{ "version": "1.16.0", "releasedAt": "2026-09-07", "domain": "finance", "kpis": [ { "rogueId": "finance.assumptions", "slug": "assumptions", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Financial Assumptions", "description": "Narrative listing of the key inputs the forecast rests on — growth-rate assumptions, churn assumptions, hiring plan, FX rates, expected timing of large bookings, planned price changes, capitalized-vs-expensed R&D treatment, etc. Without this field, the board cannot tell whether a forecast change reflects a real-world update or a quietly changed assumption. Common pitfall: assumptions are written once at planning and never updated when the underlying reality shifts — track explicitly which assumption changed each quarter and why. Best practice (per \"Venture Deals\" by Feld & Mendelson, and standard board-pack guidance): every material variance vs. forecast should be traceable to either an executed plan or a changed assumption.", "fieldType": "text", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "recommended", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "No calculation — free-text narrative. Convention: enumerate top 5–8 assumptions with the value used and the source (plan, observed run-rate, investor letter, board-approved hiring cap).", "whyItMatters": "Makes the forecast auditable across periods. Boards cannot challenge or endorse a number whose assumptions are invisible — and quietly changing assumptions is the single most common source of forecast drift.", "interpretationGuidance": "Flag whenever an assumption changes vs. prior period and note the reason. If the list is missing or stale (unchanged for >2 reporting cycles while reality has clearly moved), treat as a yellow flag on financial-process maturity. No published threshold for completeness — coverage is judged by whether a board member can recompute the forecast from the listed assumptions.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.forecast_notes", "finance.risk_factors", "finance.burn_rate_scenarios" ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.bank_accounts_list", "slug": "bank_accounts_list", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Bank Accounts", "description": "FX-aware enumeration of the company's bank, brokerage, and money-market accounts — each with bank name, account type, restricted flag, currency, balance, as-of date, and notes. The underlying data source for `finance.total_cash_in_bank`, `finance.total_restricted_cash`, `finance.total_unrestricted_cash`, and the FX conversion that turns multi-currency holdings into a single reporting-currency number. Common pitfall: a single forgotten account (often a legacy operational account or a money-market sweep) silently misstates the total — boards should ask for a checklist reconciliation against the prior board pack each cycle. Best practice: include account-number last-4 (not full numbers, for security) and the FX rate used per non-functional-currency account.", "fieldType": "text", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "No calculation — structured list. Sum of balances (converted via per-row FX rate) equals `finance.total_cash_in_bank`; rows flagged `restricted: true` sum to `finance.total_restricted_cash`.", "whyItMatters": "The auditable line-item basis for every aggregate cash KPI on the board pack. Without it, the headline numbers cannot be reconciled and a missing account cannot be detected.", "interpretationGuidance": "Watch for account churn (new accounts opened mid-period without commentary, accounts dropped without explanation) and FX-rate staleness (rates older than the as-of date). A growing number of accounts at growth stage is normal (multiple currencies, multiple banks); a sudden change in account count warrants a footnote.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cash_in_bank", "finance.total_restricted_cash", "finance.total_unrestricted_cash", "finance.operationally_available_cash" ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.burn_rate_actual", "slug": "burn_rate_actual", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Actual Burn Rate (Past Period)", "description": "The single past-period observed burn — gross and net — that anchors the forecast-scenario matrix. The \"we just lived through this\" baseline against which conservative / most-likely / best-case forecasts are projected. Differs from `finance.gross_burn_rate` and `finance.net_burn_rate` in being explicitly a point-in-time historical anchor with both components paired in one object, rather than the standalone monthly KPI values. Common pitfall: anchoring forecasts off a single month with a known one-off (large bill, prepayment received) bakes a distortion into all scenarios — pick a representative period or document the adjustment.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": "/month", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Paired historical observation: `{ gross: finance.gross_burn_rate_for_anchor_period, net: finance.net_burn_rate_for_anchor_period }`. The anchor period is typically the most recently closed reporting period.", "whyItMatters": "Anchors the credibility of the forecast matrix — scenarios that diverge wildly from the actual baseline without explicit drivers are not credible. Boards typically interrogate any scenario whose burn differs from actual by more than ~20% without a named driver.", "interpretationGuidance": "Cross-check the anchor against the 3-month trailing average; if they differ materially, the anchor period was atypical and the forecast may be unrealistic. Pair every anchor with a one-line note on what was one-off and how the forecast normalizes for it.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.gross_burn_rate", "finance.net_burn_rate", "finance.burn_rate_scenarios", "finance.forecast_notes" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "One representative, recently-closed anchor period's observed burn, with gross and net components paired in a single object.", "Use the most recently closed reporting period unless a known one-off makes it unrepresentative — then pick a representative period and document the choice." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Forecast or scenario values — those live in finance.burn_rate_scenarios; this line is the lived-through actual that anchors them.", "Financing flows (raises, debt) — burn is an operating metric.", "Unadjusted single-month distortions (a large bill or prepayment received) unless explicitly normalized and noted." ], "requiredInputs": [ "The anchor period's closed-actual finance.gross_burn_rate and finance.net_burn_rate.", "A one-line note on what was one-off in the anchor period and how the forecast normalizes for it." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Closed-period actuals from the same source feeding the standalone gross/net burn KPIs." ], "edgeCases": [ "If the anchor period contained a known one-off, document the adjustment rather than baking the distortion into every scenario.", "If the anchor diverges materially from the trailing-3-month average, the period was atypical and the forecast may be unrealistic." ], "validationChecks": [ "Net ≤ gross for the anchor period.", "Cross-check the anchor against the trailing-3-month average; large divergence flags an atypical anchor." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Anchoring forecasts off a single month with a known one-off — bakes the distortion into all scenarios.", "Using a forecast/budget figure as the \"actual\" anchor." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.burn_rate_scenarios", "slug": "burn_rate_scenarios", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Burn Rate Scenarios", "description": "Forecast burn-rate matrix across three scenarios — conservative (defensive cost plan, slow revenue), mostLikely (current best-estimate), bestCase (aggressive investment with strong revenue) — with gross + net burn for each. Bound to the ScenarioBurnRateMatrix widget alongside the historical `finance.burn_rate_actual` anchor. The board reads this to understand what range of cash trajectories the company is planning for and which one management has chosen as the base case. Common pitfall: the three scenarios cluster tightly (all within ±10% of each other) — that's not three scenarios, it's one scenario with rounding error. Real scenarios should reflect meaningfully different operating decisions and produce visibly different runways.", "fieldType": "text", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Structured matrix: `{ conservative: { gross, net }, mostLikely: { gross, net }, bestCase: { gross, net } }`. Each scenario's implied runway = unrestricted_cash / scenario.net.", "whyItMatters": "Forces explicit scenario thinking and surfaces the risk-adjusted range of outcomes the board should plan for — without this, the single-number forecast invites false confidence.", "interpretationGuidance": "Inspect the spread between scenarios — a conservative net burn within 10–15% of best-case usually means the team has not stress-tested its plan (industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade). Cross-check `mostLikely` against `finance.burn_rate_actual` (trailing 3 months) — divergence > ±15–20% should be footnoted with named drivers in `finance.forecast_notes`.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.burn_rate_actual", "finance.net_burn_rate", "finance.gross_burn_rate", "finance.runway_months", "finance.forecast_notes", "finance.assumptions" ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.cloud_hosting", "slug": "cloud_hosting", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Cloud / Hosting", "description": "Direct cost of cloud infrastructure, hosting, storage, and compute used to deliver the product (AWS, GCP, Azure, CDN). A cost-of-revenue line because it scales with serving customers. For infrastructure-heavy and AI products this is often the largest COGS component.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Direct cloud / hosting / compute cost of delivering the product for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A primary driver of gross margin, especially for infrastructure- and AI-heavy products.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track as a percentage of total revenue; a rising ratio signals margin pressure or unoptimized infrastructure.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cogs", "finance.gross_margin_pct" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Production cloud, hosting, storage, compute, and CDN that serves customer traffic and delivers the product — the serving portion of infrastructure.", "A cost-of-revenue line: it scales with serving customers and is often the largest COGS component for infrastructure- and AI-heavy products." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Internal developer tooling and non-production / CI infrastructure — that is finance.rd_tools_software (OpEx).", "External APIs, data providers, and model/LLM inference — broken out to finance.third_party_data.", "Company-wide corporate IT (finance.software_it)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Cloud bill split between production-serving and non-production environments.", "An allocation method for shared accounts spanning dev and prod." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Cloud-provider billing tagged by environment / cost-center.", "FinOps allocation as a fallback where tagging is incomplete." ], "edgeCases": [ "Shared dev+prod accounts need an explicit allocation between COGS and R&D.", "Reserved-instance or committed-use prepayments amortize to the period of benefit, not the payment month.", "Free-tier credits net down the cost." ], "validationChecks": [ "Track as a percentage of total revenue; a rising ratio signals margin pressure or unoptimized infrastructure.", "Feeds finance.total_cogs and finance.gross_margin_pct." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Putting all cloud spend (including dev/CI) into COGS — overstates COGS and understates R&D.", "Leaving model-inference / external-API costs here instead of finance.third_party_data, hiding the AI-margin driver." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.contractors_outsourcing", "slug": "contractors_outsourcing", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Contractors / Outsourcing", "description": "Cost of freelancers, dev shops, outsourced QA, and temporary engineering help for the period. Often used to flex capacity without permanent headcount.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "External / contract R&D labor cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A flexible-capacity lever; sustained high spend can signal an under-hired team.", "interpretationGuidance": "Persistent large contractor spend often warrants a build-vs-hire discussion at the board.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_rnd", "finance.rd_payroll" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "External / contract R&D labor for the period — freelancers, dev shops, outsourced QA, and temporary engineering help used to flex capacity without permanent headcount." ], "exclusionRules": [ "W-2 employee payroll (finance.rd_payroll / finance.product_design_payroll).", "Non-R&D contractors (a marketing agency belongs in finance.other_sm; outside bookkeeping in finance.legal_accounting_professional).", "Staffing-agency placement fees for permanent hires (finance.recruiting)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Contractor/vendor invoices for R&D labor.", "1099-vs-W-2 (contractor-vs-employee) classification." ], "edgeCases": [ "A long-term contractor effectively functioning as staff raises classification and co-employment considerations — flag it.", "Used to flex capacity around delivery spikes." ], "validationChecks": [ "Sustained large contractor spend can signal an under-hired team (a build-vs-hire discussion).", "Rolls into finance.total_rnd — part of the same R&D pool as rd_payroll; do not double-count against product.rd_monthly_spend." