LOOK UP

What LOOK UP does

LOOK UP ACCOUNTING (株式会社LOOK UP) is a privately held Japanese accounting and tax advisory firm founded in November 2023 by Kentaro Yonemitsu, a Certified Public Accountant (Registration No. 43539) and Licensed Tax Accountant (Registration No. 151201). Operating from a single headquarters in Setagaya, Tokyo (Shimokitazawa), the firm delivers professional services spanning tax advisory (税務顧問), external CFO support (社外CFO), M&A advisory (including due diligence, business valuation, PPA, and PMI), and specialized cryptocurrency tax services for domestic and international exchanges, DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs. The firm targets four distinct customer segments: Japanese SMEs and startups, individual business owners and freelancers, crypto/Web3 businesses and investors, and foreign nationals who have left Japan and require lump-sum pension refund assistance. The company also publishes a portfolio of free, browser-based digital tools — including a lump-sum pension application document generator, shareholder meeting minutes creator, monthly deduction simulator, tax deadline tool, and Furusato Nozei calculator — which function as a top-of-funnel acquisition layer for paid advisory engagements.

The firm's technology stack is cloud-native and digital-first: freee accounting software serves as the primary cloud accounting platform (LOOK UP is a 5-star freee certified advisor), with Stripe used for online payment processing, Wise for international fund transfers, Google Drive for document management, Slack for client communication, ScanSnap for receipt digitization, and Zapier for workflow automation. Revenue is generated through a mix of subscription retainers (tax advisory ¥15,000–¥35,000/month tiered by client revenue; external CFO ¥200,000/month), project-based fees (M&A due diligence from ¥1.2M, business valuation from ¥500,000, PPA from ¥1.5M), annual fixed-fee crypto tax engagements (¥165,000–¥330,000), and a flat-fee ¥22,000 lump-sum tax refund service for foreign nationals. The go-to-market motion combines direct sales-led engagement (consultation-driven) with a product-led free-tool funnel, multi-channel content marketing (freee ecosystem participation, Note.com, YouTube, webinars, PR placements in BMS and KaikeiZine), and freee platform referrals. The firm has no disclosed external funding, operates with approximately 16 staff including 2 licensed tax accountants and multiple accounting personnel, and reports no parent company or institutional investors.

Notable proprietary assets include a cloud-based crypto tax calculation system that combines automated on-chain transaction processing with manual expert review across DeFi, NFT, overseas exchanges, and leveraged trades — a specialized niche with limited qualified practitioners in Japan. The firm has accumulated meaningful brand recognition in a short period, ranked #1 among freee-certified tax accountants in the Setagaya area as of January 2024 and receiving 5-star advisor status, with media features in BMS Practical Business Management Magazine and active speaking presence at freee-hosted industry events.

Name

LOOK UP

Legal name

株式会社LOOK UP

Website

https://lookup-accounting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tax and Accounting Professional Services

NAICS

Offices of Certified Public Accountants (541211), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (5412), Other Accounting Services (541219)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Fixed Assets Accounting (Capitalization, Depreciation, Asset Register) (BPAAAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Expense Management & T&E Audit (Employee Expenses, Corporate Cards) (BPAAAGAE)

Keywords

• Tax advisory services
• External CFO services
• Cryptocurrency tax filing
• M&A advisory
• Cloud accounting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tax Advisory Services (税務顧問): Monthly retainer-based tax and accounting advisory services. Pricing tiers based on annual sales revenue of the client. Includes bookkeeping review, tax filing preparation and submission, tax-saving consultations, and ongoing tax advisory.
2. External CFO Services (社外CFO): Monthly retainer for financial strategy planning, budget management, cash flow management, and management reporting. Base plan starts at ¥200,000/month, with additional spot consultation options at ¥50,000/hour for the representative.
3. M&A Advisory Services: Project-based fees for financial/tax due diligence (from ¥1,200,000), business valuation (from ¥500,000), PPA (from ¥1,500,000), and PMI support (monthly engagement).
4. Lump-sum Tax Refund Service (脱退一時金税金還付): One-time flat-fee service at ¥22,000 for processing tax refund filings for foreign nationals reclaiming withheld pension taxes. Includes tax agent registration, return preparation, e-Tax filing, and international transfer via Wise.
5. Free Pension Application Tool (Lead Generation): Free tool generating pension withdrawal documents at no charge. Functions as a customer acquisition channel for the paid tax refund service and broader advisory engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

