Escalon

What's the difference between outsourced accounting and a fractional CFO?

Outsourced accounting handles the day-to-day: bookkeeping, monthly close, payroll, and tax filings. A fractional CFO sits one level up and owns the strategy: forecasting, board reporting, fundraising support, audit readiness. Most growing companies between $1M and $50M in revenue need both. Escalon delivers them as a single integrated pod, so the CFO and the bookkeeper aren't trading emails to reconcile data.

When should a startup hire outsourced accounting services?

The trigger is usually one of three things: revenue crossing $1M, a funding round on the horizon, or the founder spending more than 5 hours a week on bookkeeping. Outsourcing earlier than that tends to be premature; later, and the cleanup cost on year-end taxes or due diligence usually exceeds what you'd have spent on a full year of service.

How does Escalon's pricing work?

Pricing is custom, scoped to your revenue band and the mix of services you need (Financial, People, Tax). We don't publish tiers because every company between $1M and $50M has a different operational shape.

How is Escalon different from other providers?

Most outsourced providers focus on a single function — finance only, HR only, or tax only. Escalon is the only provider that delivers Financial Operations, HR, and Tax Operations as one engagement with one U.S.-led pod. No handoffs between vendors. No data duplicated across three logins. One team that grows with you from $1M to $50M without re-platforming.

Do you handle multi-state payroll and sales tax?

Yes. Multi-state payroll, state registrations, sales tax nexus monitoring (especially relevant for SaaS companies hitting Wayfair thresholds), and quarterly filings are part of HR and Tax Operations. We register new states automatically when your headcount or revenue triggers nexus, so you don't get blindsided by a back-tax notice.

Can Escalon support a Series B audit?

Yes. Audit readiness is in scope from Financial Operations Pro upward: GAAP-compliant close, ASC 606 revenue recognition, ASC 718 stock comp, schedule preparation, and direct work with the audit firm. The team has supported dozens of Series A through D audits across SaaS, business services, and manufacturing.