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Classifying contractors as employee payroll (or vice versa) — distorts the employee-vs-contractor mix the board reads.", "Double-counting contractor spend against the product.rd_monthly_spend roll-up." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.cs_payroll", "slug": "cs_payroll", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "CS Payroll", "description": "Fully-loaded compensation for customer success managers, onboarding, and account management (where not sales-owned) for the period. The retention/expansion-oriented people cost, distinct from cost-of-revenue support.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Fully-loaded customer-success personnel cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "The investment behind retention and expansion; pairs with NRR.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read against NRR/GRR — CS spend that is not moving retention warrants scrutiny.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cs", "customers.net_revenue_retention" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Fully-loaded compensation for customer success managers, onboarding, and account management oriented to retention and expansion (where not sales-owned)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "COGS-classified support and delivery (finance.customer_support_delivery).", "Sales (finance.sales_payroll) and CS tooling (finance.cs_tools_software)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "CS roster with fully-loaded cost.", "The classification rule separating COGS support from OpEx success." ], "edgeCases": [ "A CSM doing both front-line support (COGS) and expansion (OpEx) is allocated by time across the two lines." ], "validationChecks": [ "Read against customers.net_revenue_retention / GRR — CS spend not moving retention warrants scrutiny.", "Rolls into finance.total_cs; distinct from finance.customer_support_delivery — the same human cannot be fully in both." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Double-counting a person in cs_payroll and customer_support_delivery.", "Classifying all customer-facing staff as OpEx — overstates gross margin." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.cs_tools_software", "slug": "cs_tools_software", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "CS Tools / Software", "description": "Cost of customer-success tooling for the period — customer-health platforms, support/ticketing, chat, and onboarding tools.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Customer-success tools / software subscriptions for the period.", "whyItMatters": "The tooling overhead of the retention motion.", "interpretationGuidance": "Scales with customer count; watch for overlap with support tooling in COGS.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cs" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Customer-success tooling — customer-health platforms, support/ticketing, chat, and onboarding tools." ], "exclusionRules": [ "COGS support infrastructure that is a delivery cost (finance.customer_support_delivery).", "GTM sales tools (finance.sm_tools_software) and company-wide IT (finance.software_it)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "The CS SaaS-subscription list." ], "edgeCases": [ "A support tool spanning COGS delivery and OpEx CS is allocated." ], "validationChecks": [ "Scales with customer count; watch for overlap with support tooling in COGS; rolls into finance.total_cs." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Double-counting a support tool in COGS and CS OpEx." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.current_asset_adjustments", "slug": "current_asset_adjustments", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Current Asset Adjustments", "description": "Signed cash effect of period-over-period changes in current assets — accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, deposits, and other short-term assets. Positive when assets are converting back to cash (AR collections, prepaid expenses being consumed); negative when assets are growing and absorbing cash (AR balance up, new prepayments made). Half of the `finance.net_working_capital_adjustment` rollup. Common pitfall: a one-off enterprise prepayment to a vendor (e.g. 12-month infra commit) shows up here as a large negative without the P&L showing the cost yet — flag it explicitly so the board does not read deterioration where there is none.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "-(Δ accounts_receivable + Δ prepaid_expenses + Δ other_current_assets) for the period. The negative sign converts the balance-sheet direction (asset increase = cash decrease) into a signed cash adjustment.", "whyItMatters": "Surfaces the cash impact of growing receivables and prepayments separately from operating spend — important when DSO is moving or large prepaid commitments are taken.", "interpretationGuidance": "A sustained negative trend usually means AR is growing faster than collections (DSO lengthening) — pair with sales-side bookings and ARR to confirm. Industry folk-wisdom (not citation-grade): the cash drag from a growing AR book typically peaks late in the year when annual contracts billed in Q4 land as Q1 receipts.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.current_liability_adjustments", "finance.net_working_capital_adjustment", "finance.operationally_available_cash", "finance.working_capital_adjustments_list" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "The signed cash effect of period-over-period changes in current assets — accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, deposits, and other short-term assets.", "Sign convention: −(Δ AR + Δ prepaid + Δ other current assets). Positive when assets convert back to cash (AR collected, prepaids consumed); negative when assets grow and absorb cash." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Non-current / long-term assets — this is a working-capital (current) line only.", "The current-liability side — that is finance.current_liability_adjustments.", "P&L expense recognition — this is a cash-timing adjustment, not an expense." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Opening and closing current-asset balances by component (AR, prepaid, deposits, other).", "A flag for large one-off prepayments (e.g. a 12-month infra commit) so the negative is not misread." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Comparative balance sheets, period-over-period.", "AR aging for the receivables component." ], "edgeCases": [ "A one-off large vendor prepayment shows a big negative here before the P&L shows the cost — flag it explicitly.", "A sustained negative trend usually means AR is growing faster than collections (DSO lengthening)." ], "validationChecks": [ "Sign convention holds: an asset increase produces a negative cash adjustment.", "Rolls into finance.net_working_capital_adjustment together with the liability side." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Sign flip — treating an asset increase as a cash inflow.", "Reading a prepayment-driven negative as operating deterioration when no cost has hit the P&L yet." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.current_liability_adjustments", "slug": "current_liability_adjustments", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Current Liability Adjustments", "description": "Signed cash effect of period-over-period changes in current liabilities — accounts payable, accrued payroll/taxes/bonuses, deferred revenue from customer prepayments, and other short-term liabilities. Positive when liabilities grow and absorb less cash than the matched expense suggests (e.g. AP balance growing means vendor cash payments lag); negative when liabilities are being paid down faster than they accrue. Deferred revenue is the most powerful component in SaaS — a large annual prepayment received increases deferred revenue and supplies cash now against expense recognized later. Common pitfall: a board reading this as straight cash improvement misses that deferred revenue must still be earned out, and a stretched AP balance signals supplier strain. Best practice: footnote large components (deferred revenue, accrued bonus) separately.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "+(Δ accounts_payable + Δ accrued_liabilities + Δ deferred_revenue + Δ other_current_liabilities) for the period. Liability increase = cash supplied, so positive sign.", "whyItMatters": "Captures the cash benefit (or drag) of working-capital liability movements — deferred revenue inflows in particular can mask underlying cash burn at SaaS companies that book annual upfront.", "interpretationGuidance": "A sustained positive trend driven by AP growth (not deferred revenue) is a yellow flag — it means the company is funding itself by lengthening supplier payment cycles. A surge driven by deferred revenue (annual contract closes) is a one-time cash benefit that doesn't recur. Separate the components in commentary.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.current_asset_adjustments", "finance.net_working_capital_adjustment", "finance.operationally_available_cash", "finance.working_capital_adjustments_list" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "The signed cash effect of period-over-period changes in current liabilities — accounts payable, accrued payroll/taxes/bonuses, deferred revenue, and other short-term liabilities.", "Sign convention: +(Δ AP + Δ accrued + Δ deferred revenue + Δ other current liabilities). A liability increase supplies cash, so it is positive." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Long-term / non-current liabilities and debt principal — those are financing, not working capital.", "The current-asset side — that is finance.current_asset_adjustments.", "P&L expense recognition — this is a cash-timing adjustment." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Opening and closing current-liability balances by component.", "Deferred-revenue schedule and accrued-bonus balance, footnoted separately because they behave very differently." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Comparative balance sheets, period-over-period.", "AP aging and the deferred-revenue rollforward for the key components." ], "edgeCases": [ "A deferred-revenue surge from an annual contract close is a one-time cash benefit that must still be earned out — not a recurring improvement.", "A positive trend driven by AP growth (not deferred revenue) signals the company is funding itself by stretching supplier payment cycles — a yellow flag." ], "validationChecks": [ "Sign convention holds: a liability increase produces a positive cash adjustment.", "Separate the deferred-revenue driver from the AP driver in commentary — they tell opposite stories." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Reading AP-stretch (delayed supplier payment) as a healthy cash improvement.", "Treating deferred-revenue cash as already earned rather than an obligation to deliver." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.customer_support_delivery", "slug": "customer_support_delivery", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Customer Support & Delivery", "description": "Direct cost of supporting and serving customers that is part of cost-of-revenue (front-line support, delivery operations tied to the product). Distinct from the Customer Success OpEx section, which covers retention/expansion-oriented account management.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Direct cost of serving/supporting customers included in cost of revenue.", "whyItMatters": "Captures the service cost embedded in gross margin, separate from go-to-market CS.", "interpretationGuidance": "If this scales linearly with customers, it caps gross margin; automation should bend the curve over time.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cogs" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Front-line support and delivery operations that are part of serving the product, classified into cost of revenue (support reps, delivery ops tied to the product)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Retention/expansion-oriented Customer Success account management — that is finance.cs_payroll (OpEx, finance.total_cs).", "Sales and go-to-market functions." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Support/delivery headcount cost classified to COGS.", "A time-allocation basis for individuals who split between COGS support and OpEx success." ], "edgeCases": [ "A person who both supports (COGS) and drives expansion (OpEx CS) must be allocated by time across the two lines.", "Automation should bend the per-customer support cost curve over time." ], "validationChecks": [ "If this scales linearly with customer count it caps gross margin.", "Distinct from finance.cs_payroll — the same person cannot sit fully in both without an allocation." