在過去，我們沒有必要過多擔心公司財務。公司發展相對緩慢，對于一名財務官來說，在那些年真的沒什么可忙的。并且你可以把一切都外包，僅需留意一下銀行的對賬單。

現在事情發生了天翻地覆的變化。基于SaaS模式的會計和財務變得非常復雜，并且錯誤的后果也變得越來越嚴重。

我接觸過大量的創業公司，這些公司將會計業務外包而自身卻沒有任何SaaS經驗，并且這些公司并未意識到現有的這套蹩腳的記錄系統不包含自動銷售和額外的座位。這些公司的成長率通常很高，能夠高達30-40%。

在一開始，我想這并不重要。只要能賺錢就好。但是在SaaS模式下，一旦你的平均會計收益達到大約200萬美元，你就應該適時整頓一下你的財務。

作為新創者，你是否熟悉下面列舉的某些內容呢？

?資金流入和資金流出。我大概知道我們賬戶有多少錢。

?我知道我必須償還賬單和支付工資，但是我現在有太多急于先做的事情。

?我已經利用Excel表格向我的投資者、顧問和朋友們解釋收入成長形勢有多么好。

?我和會計援助服務方達成協議。他們會幫助償還賬單、報稅以及完成會計工作。

以下我列舉了新創者所犯的10種錯誤，我希望你能避免這些錯誤。我就“如何才能快速檢測你們公司正確的財務和會計支持系統”這一問題給出了我的建議，相關建議也同樣應該引起你的足夠重視。

錯誤1 ：預訂并不等于收入

在過去的20年，我指導了許多首次出任主管的管理者。我常問的第一個問題是，“你有多少收入？”我常常得到的答案是，“嗯，我的預訂有________”。我接下來的問題是，“你如何定義預訂？”我敢說我聽到的關于預訂定義的答案像我吃到的冰琪淋口味一樣多。

建議：無論早晚，你必須既了解預訂量又了解收入量，并且你也得知道二者的區別。不這樣的做的話會使你的公司估值降低以及投資額降低，甚至還會導致你喪失一名感興趣的購買者或投資者。在你進行首輪或次輪融資的時候，或是在包含第三方的情況下做任何財務決策的時候，會計師將會按照公認會計準則進行某類盡職調查來定義收入。

錯誤2 ：將收付實現制和權責發生制混淆

我發現新任CEO并沒有過多經驗和時間去理解全套財務報表的具體細節。根據我對那些基于預定量的主管的了解，你做一個精美的幻燈片向他們做月度總結，這樣做價值并不大。其實更為重要的是給他們普及相關知識以使其在做生意方式上由收付實現制向權責發生制轉變。

收付實現制是我們每天都會做的事。在一月末我的銀行賬戶里有1000美元。二月份我收到工資1500美元，而我每月的花銷僅為500美元。在二月底我的現金余額為2000美元。在收付實現制下，你可以基于你的現金收入和支出了解你在給定月份的凈收益或凈損失。

當然你也可以在公司中做同樣的事。不過別好還是別這樣做。

我知道這樣一個事，一名CEO按照他的收入實現制報表以數百萬美元的價格將其公司出售。在購入方進行調查時，那些基于收入實現制機制的數據必須轉化為基于權責發生制的數據，這名CEO因此損失了數百萬美元。

建議：從今天開始，按照權責發生制管理你公司的帳務。簡單來講，你需要按月核算收入或成本。假設你從一名客戶那里收到一份合同，這份合同大意是他們會按月付給你100美元的訂閱費，但采用月結30天的支付方式。在權責發生制機制下，就意味著你在一月份把100美元的發票寄給顧客，但是你直到二月份才能收到錢。你仍可將這100美元視為一月份的收入，因為你在提供服務的同時也獲取了相應的報酬。簡而言之，當你掙到一筆錢或花費了成本，你就把相應的款項記錄到收入和成本中，而不是在現金交易發生之時。

錯誤3 ：收入確認方式錯誤

收入確認一直以來都是一件復雜的事情，這些年收入核算變得更為復雜。除此之外，具體到SaaS公司，它們所面臨的問題在于，隨著交易量的增加，正確/保守的收入確認方式與簡單核算方法之間的差異更為凸顯。