LOOK UP ACCOUNTING is a Japanese CPA and tax accountant firm providing recurring tax advisory, external CFO, and M&A advisory services to SMEs, startups, and individual business owners, plus specialized cryptocurrency tax filing services and international tax refund services for foreign nationals leaving Japan. The firm operates a cloud-based, DX-first delivery model on freee accounting software, complemented by a suite of free online document-generation and tax-calculation tools used to attract and convert clients.

Product overview

LOOK UP ACCOUNTING is a certified public accounting and tax advisory firm offering a portfolio of core professional services (tax advisory, external CFO, M&A advisory) plus specialized cryptocurrency tax services, and free digital tools. The firm operates from a cloud-based, DX-focused infrastructure using freee accounting software, with complementary tools for pension refunds and tax calculations. Services are primarily B2B (targeting SMEs, startups, and individual business owners) with some B2C tools for foreign nationals seeking pension refunds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tax Advisory Services (税務顧問) Comprehensive recurring tax and accounting service covering company incorporation, daily bookkeeping, tax filing preparation and submission, tax-saving consultation, and ongoing tax advisory for Japanese SMEs, startups, and sole proprietors. Priced on tiered monthly subscription by client annual sales revenue (¥15,000–¥35,000+/month, plus custom quotation for ¥50M+).
• External CFO Services (社外CFO) Monthly retainer service providing financial strategy planning and execution, budget management, cash flow optimization, fundraising support, and management reporting for SMEs and growth-stage startups. Basic plan starts at ¥200,000/month; spot consultations from ¥50,000/hour (representative) and ¥25,000/hour (CPA/tax accountant).
• M&A Advisory Services Professional M&A advisory covering financial/tax due diligence (from ¥1,200,000), business valuation (from ¥500,000; simplified report from ¥300,000), Purchase Price Allocation / PPA for intangible assets (from ¥1,500,000), and post-merger integration (PMI) support on monthly engagements. For SMEs and growth-stage companies involved in M&A transactions.
• Cryptocurrency Tax Services (暗号資産税務) Specialized annual crypto tax filing service for individuals and businesses engaged in cryptocurrency trading, DeFi protocols, NFTs, DAOs, and leveraged trades. Uses a proprietary cloud-based calculation system combining automated tools with manual expert review. Tiered plans: Light (domestic exchanges only, up to 5 platforms) from ¥165,000; Standard (domestic and international, up to 10 platforms) from ¥242,000; Premium (unlimited exchanges, priority support) from ¥330,000.
• Lump-sum Pension Application Tool (脱退一時金申請ツール) Free online tool that automatically generates official Japanese pension withdrawal application documents (application form, checklist, and cover letter) in multiple languages for foreign nationals who worked in Japan for 6+ months. Functions as a customer-acquisition funnel for the paid Lump-sum Tax Refund Service.
• Lump-sum Tax Refund Service (脱退一時金税金還付サービス) Flat-fee (¥22,000) tax refund service for foreign nationals leaving Japan, reclaiming the 20.42% withholding tax on lump-sum pension payments. Includes tax agent registration, return preparation, e-Tax filing, and international refund transfer via Wise. Multilingual service coverage (Japanese, English, German, Vietnamese).
• Shareholder Meeting Minutes Creator (定時株主総会議事録作成アプリ) Free browser-based tool that automatically generates legally compliant shareholder meeting minutes (議事録) in DOCX or PDF format based on company information, meeting date, attendees, and resolution items. No registration required.
• Monthly Deduction Simulator (月次控除シミュレーター) Free browser-based calculator that computes estimated income tax, resident tax, social insurance deductions, and take-home pay from monthly salary based on FY2026 tax rates. No registration required.
• Tax Deadline Tool (税務期限ツール) Free browser-based tool that automatically displays upcoming tax filing and payment deadlines based on business type, fiscal year-end, and other basic information inputs. No registration required.
• Furusato Tax Calculation Tool (ふるさと納税計算ツール) Free browser-based calculator that estimates the upper limit for Furusato Tax (hometown donation) donations to achieve the ¥2,000 out-of-pocket maximum deduction, based on annual income and family composition. No registration required.

