In a technology company, revenue, cost and tax cannot be understood from an invoice alone. Licences, subscriptions, development services, app-store income and advertising rely on different contracts and accounting flows. Records should show who owns the project, where a service is used and what work staff performed.
Our specialist team works in person in Sivas and digitally with technology businesses throughout Turkey. Our objective is not to pursue an incentive in isolation, but to make the product and revenue model understandable through a defensible accounting process.
Company structure and tax model
The choice of sole proprietorship, limited company or joint stock company should reflect founder relationships, intellectual property, investment, staff and revenue. Where investors or different share classes are contemplated, formation documents should support more than the current operating stage.
Code, domains, trademarks and customer contracts developed by founders before incorporation may need documented transfer or licensing. Activity codes, e-document systems, foreign-currency accounts and project-level bookkeeping should be ready before the first sale.
Technopark and Technology Development Zone accounting
Location in a Technology Development Zone does not automatically exempt every company receipt. A traceable relationship is needed between an approved project, eligible activity, staff time, the revenue type and the commercialized output.
Work inside and outside the zone, project-staff allocation, managing-company reports, payroll and revenue are reconciled monthly. Consulting, hardware or unrelated project income may require separate treatment.
General framework under Laws 4691 and 5746
The zone regime under Law 4691 and R&D or design support under Law 5746 are not interchangeable. Location, entity, center, staff and reporting conditions may differ. Applicability is reviewed against the company's actual project and facts.
Income or corporate tax, payroll tax, stamp tax and social-security support are not assumed as one package. Period, staff, project, time and evidence are tested for each item, and current legislation is checked before use.
Accounting for R&D and design
Research, development, routine maintenance, customer customization and sales work should not be placed in one project account without analysis. Staff, contractors, licences, cloud and hardware costs are assigned to project codes according to their economic substance.
Capitalization or immediate expense treatment depends on accounting standards, tax rules and project stage. Consistency between releases, work packages, technical records and the ledger supports both management reporting and incentive documentation.
Software and digital service exports
An invoice to a foreign entity does not by itself establish an exported service. Where the customer uses the service, the business activity it supports, and the contract, delivery, invoice and collection evidence need to be reviewed together.
Development, licensing, subscriptions, in-app revenue and support may appear under the same commercial heading while granting different rights. The nature of the income and the actual service flow should be understood before an export treatment is reached.
General conditions for the VAT exemption on exported services
VAT exemption and income or corporate tax relief are separate regimes with separate conditions. Activity, place of use and collection may matter differently. It should not be assumed that every relief applies to the same transaction.
The foreign customer, use of the service outside Turkey, the invoice and supporting contract, delivery and collection records are reviewed together. Current legislation and the evidence required for the specific transaction should be checked before filing.
Invoices to overseas customers
Customer identity, country, service period, contractual description, currency and deliverables should be clear. A service, licence and transfer of intellectual property can have different consequences, so the invoice should not conflict with the legal substance of the contract.
Collections, bank charges, exchange differences, platform commissions and foreign tax deductions are recorded separately. Treaty, residence certificate and overseas obligations should be considered before payment where relevant.
SaaS and subscription accounting
Collection and service periods may differ for monthly and annual subscriptions. Upfront payments, trials, upgrades, credits, cancellations and refunds should be mapped for revenue recognition and VAT timing.
Payment reports, invoicing, customer records and bank activity are reconciled. Operational metrics such as recurring revenue and churn become more useful when they use definitions that agree with financial reporting.
Digital services purchased from abroad
Cloud capacity, AI tools, software subscriptions, advertising, licences and consulting do not necessarily receive the same tax treatment. The rights obtained, use in Turkey and supplier residence need to be understood.
Reverse-charge VAT and withholding are tested separately. Contracts, platform terms, invoices and payment evidence should be retained together, and a residence certificate obtained before payment when the analysis requires it.
Staff, payroll and incentives
Project time, remote work, leave, out-of-zone activity and benefits cannot be separated from payroll. Timesheets, project records and calculations should identify the same person and period.
Hiring and departures, payroll, combined tax and social-security reporting, incentive codes and zone notifications are reviewed monthly. Options, bonuses, foreign staff and freelancers may require separate employment and tax analysis.
Financial reporting for technology companies
Management reports can supplement the trial balance with runway, collection time, recurring revenue, deferred revenue, project and customer margins, and tax provisions. Definitions should align with the sales and product data used by management.
A disciplined close connects bank, invoices, payment providers, payroll, project expenditure and foreign-currency exposure. This gives investment, pricing and hiring decisions a current financial base.
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