有時你或許會被要求重新評估你的收入。最糟糕的事情莫過于告訴董事會和投資方你需要調整已經經過確認的收入或是收入預測。

建議：你需要藉助于Excel表格記錄你的確認收入和遞延收入余額。如果沒在一開始就樹立這個模式，你之后的清理工作會不僅變得更加苦難而且更為昂貴。一旦你的收入量達到某一數值，你就應該引入相關工具或是藉助于全職幫助(參見錯誤#4)，這些手段能幫助你采用正確無誤的收入確認方式，而這種收入確認方式能適應不斷成長的收入。今后你需要藉助于一款工具幫助你進行自動收入確認。

錯誤4 ：自己完成會計工作

有了一開始的收入作為本錢，你現在開始關注你所花費的每一筆錢，并且你也注意到那些優先項正在快速不斷涌現。你需要達到下一個收入水平和關鍵績效指標，這些會在你進行下一輪融資時起到幫助作用，這也引出了我接下來想說的話：你需要獲得會計師的幫助，而不是靠自己去努力正確地完成償還賬單、支付工資以及確認收入的工作。

尋找一些合適的會計公司，把不同的職責分配給它們。它們會核算出你需要協助的時間，比如說，幫助你正確建立第一個會計系統，協調好每月的銀行對賬單，并且幫助你構建一套緊急收入確認過程。

建議：千萬不要糊弄自己，認為填寫一張支票或是藉助于在線銀行服務就是在做會計工作。你需要得到正規的會計服務支持，這件事你拖得越久，日后要做的清理工作會越多，賬單數額也會變得更為龐大。

錯誤5 ：把財務總管和首席財務官混淆

你最終意識到你需要引入高級財務支持去幫助你完成一些工作，這些工作包括幫助你完成給董事會和投資方所做的財務報告，構建一些擴展過程，完成預算和規劃，并為日后的投資做準備。不過這時你很可能會將兩種不同的頭銜混淆，即將財務總管和首席財務官混淆。

二者的區別：財務總管會照看公司的日常會計事務，包括結賬和報賬，不過財務總管的職責也止于此。而財務官則會基于這些報導的實際結果，著手處理這些數據，且財務官還要考慮公司的未來目標、預算、規劃和戰略轉型。

這并不是說對于早期的創業公司不可以靈活對待這兩種角色，也不是說這兩種角色不能在一定程度上在各個領域相互協助。財務官也能夠進行月末結算，而一些財務總管也可以協助公司完成規劃。

建議：財務總管不能插手一切工作，特別是隨著你公司的不斷壯大。如果你雇傭了一名優秀財務官，只需幾個月你就會發現他的戰略價值。雇傭一名具備指導創業公司經驗的財務官，這樣他就會幫助你判斷公司所需，你甚至都不需要思考這件事。

錯誤6 ：當你滿足于當下“外包財務官”的狀態時，就會把聘雇財務官這一議程不斷推遲

盡管“外包首席財務官”十分方便，這種小時結算制也意味著你雇不起一名全職財務官。鑒于此，這名外包財務官只能幫助你準備董事會和投資人會議，并協助你完成預算規劃。由于和公司日常業務脫節，她只能從宏觀角度進行分析，更為重要的是，對于票據和托收、現金流管理、收入報告以及公司順應性等諸多方面的重要過程，僅從宏觀角度加以分析往往是不夠的。

這種租賃機制會加重你的負擔。隨著公司的成長，你可能會在創建彈性會計機制上錯過一些重要的環節，而這些環節又恰好能幫助公司成長。

建議：不要擔心比你預計的時間更早引入全職財務官。當你面臨盡職調查或是你需要將資金多延伸幾個月的時候，你就會發現這筆錢花的值。

錯誤7 ：沒有建立詳盡完整的預算表

我相信大多數的新創者都會用一張Excel表格記錄收入。你也可能藉助于一些工具記錄生產、升級和新的收入。這很棒，不過這并不是預算。

一個正確的預算不僅能幫助你記錄當下的表現，還能幫助你規劃未來的需求。我知道一些引入資金的新創者，但是他們并不知道如何才能把這筆錢戰略性地投到最需要培養的業務領域。另一方面，我肯定見過一些投資人急需資金，但是他們并能向投資者充分表達他們的需求。

建議：通過共同努力制訂一個時間跨度為12到24個月的預算。這個預算需要幫助你回答三個十分重要的問題：

（1）“你需要多少資金才能達到你設定的收入目標？”

（2）“你將如何利用這筆資金？”

（3）“這筆投資的回報是什么？”

錯誤8 ：沒有定期閱讀財務報告的習慣

如果你采納了我第6和第7點建議，那么你已經聘請了合適的會計師，他們正在進行結賬，這意味著他們會將一攬子財務計劃分給投資方和董事會，當然會首先發給你。

你需要花點時間去了解這個一攬子計劃的細節。你不必學習注冊會計師的相關知識，但是你至少應該理解收入報告以及它與現金流量表、資產負債表以及遞延收入之間的關系，并且你還需要知道你的支付能力。