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Double-counting the same person in customer_support_delivery (COGS) and cs_payroll (OpEx).", "Classifying all customer-facing staff as COGS (overstates COGS) or all as OpEx (overstates gross margin)." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.depreciation_amortization", "slug": "depreciation_amortization", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Depreciation & Amortization", "description": "Non-cash expense allocating the cost of capitalized assets (equipment, capitalized software, intangibles) over their useful life for the period. Below the EBITDA line precisely because EBITDA excludes it; usually small for early-stage software companies.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Non-cash depreciation + amortization expense for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Bridges EBITDA to net income; non-cash, so it affects accounting profit but not burn.", "interpretationGuidance": "Typically immaterial for asset-light software companies; flag if it becomes large (capitalized software/assets).", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.ebitda", "finance.net_income" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Non-cash expense allocating the cost of capitalized assets (equipment, capitalized software, intangibles) over their useful life for the period.", "Sits below the EBITDA line precisely because EBITDA excludes it." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Cash capex — that is an investing outflow, not this line.", "Stock-based compensation — a separate non-cash item.", "Operating-lease cash rent (finance.office_facilities), though ROU-asset amortization under ASC 842 may appear here — state the convention." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Fixed-asset and intangibles register with depreciation schedules and capitalized-software amortization." ], "edgeCases": [ "Typically immaterial for asset-light software companies; large only with capitalized software, equipment, or acquired intangibles." ], "validationChecks": [ "Non-cash — it affects accounting profit and the EBITDA-to-net-income bridge, NOT burn or operating outflow.", "Reconcile to the fixed-asset rollforward." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Including D&A in burn or operating outflow — it is non-cash.", "Confusing cash capex with the D&A expense." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.ebitda", "slug": "ebitda", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "EBITDA", "description": "Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the period — gross profit minus total operating expense. The core operating result for a startup P&L: the clean view of operating profit or loss before non-operating and non-cash effects.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "ebitda = gross_profit − total_opex.", "whyItMatters": "The headline operating-result line the board reads for profitability/loss before financing and accounting effects.", "interpretationGuidance": "Trend toward break-even is the key read; pair with burn and runway for the cash picture (EBITDA is accrual, not cash).", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.gross_profit", "finance.total_opex", "finance.net_burn_rate", "finance.runway_months" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.events_conferences", "slug": "events_conferences", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Events / Conferences", "description": "Cost of conferences, booths, sponsorships, and event-linked travel for the period. Often lumpy quarter to quarter around event calendars.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Event / conference / sponsorship spend for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A material, lumpy GTM line worth isolating so it does not distort the marketing trend.", "interpretationGuidance": "Expect seasonality around major events; flag the timing when comparing periods.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_sm" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Conference fees, booths, sponsorships, and event-linked travel for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Routine non-event travel (finance.travel_entertainment) and paid digital media (finance.paid_marketing).", "Event-staff compensation (marketing/sales payroll)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Event invoices and the travel linked to each event." ], "edgeCases": [ "Lumpy and seasonal around event calendars; prepaid sponsorships amortize to the event period." ], "validationChecks": [ "Isolate it so it does not distort the underlying marketing trend; rolls into finance.total_sm." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Leaving event spikes inside the paid_marketing trend.", "Double-counting event travel in finance.travel_entertainment." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.forecast_notes", "slug": "forecast_notes", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Forecast Commentary", "description": "Executive narrative on what the latest forecast says and how it has changed since prior reporting — which scenarios were considered, which was picked as \"most likely\" and why, what changed since last quarter, and what would push the forecast into a different scenario. Pairs with `finance.burn_rate_scenarios` (the numeric scenarios) to provide the qualitative \"why\" beside the quantitative \"what\". Common pitfall: this becomes a restatement of the numbers rather than commentary — every paragraph should add interpretation the numbers do not by themselves convey (drivers, decisions taken, decisions deferred).", "fieldType": "text", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "recommended", "seed": "recommended", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "No calculation — narrative commentary. Convention: cover (1) selected scenario and rationale, (2) deltas vs. prior forecast with reasons, (3) trigger conditions that would move the forecast.", "whyItMatters": "Gives the board the interpretation layer that raw scenario numbers lack — without it, the burn-rate-scenarios table is data without meaning. Disciplined commentary also creates a record of management's rationale that can be re-examined when reality plays out.", "interpretationGuidance": "Compare commentary across periods — if the rationale shifts without the underlying numbers shifting, the team is rationalizing rather than analyzing. If numbers shift without the rationale acknowledging it, controls maturity is the concern. Length is not a quality signal; concrete drivers and named triggers are.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.assumptions", "finance.burn_rate_scenarios", "finance.burn_rate_actual", "finance.risk_factors" ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.fx_gain_loss", "slug": "fx_gain_loss", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "FX Gain / Loss", "description": "Foreign-exchange gain (positive) or loss (negative) for the period from revaluing non-functional-currency balances and transactions. A SIGNED line; relevant for companies holding cash or transacting in multiple currencies.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Signed FX gain (positive) / loss (negative) for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Can swing net income for multi-currency companies even when operations are stable.", "interpretationGuidance": "Enter signed: gain positive, loss negative. Large swings should be footnoted as FX, not operating, effects.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.net_income" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "SIGNED realized and unrealized foreign-exchange gain (positive) or loss (negative) from revaluing non-functional-currency balances and transactions for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Foreign-currency operating revenue/expense translated at the transaction date — that hits the operating lines, not here.", "Interest (finance.interest_income_expense)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Multi-currency balances with period-end rates, and realized FX on settled transactions." ], "edgeCases": [ "Large swings should be footnoted as FX, not operating, effects.", "The functional-currency designation determines what revalues." ], "validationChecks": [ "Enter signed: gain positive, loss negative.", "Exclude from burn and operating reads when material — it is a revaluation effect, not operations." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Leaving FX swings inside the operating lines — distorts the operating trend.", "Sign errors on a loss." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.ga_payroll", "slug": "ga_payroll", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "G&A Payroll", "description": "Fully-loaded compensation for finance, HR, operations, admin, and executive/admin allocation for the period. The people cost of running the company.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Fully-loaded G&A personnel cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Overhead that should grow slower than revenue as the company scales.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track as a percentage of revenue; the ratio should trend down with scale.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Fully-loaded compensation for finance, HR, operations, admin, and the executive/admin allocation (employees)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Revenue-generating functions (sales, CS, marketing payroll) and R&D.", "Outsourced recruiter fees (finance.recruiting) and founder time allocated to building product (R&D)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "G&A roster with fully-loaded cost.", "The executive-time allocation method across functions." ], "validationChecks": [ "Track as a percentage of revenue — the ratio should trend down with scale; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Dumping all unclassified headcount into G&A.", "Allocating founder engineering time to G&A instead of R&D." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.gross_burn_rate", "slug": "gross_burn_rate", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Gross Burn Rate", "description": "Average monthly cash outflow before any inflows are netted off — essentially the company's monthly cost base in cash terms. Tracked alongside net burn because net burn alone can mask a structural problem when revenue is masking high cost. The board reads gross burn to understand the absolute cost commitment (mostly payroll, infra, COGS, sales spend) regardless of revenue mix. Common pitfall: founders often optimize the net burn narrative (\"we cut burn 30%\") via a one-time inflow without addressing the gross-burn cost base — the next quarter without that inflow re-exposes the underlying spend. Always present gross and net side-by-side.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": "/month", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "recommended", "seed": "recommended", "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "gross_burn_rate = total_operational_outflow / months_in_period. Same denominator and averaging convention as net burn (3-month trailing average is standard). Always greater than or equal to net burn.", "whyItMatters": "Strips revenue volatility from the survival picture — shows the cost commitment the company must support each month regardless of bookings outcomes. A widening gap between gross and net burn that depends on a single deal or one-off inflow is a fragility signal.", "interpretationGuidance": "Compare gross-burn composition (payroll, infra, GTM, COGS) to revenue mix; sustained gross burn growing faster than ARR is a leading deterioration signal even when net burn looks flat. No single published gross-burn threshold exists — interpret relative to ARR and revenue per FTE (`hr.arr_per_fte`). Practitioner consensus (industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade): payroll typically accounts for 65–80% of gross burn in venture-backed SaaS.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.net_burn_rate", "finance.burn_rate_actual", "finance.total_operational_outflow", "finance.runway_months", "hr.arr_per_fte", "sales.arr" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "All cash outflow from operations — payroll, benefits, infra, GTM, COGS, G&A, taxes paid, professional fees, software. No netting of inflows.", "Divide by months in period. Use the same trailing-3-month smoothing as net burn for direct comparability.", "Result is always positive (or zero in the degenerate case of a brand-new entity)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Financing outflows: debt repayments, equity buybacks, dividend payments. Gross burn is an operating metric.", "M&A outflows (acquisition consideration, transaction fees). Flag separately.", "Non-cash expenses: D&A, stock-based compensation, accrued-but-unpaid items.", "Cash inflows of any kind — gross burn is outflow-only by definition." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Period-by-period total operational outflow.", "Period length and smoothing window.", "Optional: outflow composition breakdown (payroll / infra / GTM / G&A) for narrative." