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Technology & SaaS Accountants

Tech startup and SaaS accounting including deferred revenue, subscription metrics, burn rate tracking, investor reporting, and SEIS/EIS compliance.

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Written by Asrah Abbas, ACA / ACCA — Principal at Westfin Accountants Ltd
Chartered accountant with 12+ years of UK practice experience. Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Last updated:

In plain English

Tech & SaaS accounting requires SaaS revenue recognition (FRS 102 Section 23), share-option administration (EMI), R&D claims under the merged scheme, and international tax for distributed teams. Westfin runs your SaaS metrics (ARR, NRR, CAC payback) alongside statutory accounts.

Sector-specific tax matters

The reliefs, schemes and risks that consistently apply in this sector — with HMRC source links so you can verify everything we say.

R&D Tax Credits — merged scheme

From April 2024, a single 20% above-the-line credit replaces SME + RDEC. Loss-making R&D-intensive companies (R&D ≥ 30% of total spend) still get ERIS at 27% effective benefit.

Reference (gov.uk)
EMI Share Options

Most generous UK share scheme: up to £250k options per employee, £3m company limit, CGT (not Income Tax) on exit if held 2+ years.

Reference (gov.uk)
SEIS & EIS advance assurance

SEIS: £250k investee limit, 50% income tax relief for investors. EIS: £5m/yr, £12m lifetime, 30% relief. Pre-funding advance assurance from HMRC is gold.

Reference (gov.uk)
Patent Box

10% effective Corporation Tax rate on profits derived from qualifying patents — under-used by UK SaaS.

Reference (gov.uk)

Common Technology & SaaS Accounting Challenges

Deferred revenue from annual subscriptions

MRR and ARR calculations

Burn rate and runway tracking

Investor reporting requirements

SEIS/EIS compliance

Share option scheme accounting

Our Technology & SaaS Solutions

Subscription billing integration

SaaS metrics dashboard

Cash runway forecasting

Investor-grade financial models

R&D and patent box reliefs

Equity and option pool tracking

Specialized Services for Technology & SaaS

Deferred revenue automation

SaaS metrics (MRR, ARR, churn, LTV, CAC)

Burn rate and runway analysis

Investor reporting packs

SEIS/EIS advance assurance applications

Share option scheme setup (EMI, CSOP)

Technology & SaaS FAQs

How do you recognize revenue for SaaS subscriptions?

Annual subscriptions are deferred and recognized monthly. Monthly subscriptions are recognized in the month of service. We automate this using Stripe, ChargeBee, or Recurly integration.

What is SEIS/EIS and do we qualify?

SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) and EIS provide tax relief to investors, making fundraising easier. We prepare advance assurance applications to confirm eligibility before raising.

How do you calculate burn rate and runway?

Burn rate is monthly cash outflow. Runway is current cash divided by burn rate. We forecast both including planned hires and growth investments to inform fundraising timing.

Ready to Get Started?

Speak to our Technology & SaaS accounting specialists today