Accounting Resources

Does Your CPG Startup Have a Good Grasp of Unit Economics?As a CPG startup founder, it’s easy to get swept up in your investors’ financial expectations. Investors will ask a founder for a variety of complex reports and metrics to evaluate your organization’s...

4 Unique Things to Look For in a Startup Accounting FirmWhen people think of startup success stories, they often picture all the exciting, energetic work on the frontlines—investors, pitch decks, prototypes, and relationship-building. What’s often neglected in this...

How to Create a Financial Dashoard That Cuts Through the Noise How long would it take to pull together every financial metric that matters onto a single page for either investors or internal decision-makers?  If you’re like most startups, this is tricky. Data sits in...

Tell Your Startup’s Story Through Financial Data Someone tells you to think about your startup’s finances. Pictures of numbers, math, and data points are probably the first things to come to mind. But these concrete details are just one aspect of finance.  All of...

Unit Economics Mean Nothing if You Don’t Look at the Big Picture  If you’re running a startup, chances are that you’ve heard that you need strong unit economics. But how much does this buzzy keyword actually matter for your business?  There’s been so much hype around...

Achieve GAAP Compliance by Avoiding These Missteps and Violations  The gold standard for accounting methods in the United States is GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). GAAP is more than just a set of best practices, though.  These standards are set by the...

What to Expect During an Annual Financial Audit When you think of an annual financial audit, images of an intimidating team of suits going through boxes and boxes of your organization’s records, looking for inconsistencies and mistakes, may fill your mind.  Even...

Financial Modeling Best Practices for CPG Startups 2021 was a banner year for CPG entrepreneurs. It felt like startups were successfully fundraising left and right, with plenty of upward momentum in the industry and optimism about the future.  Flash forward two years,...

LTV and CAC: Two Staple Metrics in Your eCommerce Growth Strategy Today’s eCommerce space is more competitive than ever, and keeping up with rapidly changing consumer expectations is a massive challenge. It’s estimated that there are currently 12 to 24 million...

FASB Guideline are Clearing up Crypto Accounting Uncertainty The crypto frenzy is changing how organizations around the world operate. Over 15,000 global businesses accept Bitcoin as currency now, and there are over 22,000 cryptocurrencies on the market today.  While...

Is it Time to Call in a Fractional CFO?Consider this situation: Your car is making a funny noise and not driving right. You can open the hood, watch hours of YouTube videos, and try to fix it yourself…but it's likely not going to be pleasant, and it’s very unlikely...

How to Recession-Proof Your Finances as a Startup Financial uncertainty is looming in today’s market, leaving many startups worried about the possibility of a recession, slow growth, and fewer fundraising dollars.  Recessions always hit early-stage companies hardest...

Should You Outsource These Mission-Critical CFO Services?Hiring a full-time CFO is a significant investment, and for many growing startups, it’s not financially feasible. However, your organization needs to have a strong grasp of its finances and savvy finance...

Why You Need a 13-Week Cash Flow ForecastAs a fast-growing startup, being able to track and accurately predict your cash flow is the linchpin of a sustainable and profitable business strategy. A 13-week cash flow forecast gives you a detailed look at projected inflows...

What is the Ideal Cash Burn Rate? Financial Experts Weigh InAs a startup, understanding and tracking cash burn is crucial to your long-term success. A cash burn rate is the rate at which organizations spend their cash reserves. Managing your burn rate wisely helps you...

How To Take Control of Your Startup's Cash Burn and Grow FasterOnly a small portion of startups eventually become successful. It’s estimated that 90% of total startups fail, with 38% of startups failing because they’ve run out of money. Your cash burn rate is one of...

9 Tech Stack Must-Haves for CPG StartupsSean Bies & Donny Trya - Directors at GraphiteAlso posted on Startup CPGAs a growing CPG (consumer packaged goods) startup, you need tools that help you maximize efficiency and set you up for success as you scale and your...

How Do You Negotiate a VC Term Sheet? Updated 2023Receiving a term sheet from a venture capital firm is a major step towards scaling your startup. Negotiating these terms is all about striking a careful balance between founder and investor interests. The goal is to...

What ASC 606 Means for Your Revenue Recognition Process One of the core considerations of a SaaS organization’s financial processes is revenue recognition. And with the accounting standards surrounding this topic shifting from time to time, it’s important to stay...

