Named CA, not a pool.
A specific Chartered Accountant owns your account. Their name is on every deliverable. You WhatsApp them directly, you call them when things fire.
Pillar 02 · Finance & Accounting · AI-powered back office Clean books. On time.
Clean books. On time.
Every single month.
Bookkeeping, Virtual CFO, GST, TDS, payroll and financial reporting — delivered by a named Chartered Accountant backed by AI-powered automation. 60–70% less than in-house, same quality, zero drama.
5 daysMonthly close
24hQuery SLA
60–70%Less than in-house
CA-signedEvery output
Most Indian businesses outgrow their first accountant somewhere between ₹2 and ₹10 crore in revenue. The books stop reconciling. GST returns start carrying mismatched ITC. The founder stops trusting the MIS. The board asks for a cash flow forecast and nobody can produce one in under three days.
Hiring in-house looks like the fix. It almost never is. A mid-level CA plus an accountant plus a payroll executive costs ₹15–25 lakh a year fully loaded, and you still need to pay for software, training, cover during leave, and whoever audits the output. For most companies doing ₹5–50 crore in revenue, this is three times what the problem is worth.
Cosmoura runs the finance function as a retainer. A named Chartered Accountant owns your account. Our in-house AI stack (built by Decipher Consultancy Services, our sister concern) handles the repetitive work — OCR invoice capture, bank reconciliation, GST reconciliation, variance analysis. The CA spends her day on judgment calls, signoffs, and the conversations your board actually needs.
You get books closed by day 5, GST filed before due date, payroll on the 1st, and a live dashboard your board can trust. For a fraction of the fully-loaded cost of an in-house team.
Typical client: ₹5 crore to ₹500 crore revenue · founder-led or PE-backed · wants finance to stop being the thing that breaks every quarter.
What we handle
Eight services. One finance partner.
Start with monthly bookkeeping. Add CFO, payroll and tax as you grow. One team, one dashboard, one invoice.
Most popular
Monthly Bookkeeping
from ₹10,000/moOCR-powered invoice capture pulls bills straight from your inbox and WhatsApp. Auto-reconciliation against bank feeds. Monthly close by day 5 with a CA-signed trial balance, GST-ready books in Tally, Zoho or QuickBooks.
- OCR invoice + bill capture (English + Hindi + regional)
- Bank feed integration with ICICI, HDFC, Axis, SBI
- Daily reconciliation, monthly close by day 5
- GST-ready chart of accounts, state-wise splits
Books done 10× faster · zero back-and-forth Discuss →
Strategic
Virtual CFO
from ₹50,000/moA senior CA on retainer for the finance decisions you cannot defer. Monthly MIS with narrative, cash flow forecasts, variance analysis, board decks and fundraise prep. Scenario modelling for pricing, hiring and expansion.
- Monthly MIS pack with narrative + KPIs
- 13-week + 12-month rolling cash flow
- Board-ready decks for every board meeting
- Fundraise + audit prep by senior CA
Board-grade finance without a full-time CFO Discuss →
Monthly
GST Returns & Filing
from ₹5,000/moGSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-9 annual, GSTR-9C reconciliation, LUT renewals, e-Way bills, e-invoicing setup. Automated pull from your accounting system, we file. Reconciliation with GSTR-2B to catch mismatched ITC.
- GSTR-1 / 3B / 9 / 9C filing and reconciliation
- LUT renewals + e-invoice setup
- Multi-state GST filing coordination
- Notice handling and show-cause response
Zero late fees · zero mismatched ITC Discuss →
Annual
Income Tax & TDS
from ₹25,000/yrTDS calculations, monthly challans and quarterly returns. Advance tax projections, income tax filing, tax planning for founders and promoters, scrutiny and assessment support with written submissions.
- Monthly TDS challan + quarterly TDS returns
- Advance tax computation 4 times a year
- Income tax return filing (companies + directors)
- Scrutiny / assessment / appeal support
No tax surprises · no last-minute scrambles Discuss →
Monthly
Payroll Management
from ₹200/employeeEnd-to-end payroll — payslips, PF, ESI, PT, LWF, Form 16, year-end filings. New joiner onboarding, full-and-final (FnF) processing, leave reconciliation. Direct-deposit integration with your bank.
