The statements, reporting cadence, and systems that turn raw numbers into decisions.
Before a startup hires its first finance lead, someone still has to close the books, report the numbers and plan the next quarter. These guides cover the accounting basics investors expect, the monthly close, and the tools and people that take the work off a founder's desk.
Start with the statements and the accounting basis, then the close, then planning and who does it.
Seven FP&A software tools for SaaS startups, sorted by where the model lives and how it leaves, with published prices and five ownership changes since 2018.
A chart of accounts is the numbered list of accounts a ledger posts to. A SaaS company needs few, a department key on every cost and capitalisation in view.
SaaS revenue recognition under ASC 606: five fixed steps, four judgements that move the numbers, and why the written policy is part of the revenue figure.
Cash vs accrual accounting for SaaS: the IRS allows cash until $32M of average receipts, but investors' model contracts ask for GAAP accrual from signing.
The three financial statements are one balance sheet at two dates plus the flows between them. Read it first, then check each flow lands, as in Duolingo's 10-K.
FP&A for startups is a cash projection, a budget and a monthly comparison. Young firms adopt them about two years in, and the founder should write them first.
Startup finance terms with formulas and sources. FASB, the IRS, ILPA and the NVCA own some definitions; ARR, burn and CAC mean what each company says.
Startup finance stack compared by layer: banking, cards, payroll, accounting, billing and FP&A, sorted by whose money each holds and who pays when it fails.
A fractional CFO costs about four times a full-time executive per hour, so renting wins below roughly 40 hours a month. Pay data and 24 S-1s show when to hire.
A month-end close checklist in nine steps, from cut-off to sign-off, with what each step waits for and how to set a reporting date the close can keep.
AI in finance saves time on coding and reconciling, where a person can check each output against the ledger. What field studies, the SEC and the law show.
