Financial management in startups: the biggest challenges and tips
Introduction to startup financial management
There is no doubt there are many factors to be considered and studied when we talk about how to maintain, develop, and, especially, profit from your startup. In addition to structuring your operation, service, or product development and understanding the market in which you operate, organising and performing financial management for startups is essential. The lack of financial planning is one of the main reasons for many to close their activities in the early years.
The financial management for startups is the area responsible for providing resources so that the entire operation can exist, and operate efficiently. The goal is to properly manage the company’s capital, strengthen its presence in the market, bet on new investments and expand its operations.
In this article, you will find the main challenges for financial management and important tips for managing your business.
What are the main financial challenges of a startup?
Traditional companies can usually make financial projections with a certain accuracy. Startups, however, have no way to obtain such predictability, which makes it even more crucial to control their finances.
In other words: financial management in startups is one of the most critical areas – and any mistake can cost the company its survival.
Potential investors look at two pieces of information to know whether or not to invest in a startup: good financial control and the idea itself.
Financial problems include the difficulty in attracting investment and also the lack of a plan for the efficient use of resources. The Ultimate Startup Failure Report 2020, published by Failory: 90% of global startups fail, and the main reasons listed are default, incorrect pricing and wrong planning.
Regarding the idea, it is useless to balance the startup’s cash flow if the idea is not, in fact, innovative and replicable. Many companies fail in this aspect and cease to exist, precisely because they cannot solve a specific problem of people or other companies in an adequate way. That said, some of the main challenges that startups face are:
- Following the cash flow, always being attentive so that expenses are never greater than revenue, especially at the beginning of the operation. If you have not yet created a company account for your startup, you can do it here.
- Having a chart of accounts: containing all monthly due dates and receipts, reducing the possibility of taking loans or getting into debt.
- For this point, it is fundamental to have expense management software which allows you to organise all your expenses in a single place, in order to control your company’s finances. Check out the advantages of Everest’s expense management service;
Cost accounting: as the market fluctuates, this is not easy. Measuring costs helps you balance finances and price products and services correctly.
10 financial management tips for startups:
All the parameters indicated need to be adjusted to the context of the company to make sense, so here are 10 tips to guide and/or facilitate the management and financial planning of the Startup:
- Adopt innovative management methods that assist in the performance of tasks;
- Ensure a good working capital;
- Use a consulting accountant to perform the control activities;
- Use technology in its favour by choosing programs and systems that facilitate the integration, updating, sharing, unification and treatment of financial information;
- Have an aligned, dynamic, and focused team;
- Constantly monitor the cash flow;
- Be organised. Do not mix personal accounts with the company’s accounts and know how to organise the company’s various accounts by yourself;
- Make forecasts for future scenarios;
- Perceive possibilities to grow;
- Adopt useful indicators that promote corrective actions and validate practices and results.
The start-up market has also been gaining scalability in the world. The agility in the implementation and validation of business ideas in the market demands that all support sectors adapt and start offering adequate solutions to the new reality.
That is why, with so many options on the rise, Everest stands out by offering an innovative payment and cash management flow platform to make startups’ daily banking operations easy. Learn more here.