Frequently Asked Questions

Treaty Oak services clients in all types of industries. We currently have clients operating in the following industries: SaaS, e-commerce, marketplace technology, direct to consumer brands, content creation, private equity, oil & gas, and many others.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit, from startups craving savvy financial strategies to seasoned enterprises aiming to fine-tune their fiscal operations. Our suite of services are particularly valuable for SMBs hungry for high-level financial acumen without the hefty price tag of a full-time CFO.

Absolutely. Many of the founder-led businesses don't have time to focus on best-practice financials, and we're experienced at building a view of the business that gives founds the clarity they need. We've seen it all - missing support, incorrect treatment, inconsistent categorization, multi-entity intercompany complexity - and know how to organize and streamline the financials in a way that tells the story of the business.

Client Accounting Services (CAS) involves the day-to-day accounting functions necessary for your business, such as payroll, bookkeeping, and financial reporting. In contrast, Strategic Finance focuses on higher-level financial planning and analysis to guide long-term business strategy and decision-making. While CAS ensures your financial records are accurate and up-to-date, Strategic Finance helps you interpret these records to make informed business choices.

We don't offer tax services to our clients, however we partner closely with a number of well respected tax firms. We would be happy to refer you to the right partner based on your needs. As part of our CAS (Client Accounting Services) offering, we will work closely with your tax provider to simplify and streamline the process in order to make tax delivery as seamless as possible.

We consider many factors to determine the scope of work including company size, transaction volume, business complexity, and business need. Our goal is to make sure that our pricing is fair and competitive.

We offer a core package with a monthly, flat-rate price: Our core package includes a set of essential services that most startups need. We also offer add-on services with a la carte pricing.

Yes, we’re happy to provide references upon request.

Transitioning to a new accounting partner can feel daunting, but we've built our onboarding process specifically to make it smooth. We start with a kickoff call to understand your business, your current setup, and any immediate priorities. From there, we handle the heavy lifting - gaining access to your systems, meeting with your current provider/team, reviewing your existing books, and establishing the workflows your team will use going forward. Most clients are fully transitioned and operational with Treaty Oak within 30 to 60 days.

Absolutely. Treaty Oak was built to serve growth-stage companies wherever they're based in the US, and all of our client work happens remotely. Our systems, communication workflows, and team structure are all designed around distributed collaboration, so whether you're in Austin, San Francisco, New York, or anywhere in between, the experience of working with us is the same.

We designed Treaty Oak specifically around the lifecycle of a growth-stage company. Early on, you might just need clean books and timely financial statements. As you raise capital, you'll need investor reporting, board decks, and audit readiness. When you're further along, you may need a fractional CFO, a formal FP&A function, or transaction advisory support. Treaty Oak can be your partner at every one of those stages - and because we already know your business, the transitions are seamless.

Yes - the majority of Treaty Oak's clients are backed by VC or PE partners, and supporting them through the reporting requirements that come with institutional capital is core to what we do. We're fluent in these financial reporting cadences: monthly investor updates, board package preparation, cap table awareness, 409a timing, etc. Treaty Oak has helped dozens of founders build the financial infrastructure that keeps investors confident and happy.

Our primary platforms are QuickBooks Online and NetSuite, and the majority of our clients are on one of the two. If you're already there, there's nothing you need to change - we'll get access and hit the ground running. If you're on different accounting system, we're happy to meet with you, understand your current setup, and think through if we can make something work or if a migration is the right thing for you.

We take responsiveness seriously and we've built our communication structure around it. Email is our primary and preferred channel for client communication, and every client has a dedicated team they're reaching out to directly. For clients who use Slack, we offer a premium package that includes a shared Slack connection that makes day-to-day communication more immediate. You're never emailing a general inbox or waiting on a callback.

Treaty Oak is built differently from most accounting firms, and that starts with who we hire. Our focus is on operators - accounting and finance professionals who have worked alongside founders inside startups, understand what it takes to run a lean business, and are motivated by efficiency and process improvement. Your engagement is led by a Manager who serves as your primary point of contact, supported by a experienced team of accounting and finance professionals. Partners stay actively involved at critical moments - fundraising, diligence, strategic planning - and are available when the conversation needs to go deeper.

Our Strategic Finance services are customized to each individual client. These typically include a mix of forecasts, budgets, budget-to-actual updates, KPI dashboards, product/service margin, and profitability analyses. The real magic comes from the conversations that result from these deliverables to help inform your strategic plan.

