A Little Look at LedgerLync

If you’re a startup founder in the Ann Arbor area — particularly one juggling payroll, taxes, and HR tasks between late-night coding sessions or investor meetings — there’s a new business in town designed just for you.

LedgerLync, co-founded by longtime entrepreneurs Swatee Kulkarni and Bhushan Kulkarni, provides integrated back-office support for early-stage companies that have outgrown DIY accounting but aren’t yet ready for a full in-house finance or HR department.

From reconciling monthly bank statements and managing payroll compliance, to preparing the financial reports that investors expect, LedgerLync’s mission is clear: reduce the stress, risk, and time burden that distract founders from growing their companies.

“We’re not here for someone who’s just got an idea,” says Swatee Kulkarni, who recently earned her PhD from Eastern Michigan University. “We’re here for the founders who’ve launched, hired a few employees, and suddenly find themselves spending hours figuring out payroll taxes or answering investor questions about financials — instead of building their product.”

Built From Experience

LedgerLync was born out of lived experience. Over the past three decades, Swatee and Bhushan have launched and scaled multiple ventures — including GDI Infotech, a technology consulting company, and InfoReady, a software platform used by universities across the country. Along the way, they faced the same growing pains they now help others manage: investor reporting, compliance pitfalls, and the endless administrative overhead of managing a business.

In fact, the lightbulb moment for LedgerLync came when Swatee’s team was asked to help with the bookkeeping for a fast-growing nonprofit, Michigan Founders Fund, led by a dynamic executive director. “She was focused on building something amazing, and it was working — but she didn’t have time to track down donations, reconcile Stripe payments, or figure out how to categorize expenses,” Swatee explains. “That’s when it hit me: there are thousands of people like her.”

Add to that the firsthand experience of their son, a Stanford graduate who launched a startup and quickly found himself overwhelmed by compliance tasks, payroll taxes, and investor expectations — and a clear need began to emerge.

“Most entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of hard work,” Swatee says. “They’re just not trained in these areas. And they can end up making costly mistakes — not out of negligence, but because no one ever showed them how.”

An Affordable Alternative to Traditional Firms

Today, LedgerLync serves a growing client base of tech startups and nonprofit organizations. Their pricing is designed to be founder-friendly — based on transaction volume, not hourly billing — giving entrepreneurs cost predictability and peace of mind.

“We offer something traditional firms don’t: integrated support for accounting, HR, and compliance, all handled by a single team,” says David Whitinger, Chief Client Engagement Officer and Partner at LedgerLync. “And instead of replacing a CPA firm, we work with them”.

The model has gained traction not just with startups, but also with CPA firms, Banks, venture capitalists, and HR consultants who recognize the gap LedgerLync is filling. They refer their portfolio companies and clients to LedgerLync – with the understanding they’ll be in good hands.

Rooted in Dexter, Operating in Ann Arbor

LedgerLync operates out of Office Evolution in Ann Arbor, a natural fit for the team’s hands-on support model and collaborative approach. But the business has its heart in Dexter, where Bhushan and Swatee Kulkarni settled in 2023 after years in Saline. 

A passionate reader, cook, and active member of Ann Arbor’s Marathi-speaking cultural community, Swatee stays grounded through family, food, and service. A dedicated family woman, she is the proud mother of three grown sons. “We’ve built a team of experienced professionals — accountants, controllers, HR experts — who know what it takes to keep a business compliant and confident,” she says. “It’s exciting to help founders thrive without losing sleep over the paperwork.”

With plans to grow into other entrepreneurial hubs like Grand Rapids and Lansing, the team remains focused on delivering essential services with a personal touch.

“We’re not chasing a flashy startup valuation,” Swatee says. “We’re focused on providing real help to real people — because we’ve been there.”

To learn more, visit ledgerlync.com or connect with the team through Office Evolution in Ann Arbor.