Who benefits from outsourced bookkeeping and a vCFO?
Under Section 128 of the Companies Act 2013, every company must maintain proper books of account. Section 44AA of the Income Tax Act additionally requires certain businesses and professions to maintain prescribed books (Rule 6F), with penalties under Section 271A for failure.
But beyond the legal obligation, the businesses that benefit most from outsourced bookkeeping and vCFO services are those that have grown past the point where a part-time accountant is sufficient — but have not yet justified a full-time CFO:
- Startups (₹30L–₹5Cr ARR): Monthly P&L and runway visibility without the cost of an in-house finance function. Investor-ready MIS that can be shared with angels or VCs without delay.
- Growing SMEs (₹2Cr–₹50Cr turnover): GST-reconciled accounts every month, not scrambled at year-end. Working capital analysis before a bank loan meeting.
- Professional services firms: Project-level profitability tracking. Client-wise billing reconciliation. Advance tax based on actual receivables, not guesses.
- E-commerce businesses: Marketplace reconciliation (Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra), TCS credit tracking, and monthly net settlement analysis.
If you are making business decisions based on a bank statement instead of a P&L, this service is for you.
What the engagement covers
- Monthly bookkeeping (cloud or Tally)
All transactions coded, reconciled, and closed by the 10th of the following month. Bank reconciliation, petty cash, creditors and debtors ledgers. We work in your existing accounting system (Tally, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, or another) or migrate you to one.
- Monthly management reports (MIS)
P&L by category, balance sheet, cashflow summary, debtor ageing, and creditor ageing — formatted for founder review. No accounting jargon, no raw ledger dumps. Reports shared by the 15th of the following month.
- GST reconciliation (monthly)
Sales and purchase ledgers reconciled against GSTR-1 and GSTR-2B monthly, so year-end GST compliance has no surprises. ITC differences flagged immediately, not discovered in November when filing GSTR-9.
- Advance tax computation (quarterly)
Tax liability estimated every quarter based on actual P&L, scheduled for the June 15 / September 15 / December 15 / March 15 payment dates under Section 208. You pay the right amount, not a surprise catch-up in March.
- vCFO advisory (monthly or quarterly)
A 30–60 minute review call with your CA partner covering: financial highlights, cash position, debtors requiring attention, tax payments due, and any upcoming compliance deadlines. This is the "thinking together" time that most businesses only get from a full-time CFO.
- Audit-ready year-end close
By March 31, your books are trial-balance-ready for the statutory or tax auditor. No scrambling to reconstruct six months of transactions. Audit fieldwork begins without delay.
How the monthly bookkeeping cycle works
Onboarding
First month: setup (2–3 days)
We review your existing books, understand your chart of accounts, connect to your accounting software or set one up, and establish the monthly data-sharing routine. For businesses with a backlog, we agree on a catch-up timeline.
By the 5th
You share raw data
Bank statements, invoices, expense receipts, payroll summaries, and any advance payments. Most clients share via a shared Google Drive folder or WhatsApp. Takes 15–20 minutes once the routine is established.
By the 10th
Books closed, MIS drafted
We post all transactions, run bank reconciliation, and draft the monthly MIS. GST reconciliation happens in the same cycle.
By the 15th
MIS delivered and vCFO call
You receive the monthly P&L, balance sheet, and cashflow. The vCFO call covers the numbers, flags anything that needs action, and aligns on the next month's priorities — tax payments, debtor follow-ups, or a specific financial question.
What bookkeeping and vCFO costs
Bookkeeping + MIS
from ₹3,999
per month
- Monthly bookkeeping (up to 200 transactions)
- Bank reconciliation
- Monthly P&L, balance sheet, cashflow
- GST reconciliation
- Advance tax computation (quarterly)
Bookkeeping + vCFO
from ₹6,999
per month
- Everything in Bookkeeping + MIS
- Monthly or quarterly vCFO advisory call
- Investor-ready MIS formatting
- Working capital and cash runway analysis
- Financial model review (on request)
Pricing is based on transaction volume. Businesses above 500 transactions/month or with multi-entity consolidation are quoted separately. Book a free scoping call.
What clients ask about bookkeeping and vCFO
What is a vCFO and what is it not?
A virtual CFO (vCFO) is a senior finance professional who provides CFO-level advisory on a part-time or retainer basis — without the cost of a full-time hire (₹30–₹80 lakh per year in most Indian cities for a qualified CFO). A vCFO provides financial clarity, tax planning, audit readiness, and strategic finance input. A vCFO is not a statutory auditor, cannot sign statutory documents, and does not replace your compliance CA for filing obligations. At Auranity, your vCFO and your compliance CA are the same team — eliminating the gap between advisory and execution.
Do I need to maintain formal books of account if I am a freelancer or consultant?
Under Section 44AA of the Income Tax Act, professionals whose gross receipts exceed ₹1.5 lakh in any of the three preceding years are required to maintain prescribed books under Rule 6F. Failure to maintain books attracts a penalty under Section 271A of ₹25,000. If you use the presumptive taxation scheme under Section 44ADA (gross receipts below ₹50 lakh), formal bookkeeping is not mandatory — but maintaining clean records remains best practice for ITR accuracy.
What software do you use and do I need to change mine?
We work in Tally (ERP 9 and Tally Prime), Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, and Excel-based accounting. We adapt to your existing system where possible. If you do not have accounting software, we recommend Zoho Books for most startups and SMEs (GST-ready, cloud-based, bank-sync enabled). Migration from one platform to another is included in onboarding for annual subscribers.
How is outsourced bookkeeping different from hiring an in-house accountant?
An in-house accountant at ₹15,000–₹35,000/month in a Tier 1 city costs ₹1.8–₹4.2 lakh per year in salary, plus EPF, ESIC, infrastructure, and the non-billable management time of hiring and retaining. Outsourced bookkeeping at ₹3,999–₹6,999/month is typically 50–80% cheaper — with the added benefit of CA-level oversight rather than a data-entry accountant. The tradeoff is that outsourced bookkeeping requires a structured data-sharing discipline from your side.
What is "audit-ready" bookkeeping and why does it matter?
Most businesses that need a statutory or tax audit start the year-end audit process with incomplete books — unreconciled bank accounts, missing invoices, undocumented advances. Each gap adds days to the audit, which adds cost. Audit-ready books mean the trial balance on March 31 is clean, all supporting documents are organised and accessible, and the auditor can begin fieldwork in April rather than August. This directly reduces your audit fee and your team's disruption during the audit period.
Before Auranity, I knew my business was profitable but I had no idea by how much or which clients were actually contributing. The first MIS they sent showed that one client accounting for 30% of revenue had a gross margin of 12% — we repriced within the month. That one number justified a year's retainer.
We were heading into a bank loan meeting with last year's balance sheet and a story. Auranity had current monthly P&L and a working capital analysis ready in four days. The relationship manager said it was the most prepared application she'd seen from an SME in two years. Loan was approved at the first meeting.