{"slug": "startup-back-office-operations-checklist-14-categories-with-setup-ongoing-tasks", "title": "Startup Back-Office Operations Checklist: 14 categories with setup + ongoing tasks", "summary": "A startup operations checklist outlines 14 categories of back-office tasks, divided into one-time setup actions and recurring ongoing responsibilities. The framework covers legal incorporation, banking, payroll, equity management, accounting, and HR, with specific items like Delaware C-Corp formation, 83(b) elections, and annual franchise tax filings.", "body_md": "The 14 operational categories every VC-backed startup needs to run, broken down into setup tasks (do once) and ongoing tasks (keep doing).\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Incorporate as Delaware C-Corp (standard for VC path)\n- File 83(b) elections for founder stock\n- Get EIN from the IRS\n- Appoint registered agent in Delaware\n- Draft bylaws, board consent, initial stock issuance\n- Open state registrations in states where you have employees\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Annual Delaware franchise tax filing (due March 1)\n- Certificate of Good Standing renewals\n- Foreign qualification filings in new states as you hire\n- Registered agent renewals\n- Amendment filings when structure changes (new stock classes, name changes)\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Open business checking account\n- Set up wire/ACH capabilities\n- Connect to payroll, accounting, expense tools\n- Set up treasury/sweep for idle cash\n- Add authorized signers\n- Get corporate credit cards\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Cash management (monitoring runway, burn rate)\n- Processing vendor payments (wires, ACH, checks)\n- Treasury optimization (yield on idle cash)\n- Bank reconciliation (monthly, fed into accounting)\n- Corporate card administration (issuing, limits, controls)\n- Multi-account management as complexity grows\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Choose payroll provider\n- Register for state payroll tax accounts in all employee states\n- Set up pay schedules (bi-weekly typical for US)\n- Input employee information (SSN, W-4, direct deposit)\n- Configure tax withholding\n- Set up contractor payment workflows (1099s)\n- Define compensation bands/levels (Series A)\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Run payroll every pay period (bi-weekly or semi-monthly)\n- Process new hires and terminations\n- Handle state tax registration for new hire locations\n- File quarterly payroll tax returns (941, state equivalents)\n- Year-end W-2 and 1099 generation and filing\n- Manage off-cycle payments (bonuses, commissions, severance)\n- Compensation reviews and adjustments\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Initialize cap table with founder shares\n- Set up option pool (typically 10-15% at seed)\n- Get board approval for equity incentive plan\n- File Section 409A valuation (needed before issuing options)\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Issue option grants to new hires\n- Process option exercises\n- Track vesting schedules\n- Annual or event-based 409A valuations\n- Model dilution for fundraising scenarios\n- Generate cap table reports for investors/board\n- Handle secondary sales, stock transfers, termination cliffs\n- QSBS tracking\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Choose accounting software (QBO is standard)\n- Set up chart of accounts (startup-specific: R&D vs. G&A, deferred revenue, etc.)\n- Connect bank feeds, payroll, expense tools\n- Hire or outsource bookkeeper/accountant\n- Define revenue recognition policies\n- Set up accrual accounting (required post-seed for investor reporting)\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Monthly close (reconcile all accounts, post accruals, produce P&L/BS/CF)\n- Accounts payable (process vendor invoices, schedule payments)\n- Accounts receivable (send invoices, track collections)\n- Bank reconciliation\n- Prepare financial statements for board\n- Audit support (Series A+)\n- Revenue recognition adjustments\n- Intercompany transactions (if multiple entities)\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Employee handbook (state-specific requirements)\n- Offer letter templates\n- I-9 verification process\n- Background check provider\n- ATS for job postings and candidate tracking\n- HRIS for employee records\n- Set up PTO policy\n- Workers' compensation insurance\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Post jobs, screen candidates, schedule interviews, manage pipeline\n- Generate and send offer letters\n- Employee onboarding (equipment, accounts, handbook acknowledgment, I-9)\n- PTO tracking and management\n- Performance reviews (Series A+)\n- Employee relations issues\n- Offboarding (system access revocation, equipment return, COBRA)\n- Employment law compliance (state-specific: mandatory postings, paid leave, etc.)