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Cash-basis P&L outflow lines.", "Accrual P&L with non-cash items removed (D&A, SBC, accruals)." ], "edgeCases": [ "Annual employer-tax payment cycles cause a 1–2-month outflow spike (typically Jan/Apr in the US). Smoothing window handles this if applied; if not, footnote it.", "Lumpy annual SaaS / infra prepayments (insurance, software renewals) spike outflow in their month. Same handling as employer-tax: smooth or footnote.", "Layoff severance: one-time outflow that can be 2-3x a normal month. ALWAYS flag as one-off and present a \"normalized gross burn\" alongside." ], "validationChecks": [ "Gross burn ≥ net burn always. If gross < net, the inflow side has crossed into the outflow accidentally.", "Payroll typically accounts for 65–80% of gross burn in venture-backed SaaS (industry consensus). Materially outside this band invites a composition narrative.", "Gross burn ÷ ARR provides a cost-coverage view; sustained growth in this ratio while ARR flatlines is a leading deterioration signal." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Subtracting any inflow — converts gross burn into net burn and erases the metric's purpose.", "Including financing outflows (debt repayment, buybacks) — makes \"operating cost base\" look higher than it is.", "Counting SBC or D&A as gross burn — these are accounting, not cash.", "Failing to flag severance / restructuring as one-off — a layoff month produces a gross-burn spike that mis-reads as a structural cost expansion." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.gross_margin_pct", "slug": "gross_margin_pct", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Gross Margin %", "description": "Gross profit as a percentage of total revenue for the period — the headline quality-of-revenue and delivery-efficiency metric. Expressed 0–100. The P&L-statement margin computed from the revenue/COGS split; complements the GTM-level `sales.gross_margin`.", "fieldType": "percentage", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "gross_margin_pct = (gross_profit / total_revenue) × 100.", "whyItMatters": "Signals revenue quality and how much each revenue dollar contributes to covering OpEx.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read the trend and the mix behind it: a services- or usage-heavy period typically lowers blended margin. Benchmark against the company’s own plan; external SaaS benchmarks vary by model (pull a current source rather than assuming a fixed band).", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.gross_profit", "finance.total_revenue", "sales.gross_margin" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.gross_profit", "slug": "gross_profit", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Gross Profit", "description": "Total revenue minus total cost of revenue for the period — the profit left to fund operating expenses. The dollar complement to gross margin and the starting point for the operating-result section.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "gross_profit = total_revenue − total_cogs.", "whyItMatters": "The dollars available to cover OpEx — the bridge from revenue to operating result.", "interpretationGuidance": "Growing gross profit faster than OpEx is the path to EBITDA; read with `finance.gross_margin_pct` for quality.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_revenue", "finance.total_cogs", "finance.gross_margin_pct" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.insurance_compliance", "slug": "insurance_compliance", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Insurance / Compliance", "description": "Cost of D&O and cyber insurance, SOC 2, and regulatory compliance for the period. Rises with company size, customer requirements, and financing stage.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Insurance & compliance cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A step-fixed cost driven by stage, customer requirements, and risk posture.", "interpretationGuidance": "Expect step-ups at financings and enterprise-customer thresholds (e.g. SOC 2).", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "D&O, cyber, and general insurance premiums; SOC 2 / ISO audits; and regulatory-compliance costs for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Legal and accounting professional fees (finance.legal_accounting_professional).", "Employee health/benefits, which are loaded into the payroll lines." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Insurance premium schedule (often annual — amortize) and compliance-audit invoices." ], "edgeCases": [ "Step-ups at financings and at enterprise-customer thresholds (e.g. SOC 2).", "Annual premiums amortize monthly rather than expensing in one month." ], "validationChecks": [ "A step-fixed cost driven by stage, customer requirements, and risk posture; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Classifying employee health insurance here instead of loaded payroll.", "Expensing an annual premium in a single month." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.interest_income_expense", "slug": "interest_income_expense", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Interest Income / Expense", "description": "Net interest for the period as a SIGNED line: interest earned on cash/deposits (positive) net of interest paid on loans, venture debt, or other financing (negative). For cash-rich post-raise companies this is often net positive income.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Signed net interest: interest income − interest expense for the period (positive = net income).", "whyItMatters": "Surfaces financing effects below the operating line; meaningful for companies with venture debt or large cash balances.", "interpretationGuidance": "Enter signed: net interest income positive, net interest expense negative. Material venture-debt interest should be footnoted.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.net_income", "finance.total_cash_in_bank" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "SIGNED net interest for the period: interest earned on cash, deposits, and money-market balances (positive) net of interest paid on loans, venture debt, or other financing (negative)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Debt principal movements — those are financing cash flows, not P&L interest.", "FX revaluation on those balances (finance.fx_gain_loss).", "Operating revenue." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Treasury interest-income statements and debt schedules with interest expense." ], "edgeCases": [ "Cash-rich post-raise companies are often net-positive here.", "Material venture-debt interest should be footnoted." ], "validationChecks": [ "Enter signed: net interest income positive, net interest expense negative.", "Sits below the operating line on the path to net income." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Sign errors flipping income and expense.", "Netting debt principal repayment into interest, or classifying interest income as operating inflow." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.legal_accounting_professional", "slug": "legal_accounting_professional", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Legal, Accounting & Professional Services", "description": "Cost of legal, accounting, audit, tax, fractional CFO, and outside consultants for the period. Often spikes around financings, audits, and major contracts.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Legal / accounting / professional-services fees for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A lumpy overhead line; spikes usually map to financing or compliance events.", "interpretationGuidance": "Footnote one-off drivers (a raise, an audit) so the board reads the trend, not the spike.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Legal, accounting, audit, tax-preparation, fractional-CFO, and outside-consultant fees for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "In-house finance/legal staff compensation (finance.ga_payroll).", "Insurance and compliance certifications (finance.insurance_compliance) and recruiting agencies (finance.recruiting)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Professional-services invoices, with financing/audit-driven spikes flagged." ], "edgeCases": [ "Spikes around financings, audits, and major contracts — footnote the one-off driver." ], "validationChecks": [ "Lumpy line — read the trend, not the spike; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Treating a financing-driven legal spike as run-rate.", "Classifying SOC 2 / insurance certifications here instead of finance.insurance_compliance." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.marketing_payroll", "slug": "marketing_payroll", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Marketing Payroll", "description": "Fully-loaded compensation for marketing leadership, demand generation, content, and growth for the period.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Fully-loaded marketing personnel cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "The people cost of demand generation, distinct from paid media spend.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read alongside paid marketing to understand the people-vs-media split of GTM spend.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_sm", "finance.paid_marketing" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Fully-loaded compensation for marketing leadership, demand generation, content, and growth (employees)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Paid media spend (finance.paid_marketing) and marketing tooling (finance.sm_tools_software).", "Marketing agencies/contractors and sales staff (finance.sales_payroll)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Marketing roster with fully-loaded cost." ], "validationChecks": [ "Read alongside finance.paid_marketing to see the people-vs-media split of GTM spend; rolls into finance.total_sm." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Mixing agency/contractor spend into payroll.", "Conflating media spend with people cost." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.net_burn_rate", "slug": "net_burn_rate", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Net Burn Rate", "description": "Average monthly net cash outflow over the reporting period — total cash spent minus total cash collected, divided by the number of months in the period. The headline survival number for venture-backed startups: it pairs with `finance.total_cash_in_bank` to produce runway, and pairs with revenue growth to produce the Bessemer \"burn multiple\". Common pitfall: net burn is volatile — large quarterly bills (annual SaaS renewals, employer-tax true-ups), enterprise prepayments, and FX swings can mask the underlying trend. Smoothing over a trailing 3-month average is standard board practice. Equally important: do not silently include one-off cash events (acquisitions, settlements, large prepayments received) without flagging them — boards prefer a \"core burn\" and \"headline burn\" pair when the period is noisy.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": "/month", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "net_burn_rate = (total_operational_outflow − total_operational_inflow) / months_in_period. Most boards average over a trailing 3 months to dampen lumpy items; flag the methodology explicitly. When net burn is negative, the company is net-cash-generative for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Single most-watched metric below revenue at venture-backed companies — drives runway, valuation reads (via the burn multiple), and the calculus on when to fundraise vs. cut.", "interpretationGuidance": "Compare against the company's own forecast first (`finance.burn_rate_scenarios`); deviation > ±15–20% from the most-likely scenario typically warrants a board note (industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade). Stage-level industry context: per the SaaS Capital 2025 Spending Benchmarks for Private B2B SaaS Companies, total median spend runs ~95% of ARR for bootstrapped and ~107% of ARR for equity-backed private SaaS, with 55% of equity-backed companies operating at a loss. For burn-multiple framing (net burn ÷ net new ARR), Series A medians sit near 1.2x and growth-stage companies above $25M ARR target ~1.4x with best performers below 1.0x (per cited 2025 industry analyses; pull the live edition to confirm).", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.gross_burn_rate", "finance.runway_months", "finance.total_cash_in_bank", "finance.burn_rate_actual", "finance.burn_rate_scenarios", "finance.total_operational_inflow", "finance.total_operational_outflow", "sales.arr" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Total cash outflow from operations over the period: payroll + benefits, infrastructure, GTM spend (S&M programs + tooling), COGS, G&A, professional fees, software, taxes.", "Subtract total cash inflow from operations: invoiced revenue collected, customer prepayments received, refunds received.", "Divide the net by the number of months in the period to produce a monthly rate.", "Standard board practice is a trailing-3-month average to dampen single-month lumpiness — state the smoothing window explicitly in any output." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Financing activities: equity raises, venture debt drawdowns, debt repayments. Burn is an operating metric.", "Acquisitions, divestitures, and other M&A cash movements. Flag as one-off, do not net into burn.", "Pure FX revaluation gains/losses on cash balances (when material).", "Stock-based compensation expense — it is not cash." