Messy books cost you money in taxes, missed deductions, and accountant fees. This skill helps you set up clean financial tracking from day one — 30 minutes a week keeps you legal, informed, and out of trouble.
Works with
AI-first code editor with Composer
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
node --versionaccountingExecute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
Fetches accounting from whawkinsiv/claude-code-skills and configures it for Cursor.
The CLI shows a list of agents. Use arrow keys and space to select Cursor:
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
Restart Cursor to activate accounting. Access via /accounting in your agent's command palette.
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your environment. Always review source, verify the publisher, and test in isolation before production.
Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning
Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs
Example
Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios
Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage
Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps
Example
Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities
Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days
Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs
Example
Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale
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Messy books cost you money in taxes, missed deductions, and accountant fees. This skill helps you set up clean financial tracking from day one — 30 minutes a week keeps you legal, informed, and out of trouble.
Before your first dollar of revenue:
- [ ] Open a separate business bank account (checking)
- [ ] Get a business credit card (or dedicated personal card for business only)
- [ ] Set up accounting software (see recommendations below)
- [ ] Create a simple chart of accounts
- [ ] Set up Stripe (or payment processor) to deposit to business account
- [ ] Save a folder for receipts (digital — Google Drive, Dropbox, or in your accounting tool)
- [ ] Note your fiscal year start date (usually Jan 1 for calendar year)
Why it matters:
How:
| Stage | Tool | Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-revenue | Spreadsheet | Free | Don't over-invest before revenue |
| $0-5k MRR | Wave | Free | Full accounting, free, good for solo |
| $0-10k MRR | QuickBooks Self-Employed | $15/mo | Simple, widely supported by accountants |
| $5k-50k MRR | QuickBooks Online | $30+/mo | Standard. Every accountant knows it |
| $5k-50k MRR | Xero | $15+/mo | Clean UI, good for SaaS |
| Any stage | Bench | $299+/mo | Done-for-you bookkeeping service |
The short answer: Start with Wave (free) or QuickBooks Online. Switch to QBO when you hire an accountant — it's what they all use.
Connect Stripe to your accounting software to auto-import transactions:
Your chart of accounts is the list of categories for your money. Keep it simple:
REVENUE
Subscription Revenue (MRR from customers)
One-Time Revenue (setup fees, lifetime deals)
COST OF GOODS SOLD (COGS)
Hosting & Infrastructure (Vercel, Supabase, AWS, etc.)
Payment Processing Fees (Stripe fees, ~2.9% + $0.30)
Third-Party APIs (SendGrid, Twilio, OpenAI, etc.)
OPERATING EXPENSES
Software & Tools (GitHub, Figma, analytics, etc.)
Marketing & Advertising (Google Ads, sponsorships, etc.)
Contractors & Freelancers (developers, designers, writers)
Legal & Professional (lawyer, accountant, registered agent)
Domain & DNS (domain registrar, Cloudflare)
Office & Equipment (computer, monitor, desk — if home office)
Education & Training (courses, books, conferences)
Insurance (if applicable)
Miscellaneous (catch-all — keep this small)
OTHER
Owner Draw / Distribution (money you take out for yourself)
Owner Contribution (money you put in from personal funds)
Spend 30 minutes every week. It prevents the year-end panic.
Weekly (pick a day, be consistent):
- [ ] Categorize new transactions in accounting software
- [ ] Upload receipts for any expense over $75
- [ ] Reconcile bank account (does your software match your bank?)
- [ ] Note any unusual transactions to ask your accountant about
Monthly (first week of each month):
- [ ] Review Profit & Loss statement
- [ ] Check: Is revenue matching what Stripe shows?
- [ ] Check: Are expenses categorized correctly?
- [ ] Review cash balance — how many months of runway do you have?
- [ ] Set aside estimated tax payment (see Tax section)
Revenue is recognized when you deliver the service, not when you receive payment.
Example:
- Customer pays $1,200 for annual plan on March 1
- You DON'T book $1,200 as March revenue
- You book $100/month for 12 months (March through February)
Why: You owe them 12 months of service. Until delivered, it's "deferred revenue" (a liability).
If you expect to owe $1,000+ in taxes, the IRS wants quarterly estimated payments:
Due dates:
- Q1: April 15
- Q2: June 15
- Q3: September 15
- Q4: January 15 (of the following year)
How much to set aside:
- Rule of thumb: 25-30% of net profit (revenue - expenses)
- Transfer this to a separate savings account each month
- Pay quarterly estimates from that account
Likely deductible (confirm with your accountant):
- [ ] Hosting and infrastructure costs
- [ ] Software subscriptions used for business
- [ ] Payment processing fees (Stripe)
- [ ] Contractor payments
- [ ] Home office (dedicated space, % of rent/mortgage)
- [ ] Internet (business % of your bill)
- [ ] Computer and equipment
- [ ] Domain registration and renewal
- [ ] Professional services (legal, accounting)
- [ ] Business insurance
- [ ] Education directly related to your business
- [ ] Marketing and advertising expenses
- [ ] Travel for business purposes (conferences, customer meetings)
Do it yourself: Pre-revenue to ~$2k MRR (use software, keep clean books)
Annual tax prep: $2k-10k MRR (hire a CPA for year-end, do bookkeeping yourself)
Monthly accountant: $10k+ MRR (hire a bookkeeper or service like Bench)
Finding a good accountant:
Shows revenue minus expenses = profit (or loss) for a period.
Review monthly. Ask:
- Is revenue growing month over month?
- Are expenses growing faster than revenue?
- What are my top 3 expense categories?
- What's my profit margin? (profit / revenue × 100)
Shows money in and money out, regardless of when revenue is "earned."
Review monthly. Ask:
- How much cash do I have today?
- How many months of expenses can I cover? (runway)
- Am I cash-flow positive? (more coming in than going out)
Shows what you own (assets), what you owe (liabilities), and your equity.
Review quarterly. Less important at early stage, but needed for:
- Applying for business loans or credit
- Talking to potential investors
- Understanding deferred revenue
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Mixing personal and business finances | Separate bank accounts from day one |
| Not tracking expenses | Categorize weekly. 30 minutes prevents 30 hours of cleanup |
| Ignoring estimated tax payments | Set aside 25-30% of profit monthly in a separate account |
| No receipts for expenses | Save digital copies of everything over $75 |
| Doing books once a year | Weekly categorization, monthly review |
| DIY taxes past $10k MRR | Hire a CPA. They pay for themselves in avoided mistakes |
| Confusing Stripe revenue with accounting revenue | Stripe payouts include refunds, fees, and timing differences |
| No emergency fund for the business | Keep 2-3 months of expenses in the business account |
Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster
Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations
Example
Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement
Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead
Prerequisites
Time Estimate
30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements
Steps
Common Pitfalls
✓ Do
✗ Don't
💡 Pro Tips
✓ Use when
Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.
✗ Avoid when
Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.
mattpocock/skills
parcadei/continuous-claude-v3
cursor/plugins
ailabs-393/ai-labs-claude-skills
pproenca/dot-skills
mattpocock/skills
accounting fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
Useful defaults in accounting — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.
We added accounting from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
Useful defaults in accounting — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.
accounting has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
accounting is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.
accounting fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
accounting has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
accounting is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: accounting is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
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