- Monthly payslips with statutory deductions
- PF / ESI / PT / LWF challan filing
- New joiner + FnF (full-and-final) processing
- Form 16 + year-end 24Q reconciliation
Payroll run on the 1st, every month Discuss →
Audit-ready
Financial Statements
from ₹35,000/yrBalance sheet, profit & loss, cash flow statement with notes to accounts. Prepared under Ind-AS or Indian GAAP as applicable. Audit coordination with your statutory auditor, response to audit queries and management representation letter.
- Annual financial statements (BS / P&L / CF)
- Notes to accounts with Ind-AS disclosures
- Audit coordination + query response
- Director + CFO signatures routed digitally
Clean audit, delivered on time Discuss →
Transaction
Vendor & Expense Management
included from GrowthVendor onboarding with GSTIN + MSME + PAN verification. Expense policy drafting, approval workflow via WhatsApp or email, reimbursement cycle with direct-deposit. Credit card and corporate card reconciliation.
- Vendor master with GSTIN + MSME + PAN checks
- Policy-based expense approval workflow
- Reimbursement cycle with batch payments
- Credit card + corporate card reconciliation
Vendors paid on time · policy enforced Discuss →
Diligence
Fundraise & M&A Support
quote-drivenData room setup, 3-year financial model, cap table reconciliation, due-diligence pack, red-flag report, investor Q&A response. Coordination with your legal and tax advisors through term sheet, SHA negotiation and closing.
- Virtual data room setup + maintenance
- 3-year financial model with scenario sheets
- DD question library + written responses
- Red-flag report before investor DD starts
Term sheet to close in 4–8 weeks Discuss →
How we onboard
Four weeks from signing to live.
We take over cleanly. No lost month of books, no handover gaps, no finger-pointing with the outgoing accountant.
01
Discovery + diagnostic
Week 1
We review your last 12 months of books, your current chart of accounts, your bank statements and your GST + TDS filings. We walk you through what we see — the good, the gaps, and the risks.
- 12-month trial balance review
- Gap analysis across GST, TDS, PF, ESI
- Written diagnostic report with action list
02
Onboarding + chart of accounts
Week 2
We map your chart of accounts to a Cosmoura-standard template that your auditor and your board will both recognise. Historical trial balance imported. Opening balances reconciled. Bank feeds connected.
- Chart of accounts rebuilt (if needed)
- Historical TB imported + reconciled
- Bank feed + accounting software integration
03
Parallel month
Week 3–4
We run one month of books in parallel with your existing team or your old accountant. Both outputs are compared line-by-line. Discrepancies resolved before we go live. No handover gaps.
- One parallel close before cutover
- Line-by-line reconciliation of both outputs
- Transition sign-off with your outgoing accountant
04
Live + monthly cadence
Ongoing
Monthly close by day 5. Compliance filings on the dates they are due, not the day before. Quarterly review call with your named CA to go through MIS, variance and next-quarter planning. 48-hour SLA on day-to-day questions.
- Monthly close + CA-signed trial balance
- Compliance filings on due date
- Quarterly strategy call with named CA
How we compare
In-house. Traditional CA firm. Cosmoura.
Honest comparison. The right answer depends on your stage — we tell you which one you should actually pick.
| In-house finance team | Traditional CA firm | Cosmoura retainer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior CA on account | Yes — but 1 CA for 1 company | Partner-level attention only on audit | Named CA + bench support, every day |
| Monthly cost | ₹15–25L/yr (fully loaded) | ₹5–12L/yr + ad-hoc billing | ₹1.2–6L/yr (fixed retainer) |
| Automation | Depends on hire | None — manual entry | OCR + bank feeds + reconciliation engine |
| Monthly close | Day 10–15 | Day 15–25 | Day 5, every month |
| Vacation / sick cover | Operations stop | Delays | Bench covers, no gap |
| Audit coordination | In-house team | Same firm — conflict risk | We prep, you choose auditor |
| Dashboard + MIS | Excel usually | Static PDF | Live dashboard + narrated MIS |
Why Cosmoura
Three things we refuse to compromise on.
