ServicesUS & International

US CFO Services. Done right.

Land in the US with the numbers, structure and reporting investors expect, from a UK accountant who knows both sides of the Atlantic.

Expanding from the UK into the US is rarely a tax question alone, it's a sequence of decisions that lock in once you've made them. Pick the wrong entity and a future US funding round means an expensive conversion. Set up bookkeeping the British way and your first US accountant has to unpick it. Zmartly gives you a fractional CFO who has guided UK founders through the same path: choosing between a Delaware C-Corp and a Wyoming or state LLC, getting an EIN without a US Social Security number, standing up US-GAAP bookkeeping, and keeping your UK and US books talking to each other. You get a named, ACCA-qualified accountant, fixed monthly pricing from £99 to £499, a 72-hour reply guarantee, a 30-day money-back promise and rolling monthly terms, so senior financial leadership scales with you without a full-time hire or a long lock-in.

  • 4.9 Google · 63 reviews
  • ACCA-qualified
  • 30-day money-back
Book your callSee pricing
Manhattan skyline at dusk
Our expertise covers

Everything in this service, in one bill.

  • 01

    Choosing your US entity: C-Corp vs LLC

    The structure decision drives everything that follows. A Delaware C-Corp is the default for founders who plan to raise from US venture capital, most US funds cannot, under their own rules, invest in an LLC, and they expect Delaware. A Wyoming or single-member LLC is cheaper to run, more private and well suited to a US sales arm or a bootstrapped operation, but converting an LLC to a C-Corp later is a real cost (commonly several thousand dollars in legal and filing fees). We map your funding plans, where your team and customers will actually sit, and your UK group structure before you commit, so you don't pay to undo the wrong choice.

  • 02

    Delaware and Wyoming incorporation

    We coordinate the state filing end to end: formation documents, registered agent (required in every state, and essential when you have no US address), and the governance basics a C-Corp needs from day one. Delaware is the investor-standard home for a C-Corp; Wyoming is a popular low-cost, low-disclosure home for an LLC. We explain the trade-offs in plain English rather than defaulting you into whichever is easiest to file, and we keep your UK company correctly positioned as parent or sister entity where a group structure makes sense.

  • 03

    EIN without a US SSN

    Every US entity needs an Employer Identification Number to open a bank account, hire, and file. UK founders without a US Social Security number or ITIN can still obtain one, the responsible party applies on Form SS-4 by fax or post, providing a foreign passport or other accepted ID. The online route is generally not available without a US taxpayer ID, so timing is the catch: foreign-founder EINs can take a few weeks rather than minutes. We prepare and submit SS-4 correctly the first time and track it to issue, so banking and payroll aren't held up.

  • 04

    US bookkeeping on US-GAAP

    US books look different from UK books, different chart of accounts, US-GAAP treatment, sales-tax rather than VAT, and federal plus state filing obligations. We set up your accounting (typically QuickBooks Online) on a US-GAAP basis from the start, so your records are clean for a future US accountant, lender or investor, and you avoid the rework of converting UK-style books later. Month-end close, reconciliations and management accounts are delivered on a predictable rhythm.

  • 05

    Fractional CFO and investor readiness

    Beyond compliance, you get senior financial leadership on tap: a board-ready financial model, cash-flow runway and scenario planning, budgeting, and a data room and metrics that stand up to US investor diligence. You pay for the hours you need, typically a defined block each month, instead of a US CFO salary that easily runs past $200k. Your named accountant joins the calls that matter: fundraising prep, pricing, hiring plans and the numbers behind them.

  • 06

    Keeping UK and US in step

    Running both sides means transfer pricing between the entities, the UK-US tax treaty, intercompany charges, and consolidating two sets of books into one true picture for your board. We keep your UK obligations (Companies House, HMRC, Corporation Tax) and your US obligations aligned, flag where a registered foreign entity may face FinCEN beneficial-ownership reporting, and make sure decisions taken for the US don't create an avoidable UK problem, or the reverse.

Why it pays off

What you actually get.

