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Finances
Education
[SOFTWARE] Accounting Coach – Free website to learn all about bookkeeping & accounting in easy-to-understand chapters
[SOFTWARE] Funder’s Club - Free easy-to-understand information about startup investor funding
Accounting Software
As a business, proper accounting allows for significant financial benefits during tax time. Using software, you can directly link your bank accounts to track transactions, easily file to tax systems of a specific country, and automatically generate report. Here are some software that our team has used and recommend.
[SOFTWARE] Wave (Free) – free accounting, free invoicing (3.6% credit card processing), free receipts, can link to bank accounts & credit cards (unsure if works for Japanese banks/credit cards)
[SOFTWARE] Makeleaps (Free) – free invoicing software for freelancers that works with Japan’s systems
[SOFTWARE] Freee (Paid)– accounting software for SMB (Japanese only)
Japan Government TAXES
For those that are new to self-filing their own taxes, the National Tax Agency has a comprehensive English website for understanding taxes. If you want personal help, each city usually opens their own tax support center near tax filing time where you can ask for detailed help where they will hold your hand through the process. If your income is supplemented by multiple sources, we recommend you talk to a certified accountant.
For personal taxes as an employee, freelancer, or a sole proprietorship, generally you simply need to fill out one of the following forms.
White Return:
The white return is the easiest form for anyone to fill, and so it is the form usually used by normal employees. You can claim up to ¥100,000 in deductions for business expenses.
Form A (JP): if you only have employment income, miscellaneous income such as pensions, dividend income or occasional income, and do not have any estimated tax prepayment.
Form B (JP) / Form B (EN, credit to Gaijin Tax): for general use
Note: Those who have capital gains related to land or building, etc., or capital gains related to stocks and shares should use the Separate Taxation Form (Page 3) or the Case of Loss Form (Page 4) together with Form B
Blue Return:
The blue return is for those who keep double-entry accounting records (you must also attach the income statement and balance sheet). You can claim up to ¥650,000 deductions in business expenses if you keep double-entry accounting records, or ¥100,000 for single-entry accounting records. If you have some business expenses and you can spare the effort, the blue return is the way to go.
You will need to submit the Application for Filing the Blue Return in order to use the blue return for the next year’s tax return.
Legal
legal software
[SOFTWARE] Cloud Sign - Free (up to 5 contracts a month) and easy way to upload legal documents and obtain digital signatures (Japanese)
Education
Funder’s Club - Free easy-to-understand information about startup investor funding
Contracts
Nondisclosure Agreements (NDA)
[DOC] Confidentiality Agreement (English)
Subcontractor Agreements
[DOC] Subcontractor Agreement Template (Japanese)
[DOC] Release-Waiver of Liability (English)
[DOC] Video/Photo Release Form (English)
Investor Funding
Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) - Y Combinator’s contract template for pre-seed investors
KISS - 500 Startup’s contract template for pre-seed investors
Fundraising
Investment
Preparing for Series A - A detailed checklist of what to prepare when raising your first major round of funds from investors. Even if not looking for funding from investors, some of this can still be helpful. Includes links to pitch decks for AirBnB and LinkedIn.
How to Present to Investors - 14 Recommendations from Y Combinator for how to present to potential investors.
Government
Japan Women Entrepreneurs Center - Government funding and loans to support women lead startups (all in Japanese). The initial program is described in English here.
Other resources
Education
Y Combinator is a Silicon Valley based initiative designed to help entrepreneurs mainly in the tech field. They’re offering a 8-week long FREE course on launching your startup, which you can join regardless of what stage your startup idea is at!