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Accounting for startups - so you can focus on building your business

As a startup, you have enough to think about - accounting should not be one of your worries. At Ekstern CFO, we help tech startups and growth companies build a professional finance function from day one, so you can focus on building your product and company.

Talk to us about your business

Startup accounting: from simple to complex

Most startups start with simple accounting – maybe even in Dinero or with a local bookkeeper. But things change quickly:

  • You hire the first employees and must run payroll
  • You get investors who expect monthly reporting
  • You must deliver budgets and forecasts to the Danish Growth Fund (Vækstfonden) or other funding partners
  • You start selling internationally and have to deal with VAT and currency
  • The board wants to see burn rate, runway and KPIs

Suddenly, accounting is no longer simple - and this is where we come into the picture.

When do you need professional help?

Typical signs that you need an external finance function:

  • Founders spend time on bookkeeping instead of product and sales
  • Your current bookkeeper does not understand your business model
  • Investors or the board of directors request reporting that you cannot provide
  • You are unsure of your cash position and runway
  • The auditor finds errors in your books

Investor and board reporting

When you have investors on board, expectations for your financial reporting rise significantly. We have experience in delivering:

  • Monthly board packs with metrics, comments and forecasts
  • Budget and forecast models for Vækstfonden and other funding partners
  • Runway and burn rate calculations
  • Valuation models and scenario analyses
  • Ad hoc analyses for funding rounds

Capitalisation of development costs

As a tech startup, you typically invest significantly in product development. We help you assess whether your development costs can be capitalised, and ensure correct bookkeeping and help with any available tax credit.

Scaling the finance function

One of the advantages of an external finance function is flexibility. You pay for what you need - and the service can scale up or down in line with your growth. We may start with simple bookkeeping and payroll, and expand to controlling, reporting and strategic advice as your business grows.

Our experience with startups

Ekstern CFO is the Danish tech startups' preferred partner. We work with companies such as Capdesk (now Carta) and Dreamdata - and we understand the challenges that come with building a company from scratch.

Our founder, Louise G. Møller, has experience from the startup environment herself and understands the pace and dynamism of technology companies.

Get started

We are happy to have a no-obligation conversation about your startup accounts. Contact us and let's see how we can best help you.

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Plan the finance function for your next stage

Growth changes what you need from day-to-day operations and management reporting. Explore an external finance function, scope and pricing and handover from an existing bookkeeper. Our guide to digital bookkeeping and e-invoicing helps you review systems and workflows.