\n- Headcount planning and org design (Series A)\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Choose benefits model: PEO (bundled) vs. direct (broker + carrier)\n- Select health insurance plans (medical, dental, vision)\n- Set up 401(k) plan\n- Define employer contribution levels\n- Open enrollment process\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- New hire benefits enrollment\n- Life events processing (marriage, baby, address change)\n- Annual open enrollment\n- COBRA administration for terminated employees\n- 401(k) administration and compliance testing\n- Benefits cost monitoring and plan renewal negotiation\n- ACA reporting (if 50+ FTEs)\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Issue corporate cards to team members\n- Set spending limits and approval workflows\n- Connect to accounting software (QBO)\n- Define expense categories and policies\n- Set up receipt capture requirements\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Card issuance for new hires, cancellation for departures\n- Expense report review and approval\n- Receipt matching and categorization\n- Monthly expense reconciliation to accounting\n- Budget tracking by department/project\n- Policy enforcement (flagging out-of-policy spend)\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Engage CPA firm (startup-specialized)\n- Register for state taxes in operating states\n- Determine sales tax nexus and obligations\n- Set up R&D credit tracking from day one\n- Delaware franchise tax setup\n- Determine QSBS eligibility tracking\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Quarterly estimated tax payments\n- Annual federal and state income tax returns\n- Delaware franchise tax (due March 1)\n- Sales tax collection and remittance (if applicable)\n- R&D tax credit documentation and filing\n- Payroll tax compliance (overlaps with payroll provider)\n- State registration renewals\n- 1099 filing for contractors (January)\n- Form 3921 filing for ISO exercises\n- Transfer pricing (if international entities)\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Google Workspace or Microsoft 365\n- Password manager (1Password for Teams)\n- MDM for company devices\n- Security policies (acceptable use, data handling)\n- SOC 2 compliance program (when enterprise customers require it)\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Account provisioning for new hires\n- Account deprovisioning for departures (critical: access revocation)\n- Device management (OS updates, encryption enforcement)\n- SSO and MFA administration\n- Security awareness training\n- SOC 2 audit preparation and evidence collection\n- Vendor security reviews\n- Incident response (when things go wrong)\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- D&O (Directors & Officers) insurance (required by most VCs)\n- General liability\n- Workers' compensation (state-required once you have employees)\n- E&O / professional liability (if providing services)\n- Cyber liability (if handling customer data)\n- Employment practices liability (EPLI)\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Annual policy renewals\n- Coverage adjustments as company grows\n- Claims management (rare but critical)\n- Certificate of Insurance requests from partners/customers\n- Adding new states/jurisdictions\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Establish board meeting cadence (quarterly typical post-seed)\n- Create board deck template\n- Set up investor update cadence (monthly or quarterly)\n- Board consent process for major decisions\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Prepare quarterly board deck (financials, metrics, key decisions)\n- Run board meetings (agenda, minutes, follow-ups)\n- Draft and circulate board consents (hiring, fundraising, option grants)\n- Monthly/quarterly investor updates\n- Manage information rights and reporting obligations\n- Cap table scenario modeling for fundraising\n- Annual stockholder meeting\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Classify workers correctly (contractor vs. employee, misclassification risk)\n- Set up contractor agreements (IP assignment critical)\n- If EOR: select provider, onboard employees in their countries\n- Understand local employment law requirements\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Monthly contractor payments (multiple currencies)\n- Tax document collection (W-8BEN for non-US contractors)\n- EOR: manage local benefits, PTO, terminations per local law\n- Monitor contractor misclassification risk as engagement grows\n- Handle currency conversion and timing\n\n**Setup:**\n\n- Choose e-signature tool\n- Build template library (NDA, offer letters, contractor agreements, customer MSA)\n- Define signing authority (who can sign what)\n- Set up contract storage (often just Google Drive)\n\n**Ongoing:**\n\n- Send contracts for signature (offers, vendor agreements, customer contracts)\n- Track contract status and follow up\n- Store executed contracts with searchable metadata\n- Manage renewals and expirations\n- Audit trail maintenance", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/startup-back-office-operations-checklist-14-categories-with-setup-ongoing-tasks", "canonical_source": "https://gist.github.com/arielcamus/9c879a4682b423071f9c18853f53762e", "published_at": "2026-05-28 09:51:14+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-28 17:27:59.619837+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-startups"], "entities": ["Delaware", "IRS"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/startup-back-office-operations-checklist-14-categories-with-setup-ongoing-tasks", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/startup-back-office-operations-checklist-14-categories-with-setup-ongoing-tasks.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/startup-back-office-operations-checklist-14-categories-with-setup-ongoing-tasks.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/startup-back-office-operations-checklist-14-categories-with-setup-ongoing-tasks.jsonld"}}