The 5 Reports Every Startup Should Have Before Fundraising or Board Meetings

Founders are often told they need "better reporting" when preparing for a board meeting or investor pitch, but they are rarely told what that actually means. If you are building your first board deck, getting ready to raise capital, or starting to formalize your financial infrastructure, consider utilizing these five high-value reports to help bring structure and clarity to your financial story. This guide is here to support you, not just with frameworks and templates, but with guidance shaped by real-world experience. Whether you are navigating your first boardroom or revisiting your financial approach, the goal is to help you feel more prepared and confident.

These reports are not just standalone documents. Together, they create a narrative, explaining where your business has been, where it is now, and where it is going. They help you highlight progress, explain decision-making, and build confidence in your strategy. More importantly, they allow you to tell the best, most honest version of your company’s story.

1. Budget vs. Actuals (BvA)

Purpose: This report helps you and your stakeholders understand how your actual performance compares to your plans. It reflects your ability to forecast realistically and make decisions accordingly. It’s also a foundation for accountability and insight into how well your team executes over time.

What to include:

• Revenue, COGS, gross margin, and OpEx broken out clearly

• Explanations for key variances in business terms

• Trends across multiple periods, not just one month

Tips: For SaaS companies, consider emphasizing retention, headcount, and recurring software costs. For product-based businesses, focus on gross margin movement and inventory turnover to highlight operational efficiency. Consider opening with a "Performance Overview" slide that captures the key themes of the report.

Remember: while the numbers are fixed, your presentation of them is not. Presenting BvA, your P&L, or key metrics is an opportunity to communicate the most accurate and compelling version of your business. You and your executive team know the company better than any reader. For example, if revenue is shown as a single line, but you have a high-performing, high-margin product, and the data allows, consider breaking it out. Leading with clarity helps ensure your story is understood.

2. KPI Dashboard

Purpose: A KPI dashboard offers a snapshot of your company’s performance through the lens of metrics that matter most. Its purpose is not to overwhelm with data, but to surface meaningful signals that support strategic decision-making. It’s about helping others quickly understand how things are going—and what levers you’re watching.

What to include:

• Five to seven key metrics tied to your business model (e.g., ARR, churn, CAC, LTV, pipeline coverage, burn multiple)

• Visuals that make data digestible: charts, gauges, color coding

• Contextual comparisons (e.g., against prior periods or benchmarks)

Tips: Choose metrics that reflect your current growth strategy and stage. For instance, a PLG company might highlight usage and activation metrics, while a sales-led model may focus on conversion rates or funnel velocity. Each KPI should support the broader story and reflect the operational insights you and your leadership team understand best. While it’s important to meet external expectations, these metrics should also represent the realities you observe daily. Thoughtfully selected KPIs allow you to frame the business in the most accurate and strategic way possible. If a metric adds noise or confusion, it may be better left out.

3. Cash Flow Forecast (13-week rolling)

Purpose: This report outlines weekly cash inflows and outflows, helping you monitor liquidity and anticipate funding needs. It enables visibility into your runway, gives confidence to leadership and investors, and allows you to be proactive when faced with potential shortfalls. A 13-week rolling forecast, in particular, ensures your view is consistently forward-looking.

What to include:

• Weekly inflows and outflows broken down by category

• Ending cash balances and current burn rate

• Runway scenarios based on variables like hiring pace or delayed receivables

Tips: Service businesses may want to highlight billable timing, receivables, and payroll cycles. SaaS companies often benefit from tying burn rate to ARR and modeling outcomes for key growth investments. Cash forecasting is often the most tangible way to show operational control. It also provides the foundation for calm, confident conversations with board members or investors who may be focused on your runway. By maintaining a clear picture of your weekly cash movements, you can reassure stakeholders that you understand the financial levers in front of you and are planning ahead with discipline.

4. Department-Level Financial Summary

Purpose: This summary helps you translate company-wide planning into departmental accountability. It provides visibility into how each function is using its resources and whether strategic initiatives are tied to measurable outcomes. It’s also useful for aligning leadership around tradeoffs and upcoming needs.

What to include:

• Spend and headcount by department against budget

• Key initiatives and their financial impact

• Notes on hiring, vendor spend, and allocation changes

Tips: In early stages, grouping functions into broader categories (e.g., Go-to-Market, Product) is often enough. Over time, greater granularity and department-level KPIs or OKRs become valuable. Use this report to show where resources are concentrated and whether the outcomes match the intent. This breakdown also supports leadership storytelling by equipping you to explain how strategic priorities translate into spending decisions. It can be a useful way to drive alignment, showcase how you're managing growth across teams, and guide discussions around where to focus next.

5. Strategic Narrative or Outlook Slide

Purpose: Numbers alone don’t tell the whole story—this narrative is not just for others; it helps you and your leadership team reflect and realign. It becomes a tool for internal clarity as much as it is a communication tool for external stakeholders. This section helps connect the dots across all of your reports. It gives you a chance to summarize what’s happening in the business, communicate where you’re headed, and share how your current decisions fit within the broader context. This narrative ties everything else together.

What to include:

• A clear view of short- and medium-term priorities (6–12 months)

• Commentary on recent progress and lessons learned

• How capital is being allocated and what outcomes you’re targeting

Tips: For investors, emphasize how new capital unlocks growth. For board members, highlight key takeaways, directional shifts, and risks being managed. A brief but honest narrative—grounded in data—can make your financial story more accessible and compelling.

Bringing It All Together

Effective reporting is about more than just accuracy, it’s about clarity. It allows you to guide the conversation, create confidence, and build alignment. Collectively, they communicate:

• You understand the drivers behind your numbers

• You’re actively weighing priorities and resource decisions in service of your long-term goals

• You have a plan, and it’s grounded in reality

Start with foundational accuracy (BvA), build on performance insights (KPIs), add transparency on cash (forecast), contextualize team-level investment (department summary), and close with your voice (narrative). If you would like help shaping these reports or building a structure that fits your team, reach out. I’d be glad to support you.