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Financial Controls
Burn tracking, unit economics, board reporting.
PART 4: FINANCIAL CONTROLS — Money In/Out, Forecast, Board
Authoritative Resources
| Resource | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| SaaStrAI — SaaS Metrics | the definitive source for SaaS unit economics, ARR, churn, LTV, CAC |
| Y Combinator: Startup Financial Model | Standard template for early-stage financial planning |
| Carta Learn | Cap table management, equity, fundraising education |
| SVB: Startup Outlook | Industry benchmarks for startup financial health |
| Stripe Atlas Guides | Incorporation, banking, tax essentials |
Core Frameworks
Startup Financial Pillars (from YC + SaaStr):
- Cash management: Weekly burn rate tracking, 18-24 month runway target
- Unit economics: LTV > 3× CAC, payback period < 12 months
- Board reporting: Standard monthly board deck (P&L, cash, KPIs, milestones)
- Budgeting: Annual budget + quarterly reforecasts. Dept-level P&L from year 1.
- Cap table: Properly maintained from first issuance (Carta)
Key SOPs:
- Monthly close: Books closed by 5th business day. AI-assisted categorization.
- Expense policy: What's reimbursable, approval thresholds ($50, $500, $5K), receipt capture
- Invoicing & dunning: Standard terms (Net 30/45), automated reminders, escalation at 60/90 days
- Forecasting: Rolling 12-month forecast, updated monthly. AI model that learns from history.
- Board deck template: Standard format — executive summary, metrics, financials, OKRs, risks
AI Integration
- AI bookkeeping: QuickBooks/Xero AI for auto-categorization, reconciliation, anomaly detection
- AI forecasting: Feed 6 months data into GPT/claude — get unit economics per department, automated variance commentary
- AI expense audit: Auto-flag policy violations, duplicate receipts, unusual patterns
- AI board deck generator: Pull from all systems, draft narrative, highlight changes
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