How Firstbase Uses Tight to Provide C Corps with Tax- and Investor-Ready Financial Statements

Finding a Single, Customizable API to Suit All Accounting Needs

Firstbase wanted to move quickly to increase speed to market for their new product, Firstbase Accounting, and start generating revenue with a pricing model based on their customers’ monthly expenditures. But they needed chart of accounts enhancements, more advanced filtering of transactions, and extensive white-label dark mode to match their UX.

Even though Firstbase was in contract negotiations with another API, there were hesitations that the platform could not meet all their customers’ needs, particularly when it came to the specificity of the financial reporting. In contrast, Tight's team demonstrated how Firstbase could use the Tight API to create highly customized multi-period reports that include industry-specific transaction categorization rules. They could also generate tax- and investor-ready financial statements that track runway projection, cash flow, and burn. Plus, Tight was already integrated with Plaid, Gusto, and Stripe.

Less than four weeks after their initial email contact, Firstbase signed with Tight instead.

“We realized that Tight's top-to-bottom accounting solution could provide all the accounting functionality we needed,” said Mark Milastsivy, Founder and CEO of Firstbase.

Implement Tight's Embedded Accounting API and Increase Speed to Market

Firstbase kicked off the project with Tight in June 2023 by sending Tight their ideal chart of accounts. Tight conducted extensive analysis, comparing it to past use cases, and iterating multiple rounds of testing as they collaborated with Firstbase on best practices.

Tight also exposed more endpoints to provide reporting data in different formats so that Firstbase could render more advanced, customized cash flow reports using both direct and indirect methods. And they implemented both the Accountant Dashboard for Firstbase’s expert bookkeeper services and the Client-Facing Dashboard for customer use.

“We were pleasantly surprised to find that Tight could facilitate such in-depth consultative iteration. In short, we knew that we selected the right partner because of the breadth of their accounting expertise,” said Mark.

From start to finish, the implementation only took two months. Firstbase was up and running with the Tight Accounting API by the beginning of August 2023. The launch of Firstbase Accounting followed shortly thereafter.

Easier Tax Reporting with Tight

In terms of their roadmap with Tight, Firstbase is working on their bookkeepers’ ability to easily generate Form 1120 for their customers to facilitate even easier year-end tax reporting. The Tight team is also supporting and unifying Firstbase’s integration to a front-end platform that allows better collaboration between their bookkeepers and the actual business owners.

“With Tight, we get to own our customer experience. Plus, we have all the flexibility we need to provide our customers with the in-depth financial reporting that allows them to grow and scale,” said Mark.

All in all, Firstbase’s partnership with Tight supports their mission to make it easier for founders across the globe to access automated financial infrastructure, so they can stay focused on opportunities to launch, manage, and grow their businesses.