Why You Shouldn’t Neglect Your Month End Close ProcessThe month end close process is key to keeping your finances reconciled and accurate. A smooth and efficient process ensures your finances are ready to be used for managerial decision-making (the map to steer your...

How to Select the Best Crypto Accounting SoftwareCrypto is no longer limited to big-name tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum. And it’s slowly creeping its way into the mainstream. Organizations around the world are using a variety of crypto and Web3 technologies to make...

Navigating Startup Fundraising in 2023Updated 2023During the Venture Capital boom from 2014 to 2021, the startup ecosystem was on a perpetual bull run. This left firms with virtually unlimited funding resources and a shortage of venture-backable businesses. Startups...

How to Raise Capital for Your Startup in 6 Savvy StepsUpdated 2023Transforming an incredible idea into a profitable, scalable business is every founder’s dream. It can be a daunting process, though. Getting your idea off the ground and into a globally accepted brand...

Is Your Startup Actually Ready for Venture Capital?Updated 2023VC funding is a highly attractive route to pursue as a startup looking to scale your operations.  It can give your venture the runway it needs to scale and also outpace any competition. However, venture...

Here’s How You Avoid Bad SaaS Financial Modeling in 2023Updated 2023In my nearly ten years of experience in the VC industry, I've seen many SaaS founders with bad financial models. These models are either unable to tie assumptions to real-life data or just too...

Startup R&D Tax Credits: Don't Jump the Gun on Your TaxesUpdated for 2022 Startups across the U.S. are all prepping to file their 2022 taxes. If you’re getting a headstart on tax prep, hear us out…don’t file yet! But, why? Isn’t it smart to get ahead if you can?...

How to Apply for a R&D Tax Credit?A quick guide for startups to determine if you qualify for a R&D Tax Credit, and how to apply!If you’re hoping to apply for a research and development payroll tax credit, the process can be a little daunting. That’s why the...

Do You Qualify for a R&D Tax Credit?A quick guide for startups on R&D tax credits, and how to qualify.Updated for 2022 For many start-up founders, strong research and development is the difference between success and failure.  If that sounds like you, we’ve...

What is a R&D Tax Credit?A quick guide for startups to understand what a R&D tax credit is, and how to qualify.Updated for 2022 Research and development are essential in the world of startups—how else will you discover and perfect the thing that makes your...

A Founder's Guide to Startup AccountingCheck out our rundown of the nine pillars of essential accounting software every growing startup needs to have.Updated for 2022 When you’re a founder or operator of an early-stage startup, you’re expected to know absolutely...

How to Build a SaaS Focused Financial ModelA how to guide on building a SaaS focused financial model to use for fundraising, growth and scaling your startup.Updated 2022Read below or follow along to our video workshop here. Some call it a budget. Some call it a...

What is Web3?A breakdown of Web3, Cryptocurrency, & Decentralized Finance. We'll discuss what these terms all mean, how they impact your business.Updated 2022What is Cryptocurrency? A popular buzzword today…you may have heard it referred to as “Crypto'',...

Do You Need A Fractional CFO?Here's a checklist and explanation to help you decide whether your business needs a fractional CFO or CFO servicesUpdated 2022In this article, we will discuss what a fractional CFO is, is a fractional CFO worth it, and how much a...

SaaS Revenue Recognition & ASC 606 for Startups Cash vs. accrual accounting, revenue recognition, and ASC 606Updated 2022In this article, we will discuss SaaS revenue recognition, cash accounting vs. accrual accounting, ASC 606, and why revenue recognition matters...

Growth at all cost strategies aren’t working for startups. Here’s what is (and always has).November 9th, 2019The NY Times recently published a great article about the aftermath of the WeWork IPO fiasco. For as long as I’ve been in the VC/startup community (since...

A Data-Driven Sales Approach & Strategy to Hiring SalespeopleBy Harry O’Sullivan & Paul Bianco of ffVC’s due diligence & finance teamJust FYI, you can download Graphite’s free financial model template HERE. Originally published in ffVC's Point of View series: Earlier...

Revenue Forecast & Financial Projections for Startups How to project financials for a startupBy ffVC Financial Analyst Harry O’SullivanJust FYI, you can download Graphite's free financial model template HERE. Originally published in ffVC's Point of View series:...