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Period-by-period total operational outflow (`finance.total_operational_outflow`).", "Period-by-period total operational inflow (`finance.total_operational_inflow`).", "Period length and smoothing window (e.g. trailing-3-month).", "Flagged list of known one-off items in the period (large enterprise prepayments received, annual SaaS bills paid, true-ups)." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Cash-basis P&L for the period (closes faster than accrual; better matches \"burn\").", "Accrual P&L with a working-capital reconciliation as a fallback — net out non-cash items explicitly." ], "edgeCases": [ "Cash-flow-positive periods: net burn goes negative. Present as \"net cash generation\" rather than \"negative burn\" to avoid misreading.", "Annual SaaS prepayment from a large customer hits in one month: spike the inflow that month and net burn looks artificially good. Boards prefer a \"core burn excluding one-offs\" companion line.", "Employer-tax true-ups (typically Jan/Apr in the US): a single-month outflow up to 30-50% above run-rate. Note the calendar effect in commentary.", "FX swings on a foreign payroll: significant when the period spans currency volatility — break out the FX impact when material." ], "validationChecks": [ "Net burn ≤ gross burn always. If net > gross, the inflow definition is wrong (likely double-counting or including financing inflows).", "Sum of monthly net-burn numbers should reconcile to period-net-burn × months within 1-2%. Larger drift means smoothing is being misapplied.", "Net burn ÷ ARR (burn multiple) should sit within stage-typical bands — out-of-band burn multiple is more often a calculation error than a real outlier." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Using accrual-basis operating expenses without removing non-cash items (D&A, SBC, accrued-but-unpaid expense) — overstates burn.", "Netting in equity raise proceeds or venture debt — turns a fundraising month into \"negative burn\" and lies about run-rate spend.", "Spot-month burn instead of a trailing average — a single noisy month becomes the headline number and runway swings wildly.", "Silently including one-off prepayments or M&A consideration — boards want \"core\" and \"headline\" separated; collapsing them hides the trend.", "Counting refunds issued as part of the outflow but not refunds received in the inflow (or vice versa) — sign-mismatch errors are surprisingly common when refunds are large." ], "validationAssertions": [ { "assert": "result <= finance.gross_burn_rate", "severity": "error", "message": "Net burn ≤ gross burn always — net burn is gross burn minus operating inflows. If net > gross, the inflow definition is wrong (double-counting or financing inflows).", "refs": [ "finance.gross_burn_rate" ] } ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "computed" }, "dependencies": [ { "kpi": "finance.gross_burn_rate", "edge": "computesFrom" } ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.net_income", "slug": "net_income", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Net Income / Loss", "description": "The accounting bottom line for the period — EBITDA less depreciation & amortization and tax, plus the signed interest and FX lines. The final result of the income statement. Distinct from cash burn (an accrual figure, not a cash-flow measure).", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "net_income = ebitda − depreciation_amortization + interest_income_expense − tax + fx_gain_loss (interest and FX are signed inputs).", "whyItMatters": "The statutory bottom line; read alongside burn/runway, since net income is accrual and does not equal cash consumed.", "interpretationGuidance": "For startups, burn and runway usually matter more than net income — but a widening accrual loss is still a board signal. Reconcile to burn via the working-capital and non-cash lines.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.ebitda", "finance.depreciation_amortization", "finance.interest_income_expense", "finance.tax", "finance.fx_gain_loss", "finance.net_burn_rate" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.net_working_capital_adjustment", "slug": "net_working_capital_adjustment", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Net Working Capital Adjustment", "description": "Signed net effect on cash of changes in current assets and current liabilities — receivables coming in (positive), payables going out (negative), prepaid expenses (negative when paid, positive when burned down), and accrued liabilities (positive when accrued, negative when settled). The rollup of `finance.current_asset_adjustments` and `finance.current_liability_adjustments`. Common pitfall: at early stage this is dominated by payroll-cycle noise and is near zero — once the company adds enterprise contracts with annual prepayments or 60-day net terms, this can swing 1–3 months of burn either direction. Becomes material at Series A+; ignored before that.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "net_working_capital_adjustment = current_asset_adjustments + current_liability_adjustments (signed). Positive value means working capital is releasing cash; negative means working capital is consuming cash beyond what the P&L shows.", "whyItMatters": "Bridges the gap between accrual-basis P&L and cash-basis runway. A board reading the P&L alone can miss a working-capital headwind that is materially shortening runway.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track period-over-period: a multi-period negative trend (working capital absorbing cash) usually means DSO is lengthening or supplier terms are tightening — both warrant a board note. No published threshold exists for \"good\" magnitude — it scales with revenue and contract mix.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.current_asset_adjustments", "finance.current_liability_adjustments", "finance.operationally_available_cash", "finance.working_capital_adjustments_list" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_change_in_net_assets", "slug": "np_change_in_net_assets", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Change in Net Assets", "description": "The bottom line of the Statement of Activities — total support and revenue less total functional expenses for the period. The nonprofit analogue of net income, and deliberately NOT called a surplus or a profit: a positive change funds reserves and future programme, it is not a return to anybody.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-205 (change in net assets)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "change_in_net_assets = total_support_revenue − total_functional_expenses.", "whyItMatters": "The period result the board is accountable for, and the line that connects the statement to the operating reserve.", "interpretationGuidance": "A planned deficit spending down a restricted award is a different result from an unplanned one; the statement cannot tell them apart, so the narrative must.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_total_functional_expenses", "finance.runway_months" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_corporate_support", "slug": "np_corporate_support", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Corporate & Sponsorship Support", "description": "Corporate philanthropy, workplace giving and event or programme sponsorship recognized in the period. Separated from individual giving because it is relationship-driven and renews on a corporate budget cycle rather than a donor one.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Development" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-605 (contributions received)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Corporate contributions and the contribution portion of sponsorships recognized in the period. The exchange portion of a sponsorship belongs in programme service fees.", "whyItMatters": "Often the support a board itself is asked to open doors for, which makes it the line directors are most directly accountable for.", "interpretationGuidance": "A small number of large sponsors is normal; track how many of the top relationships renewed rather than only the total.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_special_events_net" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar", "slug": "np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Cost to Raise a Dollar", "description": "Fundraising expense divided by contributed support for the period — what it cost, in currency, to bring in one unit of contributed revenue. The fundraising counterpart to the programme expense ratio, and the honest answer to \"why is fundraising expense so high\": because it raised this.", "fieldType": "number", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Development" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "cost_to_raise_a_dollar = fundraising_expense ÷ (individual_contributions + foundation_grants + corporate_support + special_events_net). Government funding and earned programme fees are excluded — they are not raised by fundraising.", "whyItMatters": "Turns fundraising expense from a cost to be minimised into an investment with a measurable return.", "interpretationGuidance": "A ratio is only comparable against the same organisation over time; channel mix moves it far more than performance does — a major-gifts year is cheap, an acquisition year is not. NEVER aggregate across periods: recompute it for the longer period from its base lines.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_fundraising_expense", "finance.np_individual_contributions", "finance.np_foundation_grants", "finance.np_corporate_support", "finance.np_special_events_net" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_foundation_grants", "slug": "np_foundation_grants", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Foundation Grants", "description": "Grant revenue from private, community and family foundations recognized in the period. Kept separate from individual giving because foundation support is typically restricted to a programme and to a term, so a strong year can carry commitments that do not renew.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Development" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-605 (contributions received)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Foundation grant revenue recognized in the period. A conditional grant is recognized as the barrier is overcome, not when awarded.", "whyItMatters": "Concentration here is the classic nonprofit going-concern risk: a single foundation ending a multi-year grant can remove a programme.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read alongside the grants portfolio on the board’s historical-fundraising record, which carries award terms and end dates this single period figure cannot show.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_government_funding" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_fundraising_expense", "slug": "np_fundraising_expense", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Fundraising", "description": "Expense of raising contributed support in the period — development staff, donor communications, event production labour, grant writing and prospect research. The third FASB functional class. Direct benefit costs of a special event are NOT here; they net against the event revenue line.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Development" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-720 (functional expense classification)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Expenses allocated to fundraising activity for the period, excluding the direct benefit costs netted against special-event revenue.", "whyItMatters": "The investment side of the contributed-revenue equation — read on its own it looks like overhead, read against what it raised it is a return.", "interpretationGuidance": "Pair with `finance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar`; cutting fundraising expense reliably improves the programme ratio and reliably shrinks the organisation.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_functional_expenses", "finance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar", "finance.np_individual_contributions" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_government_funding", "slug": "np_government_funding", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Government Grants & Contracts", "description": "Revenue from federal, state, county and municipal grants and fee-for-service contracts recognized in the period. Distinct from foundation grants because government funding is usually cost-reimbursement — it is earned by delivering and then invoicing, which makes it a working-capital consumer even when the award is secure.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Programs" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-605 (conditional contributions)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Government grant and contract revenue recognized in the period, on the cost-reimbursement or performance basis the award specifies.", "whyItMatters": "Reimbursement lag means a growing government book can strengthen the statement while weakening cash — the two have to be read together.", "interpretationGuidance": "Compare the movement here against operating cash; a rising line with flat cash usually means receivables, not a problem with the programme.