Reporting
Clear statutory and management accounts you can actually make decisions from.
Learn more →FAQ
Startups — questions we're asked most.
Should I set up a company or wait?
Set one up before you take investment, hire, or build IP with co-founders. It costs relatively little and separates liability, holds IP cleanly and gives you a cap table. Transferring IP and business out of a sole trader or trust later can trigger CGT and stamp duty, and it slows a raise at the worst moment.
How does the R&D Tax Incentive work?
Eligible companies registering eligible R&D activities can claim a refundable tax offset on eligible expenditure — which for a pre-revenue company can mean an actual cash refund. It requires registration with the relevant program each year and contemporaneous documentation of the experimental activities and hypotheses. Software claims attract particular scrutiny, so records matter more than enthusiasm.
What is ESIC and why do investors ask about it?
Early Stage Innovation Company status gives qualifying investors a 20% non-refundable tax offset and a CGT exemption on shares held between one and ten years. For angel rounds it's a real differentiator. Qualification is tested against early-stage and innovation criteria at the time shares are issued, so it needs assessing before the round, not after.
How do we handle employee equity?
Through a properly documented employee share scheme. Startup concessions can defer or reduce the tax point for employees, but only where the plan meets the conditions. Informal promises of equity create disputes and unexpected tax bills — document it early, when it's cheap.
Related
Related pages.
Business Advisory
Structuring, cash-flow forecasting, growth strategy and succession planning.
Learn more →Accountants for Marketing Agencies
Specialist tax and accounting support for Brisbane marketing agencies.
Learn more →Small Business Accountant Brisbane
Sole traders to companies
Learn more →Financial Reporting
Clear statutory and management accounts you can actually make decisions from.
Learn more →Local coverage across Brisbane
We work in person from our Wakerley office and by secure video across 200 suburbs. Start with your region:
- Accountants Brisbane CPA accountants for the wider Brisbane metro area.
- Accountants South Brisbane South Brisbane, West End, Annerley and Sunnybank.
- Accountants Brisbane Northside Chermside, Stafford, Aspley and the northern corridor.
- Accountants Brisbane Bayside Wynnum, Manly, Wakerley and Tingalpa.
- Accountants Redland City Cleveland, Capalaba, Victoria Point and the bay islands.
- Accountants Logan City Springwood, Beenleigh, Browns Plains and 50 Logan suburbs.
- Accountants Ipswich Ipswich CBD and the western Brisbane corridor.
Ready when you are
Accountants for startups — let's talk.
Free 15-minute consultation, fixed monthly fee, and an accountant who already knows your sector.