Finance, decoded.
The Decipher blog
Practical finance for founders and owners: cash and runway, SaaS metrics, planning, fundraising, and buying or selling a business.
Due diligence checklist: the financials buyers want to see
A financial due diligence checklist for owners selling a company: the documents buyers request in each area, what they test with each one, a request tracker, and the gaps that slow a deal down.
Exit planning starts with the numbers, 12 to 24 months out
Exit planning on the financial side means getting the books, earnings, working capital and reporting into the shape a buyer will test, well before a sale. A month-by-month timeline, what buyers look at, how valuation approaches work, and the mistakes that cost sellers time and price.
Quality of earnings vs audit: what each one tests
A quality of earnings report and an audit both review a company's financials, but they answer different questions for different readers. What each one tests, who commissions it, what it produces, and which one a seller needs before a sale.
Selling a business: the financial steps from prep to close
Selling a business runs through a fixed sequence: get the numbers ready, set a price, market to buyers, sign a letter of intent, survive diligence, sign the purchase agreement and close. What the seller's finance side does at each stage, the deal terms that decide what the seller keeps, and a worked example from headline price to cash at closing.
What virtual CFO services cover, and how they work
A virtual CFO delivers CFO work remotely: cash, forecasting, reporting, board preparation and decision support, run through shared systems and a fixed meeting calendar. What the service covers, how a remote month runs, what access it needs, and when remote delivery does not fit.
Fractional CFO vs controller: which one a company needs
A controller makes the numbers right; a fractional CFO decides what to do with them. How to tell which gap to fill first, and how the two roles split the work when a company has both.
Interim CFO cost and hourly rates: how pricing works
What an interim CFO costs depends on the term, the time commitment and how the fee is structured. How day rates, term fees and hourly billing work, how to convert any quote to an effective hourly rate, and a full-time pay benchmark from government data.
Working capital peg: how it is set and how sellers prepare
What the working capital peg is in a business sale, how buyers and sellers set it from monthly history, how the closing true-up changes the price, and what sellers should prepare.
Burn multiple: formula, worked example and what moves it
How to calculate the burn multiple consistently, with a four quarter worked example built from an ARR waterfall, what moves it, and the distortions investors look for.
Outsourced CFO services: what's included and when they fit
Outsourced CFO services cover the forward-looking finance work: cash, planning, reporting, board materials and decisions. What a typical engagement includes and excludes, the two main delivery models, and how to scope one.