Clear decision guides for you
Straight comparisons of the tools you're choosing between, honest about where each one falls short. Where we quote a benchmark, we show its source.
32 guides of 1,000
Building an Early-Stage SaaS Financial Model That Stays Useful
Structure a lean SaaS financial model with an ARR schedule, headcount plan and cash runway, plus sanity checks against benchmarks before you share it.
Budget vs Actual Report: Layout, Variance Rules and Commentary
Set up a monthly budget vs actual report: columns, sign conventions, variance thresholds and a commentary format that turns numbers into decisions.
SaaS Unit Economics: CAC, LTV and Payback Worked Through
Calculate CAC, LTV, LTV to CAC and payback for a subscription business with one worked example, benchmark ranges and the mistakes that distort each number.
Gross Margin for Services Businesses: How to Read Benchmarks
Compare your services gross margin with industry figures, learn what belongs in delivery cost and see what actually moves margin: utilization, rates and scope.
Finance KPI Definitions for PE-Backed Companies
Define adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow conversion, net debt ratio and fixed charge coverage the way sponsors and lenders expect, with worked formulas.
How to Build a Driver-Based Forecast in Six Steps
Build a driver-based forecast step by step: choose outputs, find the few drivers that matter, wire the formulas, calibrate on history and test scenarios.
SBA 7(a) Loan Requirements: Eligibility and Document Checklist
What you need to qualify for an SBA 7(a) loan: eligibility basics, the documents lenders request, personal guarantees, rate caps and timing tips.
How to Read a Venture Debt Term Sheet: Warrants and Covenants
Read a venture debt term sheet line by line: warrant coverage math, interest-only periods, final payments and covenants, plus what to negotiate before you sign.
What Lenders Require for a Business Line of Credit
What banks look for before approving a business line of credit: cash flow, time in business, credit, collateral and documents, plus how to size the line.
Bank Loan Application Documents: A Checklist by Category
The documents a bank asks for on a commercial loan, grouped by category, with why underwriters want each one and how to make your numbers reconcile.
SBA Personal Guarantees: Who Signs, What You Owe, What to Ask
How an SBA personal guarantee works: who has to sign, how far your liability reaches, what happens on default and what you can negotiate with the lender.
What a Fractional CFO Costs per Month and How to Budget
How fractional CFOs price their work, what pushes a monthly retainer up or down, and how to test a proposal against your G&A budget before you sign.
Bookkeeper, Controller or CFO: Who Owns What and When to Hire
A bookkeeper records, a controller makes the books reliable, a CFO decides where the money goes. See who owns each task and which role your company is missing.
Finance Team Structure From Seed to Growth Stage
What a finance team should look like at each stage from seed to growth, which hire comes next, and how to test headcount against your G&A budget.
Fractional CFO Scope of Work: Clauses and Deliverables
Build a fractional CFO scope of work with measurable monthly deliverables, hours, exclusions, change orders and exit terms, as a clause-by-clause outline.
Fractional CFO Interview Questions and Red Flags
Questions to ask before hiring a fractional CFO, grouped by what they test, with red flags to watch for and a simple way to score candidates side by side.
How to Switch Accounting Firms Without Missing a Filing
Change accounting firms without dropped filings or messy books: what to lock down first, what the old firm must hand over and how to verify opening balances.
R&D Tax Credit for Software Startups: Who Qualifies and How to Claim
Does your software work qualify for the federal R&D tax credit? The four-part test, qualifying costs, the startup payroll tax offset and how to document it.
Section 174 for Software Startups: Amortization and the 2025 Change
How Section 174 amortization created taxable income without cash profit for software startups, what the 2025 law changed and how to model your cash taxes.
SaaS Nexus and Sales Tax: A Checklist From Thresholds to Registration
A step-by-step review for SaaS companies: check taxability, track state nexus thresholds, register on time, collect correctly and handle back exposure.
SaaS Chart of Accounts: Numbering, COGS Split and Dimensions
Build a SaaS chart of accounts step by step: number ranges, what goes in COGS, revenue and deferred revenue accounts, and departments instead of duplicates.
Cash vs Accrual Accounting: When a Growing Company Should Switch
When to move from cash to accrual accounting, what the IRS gross receipts rule means, how to convert your books and how prepaid contracts distort results.
Customer Profitability Analysis: A Contribution Margin Worksheet
Build a customer profitability analysis: allocate cost to serve, compute contribution margin per account, read the whale curve and act on weak accounts.
Price Volume Mix Analysis: Formulas and a Revenue Bridge
Break a revenue change into price, volume and mix effects with clear formulas and a worked two-product example, then adapt the bridge to subscription revenue.
Break-Even Analysis for a Service Business: Utilization and Rates
Work out the billable hours, utilization and rate a consulting or agency business needs to break even, with a worked example and sensitivity checks.
Quality of Earnings Report: What Sellers Should Expect and Prepare
What a quality of earnings review tests, how buy-side and sell-side reports differ, how add-backs and the working capital peg move price, and how to prepare.
SDE vs EBITDA: Which Earnings Measure Fits Your Business Sale
Compare seller's discretionary earnings and EBITDA, see both calculated from the same income statement and learn when buyers use each to value a business.
Key Person Insurance: Coverage, Sizing and Loan Covenants
What key person insurance covers, how to size a policy, why lenders and investors ask for it and what to check on tax treatment, ownership and covenants.
ARR, MRR and Recognized Revenue: Why the Numbers Differ
Follow one subscription contract through bookings, billings, MRR, ARR and GAAP revenue to see why the numbers differ and how to reconcile them.
Deferred Revenue for SaaS Founders: Why Prepaid Cash Is a Liability
Why annual prepayments sit on the balance sheet as a liability, how journal entries and waterfalls work, and what it means for cash and diligence.
Cash Conversion Cycle for Distributors: Formula and Ways to Shorten It
Calculate a distributor's cash conversion cycle from inventory, receivable and payable days, see what a day is worth in cash and which levers free it fastest.
First 100 Days as CFO of a PE Portfolio Company: A Finance Plan
A phased 100-day finance plan for a new CFO at a PE portfolio company: credit agreement, cash forecast, board package, faster close and sponsor trust.