建議：如果你僅僅關注收入，那么你并不是在幫自己忙。讓你的會計為你解釋細節。如果他們的語言過于專業話，你可以讓他們用直白的話再解釋一遍。如果我面對你，我可以選擇用清晰的語言進行解釋，或者我也可以采用專業術語，這樣你就會迷惑不解。而糟糕的做法是，當我用專業術語進行解釋時，你并沒有問問題。相反，你選擇退出，并說：“這就是我為什么需要你去理解所有這些東西的原因。”

錯誤9: 不要忘記合規管理

合規管理十分繁瑣。我下面舉一個簡單的例子。你將公司的合規管理外包給一家法律公司，這家公司采用“創業公司一攬子”計劃，這一計劃能夠幫助你進行公司注冊、建立董事會決議并批準股權文件。在大多數情況下你需要在特拉華州進行注冊，在獲得授權后你就可以在你所在的州做生意了。你認為你準備好了一切。

對于我所工作的每家公司，我都會主動調查它是否在特拉華州具有良好的聲譽，這家公司的年度特性經營稅是否如期支付。經過一番調查，我會獲得意外的驚喜，這不僅僅是一些大量的未繳稅（比如說一張價值7萬美元逾期票據）！

建議：在你完成注冊之后，公司的合規管理任務并未結束。類似的任務還有稅務、美國公認會計原則、合同、契約等等。不過，不必恐慌。你需要采用正確的辦法：你需要有人知道哪項合規僅是一次性的行動，哪些合規需要長久堅持，并且還得知道哪些合規需要隨著公司的規模做出調整，這樣才能使你未來免受處罰。

錯誤10 ：一致性數據呈現出不一致

當遇到下列情況我會感到抓狂，我相信你遇到這樣的事你也會這樣。設想這樣一種場景，你的投資者或是董事長問你:“為什么你的銷售收入和財務報表中的收入不一致?”或者,“為什么你的銷售生產數據和營銷流失數據不一致?”盡管這不是會計領域的錯誤，但這是企業管理的錯誤。

建議：公司的哪一個部分為哪一項關鍵業績指標負責，在這一問題上達成一致，并且財務官需要為公司的收入下定義。之后，確保公司的各個部門在關鍵業績指標報告中使用相同的數據。這就要求企業各部門進行跨職能合作并建立持續的溝通。這樣做的一個好處就是可以避免每個團隊在記錄相同數據上浪費時間。

避免以上列舉的十種錯誤，當面對公司會計領域健康營運的問題時，你就能以輕松的狀態面對。盡快雇到需要的人員，但是這并不意味著你不需要去理解財務責任。不斷去問問題直到你把它們都弄懂，用你自己的方式去問問他們都是什么意思。（財富中文網）

In the old days, we didn’t have to worry about finance too much. Companies grew more slowly, there was nothing for a CFO to really do for years, and you could sort of outsource everything and just keep an eye on the bank statement.

Things have changed a lot. SaaS accounting and finance has gotten pretty complicated, and the impacts of getting it wrong have gone up substantially.

I’ll give you a couple of examples. Last year, I met with the founder of a start-up I really, really liked. The plan and numbers he had, both for last year and the coming year, were impressive and aggressive. But it was on the margin — the ACVs were low, and the CAC was high. And then — he sent me his financials. They didn’t make any sense. I simply couldn’t get them to even remotely tie to his presentation deck. Was it misunderstanding bookings vs. ARR vs. GAAP revenue, was that the issue? I couldn’t even figure that out. Anyhow, the gap, the delta was so large … I just had to pass. It was too big a flag for a company at the edge of where I like to invest.

I’ve also seen upside surprises, which sound good, but sometimes aren’t. I’ve worked with numerous start-ups that used outsourced accounting services with zero SaaS experience, and these firms didn’t even recognize automatic upsells, additional seats, etc. that weren’t captured in existing, crappy tracking systems. The delta was often huge — as much as 30-40%.

In the early days, I guess it doesn’t matter. Cash is king. But in SaaS, once you even get to about $2m ARR — it’s time to get your finances in order. You may blow a financing round, get your cash runway wrong, or at least, freak your investors out if you don’t.

As a first-time founder, does any of the following sound familiar to you?

Cash goes in and cash goes out. I know, roughly, how much money is in our account.