  • One adviser, both jurisdictions

    You're not juggling a UK accountant and a US accountant who never speak. A single named, ACCA-qualified contact owns the whole picture, UK group, US entity, and how they fit together, so nothing falls between the two.

  • Fixed pricing, no surprises

    Transparent monthly fees of £99, £199 or £499 depending on scope, with one-off project work available. You know the cost before we start; there's no hourly meter running during your expansion.

  • Rolling monthly, 30-day money-back

    No annual lock-in and no long contract to expand to the US. Terms are rolling monthly, and a 30-day money-back guarantee means you can start without betting the runway on it.

  • Set up right the first time

    Getting entity choice, EIN and US-GAAP books right at the outset avoids the most expensive mistakes, an LLC-to-C-Corp conversion, or rebuilding messy books before a raise. We optimise for where you're going, not just where you are.

  • Investor-ready when it counts

    A financial model, clean books and a diligence-ready data room mean that when a US round appears you move on it, instead of spending weeks getting your numbers presentable.

  • Replies within 72 hours

    Cross-border questions can't wait on a queue. You get a guaranteed response within 72 hours from the person who actually knows your file, useful when an IRS, bank or investor deadline is live.

How we deliver

Four steps from first call to filed.

  • 01

    Discovery

    Understanding your business needs.

  • 02

    Solution Design

    Crafting your custom accounting strategy.

  • 03

    Onboarding

    Quick and easy integration.

  • 04

    Regular Rhythm

    Consistent monitoring and reporting.

See the full process
Related services

More from US & International.

Trusted by leading innovators
Partner brand 1
Partner brand 2
Partner brand 3
Partner brand 4
Partner brand 5
Partner brand 6
Partner brand 7
Partner brand 8
Partner brand 9
Partner brand 10
Partner brand 11
Partner brand 12
Common questions

Frequently asked questions.

A fractional CFO delivers the strategic outputs a full-time CFO would - board reporting, fundraising support, financial strategy, KPI design, scenario modelling, investor communication - at roughly 20-30% of the cost. The trade-off is they are not in the building day-to-day; we structure engagements with defined weekly contact, monthly board prep, and on-demand availability for major decisions.

Three-statement model, KPI dashboard, data room build, investor pitch deck financials, due diligence response, term sheet review, and post-close board reporting setup. We work alongside founders and counsel rather than replacing them, and our preparation typically shortens the average diligence cycle by reducing the number of investor follow-up questions.

Usually one of three triggers: a fundraise on the horizon (12 months out is ideal), revenue past $1M ARR where unit economics need to be modelled properly, or a strategic decision (international expansion, acquisition, major hire) where the financial implications outweigh founder bandwidth. Earlier than that, bookkeeping plus monthly management accounts usually covers the ground.

Yes - this is one of our common use cases for UK founders expanding to the US or US founders trading into the UK. We map entity structure, transfer pricing, IP holding, R&D tax credit (US §41), R&D relief (UK), and cash-pooling so the group operates tax-efficiently from day one rather than being restructured at first audit.

Fixed monthly retainer based on scope, typically 8-20 hours per month depending on growth stage and fundraise activity. No hourly billing inside the retainer, no surprise invoices. Engagements run month-to-month with no long contract so you can scale up before a raise and back down afterwards.

Got a different question?
Zmartly Ltd20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU020 8175 5145info@zmartly.co.uk
Free · 30 minutes · No obligation

Stop overpaying tax. Start filing in 5 days.

Thirty minutes with an ACCA-qualified accountant. Most owners uncover £1,000-£3,000 in annual savings on the first call. If we are not the right fit, you walk away with a free tax review on the house.

Book my Tax Health CheckCall 020 8175 5145
Google reviewer HeenaGoogle reviewer land4 success (chill feel good)Google reviewer Jorge Carballo GomezGoogle reviewer Auris Property AcademyGoogle reviewer Sean Barrington
Joined by 240+ UK businesses this year
4.9 Google< 72h reply time30-day money-back