The money landed on Friday. Five things get set up in your first 90 days.
In the first 90 days after a round, five things need setting up: approvals, payroll, a runway forecast, investor reporting, and the filings the round triggers. Set them up now, and each one runs by itself after that. Skip this step and the gaps stay hidden until an investor's CA finds one, or a filing deadline passes without anyone noticing. We set all of this up in your first quarter and tell you exactly what we need from you.
- Set up inside your first month
- Agreed in writing before it starts
- A reply the same working day
An example of how it goes.
What we do for you.
- We set up who can approve a payment, and who cannot approve one alone.
- One person raises a payment. A second person approves it once the amount crosses a limit you set. We also look at vendor onboarding, expense claims, company cards and cash, and add a second approval wherever more than one person should be involved.
- We set up payroll so it stays correct as you hire.
- Salaries, payslips and the tax cut are correct from the first hire. As your staff count grows, PF and ESI start to apply at their own thresholds, and professional tax applies in the states that charge it. We track your staff count every month and start your registration the month either one applies.
- We build your runway forecast and update it every month.
- Each month you see your burn, your cash in the bank, and the number of months it lasts at the current rate. We build it from books already closed each month, not from a spreadsheet made once for the round.
- We agree what your investor gets, and when, from day one.
- Most funds ask for a monthly or quarterly update. We agree the format and the date with your investor in the first month, then prepare it from your books every cycle.
- We track spending against what your deck promised.
- Your deck told investors where the money would go. Each month we show what has been spent against that plan, so a gap shows up early, not at the next round.
- We file what the round itself triggers, on time.
- A funding round creates its own paperwork with its own deadlines, starting with a form that reports your new shares to the ROC. Our raising-a-round page covers each one in detail. We prepare and file them as the round closes.
Your side of it.
Small things, sent any way you like. We do the rest.
- Your term sheet and shareholders' agreement, once, when you start
- The use-of-funds slide from your deck
- An hour in your first week to set approval limits and the reporting format
This work is set up inside your first month with us, agreed in writing before it starts.
What founders ask about the first 90 days after funding.
We are three people. Do we need any of this?
Some of it, in a simple form. With three people, one of you can approve most payments, and a second approval only matters above a limit you set. A runway forecast still helps, because burn is easier to control early than after you have twenty people to unwind. Payroll and the round's filings apply from your first hire and your first round, whatever your headcount is today.
What does my investor expect every month?
Most investors expect a short update every month or every quarter: cash in the bank, burn, months of runway left, and progress against your use-of-funds plan. Some also ask for your profit and loss and your headcount. We agree the exact list with your investor in the first month, then send it on the same date every cycle.
Do I need a separate bank account for the round?
The law does not require a separate account for round money. Many companies open one anyway, so spending against the round is easy to track apart from daily operating cash. Open one in your first week if you want that. We track your use-of-funds plan either way, with or without a separate account.
When do PF and ESI start?
PF applies once your staff count crosses a limit set by law. ESI applies once your staff count crosses its own limit, for staff earning up to a wage limit. Both are checked on your staff count. ESI also depends on what each person earns each month, and the count that triggers it differs by state. We check your count every month and register you the month either one applies.
What happens if I ignore all of this for a year?
Nothing happens right away. The gaps usually surface later, at the next round or an audit. Someone reviewing your books finds a payment nobody approved, or a filing that was missed. Fixing it then costs time inside a deal. Setting it up now costs about an hour of your time.