#saas
SaaS accounting, revenue recognition, and metrics
Since 2022 research costs must be capitalized over 5 years — software included — midpoint in year one. Track domestic vs foreign, build the amortization schedule, and be ready for OBBBA's retroactive expensing.
On January 1, 2026, Bhutan replaced its nine-rate sales tax (0%–100%) with a flat 5% GST. Registration is mandatory above Nu 5 million (~$58,000) annual turnover — and the rules explicitly cover non-resident SaaS and digital sellers, with a 30-day registration window and a reverse-charge carve-out for verified B2B sales.
Jobber ($25–$249/month) fits growing teams of 5–20 technicians, Housecall Pro ($49–$300+/month) suits solo operators under $500K revenue, and ServiceTitan's 5–10× higher cost only pays off past $2M or multiple locations. Here's how to match the platform to your current size — and the per-job fees, data lock-in, and paywalled support to check before signing.
A code-audit firm selling fixed-scope static audits, hourly remediation, and resold SAST subscriptions runs three ASC 606 revenue-recognition rules under one roof — point-in-time, as-performed, and ratable. This guide covers the chart of accounts to separate them, the principal-vs-agent test for reseller margin, and a worked example posting one client engagement across unearned revenue, unbilled receivables, and subscription margin.
FASB's ASU 2025-06 replaces the three-stage ASC 350-40 test with a single "probable-to-complete" threshold for internal-use software, a change expected to decrease capitalization for SaaS companies once it takes effect for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2027.
Palantir's Q1 2026 revenue grew 84.7% to $1.633 billion while total costs grew only 24%, lifting operating margin to 46.2% and net margin to 53.7% — a net margin that exceeds the operating margin because interest income adds $134.6 million and the effective tax rate is just 1.4%, against an accumulated deficit that still stands at $2.69 billion.
Under ASC 606, white-label SaaS resellers recognize either gross revenue as a principal or net commission as an agent, and should book gross sales, platform fees, refunds, and chargebacks as separate line items rather than a single net deposit.
US iOS developers can currently run external purchase links at 0% Apple commission while courts settle a replacement rate. This guide covers the bookkeeping fallout — the merchant-of-record shift, sales tax nexus, reconciling two 1099s, and Apple's 15-day transaction reporting rule.
2026 data from 600+ Acquire.com listings shows bootstrapped SaaS selling at roughly 2.6x TTM revenue and 10.7x profit — a 30–50% discount to public comps. Here's how NRR, CAC payback, customer concentration, and reconciled books move your multiple, and the diligence documents buyers actually request.
California's SB 122, signed June 29, 2026, extends sales and use tax (7.25% state rate plus local add-ons) to prewritten software and SaaS starting January 1, 2027. Custom software and cloud infrastructure like AWS stay exempt; sellers over 5 million dollars in digital receipts shift collection to purchasers. Here is what's taxable, how billing-address sourcing works, and a compliance checklist.
The median small business now runs five AI tools, and combined monthly spend on unaudited AI subscriptions can reach $3,000–$6,000. A five-step afternoon audit — find every AI charge including shadow spend on personal cards, price in the hours spent babysitting each tool, check seat usage, cut redundant overlap, and force a keep/downgrade/cancel decision — plus a lightweight budget structure that stops sprawl from creeping back.
Belgium requires structured B2B e-invoices via Peppol from January 1, 2026; France follows September 1, 2026; Poland's KSeF phases in February–April 2026; Germany mandates issuing in 2027–2028. What US exporters and SaaS sellers must do — required formats (UBL, Factur-X, XRechnung), network access, and penalties up to 100% of the invoice's VAT.
