Reporting & planning
Finance priorities after your startup raises funding
What to put in place after a funding round so you can understand spending, plan cash and keep investors informed.
After raising funding, your finance priorities are reliable accounts, a budget linked to your plans, a cash forecast and a clear reporting routine. Agree who owns each task and which decisions need your attention. The right setup should help you use the funding well without putting all the finance work on the founder.
Closing the round can feel like the point when the pressure eases. Then come hiring decisions, spending requests and investor updates. Having money in the bank does not tell you which commitments you can sustain or whether the business is progressing as planned.
1. Get a reliable starting point
Bring the books up to date and check that bank balances, unpaid bills, customer invoices and payroll agree with the records. Make sure the funding and related costs are recorded correctly. Keep the final investment documents accessible to the people preparing the accounts and any post-investment filings.
The useful question is: can we explain where the business stands today? If balances or transactions remain unresolved, name them and assign someone to resolve them before using the figures to make commitments.
2. Turn the funding plan into a working budget
Start with the milestones you want the funding to support. Connect each to the people, suppliers and spending it requires. Record when costs start and which assumptions need to be true. Keep committed spending separate from plans you can still change.
For example, two planned hires need more than two salary lines. Include start dates, employer costs, recruitment, equipment and any additional software. The point is to make the decision visible before the cost becomes a commitment.
3. Forecast cash using payment dates
Build a forecast from the current bank position and expected receipts and payments. Include payroll, tax payments, supplier bills and one-off costs. Test what happens if sales or customer payments arrive later, or hiring costs start sooner.
A simple runway estimate based on average spending can be a useful starting point, but it can miss changes in timing. ICAEW’s cash-flow guidance explains why a forecast needs regular updates as the business changes. See also why startup cash runway can be shorter than expected.
4. Agree what the reports need to answer
Decide the reporting frequency with your board and investors, taking account of any agreed obligations. A useful pack should show results, changes against budget, cash and the decisions ahead. Give each report an owner and a delivery date.
What changed in revenue, costs or progress?
Where did we spend more or less than planned, and why?
What changed in the cash forecast?
What action or decision is needed next?
Annual accounts serve a different purpose from regular management information. ICAEW’s guide to managing a business describes the value of timely reports and comparing actual results with budgets. Our monthly and quarterly reporting guide explains what that can look like for a startup.
A practical sequence for the first 90 days
Use this as a planning sequence, adapted to your deadlines and existing setup:
First, confirm the opening numbers, immediate commitments and who owns the work.
Next, agree the budget, cash forecast and reporting timetable.
Then, review actual results, explain the differences and update the plan.
You may already have several of these pieces. Focus on the gaps and the decisions they prevent you from making. If you use AI to help draft a budget, keep its assumptions visible and check the numbers against your records. Our guide to using AI for a startup budget covers that process.
Choose support around the work you need
A funded startup can need regular reports and forecasts before it needs a full-time finance team. Reporting & planning provides that routine. Finance leadership adds hands-on help with decisions and more complex work. At Startup CFO, we manage the underlying accounting alongside both ongoing services.
Start with a free Founder finance review to understand where your current setup falls short and what to improve first.
