Short guides on runway, burn, pricing and getting paid. Written for founders, not accountants. If you only need a term defined, the glossary has each one in a sentence.
Fixed costs stay the same whatever you sell; variable costs move with every unit. The definitions, the formulas, a comparison table, and the classification calls founders actually get wrong.
Read the guideRevenue growth plus profit margin should reach 40. Where the rule came from, how to compute it honestly, and the stages where it means nothing.
Owner's draw or salary, from sole proprietor to S-corp: how the money actually moves in each setup, and a reserve-first answer to how much. Plain English.
Hourly rates, monthly retainers and what moves them, with named sources instead of a sales pitch — plus the cheaper question to answer before you pay any of it.
Fathom is management reporting on top of your accounting system, built for accountants. When it is the right tool, and when a founder needs something else.
Cash flow problems come from five mechanical causes. Each one, the specific fix, and the buffer math that decides whether a slow month is a dent or a crisis.
Three numbers and one division give you the month your company runs out of money. Here is the honest version of that math, with a worked example.
MRR stands for monthly recurring revenue, the one number that predicts your future. What counts, what does not, and the four movements inside it.
What a fractional CFO actually does, roughly what one costs, and an honest test for whether your startup needs one yet or just needs its numbers in order.
ARR means annual recurring revenue: MRR at annual scale, and the number investors quote first. How to calculate it honestly, and the traps that inflate it.
The true cost of an employee is typically 1.25 to 1.4 times gross salary. Where the extra goes, and the three questions to ask before any hire.
Burn rate is how much money your company loses per month. The gross and net burn formulas, a worked example, and the four mistakes founders make with it.
Customer concentration risk feels like success and behaves like debt. How to measure it, the 15% and 30% thresholds, and how to reduce it calmly.
Same information, different zoom level, different audience. When each number is right, how to convert honestly, and the mistakes that make either one lie.
Every SaaS metric list has 40 entries. Founders need 12, grouped by the question they answer: revenue, retention, efficiency, and survival. With formulas.
Paul Graham's question is the sharpest solvency test a startup has. How to compute your answer with numbers you already have, and what to do next.
Burn multiple is what you burn to add one euro of new ARR — the efficiency number investors quote first. The formula, benchmarks, and how to improve it.
Late payment is a systems problem, not a personality problem. Six mechanical changes that pull cash forward and end the chasing.
Net 30 means the invoice is due 30 calendar days from the invoice date. How 2/10 net 30 and net 30 EOM work, and how to pick terms that protect your cash.
Raising prices is the most underused lever in small business. Who to raise first, how much, the exact price increase email to send, and how to handle pushback.
Round sizes sound like strategy but they are arithmetic: months of runway times monthly burn, plus a buffer you will be glad you added.
Zero salary is not noble, it is a hidden risk on the company. A practical framework for setting founder pay at every stage, with numbers.
Most cost cutting strategies are applied in a panic and take the wrong things. The three-pass method: fat first, then structure, and the list you never touch.
A monthly business review template that takes 30 minutes: five numbers, three questions, one calendar slot. No analyst required.