Resources
Accounting, explained plainly
Guides, calculators and plain-English answers for founders and operators, written by people who had to get the underlying mechanics right to build the product. Everything here is free to read, and the calculators work without an email. The Excel templates and the planning worksheets ask for an email once.
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Compare software
Guides to QuickBooks, Bench, Pilot, Digits and Puzzle alternatives and to AI bookkeeping software, with each option’s strengths and limits.
- QuickBooks Alternatives for Startups (2026)A comparison of the best QuickBooks alternatives: what each one costs, what it does, who it suits, and where each one falls down. Ours included.
- Bench Accounting Alternatives Compared (2026)What Bench offers today, where it falls short, and how Numbrr, Pilot, Digits and local bookkeepers compare on price, accrual books, tax and who does the work.
- Pilot Bookkeeping Alternatives for Startups (2026)Pilot’s Essentials and Core plans side by side, the point where Essentials stops being enough, and how Numbrr, Kruze, Bench and Digits compare.
- Digits Alternatives Compared (2026)Where Digits is strong, where it stops, and how Numbrr, Puzzle and Pilot Essentials compare on accrual work, price, people and tax.
- Puzzle Accounting Alternatives Compared (2026)Puzzle’s plans, seats, AI credits and the $10K limit on Expert Reviewed, priced out, with how Numbrr, Digits, Pilot and a QuickBooks bookkeeper compare.
- AI Bookkeeping Software for Startups Compared (2026)AI bookkeeping software by type: AI inside QuickBooks or Xero, AI-native ledgers and bookkeeping services, compared on price, accrual and who does the work.
Month-end close
The close step by step, the prepaid amortization schedule, and a free app to run the close with your team.
- Month-End Close ChecklistEvery step of the close by business day, with preparer, reviewer and status columns in a free Excel template.
- Prepaid Amortization ScheduleSpread insurance, software and other prepaids over the months they cover, with a free Excel template that builds the schedule and the rollforward.
- Numbrr CloseA free month-end close checklist app for teams of up to 10.
Startup finance
Burn, runway, annual planning, and the KPIs for SaaS, e-commerce and services businesses.
- Accrued Expenses: What to Accrue at Month End, With ExamplesWhat an accrued expense is, how it differs from a payable and a prepaid, the common ones to book each month, worked examples with reversing entries, and a month-end routine to find them.
- Fixed Assets and Depreciation for Startups: A Plain GuideWhat to capitalize and what to expense, how straight-line depreciation works with a worked example, how to record a sale, how intangibles differ, and the mistakes that distort profit.
- How to Switch From QuickBooks Online: A Step-by-Step GuideMoving off QuickBooks Online without losing history: when to switch, what to prepare, what moves over, the import steps, the tie-out check and what to keep until it ties.
- ASC 606 Revenue Recognition for SaaS and Services StartupsASC 606 in plain English: the five steps, a worked annual-subscription example, how implementation fees and usage billing change the timing, and the mistakes that cost startups.
- Cash vs Accrual Accounting for Startups: When to SwitchCash accounting records money when it moves; accrual records it when it is earned or owed. How each treats an annual contract, when startups switch, and how to do it.
- SaaS Metrics and KPIs: Formulas and BenchmarksEvery SaaS metric worth tracking, with formulas, benchmarks and what to do about each: MRR movement, NRR, CAC payback, LTV:CAC and the Rule of 40.
- E-Commerce KPIs: Formulas and BenchmarksEvery e-commerce metric worth tracking, with formulas and benchmark ranges: conversion, AOV, contribution margin, CAC, MER and inventory turns.
- Professional Services KPIs and BenchmarksThe metrics that decide whether an agency or consultancy makes money, with benchmark ranges: utilization, realization, effective rate, lockup and DSO.
- Burn Rate CalculatorCalculate gross burn, net burn and runway with two methods, and see when each one misleads you.
- Runway CalculatorProject your cash forward month by month, with revenue and expense growth, and find the month you hit zero.
- Annual Planning PlaybookThe whole annual planning process, with the calendar, the worksheets, and the arithmetic written out.
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