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.total_cash_in_bank", "finance.np_program_services_expense" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_in_kind_contributions", "slug": "np_in_kind_contributions", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "In-Kind Contributions", "description": "Donated goods and donated professional services recognized at fair value in the period — pro-bono legal and accounting work, donated space, donated equipment or supplies. Recognized only where the service would otherwise have been purchased and requires specialised skill; ordinary volunteer time is NOT recognized, however valuable it is.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-605 (contributed services and nonfinancial assets)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Fair value of donated goods and of donated specialised services recognized in the period. Offset by an equal expense in the function that consumed them, so the change in net assets is unaffected.", "whyItMatters": "Makes the true cost of running the organisation visible, including the parts someone is giving away — which matters when that donor stops.", "interpretationGuidance": "Because it is offset by an equal expense, a large in-kind line inflates both sides of the statement; read expense ratios with it in mind.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_total_functional_expenses" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_individual_contributions", "slug": "np_individual_contributions", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Individual Contributions", "description": "Unconditional gifts from individual donors recognized in the period — annual-fund giving, major gifts, recurring donors, and bequests received. The contributed-support line a nonprofit board reads first, because it is the revenue the organisation controls rather than one a funder awards. Recognized when the promise is unconditional, not when the cash arrives.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Development" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-605 (contributions received)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Individual gifts recognized in the period, including bequests and unconditional pledges, excluding grants from foundations, corporations and government.", "whyItMatters": "The least restricted and most renewable source of support — a board reads individual giving as the measure of how self-determining the organisation is.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read against `finance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar`: growth bought entirely with fundraising spend is a different result from growth in donor retention.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_fundraising_expense", "finance.np_cost_to_raise_a_dollar" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_investment_other_income", "slug": "np_investment_other_income", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Investment & Other Income", "description": "Interest, dividends and realized investment return on operating reserves and any endowment, plus miscellaneous income not classified elsewhere. Kept small by design; a material balance here usually means the organisation holds an endowment that deserves its own reporting.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-205 (statement of activities)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Interest, dividends and realized investment return recognized in the period, plus other income not classified in a named line.", "whyItMatters": "Distinguishes result driven by the mission from result driven by the markets — a board should never read the two as the same thing.", "interpretationGuidance": "If this line is what moved the change in net assets, say so explicitly in the narrative; operations did not improve.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_change_in_net_assets" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_management_general_expense", "slug": "np_management_general_expense", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Management & General", "description": "Expense of governing and administering the organisation in the period — executive time not attributable to a programme, finance and HR, audit, insurance, board governance and general occupancy. The second FASB functional class. Persistently understating it is the best-known distortion in nonprofit reporting: real organisations need real administration.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-720 (functional expense classification)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Expenses allocated to management and general activity for the period, including the administrative share of shared costs.", "whyItMatters": "The board’s own honesty test: understating administration to flatter the programme ratio hides the cost of the infrastructure the mission actually runs on.", "interpretationGuidance": "A share in the low-to-mid teens is unremarkable for a small organisation; a share near zero is a reporting problem, not an achievement.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_functional_expenses", "finance.np_program_expense_ratio" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_program_expense_ratio", "slug": "np_program_expense_ratio", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Programme Expense Ratio", "description": "Programme services expense as a percentage of total functional expenses for the period — the share of everything spent that went to delivering the mission. The most widely read nonprofit efficiency measure, and the most widely gamed: it is only as honest as the cost-allocation method behind it.", "fieldType": "percentage", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-720 (functional expense classification)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "program_expense_ratio = program_services_expense ÷ total_functional_expenses × 100.", "whyItMatters": "It is what funders, rating services and prospective donors look up, so a board should know its own figure before someone else quotes it.", "interpretationGuidance": "Charity watchdogs generally treat 65–75%+ as unremarkable, but the ratio rewards under-investment in administration and fundraising; read it alongside the allocation method and never as a quality score on its own.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_program_services_expense", "finance.np_total_functional_expenses" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_program_service_fees", "slug": "np_program_service_fees", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Programme Service Fees", "description": "Earned revenue from delivering the mission — participant fees, sliding-scale tuition, training and contracted services to other organisations. The nonprofit analogue of an operating top line: revenue exchanged for something delivered, rather than contributed.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Programs" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-205 (statement of activities)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Fees earned in exchange for programme services delivered in the period, net of any sliding-scale discount actually granted.", "whyItMatters": "Earned revenue is the part of the model that scales with delivery rather than with fundraising capacity.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read as a share of total support and revenue; a rising share usually means less exposure to a single funder ending an award.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_program_services_expense" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_program_services_expense", "slug": "np_program_services_expense", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Programme Services", "description": "Total expense of delivering the mission in the period, across every programme — the salaries, benefits, occupancy, supplies and contracted services allocated to programme activity. The first of the three FUNCTIONAL expense classes FASB ASU 2016-14 requires; the natural categories (payroll, occupancy, travel) sit underneath it in the allocation, not beside it in the statement.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Programs" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-720 (functional expense classification)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Expenses allocated to programme activity for the period, including the shared costs apportioned to programmes under the organisation’s documented allocation method.", "whyItMatters": "The single largest number on a nonprofit statement, and the one every funder, rating and Form 990 reader goes to first.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read with `finance.np_program_expense_ratio` and with the allocation method itself — a high ratio produced by an aggressive allocation is not a strong result.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_functional_expenses", "finance.np_program_expense_ratio", "finance.np_program_service_fees" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_special_events_net", "slug": "np_special_events_net", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Special Events, Net of Direct Costs", "description": "Revenue from galas, walks, auctions and similar events, stated NET of the direct benefit costs given to attendees (meals, entertainment, prizes). Reported net because the gross figure flatters the result: an event that raises a large gross and spends most of it on the venue has not funded the mission.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Development" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-605 (special events, direct benefit costs)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "Gross special-event revenue for the period less the direct cost of benefits provided to attendees. Fundraising labour and promotion stay in fundraising expense, not here.", "whyItMatters": "The net figure is the honest one, and it is the figure a watchdog rating and Form 990 both read.", "interpretationGuidance": "A net close to zero is a signal that the event is a cultivation activity rather than a revenue one — which can still be the right call, but should be said out loud.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "finance.np_fundraising_expense" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_total_functional_expenses", "slug": "np_total_functional_expenses", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Functional Expenses", "description": "Total expense for the period across the three functional classes — programme services, management and general, and fundraising. The Statement of Activities expense total and the denominator of the programme expense ratio.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-720 (analysis of expenses by nature and function)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "total_functional_expenses = program_services_expense + management_general_expense + fundraising_expense.", "whyItMatters": "Every expense the organisation incurred, classified the way the audited statement and Form 990 Part IX classify it.", "interpretationGuidance": "Compare against budget by function, not only in total — the same total can hide a programme underspend funding an administrative overrun.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_program_services_expense", "finance.np_management_general_expense", "finance.np_fundraising_expense", "finance.np_change_in_net_assets" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.np_total_support_revenue", "slug": "np_total_support_revenue", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Support & Revenue", "description": "Total support and revenue recognized in the period — the sum of individual, foundation, government, corporate, earned, event, in-kind and investment lines. The Statement of Activities top line and the denominator every funding-mix read is taken against.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fasb.org/projects/completed-projects", "sectionRef": "ASC 958-205 (statement of activities)", "publicationDate": "2016-08-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "recognized-standard" }, "formula": "total_support_revenue = individual_contributions + foundation_grants + government_funding + corporate_support + program_service_fees + special_events_net + in_kind_contributions + investment_other_income.", "whyItMatters": "The figure the board compares to budget, and the base for the funding-concentration question that follows it.", "interpretationGuidance": "Decompose any movement into the eight source lines before explaining it — a flat total can hide a lost government contract offset by a one-time bequest.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.np_individual_contributions", "finance.np_foundation_grants", "finance.np_government_funding", "finance.np_corporate_support", "finance.np_program_service_fees", "finance.np_special_events_net", "finance.np_in_kind_contributions", "finance.np_investment_other_income", "finance.np_change_in_net_assets" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.office_facilities", "slug": "office_facilities", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Office / Facilities", "description": "Cost of rent, coworking, and office facilities for the period. Smaller for remote-first companies; a fixed commitment where leased.