I know I’ve got to pay all the bills and do payroll, but there are so many other pressing priorities right now.

I’ve got my Excel sheet to help me explain to investors, advisers and friends how well revenue will increase.

I’ve contracted accounting help. They will pay the bills, file tax returns and do the accounting.

If it were only that simple. Here are 10 mistakes made by other first-time founders that I want you to avoid. Equally important, is my advice on how to fast track your company’s proper finance and accounting support systems.

Mistake #1: Bookings are not revenue

I’ve advised many first time executives in the past 20 years. Always, my first questions is, “What’s your revenue?” More often than not, the response is, “Well, our bookings are ________”. My next question is then, “What do you define as booking?” I swear I’ve heard as many different definitions of “bookings” as there are flavors of ice cream.

Advice: Sooner or later, you will have to know both booking and revenue numbers, and the difference between them. Not doing so may cost you in a lower valuation, less investment, or even losing an interested buyer or investor. During your first or next round of financing, or during any type of financial decision involving a third party, some type of due diligence will be performed by accountants that will define revenue per Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP).

Mistake #2: Cash accounting and accrual accounting are equal

I’ve found that first-time CEOs haven’t had much experience (or time) understanding the gritty details of a full set of financial statements. With “bookings-based” executives I’ve learned there’s little value in creating a pretty financial slide deck summing up the month, when what’s more important is an education and shift from doing business in “cash-based” to “accrual-based” accounting terms.

Cash-based accounting is something we do in our everyday lives. I have $1,000 in my bank account at the end of January. I receive a paycheck for $1,500 in February and pay my only monthly bill for $500. At the end of February my cash balance is $2,000. In cash-based accounting you recognize your Net Income/Loss in a given month based on your cash in and cash out.

You are allowed to do this in business, too. But don’t.

I know a CEO who sold his company for many millions of dollars with his cash-based financial statements. During the acquisition’s due diligence, those cash-based books had to be converted to accrual-based figures. He probably lost several millions in his purchasing price because of it.

Advice: Beginning today, think of your business in terms of accrual-based accounting. Simply put, you recognize revenue or cost in the month it incurred. Let’s say you receive a contract from a customer that outlines they will pay you $100 for the monthly subscription with an invoice of terms Net 30. Accrual accounting means you send the invoice for $100 to your customer in January, but will not receive the money until February. You can still recognize $100 as January revenue because this is when you provided the service and when you earned that money. In a nut shell, you are recording your revenue/cost based on when you earned it/incurred the cost, rather than based on when the cash exchange took place.

Mistake #3: Recognizing revenue improperly

Revenue recognition has always been complicated, and is even more so these days. Additionally, specific to SaaS companies, the problem is that with increasing transaction volume, the gap between correct/conservative revenue recognition and some “improvised” approach becomes more material.

You might at some point be asked to re-state your revenue. There is nothing worse than telling your board and investors you need to adjust your revenue recognized or revenue forecast.

Advice: With an Excel sheet model, start tracking your recognized/deferred revenue balances. If this model doesn’t get set up early enough, your clean-up effort later will be much harder and more costly. Once you reach certain revenue volumes, you should invest in a tool or full time help (see Mistake # 4) that can manage correct and error-free revenue recognition with increasing sales volumes. Down the road you will need a tool that might offer some automation in revenue recognition.

Mistake #4: DIY Accounting

With initial revenue traction under your belt, you’re now diligently watching every dollar you spend and those spending priorities are ticking up quickly. You need to get to that next revenue level and KPIs that will help you with your next round of funding, which confirms my next statement: Instead of trying to pay your bills, process payroll and recognize revenue (correctly), make sure you get help from an accountant.

Find accounting firms that outsource different roles. They will help you identify how many hours of support you may need to, for example, set up your first accounting system properly, reconcile monthly bank statements, and set up a much needed revenue recognition process.

Advice: Don’t fool yourself into believing that writing a check or paying via your online banking service is all it takes to “do accounting.” The longer you wait to get that formal accounting support, the bigger the clean-up effort and larger the bill will likely be.

Mistake #5: Controller = CFO

When you finally admit you need to bring in more senior finance support to help with financial reporting to the board and investors, set up some scalable processes, planning/budgeting exercise, and prepare for future investment rounds, you will most likely stumble upon two different titles — Controller and CFO. Here’s the difference between the two: A controller will take care of everyday accounting business, close the books and report numbers, but the responsibilities end there. A CFO, on the other hand, starts working with numbers after the actual results are reported and, additionally, takes into great consideration future indicators, budget, planning and strategy variables.