Quantifiable outcome

• Back-office man-hours reduced from 140 hours/month to 20 hours/month for one client (ACG Inc.)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• freee株式会社coreTechnology or IntegrationLOOK UP ACCOUNTING is a certified freee partner holding a 5-star advisor rating. The firm uses freee accounting software as its primary cloud accounting platform and receives referrals through the freee ecosystem. It participates in freee's spot consultation service and freee-hosted events.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe is used as the payment processing platform for the firm's online services, including the lump-sum tax refund service fee collection.
• WisecoreTechnology or IntegrationWise is used for international fund transfers when delivering tax refunds from the Japanese tax authority to foreign nationals' overseas bank accounts.
• NTTコミュニケーションズ / NTT DOCOMOminorOthersRepresentative Kentaro Yonemitsu delivered a seminar on generative AI utilization in corporate management and subsidiary management for NTT DOCOMO's Group Business Promotion Division.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves2 records

Others

• 株式会社マネーフォワード: Major Japanese cloud accounting, HR, and fintech platform serving SMEs. Competes with freee for cloud-accounting partnerships and could become a distribution channel or competing platform for LOOK UP's SME clients.
• freee株式会社: Leading Japanese cloud accounting/HR/payroll SaaS provider and core platform/infrastructure partner for LOOK UP. Not a direct competitor — ecosystem partner — but strategically central to LOOK UP's delivery model and lead flow.

Broad incumbents

• 辻・本郷 税理士法人: One of Japan's largest independent tax and accounting firms, serving SMEs and large corporates across all major practice areas. Comparable to LOOK UP's general tax advisory and M&A work, but at much larger scale and broader industry coverage.
• PwC税理士法人: Big-4 tax practice in Japan covering corporate tax, international tax, M&A, and transfer pricing. Comparable for high-end M&A and CFO-adjacent work but operates at enterprise scale.
• KPMG税理士法人: Japanese arm of Big-4 tax practice offering tax compliance, advisory, M&A, and international tax services. Comparable for M&A tax DD, PPA, and corporate tax work that LOOK UP performs, but at far larger scale and enterprise orientation.
• BDO税理士法人: Japan member firm of BDO global accounting network, serving mid-market and SME clients with tax, advisory, and outsourcing services. Comparable in SME/mid-market tax and advisory work, though larger and broader scope than LOOK UP.

Emerging players

• 株式会社クリプタクト: Japan-based crypto tax calculation platform serving individual investors and accounting firms. Partial overlap with LOOK UP's crypto tax services — a potential partner or competitor depending on go-to-market evolution.

Direct peers

• AZX 税理士法人: Tokyo-based Japanese tax firm specializing in cryptocurrency and Web3 taxation, founded by former PwC tax professionals. Closest comparable to LOOK UP given the shared crypto-tax specialty and SME/startup positioning in Japan.
• 太陽税理士法人: Mid-sized Japanese tax/accounting firm serving SMEs, startups, and foreign-affiliated companies. Comparable in client mix (SMEs/startups) and service breadth (tax advisory, CFO support), though larger and more established than LOOK UP.
• アスタリスク税理士法人: Tokyo tax firm focused on foreign nationals, startups, and inbound businesses in Japan. Comparable to LOOK UP's foreign-nationals pension refund and bilingual SME advisory segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LOOK UP