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Office / facilities / rent cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A fixed cost and lease commitment that affects runway flexibility.", "interpretationGuidance": "Note lease commitments separately from period cost when discussing runway.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Rent, coworking, office facilities, utilities, and maintenance for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "The capital/right-of-use lease asset amortization (depreciation & amortization) where presented separately.", "Lease commitment principal — a balance-sheet liability, not period cost." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Lease schedule and period rent; coworking invoices." ], "edgeCases": [ "ASC 842 splits right-of-use asset amortization from cash rent — state which is shown.", "Smaller for remote-first companies; a fixed commitment where leased." ], "validationChecks": [ "A fixed cost and lease commitment affecting runway flexibility — note the remaining commitment separately from period cost; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Confusing cash rent with ROU-asset depreciation under ASC 842.", "Ignoring the remaining lease commitment when discussing runway." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.operationally_available_cash", "slug": "operationally_available_cash", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Operationally Available Cash", "description": "Unrestricted cash adjusted for near-term working-capital effects — i.e. the cash that is actually deployable after accounting for receivables coming in, payables going out, and accrued obligations crystallizing in the next reporting period. More conservative than `finance.total_unrestricted_cash` because it nets out the cash a healthy AR/AP cycle is already promising or claiming. The board reads this as the \"real\" cash position when working capital is material to the business (typical at Series A+, when AR/AP cycles get sizeable). Common pitfall: at early stage AR is small and AP is mostly payroll/SaaS, so this collapses to unrestricted cash — once enterprise deals or 60-day net terms appear, the gap widens fast.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "recommended", "seed": "recommended", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "finance.total_unrestricted_cash + finance.net_working_capital_adjustment. The working-capital adjustment is signed (positive when AR collection > AP outflow over the horizon, negative otherwise).", "whyItMatters": "Best single-number answer to \"how much cash do we really have to deploy this quarter\" once working capital is material. Substituted for unrestricted cash in the runway denominator at growth stage.", "interpretationGuidance": "A large negative gap between unrestricted and operationally-available cash means working-capital headwinds are eating into apparent runway — common when DSO is lengthening. Track the gap quarter-over-quarter; widening signals deteriorating collections or stretched payables. No published industry threshold — interpretation is company- and cycle-specific.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_unrestricted_cash", "finance.net_working_capital_adjustment", "finance.current_asset_adjustments", "finance.current_liability_adjustments", "finance.runway_months" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Start with `finance.total_unrestricted_cash` (all unrestricted cash + cash equivalents, not segregated for a specific purpose).", "Add the signed `finance.net_working_capital_adjustment` for the lookahead horizon (positive when AR collections exceed AP outflows over the window, negative otherwise).", "Use the same lookahead horizon as the company's burn calculation — typically one reporting period (month or quarter)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Restricted cash (collateral for leases, prepaid customer balances, escrow). It is not deployable.", "Long-term receivables that will not collect within the lookahead horizon.", "Undrawn venture debt or credit facilities — those are funding capacity, not cash." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Period-end unrestricted cash balance.", "AR aging bucketed by collection horizon.", "AP aging + scheduled cash outflows over the lookahead horizon.", "Any accrued obligations crystallizing in the horizon (payroll true-ups, employer-tax payments)." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Audited or reviewed balance sheet for cash + AR + AP + accruals.", "Treasury / FP&A working-capital forecast as a fallback when accounting is closing-period-only." ], "edgeCases": [ "Multi-currency cash: convert each currency to reporting currency at a stable period-end rate, then sum.", "Customer prepayments held in restricted accounts: NOT deployable — flag separately.", "Pending acquisition or M&A consideration earmarked but not yet wired: exclude from operationally-available; show as a memo line." ], "validationChecks": [ "Operationally-available cash ≤ total unrestricted cash + maximum-net-positive working-capital swing — if it exceeds, the working-capital adjustment is wrong.", "When working capital is small (typical pre-Series-A), this should be within ~5% of `finance.total_unrestricted_cash`. Wide divergence at early stage is a calculation red flag." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Using total cash (including restricted) — inflates the deployable position and overstates runway.", "Omitting the working-capital adjustment entirely — defaults back to unrestricted cash and misses the AR/AP timing mismatch that this KPI exists to capture.", "Mixing fiscal-year-end snapshot with mid-quarter working-capital adjustment — periods must align.", "Treating an undrawn credit facility as \"operationally available\" — facility access is not cash on hand." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "point_in_time", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "computed" }, "dependencies": [ { "kpi": "finance.total_unrestricted_cash", "edge": "computesFrom" } ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.other_cogs", "slug": "other_cogs", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Other COGS", "description": "Direct cost-of-revenue items not captured by the named COGS lines — a catch-all kept small by design. If it becomes material it should be split into a named line.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Direct cost-of-revenue not classified in the named COGS lines.", "whyItMatters": "Keeps total COGS complete without distorting the primary cost categories.", "interpretationGuidance": "If \"Other\" grows beyond a few percent of COGS, split it into a named line.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cogs" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Direct cost-of-revenue items not captured by the named COGS lines — a deliberately small catch-all." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Operating expenses — only true cost-of-delivery belongs above the gross-margin line.", "Material items that deserve their own named COGS line." ], "validationChecks": [ "Keep within a few percent of total COGS; if it grows, split it into a named line." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Parking OpEx in Other COGS to flatter gross margin.", "Letting it become a material, unexplained bucket." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.other_cs", "slug": "other_cs", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Other CS", "description": "Customer-success operating costs not captured by the named CS lines for the period — a catch-all kept small by design.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "CS operating costs not classified in the named CS lines.", "whyItMatters": "Keeps Total Customer Success complete without distorting the primary lines.", "interpretationGuidance": "If it grows beyond a few percent of CS, split into a named line.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cs" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Customer Success operating costs not captured by the named Customer Success lines — a deliberately small catch-all." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Anything that fits a named line within the Customer Success section — classify it there first.", "Costs belonging to a different section (R&D vs S&M vs CS vs G&A) — keep section boundaries clean.", "Material items that deserve their own named line." ], "validationChecks": [ "Keep within a few percent of finance.total_cs; if it grows beyond that, split it into a named line; rolls into finance.total_cs." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Using Other as a dumping ground that hides a growing real cost.", "Misclassifying another section's cost into this Other line." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.other_ga", "slug": "other_ga", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Other G&A", "description": "G&A operating costs not captured by the named G&A lines for the period — the roll-up home for minor overhead (bank fees, office supplies, small licenses). Kept small by design.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "G&A operating costs not classified in the named G&A lines.", "whyItMatters": "Keeps Total G&A complete and absorbs the many small overhead items.", "interpretationGuidance": "If it grows beyond a few percent of G&A, split into a named line.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "G&A operating costs not captured by the named G&A lines — a deliberately small catch-all (bank fees, office supplies, small licenses)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Anything that fits a named line within the G&A section — classify it there first.", "Costs belonging to a different section (R&D vs S&M vs CS vs G&A) — keep section boundaries clean.", "Material items that deserve their own named line." ], "validationChecks": [ "Keep within a few percent of finance.total_ga; if it grows beyond that, split it into a named line; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Using Other as a dumping ground that hides a growing real cost.", "Misclassifying another section's cost into this Other line." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.other_revenue", "slug": "other_revenue", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Other Revenue", "description": "Recognized revenue not captured by the subscription, usage, or services lines — a catch-all for small or unusual revenue items. Kept small by design; if it becomes material it should be split into a named line.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Recognized revenue not classified as subscription, usage, or services.", "whyItMatters": "Keeps total revenue complete without polluting the primary revenue categories.", "interpretationGuidance": "If \"Other\" grows beyond a few percent of total revenue, split it into a named line for the board.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_revenue" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Recognized revenue not classified as subscription, usage, or services — a deliberately small catch-all for minor or unusual revenue items." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Any item large enough to deserve a named line — split it out rather than parking it here.", "Non-revenue items: interest income (finance.interest_income_expense), FX (finance.fx_gain_loss), and financing proceeds." ], "requiredInputs": [ "An itemization of what currently sits in Other so it can be monitored." ], "validationChecks": [ "Other should stay within a few percent of total revenue; if it grows beyond that, split it into a named line for the board." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Parking interest income, FX, or financing items in Other revenue.", "Letting Other become a material catch-all that hides the true revenue mix." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.other_rnd", "slug": "other_rnd", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Other R&D", "description": "R&D operating costs not captured by the named R&D lines for the period — a catch-all kept small by design.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "R&D operating costs not classified in the named R&D lines.", "whyItMatters": "Keeps Total R&D complete without distorting the primary lines.", "interpretationGuidance": "If it grows beyond a few percent of R&D, split into a named line.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_rnd" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "R&D operating costs not captured by the named R&D lines — a deliberately small catch-all." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Anything that fits a named line within the R&D section — classify it there first.", "Costs belonging to a different section (R&D vs S&M vs CS vs G&A) — keep section boundaries clean.", "Material items that deserve their own named line." ], "validationChecks": [ "Keep within a few percent of finance.total_rnd; if it grows beyond that, split it into a named line; rolls into finance.total_rnd." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Using Other as a dumping ground that hides a growing real cost.", "Misclassifying another section's cost into this Other line." