Finance & accounting · checked 2026-10-19

Can I vibecode Doola?

KINDA· weekend project

This verdict covers only doola's software, the Pulse bookkeeping dashboard; the filings cannot be built. As software, it is a ledger that imports bank and payout files, categorises them and sends invoices: a weekend on SQLite, in the same range as other small-business bookkeeping. What people pay doola for is the legal side: filing the LLC with a state, getting an EIN, acting as registered agent, filing annual reports and tax returns. No prompt produces those, and missing a filing carries penalties.

$25/moprice

$300you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeA weekend for the ledger; the legal parts stay with a provider

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22better-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
Bank and Stripe CSV exportsMercury, Wise, PayPal and Stripe each name the columns differently; the importer asks you to map them once.
A registered agent for your LLCIf you leave doola, appoint a replacement agent with your state before the doola one ends.
A CPA or tax preparerFederal and state filings, and any foreign-owner forms, are not something to improvise.

Before you buildDoola has no free plan. If all you need is invoices and a ledger, Wave's free Starter plan is a way to find out before you build.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a bookkeeping ledger for a single-member US LLC to replace the software side of doola. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: SvelteKit with adapter-node. `npm start` serves http://localhost:4720.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 through Drizzle in ./data/llc.db. Cash-basis ledger, USD only, integer
cents. Accounts for bank, Stripe and card; an editable category list seeded with common
expense categories for a software or e-commerce business.
- Importers with a saved column map per source: CSV from Mercury, Wise and PayPal, and the
Stripe balance-transactions CSV. Skip duplicates by a hash of date, amount and description.
- Payout view: every Stripe or Shopify payout shows gross sales, fees, refunds and net, and the
bank deposit it matched. Flag payouts with no deposit after 5 days.
- Review queue for uncategorised lines: rules ("description contains AWS -> Software"),
manual category, split, and a receipt file attached from ./data/receipts/.
- Invoices: client, line items, due date, PDF by `pdf-lib`, email through nodemailer (SMTP in
.env), "mark paid" posts the income line.
- Reports: monthly profit and loss, spend by category, receivables, and a year-end ZIP for a
CPA with the ledger as CSV, reports as PDF and the receipts folder.
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first. Outbound calls: SMTP only.
- Out of scope: company formation, registered agent, state annual reports, tax filing, live
bank feeds, sales tax registration.
- README: setup, backing up ./data, and a plain note that none of this replaces the legal
filings, is not tax advice, and that deadlines belong with a CPA.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Doola.

Extend the LLC ledger app in this folder. Requirements:

- Import the Shopify payouts and transactions CSV exports with a saved column map.
- For each payout show orders, refunds, chargebacks, fees and net, and match it to a bank
  deposit of the same amount within 5 days; list the payouts that do not match.
- Post each payout to the ledger as gross sales, fees and refunds, not as one lump deposit.
- Update the README.

Add a quarterly set-aside worksheet to the LLC ledger app in this folder. Requirements:

- For a chosen quarter, show net profit year to date from the ledger, and a set-aside amount
  computed from a percentage I type in settings (default 25%).
- List the four US estimated-tax due dates for the year as plain dates I can edit.
- Track what I marked as paid per quarter and show the remainder.
- Say plainly on the page that the percentage is mine to set and this is not tax advice.
- Update the README.

Add a compliance calendar to the LLC ledger app in this folder. Requirements:

- A page where I enter my filings: name, due date, who files it, status and a note.
- Seed it with plain reminders to ask a CPA about the state annual report, the federal return
  and any form required for a company owned by a non-US person; no legal advice in the text.
- Email me through SMTP 30, 14 and 3 days before each due date until it is marked done.
- Update the README.

Add a receipt inbox to the LLC ledger app in this folder. Requirements:

- Read a dedicated IMAP mailbox from .env every 10 minutes with `imapflow` and save PDF and
  image attachments to ./data/receipts/ with the message date.
- Suggest a matching transaction (same amount within 3 days) and attach on confirmation.
- Keep unmatched receipts in an inbox list and never delete messages from the mailbox.
- Update the README.

