Accountants for Startups.

Many founders rush into a structure without understanding the implications. They set up a company because someone told them to, but they don’t understand shareholding, director obligations, or how the structure affects future fundraising. Others stay as sole traders too long and create tax issues when they eventually incorporate. Some set up complex trust structures that create problems when investors want clean cap tables.

Walker Hill advises on the right structure for your situation and your plans. If you’re planning to raise capital, you need a company structure from day one. If you’ve got multiple founders, you need a shareholders’ agreement that covers what happens when someone leaves. If you’re using a trust, you need to understand how that affects your ability to raise equity funding later. We set you up properly from the start so you don’t need expensive restructures later.

You’re spending money to build the product and acquire customers before revenue ramps up. Every dollar out the door reduces your runway. Many founders don’t track burn rate properly, don’t forecast when they’ll run out of cash, and end up scrambling for emergency funding when they should have started fundraising months earlier.

Walker Hill builds cash flow forecasts that show your monthly burn, your remaining runway, and when you need to raise money. We track your spending against budget, flag when burn is increasing unexpectedly, and help you understand the financial impact of different decisions. You’ll know exactly how long your money will last and when you need to start securing funding for the next stage.

Many tech start-ups are eligible for R&D tax incentives but don’t claim them because they don’t understand the rules, don’t track eligible activities properly, or think the paperwork isn’t worth it. For eligible companies, the R&D tax incentive can return 43.5% of eligible expenditure, turning development costs into cash refunds that extend your runway significantly.

Walker Hill identifies whether you’re eligible, helps you track eligible R&D activities throughout the year, prepares the claim, and deals with AusIndustry on your behalf. We’ve lodged hundreds of R&D claims and know what activities qualify, what documentation is required, and how to maximise your claim while staying compliant. For many start-ups, the R&D refund is the difference between running out of money and reaching the next milestone.

You need to attract talent but can’t afford market salaries. Equity is the solution, but most founders don’t understand how to structure employee share schemes tax-effectively. Get it wrong and employees face unexpected tax bills on shares they can’t sell. Structure it right and equity becomes a powerful hiring tool that aligns everyone’s interests without creating tax problems.

Walker Hill advises on whether to use options or shares, how to set strike prices, what vesting schedules make sense, how to structure schemes to access tax concessions, and what documentation is required. We also help you understand the dilution impact, how option pools affect your cap table, and what investors expect to see in terms of employee equity.

When investors show interest, you need clean financials fast. Many start-ups have messy books, transactions coded incorrectly, founder expenses mixed with business expenses, and no clear picture of actual burn rate or unit economics. This creates problems in due diligence, delays funding, and makes you look unprofessional.

Walker Hill ensures your books are investor-ready from day one. We keep your financials clean, your cap table accurate, your corporate records up to date, and your financial reporting in the format investors expect. When it’s time to raise capital, you’re ready to provide the information investors need without scrambling to clean up months of messy bookkeeping.

Revenue doesn’t mean success. You need to understand your unit economics: customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, gross margin by product, contribution margin after variable costs. Many founders track top-line revenue without understanding whether their business model actually works at scale. You might be generating revenue but losing money on every sale.

Walker Hill helps you understand the metrics that matter for your business model. We track customer acquisition costs, calculate lifetime value, break down profitability by product or customer segment, and help you understand whether your unit economics support a sustainable business. This analysis informs pricing decisions, marketing spend, and whether you have a viable path to profitability.

Many start-ups deal with international suppliers, customers, contractors, or team members. That creates complexity around foreign currency transactions, tax obligations in multiple jurisdictions, transfer pricing if you have international entities, and compliance requirements that vary by country. Get it wrong and you’re either overpaying tax or creating compliance issues.

Walker Hill advises on how to structure international operations, when you need to register for tax in other jurisdictions, how to handle foreign currency properly in your accounts, and what compliance obligations you have when operating across borders. We also connect you with international advisors when you need specialist advice beyond Australian tax law.

What works for a three-person start-up doesn’t work when you’re 30 people. Your financial processes need to mature as you grow. You need proper purchase order processes, approval workflows, expense policies, budget management, and management reporting that goes beyond basic profit and loss statements.

Walker Hill helps you build financial processes that scale with your business. We implement systems before you need them, advise on when to hire your first finance person, what that role should own versus what we handle, and how to maintain financial control as you grow quickly. You’ll have the financial infrastructure to support your growth without building bureaucracy that slows you down.