This is not to say that both roles in early-stage start-ups should not be flexible and not assist with all areas to some extent. CFOs should be able to manage the month-end close and some controllers can assist with planning.

Advice: A controller can’t do it all, especially as you grow. If you hire well, you should be able to see the strategic value of your CFO within a matter of months. You should look to hire a CFO with start-up experience, someone who will help you identify business needs that you might not be even thinking about it.

Mistake #6: Putting off that CFO hire when you’re comfortable with your current “Rent-a-CFO”

While convenient, the hourly rate of your current “Rent-a-CFO” means you can’t afford that role full-time. Given that, the contractor is only asked to prepare for board/investors meetings and help with budget planning. Removed from everyday business, she can only speak to the larger picture, which is important, but that’s often not enough with the fundamental processes of billings, collections, cash flow management, revenue reporting, corporate compliance and more.

With a rental engagement, the burden falls on you. As you grow, you might miss some important steps to set scalable accounting practices that will help you along the way.

Advice: Don’t be afraid to bring in a “right-stage” CFO earlier in process than you might think warranted. It will be worth it down the road when you are facing due diligence or find that you need to stretch cash for a few more months.

Mistake #7: Not creating a detailed and complete budget

I am certain most of you first-time founders have an Excel sheet set up to track your revenue projections. And you probably have some kind of tool tracking churn, upgrades, and new revenue numbers. That’s great, but that is not a budget.

An actual budget helps you track performance and, subsequently, plan for future needs. I know of first-time founders who get money in, but they don’t know how to strategically invest in the business areas that need the most nurturing. On the flip side, I’ve certainly seen founders who need money desperately, but can’t adequately justify their ask to investors.

Advice: Make a concerted effort to define a detailed 12 to 24-month budget. It will help you answer three very critical questions: (1) “How much money do you need to get you to $X revenue?” (2) “What will you do with that money?” and (3) “What is the return on that investment?”

Mistake #8: Not reading your financials regularly

Taking my advice on numbers 6 and 7, you’ve already hired yourself appropriate accounting help and they are currently closing your books, which means they are issuing a financial package to your board, investors, the bank and, firstly, to you.

Take time to understand its details. You don’t have to do CPA-speak, but at least absorb the Income Statement and its correlation to Cash Flow Statement, your Balance Sheet, deferred revenue, and your liabilities to be paid.

Advice: You are not doing yourself a favor if you look solely at that revenue number. Have your accountant walk you through the specifics. If they get too technical, ask them to explain it again in non-accountant speak. Simply looking at you, I can tell whether I am clear enough in my explanation, or if I am losing you with terminology. Unfortunately, more often than not, once I lose you, you don’t ask questions. Rather, you opt out, saying, “That is why I have you to understand all of this.”

Mistake #9: Don’t forget about compliance

Compliance can be complicated. Here is just one simple example. You’ve likely outsourced corporate compliance using a law firm’s “start-up package” that’s helped you incorporate, create board resolutions and confirm equity documents. In most cases, you’re incorporated in the State of Delaware and qualified to do business in the state where you are located physically. You think you’re all set.

With every company I’ve worked, I proactively check whether it’s in good standing in Delaware and if the annual franchise taxes are paid to date. I’ve had more than a few crazy tax balance surprises (say a $70,000 past due bill)!

Advice: Your compliance responsibility doesn’t end after you incorporate. The same is true for taxes, US GAAP, contracts, HR….Don’t panic. Get in place the right type of resource — someone who knows which compliance is a one-time action and which have to be maintained on an ongoing basis, which, by the way, change with the size of the company and can’t be avoided without future penalties.

Mistake #10: Data Consistency Inconsistencies

I go nuts, as I’m sure you do, when found in a situation where an investor or board director says, “Why is your sales revenue different than revenue reported on your financial statements?” Or, “Why is your sales churn figure different than your marketing churn?” While not necessarily an accounting-specific mistake, it is a business management offense.

Advice: Agree on what business unit is responsible for what KPI and that the CFO defines revenue for the company. Then, make sure all departments use the same data sources for KPI reporting. This will require cross-functional collaboration and ongoing communication. A benefit is that it will reduce time each team independently spends tracking the “same” number.

By avoiding these top 10 first-time founder mistakes, you can have an easy(ier) state of mind when it comes to the accounting health of your company. Hire what’s needed sooner rather than later, but don’t remove yourself from understanding the finance responsibilities. Ask questions (again and again) until you understand, in your own way, what it all means.