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Ask HN: Basics of startup business accounting?

7 points by BadassFractal ↗ HN
Hey HN,

I have a decent grasp of marketing and product discovery/development, however I feel quite week at the basics of business finance and accounting, preferably in the post-series-A startup universe.

Are there any short and sweet resources out there on the web that you would recommend? I know Udemy and other MOOCs have courses on it, but I'd rather get a compressed "for hackers" version of the subject without sitting through hours of chatter.

Thanks in advance!

9 comments

[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 22.9 ms ] thread
bigiain
"Hey! Give me the TD;DR on finance and accounting obligations and rules for a 5-10 million dollar tech company! I mean I know people go to school for years to qualify for those roles, but I'm a hacker! I don't have time for the boring details, how hard can it be???"

What could _possibly_ go wrong?

BadassFractal
My interest is to be able to understand and keep up with conversations in that specific area, not make those calls myself.

It's similar to how, as a product manager, you don't have to be a principal software engineer with a PhD from MIT to collaborate with your development team. However, you do benefit greatly from understanding the issues and the challenges of building software at a much less sophisticated level, so you can speak the same language.

bigiain
Fair enough - you've got to admit though - the question wasn't written clearly enough for it not to be an obvious target of amusement... Apologies for poking a little fun at your expense...
BadassFractal
I've learned not to expect much empathy from the Internet.
danieka
Outsource.

If you don't have the time to spend to learn it properly you most certainly won't have the time to do it properly. Also doing your accounts yourself adds no value to the business. Focus on the important stuff and let someone else handle the bookkeeping.

matt_the_bass
I think the op is asking more than just about bookkeeping. Sure outsource the tasks, but the OP still needs basic understanding of the problem.
danieka
You're right. Unfortunately I ignored the hard part of the question (because I have no answer) and only answered the easy part.
jimnotgym
I am a finance professional, and I will give you a tip. The same tip a few different ways.

Businesses go insolvent because they run out of cash, not because of profits and losses. It is perfectly possible to make a loss for years if you have the cash. It is perfectly possible to run out of cash at a profitable business.

Learn the basics of forecasting your cash flows, and outsource your accounting.

Burn-rate and runway are short-hand terms for chatting with VC's, but are no substitute for understanding your cash flows.

Cash is king, cash is the lifeblood of a business. The finest Financial Controllers specialize in optimizing cash-flows.

A cash-flow forecast is a great way to view your business, model expansion plans and work out your funding requirements.

One last time learn about cash flows. Depreciation, amortization, taxation etc are for accountants.

matt_the_bass
+1 this is what will keep the doors open. Don’t spend money you don’t have. Don’t expect to have it when you want it.

The company can be profitable even if the customers never pay up. So at the end of the day cash is king.