River Edge Advisors provides SaaS accounting and fractional CFO support for subscription software companies nationwide: deferred revenue and revenue recognized over the subscription term, recurring revenue and churn that reconcile to the general ledger, gross margin, burn and payback, and board-ready reporting, from a CPA-led team of 75+.
Where SaaS books usually break
Annual contracts booked as revenue when billed
A twelve-month contract paid upfront is not twelve months of revenue in January. Without deferred revenue schedules, revenue spikes with billing, margins swing, and the financials don't match the recurring revenue in the deck.
Recurring revenue that lives only in a spreadsheet
If ARR is calculated outside the books, nobody can show how it ties to recognized revenue. Investors and buyers ask for that bridge first.
Costs in the wrong place
Hosting, third-party software, support and onboarding belong in cost of revenue; sales, marketing and product development belong below gross margin. Misclassified costs make gross margin, the number most often used to value a SaaS company, unreliable.
Commissions and prepaid software expensed at once
Multi-year commissions and annual tool subscriptions expensed when paid make some months look far worse than they were.
What River Edge does for SaaS companies
Revenue and deferred revenue
Deferred revenue schedules by contract, revenue recognized over the subscription term, and support for usage, implementation and multi-element contracts, reviewed with your auditor when you have one.
Recurring revenue bridge
Monthly new, expansion, contraction and churned recurring revenue, reconciled to recognized revenue and the general ledger.
SaaS metrics package
Gross margin, net and gross revenue retention, customer acquisition payback, burn and runway, calculated from closed books.
Monthly close and financials
Accrual P&L, balance sheet and cash flow on a fixed date, with prepaid, accrual and commission schedules maintained.
Fractional CFO
Operating plan and hiring plan tied to runway, pricing and packaging analysis, board decks, investor updates and fundraising data rooms. R&D cost tracking and 409A-ready financials are prepared for your tax advisor and valuation provider.
Six SaaS numbers to review every month
- Recurring revenue and its bridge. Starting recurring revenue, plus new and expansion, minus contraction and churn, equals ending. If it doesn't foot, the metric isn't ready for a board.
- Net revenue retention. Revenue kept and grown from existing customers. Above 100 percent means the base grows on its own.
- Gross margin. Subscription revenue minus hosting, support and delivery costs.
- Customer acquisition payback. Months of gross profit needed to recover the cost of winning a customer.
- Burn and burn multiple. Net cash burned for each dollar of net new recurring revenue.
- Deferred revenue and billings. What customers have paid for but not yet received, a leading signal of next quarter's revenue.
A finance team that knows SaaS
SaaS founders usually compare four ways to cover finance. Here is how they differ by model.
| River Edge fractional CFO team | Solo fractional CFO | Bookkeeping-only service | Full-time CFO hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A CPA-led team: CFO, controller and accounting staff | One senior person | Bookkeepers, often working from software rules | One executive, who still needs a team under them |
| Monthly close and reconciliations | Done by the team, on a fixed date | Usually left to your bookkeeper | Yes, transaction-level | Managed by the CFO, done by staff you hire |
| Forecasting, board and lender reporting | Included, built on books the same team closed | Yes | Limited or none | Yes |
| AP, AR and payroll management | Available in the same engagement | No | Sometimes | Needs more hires |
| Coverage when someone is out | A team of 75+ behind your account | Depends on one person | Varies | Depends on one person |
| Industry depth | Healthcare, real estate, MCA and alternative lending, logistics, tech | Varies by individual | Generalist | Varies by hire |
| Commitment | A monthly engagement sized to the work | Part-time contract | Monthly subscription | Salary, benefits and a search |
A comparison by model, not by firm: every option has its place. The River Edge model fits companies that want senior finance judgment and the people who do the daily work, in one engagement, without building a department.
What this looks like in practice
SPV accounting and reporting, without an internal finance team
A client needed accounting and reporting for an SPV. We handled the accounting and reporting for the SPV, and the client did not need to hire an internal finance team.
Read the case study →For subscription companies the point is the same: the books, the close and the reporting handled by an outside team, so the first finance hire can wait until it truly makes sense. See all our case studies.
Three steps, no rebuild required
- Free review of last month's books. Send us last month's financials and your recurring revenue report. We show you where they disagree, what deferred revenue looks like, and what a diligence team would ask about.
- Cleanup and setup. If the history needs work, we catch up and correct it, set up the chart of accounts and reporting around how your business actually runs, and fix the close calendar.
- Monthly rhythm. Books closed on a fixed date, a reporting package you can act on, and fractional CFO time for planning, lenders, investors and the board as you need it.
Questions owners ask
What is SaaS accounting?
SaaS accounting is bookkeeping and reporting set up for subscription software: revenue recognized over the subscription term instead of when it is billed, deferred revenue tracked by contract, costs split between cost of revenue and operating expenses, and metrics like recurring revenue, churn and gross margin calculated from the books.
How do you recognize revenue on annual SaaS contracts?
An annual contract billed upfront is recorded as deferred revenue and recognized month by month over the service period. We maintain those schedules each close so revenue and recurring revenue reconcile.
Can you reconcile our ARR to the financial statements?
Yes. We build a monthly recurring revenue bridge from your billing data and tie it to recognized revenue and deferred revenue in the general ledger, so the number in the board deck can be traced to the books.
Do SaaS companies need a fractional CFO or a controller first?
Most need accurate books and a reliable close first, which is controller work, then CFO time for planning, pricing and fundraising. Because River Edge provides both in one team, you can start with the close and add CFO time when the board or a raise calls for it.
Do you help with R&D tax credits?
We track and document research and development costs in the books and prepare the detail your tax advisor needs. The credit calculation and filing stay with your tax advisor.
How do we get started?
Request a free review of last month's books. We will walk you through what stands out and what we would fix first, with no obligation.
Find out if your ARR ties to your books
Send us last month's books and your recurring revenue report. We'll show you where they disagree and what we'd fix first.
- → Tell us about your business and the questions you want to answer.
- → We discuss what we see: where cash is going, what doesn't tie, what we'd fix first.
- → A follow-up conversation to walk through it. No obligation either way.