Fixed retainer, no surprise invoices.
Monthly fee is agreed up front. Statutory audit coordination, scrutiny support, year-end filings — all included. Overflow work (fundraise, M&A) is quoted separately before we start.
Dashboard, not PDFs.
Live dashboard for founders and board members. Cash position, runway, burn, revenue, GST status — refreshed daily, viewable on mobile. PDFs for when the board wants to print.
What's included
Everything you get in the retainer.
Named Chartered Accountant on your account
Monthly MIS pack with variance analysis and KPIs
AI-powered bookkeeping automation (OCR + auto-categorisation)
Direct integration with Tally, Zoho Books, QuickBooks or your ERP
Dashboard access for founders and board members
Quarterly strategy call to review runway and plan next quarter
Audit coordination with your statutory auditor and bankers
Dedicated channel with 24-hour SLA on day-to-day queries
Industry packs
Finance, tuned to your sector.
Each industry pack bundles the right finance workflows for your sector-specific reporting, costing and tax treatment.
Manufacturing
Cost accounting + inventory + GST + statutory audits
D2C & E-commerce
Marketplace reconciliation + GST + inventory + unit economics
SaaS & IT Services
ARR tracking + GST + SEIS/SOFTEX + USD invoicing
Healthcare
Patient billing + GST exemptions + inventory + insurance TPA
Schools & Edtech
Fee reconciliation + GST exemptions + payroll + scholarship accounting
FinTech & NBFC
NBFC compliance + RBI returns + capital adequacy + statutory audits
FAQ
Questions finance teams ask us.
01 How quickly can you take over our books? +
For most SMEs, 2–3 weeks. We import your historical trial balance, map your chart of accounts, connect bank feeds, and run a parallel month before going live. For startups with clean data this can compress to under a week.
02 Do you work with Tally, Zoho Books, QuickBooks or something else? +
All three plus Odoo, SAP B1 and Microsoft Dynamics. If you have a custom ERP, we integrate via CSV sync or API. Our AI stack sits on top of whatever accounting software you already use — you do not migrate.
03 What's the difference between the ₹10k bookkeeping tier and the ₹50k CFO tier? +
Bookkeeping delivers clean books + GST + payroll on time. Virtual CFO adds strategic layer — monthly MIS with narrative, cash flow forecasts, board-ready decks, fundraise prep, scenario modelling, pricing analysis. Most clients start with bookkeeping and add CFO once revenue crosses ₹5 crore ARR.
04 Do you handle audits, or just preparation? +
We prepare you fully and coordinate end-to-end with your statutory auditor. We do not sign audits — that is a conflict of interest. For first-time audits we can introduce you to firms we work with regularly.
05 Can you support fundraise due diligence? +
Yes. The Fundraise & M&A pack covers data room setup, 3-year financial model, cap table reconciliation, DD question responses, and red-flag preparation. Typical engagement is 4–8 weeks before term sheet.
06 Is this actually cheaper than hiring in-house? +
Yes — typically 60–70% less than an equivalent in-house finance team. For a company doing ₹10 crore ARR, a mid-level CA + accountant + payroll executive would cost ~₹18L/year. Cosmoura Standard tier is ~₹7L/year with the same deliverables and automation on top.
07 What happens if you miss a filing deadline? +
We carry the late fee. Written into the engagement letter. In 5 years we have missed exactly zero deadlines across clients — the system is built so that missing one is operationally difficult, not just a promise.
08 Can you work with a company that has not been doing books properly? +
Yes — this is actually most of our new clients. Cleanup engagements are quoted separately before the retainer starts. Typical cleanup is 1–3 months of back-work; we price it based on volume, not time.
Ready to run cleaner books?
Clean books. On time.
Starting next month.
Free 30-minute finance review. We look at your last three months of books and show you exactly where the leaks are.