EP #55 - Thomas Brändle: Financial Advice For Later Stage Startups

The Episode in 60 Seconds

Getting your finances right.

In the beginning:

• There is no point waiting with signing up to VAT, if you go over the threshold of 150k revenue in a year, it is already too late and will be painful to catch up.
• You can, however, save yourself time and effort by doing your first year end closing after 23 months instead of 12. Check the regulation of the Canton where your company is registered.
• Invest some time and energy into the setup of your accounting system. Having to fix it later down the road is costly and time consuming.

Choosing a fiduciary:

• Chose your fiduciary first and take the accounting software they recommend.
• Use a simple system in the beginning, without subledgers.
• If you switch systems, do it at the end of the financial year. Don’t import old data into the new system.
• Excel is not powerful enough.

Liquidity planning:

• Cash is the oxygen of your company, so better know how much you got left until you run out.
• Be aware of the “hidden costs” of growth: on-boarding employees, finding additional workspace, setting up new tools and processes.
• Consider the impact of your payment terms on your liquidity.
• If you are ecommerce, the way you manage your stock will be significant for your liquidity. The smaller you keep it, the better.

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