What you lose

The company formation filing, EIN application and operating agreement
A registered agent and a US business address that receive official mail
Annual state report and IRS filing by in-house tax staff
Live bank connections and Shopify or Amazon analytics
A dedicated human bookkeeper on the top plan

Why people still pay

Many customers are founders outside the US who need an LLC, an EIN, a US address and someone who knows the state deadlines. The software is the small part; the real purchase is not missing a filing.

Moatcompliance & regulation brand & trust integrations

Do the math

Doola or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Doola, 1 yr$300

Your own copy, 1 yr$38running + build session

You keep$263pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · Covers the software side only: a laptop or a $5 VPS and SMTP on a free tier. A registered agent, state fees and a CPA are separate costs you still pay.

Leaving Doola

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Doola

1Bookkeeping: the plan comparison lists Download Financial Reports, so export your reports from the Pulse dashboard before you leave; we found no documented bulk export of transactions.
2Formation papers: save your certificate of formation, EIN letter and operating agreement from your doola account, or ask hello@doola.com to resend them.
3A bank account opened through doola's partner (the FAQ names Mercury) is held by that bank, so check with the bank what changes when you leave doola.
4Tax filings and state reports that doola prepared: ask for copies of the filed returns and confirmations before closing the account.

2 · Cancel Doola

1Submit doola's cancellation form, or email hello@doola.com with your account details and say you want to cancel the subscription.
2doola processes it and sends an email confirming the cancellation and that no further charges will be applied; keep that email.
3Use of the service stays valid until your paid period ends; payments are non-refundable and partly used periods are not credited.
4Before you cancel, appoint a new registered agent with your state: the agent change is a state filing you make, not something the cancellation does.

Plans auto-renew at the rates in effect until you cancel, and reviewers name renewal charges as their most common complaint, so cancel before the renewal date.
The registered agent and virtual address are the recurring part of Starter, so a company with no agent can fall out of good standing; check your state's rules first.
Expedited EIN and free dissolution come only with annual billing on the higher plans.
Deleting an account is separate from cancelling; the terms say you may do either at any time.

Checked 2026-10-19 against Doola's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

Wave StarterFreeFree hosted plan with unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records; bank import and receipt capture sit in the paid Pro plan.they host it
Web, iOS, AndroidVisit ↗BigcapitalOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 accounting and inventory app for small businesses with invoices, bills, statements and an API; self-hosted with Docker.★ 3.9k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗GnuCashOpen sourceDesktop double-entry bookkeeping with invoices and OFX import; the books stay in a file on your disk.★ 4.4k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
desktopVisit ↗

All 5 free alternatives to Doola ›

The numbers

Doola pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Starter	—	$24.75	US LLC or C Corp formation filing, EIN, operating agreement, registered agent, virtual business address, email support and the AI Co-Founder.
Pulse	—	$25	Bookkeeping software: track transactions, connect several bank accounts, send invoices, download financial reports and e-commerce analytics. Not a formation plan.
Tax and Compliance	—	$166.58	Everything in Starter plus federal and state tax filing, annual state report filing and a one-on-one consultation with a licensed tax professional.
Business-in-a-Box	—	$249.92	Everything in Tax and Compliance plus a dedicated bookkeeper, monthly financial statements, estimated quarterly taxes, expedited EIN and free dissolution.

Billing: Every plan is billed annually and renews automatically at the rates then in effect, until cancelled. Expedited EIN and free dissolution need annual billing. Payments are non-refundable, though a formation error caused by doola is refunded for that portion.
Hidden costs: State filing fees are extra on every formation plan and vary by state. Renewal charges for the registered agent and address come back each year. Your own state may also charge an annual report fee that the plan does not cover.
Source: www.doola.com

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Questions

Doola, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

No free plan. Pulse, the bookkeeping software, has a 30-day trial.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: The company formation filing, EIN application and operating agreement, A registered agent and a US business address that receive official mail.

About $25 a month on the Pulse plan, $300 a year (checked 2026-10-19).

The company formation filing, EIN application and operating agreement; A registered agent and a US business address that receive official mail; Annual state report and IRS filing by in-house tax staff; Live bank connections and Shopify or Amazon analytics; A dedicated human bookkeeper on the top plan. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.