You build the product. We build the company with you.
There is a moment when the idea becomes a company - and from that moment there is a Companies Registrar, tax files, a cap table and an audited financial statement. This is that whole side, ordered by the stages of the journey: forming the company without missing a step, what a SAFE really does to your tax position, employee options under Section 102, Innovation Authority grants and the tax breaks for tech companies, through to the calculation at exit. Written by a licensed CPA who accompanies founders. Not incorporated yet? Start at the builders hub. Looking for the service itself? CPA for startups and companies.
Where is the company in its journey?
Every guide here came from a real founder question - before formation, after a term sheet, or moments before signing. Find the stage you are at, and everything links on from there.
Setting up the company
The order of operations matters. Registrar, articles, tax files, bank account - and the paper between founders that has to be closed before it is worth something.
What changes the moment you incorporate
A company is on the Regulation 13 list from day one, must have audited statements, carries two layers of tax - and its shareholder is a separate entity.
Go → Two foundersBuilding with a co-founder - which structure?
Two dealers, a partnership or a company, compared across tax, IP and what a split looks like. Plus the five clauses that must be in writing.
Read → Before you doWhen moving to a company actually pays off
The full calculation including the dividend everyone forgets, the annual operating costs, and the four triggers that justify incorporating.
Read →עוד בשלב הזה: פותחים חברת טכנולוגיה · הסכם מייסדים וחלוקת מניות
Raising money
The instruments everyone signs and few fully understand - and the one Tax Authority guidance that makes a SAFE safe.
How SAFEs are taxed in Israel
The updated guidance: a qualifying SAFE is an advance on account of shares, so conversion is not a tax event. All the conditions, plus a pre-signing checklist.
Read → US structuresThe investor wants an American entity
When a Delaware demand is genuinely justified and when it is not - and why a flip without a ruling is itself a tax event.
Read → US entityC-Corp or LLC - if the investor requires an American entity
The comparison, the Israeli twist, what Atlas gives you, banking and the honest annual budget.
Read →עוד בשלב הזה: בוטסטראפ או גיוס · חוק האנג'לים · פליפ לדלאוור · SAFE - המדריך המלא בעברית
Building a team
Options, founder salary and the first employee - three places where doing it in the wrong order is expensive.
Section 102 options - the essentials
The capital track with a trustee at a reduced rate, a plan submitted for approval, a trustee appointed, a lockup period - and why the choice is irreversible.
Go → Options 102Section 102 employee options - the founder's guide
The capital track with a trustee at 25%, the 30 days before the first grant, the 24-month lockup - and why founders are excluded.
Read →עוד בשלב הזה: שכר מייסדים · העובד הראשון · צוות על חשבוניות · כמה באמת עולה עובד
R&D, grants and tax breaks
The part of Israeli tax law actually built to favour tech companies - if you meet the conditions and check eligibility in time.
VAT for a startup - refunds from day one
A company is a VAT-registered dealer from registration, so a development period files in refund. Plus the zero rate on R&D for the parent, and imported services.
Read → ExportsZero-rate VAT on exported services
Selling abroad? Income at a zero rate while Israeli expenses still return input VAT - including R&D services to a foreign parent.
Read →עוד בשלב הזה: הוצאות מו"פ - סעיף 20א · מענקי רשות החדשנות · מפעל טכנולוגי מועדף
Ongoing, reports and getting money home
Double-entry books, an audited statement and the filings that hold up your next due diligence - plus the drawing mix between salary and dividend.
What ongoing representation covers
Double-entry bookkeeping as a company must keep, audited statements to the Tax Authority and the Companies Registrar, payroll and the planned drawing mix.
Go → The calendarBookkeeping and reports - what the law requires
Double-entry books, audited statements even at zero revenue, and the full filing calendar. Plus why accumulated losses are a real asset.
Read → Drawing moneySalary or dividend? The 2026 calculation
A dividend costs about 46% combined whatever your bracket. Salary is taxed where your next shekel sits, which is why the answer is a mix.
Read → InvoicingIsrael Invoices and allocation numbers
From June 2026 the threshold is 5,000 ILS before VAT. Without an allocation number your business client cannot offset the VAT, so finance departments send the invoice back.
Read →עוד בשלב הזה: הדוח השנתי לחברה
Toward an exit
The calculation founders ask about last and should ask about first: what is actually left after the deal.
How much tax do you really pay on an exit?
Around a third for a typical founder, not half. What moves it: a share deal against an asset deal, Section 102, and a holdback that turns capital gain into salary.
Read → Small exitSelling a micro SaaS - the small exit
Capital gain at 25% or business income at a marginal rate? The classification, the allocation of the consideration, and the VAT clause.
Read → Before the dealStructure questions that surface at an exit
Where the entity sits, how the money flows and which structures create friction at the moment of sale.
Read →עוד בשלב הזה: הצהרת הון אחרי אקזיט
Why startups work with us
We accompany startups and tech companies alongside builders, solo founders and traditional businesses - and we know exactly where things meet: a cap table and an audited statement, employee options and a withholding file, an Innovation Authority grant and the revenue line. The financial side of the company should run at the same pace at which you ship.
A licensed Israeli CPA (license no. 500125101) accompanying businesses and self-employed clients across Israel - including founders, builders and owners of digital products. Bookkeeping, filings to the authorities, annual reports and personal financial guidance. About Adir →
The information on this page is general only, current as of August 2026, and does not constitute tax advice or a substitute for professional advice fitted to your company's circumstances. The guides are condensed adaptations of our fuller Hebrew library, which cites the official sources for every figure. For personal advice - talk to us.
Founder questions - before you start
We're pre-seed with no revenue yet. Why do we need an accountant already?
Because what determines how your first due diligence looks is happening now: clean books from day one, correct formation of the company, and orderly recording of expenses and of the decisions around IP and structure - things that are easy to do right at the start and expensive to fix backwards. A startup that starts orderly passes the first investor's check without surprises. And our intro conversation is free, so there is no real reason to wait.
What is the difference between you and a CFO?
We are the company's external accountant: bookkeeping, financial statements, tax, payroll and filings to the authorities. A CFO or controller is an internal function managing budget, cash flow and financial strategy from inside. In the early stages you usually do not need a CFO - you need a good CPA holding the base; and when the company grows and a CFO joins, we work with them, not instead of them.
Do you work with our lawyers?
Yes, and that is exactly how it should work: the lawyers draft the founders' agreement, the SAFE and the option plan - and we cover the tax and accounting angle of those same documents. In our experience it is best when both sides are at the table early: a clause drafted without thinking about tax costs far more later than the meeting that would have prevented it.
How much does accompanying a startup cost?
It depends on the stage and the scope: for a young company with no employees, bookkeeping and reports start in the range of hundreds to a few thousand shekels a month, and the scope grows with employees, funding rounds and grants. We price according to what is actually happening, not according to the ARR forecast. The intro conversation is free and without commitment, and you leave it with an orderly proposal.
Forming or raising? Let us talk before, not after.
Tell us on WhatsApp where the company stands - an idea, a registered company, or a term sheet on the table. A first reply usually comes within hours, not days.