Curt Mastio
By Curt Mastio on May 07, 2024

The Advantage of Working with a SaaS CFO

Working with a SaaS CFO can help you leapfrog your competition.

As a founder, you’re responsible for every aspect of your business. Once you achieve traction and a stable MRR, it can be challenging to manage, even in the early stages. At that point, you might consider working with an outsourced SaaS CFO.

The primary purpose of a SaaS CFO is to help entrepreneurs understand the financial aspects of their business and maximize time to focus on core competencies. 

A great SaaS CFO understands and can help you overcome an early-stage company’s unique challenges.

A SaaS CFO Knows How to Produce Growth

A SaaS CFO can be a tremendous asset to your company. Not only can they help you manage the financial side of your business, but they can also help you define the right strategies to grow your business.

Any finance professional needs to have a good pulse on the business. A SaaS CFO understands the big picture and can drill down into critical aspects affecting every department at any time to provide great insight into how things are running.

Good decisions depend on data. Leveraging the numbers to make better decisions can streamline your business growth strategy. 

A Saas CFO Will Work With Investors

Access to capital can enable faster scaling of a SaaS business. 

Unfortunately, a good idea or unique product is typically not enough. But an experienced SaaS CFO knows what investors are looking for in a business and how to position your SaaS startup to attract them. 

Even with a great idea and solid product, investors will want to know your business has a roadmap for scalable profitability. A CFO can help ensure you meet all criteria needed for investment.

They’ll use their expertise in finance and accounting to ensure the proper positioning of your SaaS business so that it can attract investors. 

When it’s time to talk to investors, the SaaS CFO knows what they need and how to communicate, so they understand the apparent value in your business. 

And why they should invest. 

SaaS CFOs Know What Metrics to Track

There are dashboards and metrics for nearly everything. A SaaS CFO knows which metrics are essential in your industry, such as MRR (monthly recurring revenue) or LTV (lifetime value). 

They’ll also understand the market dynamics that drive or impede your growth. 

CFOs can also help you develop a strategy for improving the metrics. Great CFOs are happy to pitch ideas, strategies, and tactics that will enhance your business — which is another way of saying they know how to make money.

A SaaS CFO knows how to run the numbers and extract the key messages, so you don’t have to. With their help, you’ll understand how and where your money flows into and out of your business. You can focus on growing your company instead of crunching numbers all day.

SaaS CFOs Will Build a Tax Plan and Help With Compliance

Tax decisions can be some of the most expensive you’ll make as a founder. One aspect of the business’s financial side includes building a tax plan, filing taxes, and keeping track of compliance requirements. 

These topics can take vast amounts of time away from you, which means less time for your business.

A SaaS CFO can also help with compliance issues. You don’t want to spend time dealing with regulatory issues that aren’t related to your core business. 

With a CFO, you can expect to build a tax plan so that you’re paying taxes at the optimal rate for your SaaS business. The thousands of dollars in potential savings each year are vital for early-stage startups.

A SaaS CFO Will Create Long-Term Value

Many businesses fail in the first five years, and a SaaS CFO can help you build a business that won’t. 

Developing future-oriented strategies can help you align your finances with your business goals. A CFO’s goal is to ensure your company is profitable and growing, even if there are short-term hiccups in the market or economy.

One core objective of many outsourced CFOs is to create resilient financial structures for your company. Those structures could range from building a budgeting system that works for your company, helping identify expenses to reduce, or finding ways to increase revenue without sacrificing the quality of service or product features.

Work With an Experienced SaaS CFO Today

The advantage of working with a CFO is that they know what’s important to you. They understand the financial challenges an early-stage company faces and can help you tailor solutions to fit your needs.

At Founder’s, we provide SaaS CFO services that can help optimize your finances and provide insight into future company performance. If you’re curious about how to take your SaaS business to the next level, contact us today to get started!

Published by Curt Mastio May 7, 2024
Curt Mastio