Some businesses don't believe that financial objectives outside of basic accounting add value, or they believe these metrics are too difficult to obtain and understand. However, engaging in strategic finance support can be transformative, even if you're initially unsure of its necessity. At Treaty Oak, we begin by evaluating your current financial operations and goals. This helps us identify potential areas for enhancement and provide tailored recommendations that align with your business objectives. We're here to clarify complex financial data and strategies, making them accessible and actionable for your business's growth and efficiency.

Absolutely. We have played a crucial role in fundraising efforts and managing investor relations with several clients. As a part of this service, we craft financial projections, develop compelling pitches, and provide the financial credibility necessary to assure potential investors.

Absolutely. We work with founders at both ends of the spectrum - those who need a model built from the ground up, and those whose existing model has become too complex or disconnected from reality. Our Strategic Finance team will assess what you have, align on what you need, and build or rebuild accordingly.

Professional accounting services are crucial for you to manage your company and maintain your business’s financial health. An accountant ensures your financial records are accurately maintained, which aids in effective budgeting and tracking business goals. They also keep you tax-compliant, minimizing the risk of costly errors. Additionally, detailed financial reports from your accountant can strengthen your credibility with banks and investors. Employing an accountant ultimately allows you to focus more on growing your business while they handle these essential tasks.

While traditional bookkeeping is valuable for many businesses, it oftentimes describes a service that’s specific to accounting on a non-GAAP, cash basis. Treaty Oak’s Accounting services are Accrual basis accounting to give our clients the best insight into accurate and operational financial formatting to start benchmarking important KPIs like Gross Profit Margin and Net Profit Margin. We also provide cash flow reporting to provide valuable insight into cash management. You can rest assured a CPA is looking at your financial statements every month.

We deliver monthly recurring accounting services and financial reporting results to stay in line with industry best practices. We’ve found that a monthly review of business performance results in business owners having a clear idea of the state of their business.

Finding errors or inconsistencies during onboarding is more common than most expect, and it's something we handle directly. Depending on your tax situation and the nature of your reporting structure to your auditors/capital partners, we will often recommend opening prior periods to make material adjustments rather than piling everything into the current period. This gives you a clean, accurate view of historical performance - which matters when you're looking for trends, reporting to investors, or preparing for a raise.

A Quality of Earnings (QoE) report is an independent analysis of a company's financial performance that goes beyond the face of the financial statements. It identifies whether reported earnings are sustainable, recurring, and free from one-time exceptions. Buyers and their lenders rely on QoE reports to validate the purchase price and understand the true economic picture of the business before closing.

Our process begins with a structured diligence request list, followed by management interviews, financial analysis, and a draft report for your review. Most engagements are completed within three to four weeks from kickoff, depending on the complexity of the business and the quality of available records. We keep you updated at every milestone so there are no surprises heading into closing.

Our standard QoE includes a normalized EBITDA bridge, revenue quality and trend analysis, working capital assessment, and identification of non-recurring items. We also flag accounting policy risks and any areas where the books may not reflect economic reality. Depending on the deal, we can expand scope to include revenue recognition analysis, customer concentration, and debt agreement reviews.

The most frequent findings involve revenue that isn't as recurring as it appears, owner-related expenses that inflate reported profitability, and working capital that's been managed to look favorable ahead of a sale. We also commonly identify timing differences in revenue recognition and one-time costs that sellers want to add back but that don't hold up under scrutiny. Our job is to give you an accurate picture - not to advocate for either side.

Treaty Oak brings the same technical rigor as larger firms but with faster turnaround, direct access to senior CPAs, and deep familiarity with the lower-middle market. We work with growth-stage and founder-led businesses every day, which means we know exactly where the financial complexity tends to live in these deals. With Treaty Oak, you get a right-sized engagement without the overhead, team size, cost, or extended timeline of a large firm.

Not every deal requires a full Quality of Earnings report - and paying for one when you don't need it adds cost and time you can't always afford. A QoE Lite is a focused financial review that hits the highest-priority diligence areas: earnings normalization, revenue quality, and key accounting risks. Treaty Oak offers QoE Lite engagements for smaller transactions and early-stage deal screening, so you get the financial clarity you need without overbuilding the process.

For QoE Lite engagements, we work on a flat-fee basis ranging from $10,000 - $20,000 based on the size and complexity of the deal, with half due at kickoff and the remainder due upon delivery. Full-scope QoE engagements vary more significantly in time and depth, so those are typically scoped and priced hourly - but we'll always provide estimated ranges upfront to avoid surprises.