nkh

We are an enterprise software company. We have about 50% of our revenues come from professional services, and the other 50% come from software sales. Our client count is very low and will remain low for a long time to come (<10 per year).

We are in the process of putting together some formal structure around our accounting. In particular, we are trying to decide what "cost centers" to include in our GL (general ledger). Our accountant suggested making one for each customer, and by breaking out the costs by "whatever we feel would be useful". However, when we asked for specific examples we got an "it depends" answer.

I would love to know if anyone has any resources they can point us towards to help answer the question. Or, if you can share your own anecdotal advice about particular things you found helpful to have in there.

Does anyone have a recommendation for books, articles, or actual accountants that specialize in accounting for enterprise software? If we should capitalize vs expense our development. If we capitalize, I believe we have an asset we can depreciate. Although, I don't know, that is why I am looking for any helpful direction you guys may be able to point me.

I would also like to know the tax tradeoffs for different entities. Like an LLC vs a limited partnership wrapped in a C-Corp etc. I know the basics, but would like to come up with an optimal tax strategy.

My current background:

I am a member of a bootstrapped three founder startup. We are focusing on the enterprise space, and are currently setup as an LLC.

I have had a couple of external dives fail on me over the years. Before I purchase the next, I was wondering if there are any units that you would highly recommend.