Is your financial model investor-ready? 68 checks

If any of these fail, an analyst will stop trusting everything else.

• Checks tab shows MODEL OK with zero errors.

  Check in: Checks

• Balance sheet check row is zero in all 60 months.

  Check in: Balance Sheet Monthly

• Cash on the cash flow statement equals cash on the balance sheet.

  Check in: Checks

• Active scenario engine matches the main model (Checks row says OK).

  Check in: Checks

• No #REF!, #DIV/0! or #VALUE! anywhere in the file.

  Check in: All tabs

• No black (formula) cells have been typed over with numbers.

  Check in: Statements, engines

• Opening cash equals your actual bank balance today.

  Check in: Settings

• Model start date is the first month of the forecast, not a past month.

  Check in: Settings

• Scenario Selector is set to Base before you share the file.

  Check in: Scenario Selector

• Sample company names and figures are fully replaced with yours.

  Check in: All input tabs

Every yellow cell should have a source you can name in one sentence.

• Starting customers and MRR match your billing system.

  Check in: Assumptions, Unit Economics

• Price (ARPA) matches what customers actually pay today, after discounts.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Churn is based on your own data (or a stated proxy if pre-revenue).

  Check in: Assumptions, Cohort Retention

• Churn does not fall faster than you can explain.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Paid CAC is based on real campaign results and rises as you scale.

  Check in: Assumptions, CAC by Channel

• Organic growth is at or below your trailing organic growth.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Expansion assumption is supported by observed upgrades.

  Check in: Assumptions, NRR & GRR

• Payroll load matches your country's employer costs.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Tax rate is your actual corporate rate.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Every assumption outside the Benchmarks Handbook ranges has written evidence.

  Check in: Benchmarks Handbook

• The notes column explains your three most important assumptions.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Model Health Score has no RED items you can't explain.

  Check in: Model Health Score

Investors look for a mechanism, not a curve.

• Revenue is built bottom-up from spend, CAC, organic growth and churn.

  Check in: Revenue Build

• Month-on-month MRR growth never stays above ~15-20% for long.

  Check in: Revenue Build

• Year-over-year growth is ambitious but within reach (see benchmarks).

  Check in: Annual Summary

• ARR is calculated from recurring revenue only, not one-off fees.

  Check in: Revenue Build

• Revenue in month 1 is close to your current actual monthly revenue.

  Check in: P&L Monthly

• Customer count at year 3 is plausible against your market size.

  Check in: Annual Summary

• You can explain the year with the biggest jump in growth.

  Check in: Annual Summary

• Best case is clearly labelled and not presented as the plan.

  Check in: Scenario Comparison

The cost plan is where investors see your priorities.

• Every current employee and founder is on the Headcount tab.

  Check in: Headcount

• Every hire has a start month and a reason (milestone or revenue).

  Check in: Headcount

• Salaries match market rates in your hiring location.

  Check in: Headcount

• Sales hires start before the revenue they are meant to drive, with a ramp.

  Check in: Headcount, Revenue Build

• Revenue per employee rises over time.

  Check in: Annual Summary

• Gross margin is 70%+ (or the difference is explained).

  Check in: COGS

• Legal and accounting costs include fundraising costs.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Department split (S&M, R&D, G&A) matches your use of funds.

  Check in: OpEx, Use of Funds Planner

This is the section most first-time founders get wrong.

• Cash never goes negative in the Base case.

  Check in: Runway & Burn

• Round size comes from the Raise Planner, not a guess.

  Check in: Raise Planner

• The round buys 18-24 months of runway with a cash cushion.

  Check in: Raise Planner

• Equity rounds in Assumptions match the round you're raising.

  Check in: Assumptions

• Milestones at the end of the runway match what next-round investors expect.

  Check in: Raise Planner, Use of Funds

• Use of funds adds up to 100% and matches the model's spending.

  Check in: Use of Funds Planner

• You know your cash-out date in the Worst case.

  Check in: Scenario Comparison

• You have a written plan for a delayed round (what you'd cut, and when).

  Check in: Sensitivity Tables

• Burn multiple improves after the round.

  Check in: Annual Summary

• Default alive status is known and you can explain it.

  Check in: Runway & Burn

Cap table mistakes are expensive and embarrassing. Have your lawyer confirm.

• Every shareholder, SAFE and note is entered exactly as signed.

  Check in: Cap Table - all input tabs

• SAFE types (pre- or post-money), caps and discounts match the documents.

  Check in: SAFEs

• Note interest rates and dates match the documents.

  Check in: Convertible Notes

• Priced Rounds solver says Converged.

  Check in: Priced Rounds

• Option pool size and grants match board approvals.

  Check in: ESOP

• Founder vesting is documented and entered.

  Check in: Founders & Vesting

• You know founders' ownership after this round and the next.

  Check in: Fully Diluted Summary

• Pool top-up is sized to the hiring plan, not just a requested %.

  Check in: Priced Rounds, Headcount

• You have modelled the exit waterfall at a realistic exit value.

  Check in: Exit Waterfall

• Pro-rata rights of existing investors are listed.

  Check in: Pro-Rata

The numbers only help if you can explain them in under a minute.

• Deck has a projections slide built from the Annual Summary.

  Check in: Annual Summary, Charts

• Deck has an 'ask' slide: amount, runway, milestones, use of funds.

  Check in: Raise Planner, Use of Funds

• Traction metrics come from the Unit Economics Investor Snapshot.

  Check in: Investor Snapshot

• All numbers in the deck match the model exactly.

  Check in: Deck vs model

• Numbers on slides are rounded; the model is precise.

  Check in: Deck

• You've rehearsed the 10 hardest questions from the Q&A Playbook.

  Check in: Investor Q&A Playbook

• You can name your two biggest risks and their sensitivity.

  Check in: Sensitivity Tables

• The data room has the model, cap table and a one-page assumptions note.

  Check in: Investor Presentation Masterclass, Ch. 10

• The model file is named clearly with a date and version.

  Check in: File name

• A friend outside your company can follow the Annual Summary in 2 minutes.

  Check in: Annual Summary