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.other_sm", "slug": "other_sm", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Other S&M", "description": "Sales & marketing operating costs not captured by the named S&M lines for the period — a catch-all kept small by design.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "S&M operating costs not classified in the named S&M lines.", "whyItMatters": "Keeps Total S&M complete without distorting the primary lines.", "interpretationGuidance": "If it grows beyond a few percent of S&M, split into a named line.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_sm" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "S&M operating costs not captured by the named S&M lines — a deliberately small catch-all." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Anything that fits a named line within the S&M section — classify it there first.", "Costs belonging to a different section (R&D vs S&M vs CS vs G&A) — keep section boundaries clean.", "Material items that deserve their own named line." ], "validationChecks": [ "Keep within a few percent of finance.total_sm; if it grows beyond that, split it into a named line; rolls into finance.total_sm." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Using Other as a dumping ground that hides a growing real cost.", "Misclassifying another section's cost into this Other line." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.paid_marketing", "slug": "paid_marketing", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Paid Marketing", "description": "Paid demand-generation spend for the period — search, social, performance marketing, and sponsorships. The variable media component of go-to-market.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Paid media / performance-marketing spend for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A directly-tunable growth lever; the core input to paid CAC.", "interpretationGuidance": "Judge against pipeline/bookings generated, not in isolation.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_sm", "finance.marketing_payroll" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Paid demand-generation media for the period — search, social, performance marketing, and paid sponsorships." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Marketing staff compensation (finance.marketing_payroll) and marketing tooling (finance.sm_tools_software).", "Events and conferences (finance.events_conferences) and organic/content production labor." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Ad-platform spend and sponsorship invoices." ], "validationChecks": [ "Judge against the pipeline/bookings generated (paid CAC), not in isolation; rolls into finance.total_sm." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Bundling agency management fees or tooling into media spend.", "Reading media spend without the pipeline it produced." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.payment_transaction_costs", "slug": "payment_transaction_costs", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Payment / Transaction Costs", "description": "Direct payment-processing and transaction fees attributable to delivering revenue (card processing, gateway fees, marketplace take rates). A cost-of-revenue line where relevant; omitted or near-zero for invoice-only businesses.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Payment-processing / transaction fees attributable to revenue for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Directly reduces gross margin on transaction- or consumer-billed revenue.", "interpretationGuidance": "Expressed as a percentage of processed revenue it should be roughly stable; spikes usually mean a pricing/mix change.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cogs" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Direct payment-processing and transaction fees attributable to collecting revenue — card processing, gateway fees, and marketplace take rates." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Corporate banking and wire fees that are G&A (finance.other_ga / finance.software_it).", "Near-zero or omitted entirely for invoice-only businesses." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Processor statements and the fee expressed as a percentage of processed volume." ], "validationChecks": [ "As a percentage of processed revenue it should be roughly stable; spikes usually mean a pricing or mix change." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Classifying corporate banking fees here.", "Omitting marketplace take rates on partner-billed revenue." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.product_design_payroll", "slug": "product_design_payroll", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Product / Design Payroll", "description": "Compensation for product managers and designers for the period. Can be folded into R&D payroll at smaller companies; kept separate where product/design is a distinct cost center.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Fully-loaded product + design personnel cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Separates product/design investment from pure engineering for a clearer R&D mix.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read alongside R&D payroll; a rising ratio signals heavier product investment.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_rnd", "finance.rd_payroll" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Fully-loaded compensation for product managers and designers (employees)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Engineering (finance.rd_payroll) and design contractors/agencies (finance.contractors_outsourcing).", "Marketing design (finance.marketing_payroll)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Product/design roster with fully-loaded cost." ], "edgeCases": [ "A designer serving marketing rather than product is classified by the function they support.", "At smaller companies this can be folded into finance.rd_payroll — if so, do not also count it here." ], "validationChecks": [ "Read alongside finance.rd_payroll for the R&D mix; rolls into finance.total_rnd." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Double-counting when product/design is also folded into rd_payroll.", "Classifying a product-marketing designer here instead of marketing." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.rd_payroll", "slug": "rd_payroll", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "R&D Payroll", "description": "Fully-loaded compensation for engineering, data, QA, DevOps, and technical leadership for the period (salary, employer taxes, benefits). The largest R&D cost for most software companies.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Fully-loaded R&D personnel cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "The dominant input to R&D spend and a primary driver of total burn.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track against headcount plan; step-changes usually reflect hiring or comp true-ups.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_rnd", "hr.total_headcount" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Fully-loaded compensation (salary + employer taxes + benefits) for engineering, data, QA, DevOps, and technical leadership EMPLOYEES." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Contractors, freelancers, and dev shops — those are finance.contractors_outsourcing, not payroll.", "Product managers and designers (finance.product_design_payroll) and engineering tooling (finance.rd_tools_software).", "Production cloud serving customers (finance.cloud_hosting, COGS)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "R&D-classified employee roster with fully-loaded cost.", "Period payroll register mapped to department." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Payroll system grouped by department.", "HRIS headcount mapping as the classification source." ], "edgeCases": [ "An engineer split between R&D and COGS support is allocated by time.", "Mid-period new hires are prorated; comp true-ups step the line.", "If the company capitalizes software-development labor, state the convention — capitalized labor is not expensed here." ], "validationChecks": [ "Track against the headcount plan; step-changes should map to hiring or comp true-ups.", "Rolls into finance.total_rnd. NOTE: finance.total_rnd and product.rd_monthly_spend are two views of the SAME R&D spend — never sum them." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Reporting base payroll instead of fully-loaded cost — under-reports true R&D burn by 25–40%.", "Folding contractors into payroll — breaks the employee-vs-contractor read and double-counts against finance.contractors_outsourcing.", "Double-counting R&D payroll against the product.rd_monthly_spend roll-up." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.rd_tools_software", "slug": "rd_tools_software", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "R&D Tools / Software", "description": "Cost of engineering tooling and platforms for the period (source control, CI/CD, testing, observability, developer platforms). Operating expense — distinct from cloud/hosting COGS that serves customer traffic.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Engineering tools / software subscriptions for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Scales with team size; a useful efficiency read per engineer.", "interpretationGuidance": "Do not confuse with cloud/hosting COGS — this is internal developer tooling, not delivery infrastructure.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_rnd", "finance.cloud_hosting" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Internal engineering tooling and platforms — source control, CI/CD, testing, observability, and developer platforms." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Production cloud/hosting that serves customers (finance.cloud_hosting, COGS).", "Company-wide IT/SaaS (finance.software_it) and GTM tools (finance.sm_tools_software)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "The engineering SaaS-subscription list." ], "edgeCases": [ "A tool used both for CI (R&D) and production monitoring (COGS) is allocated.", "Useful as a per-engineer tooling-efficiency read." ], "validationChecks": [ "Scales with team size; rolls into finance.total_rnd.", "Do NOT confuse with finance.cloud_hosting — this is internal developer tooling, not delivery infrastructure." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Classifying production infrastructure as R&D tooling — understates COGS.", "Classifying internal dev tooling as COGS — overstates COGS." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.recruiting", "slug": "recruiting", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Recruiting", "description": "Cost of agencies, job boards, and referral bonuses for the period. Scales with the pace of hiring and is lumpy around growth pushes.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Recruiting / agency / referral cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A leading indicator of headcount growth and future payroll.", "interpretationGuidance": "Expect it to lead payroll increases; spikes precede hiring waves.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga", "hr.total_headcount" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Agency fees, job-board spend, referral bonuses, and recruiting tooling/events for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "In-house recruiter salaries — those sit in the relevant payroll line (finance.ga_payroll or the hiring function's payroll).", "Relocation and sign-on bonuses for a specific hire (the hire's payroll)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Recruiting vendor invoices and referral-bonus payouts." ], "edgeCases": [ "Lumpy around hiring waves; it leads payroll increases." ], "validationChecks": [ "A leading indicator of headcount and future payroll growth; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Counting in-house recruiter compensation here — double-counts with payroll.", "Smoothing inherently lumpy recruiting spend and hiding the hiring-wave signal." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.risk_factors", "slug": "risk_factors", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Financial Risk Factors", "description": "Material risks that could break the forecast or the cash position — customer concentration, contract renewal risk in the next 2 quarters, debt-covenant proximity, FX exposure on multi-currency revenue/cost mix, payment-processor concentration, audit/tax adjustments under review, regulatory changes affecting revenue recognition. Distinct from `risk_factors` at the operations level — this is explicitly financial. Common pitfall: this field becomes boilerplate (\"market risk, execution risk\") instead of naming the specific risks the board can act on this quarter. Best practice (per the standard board-pack guidance reflected in NVCA Model Investor Rights Agreement information-rights conventions): name the top 3–5 risks with a probability/impact note and a current mitigation status.", "fieldType": "text", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "recommended", "seed": "recommended", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "No calculation — narrative. Convention: 3–5 risks, each with a one-line statement, qualitative likelihood, qualitative impact, and current mitigation action.", "whyItMatters": "Gives the board a defensible answer to \"what should worry us next quarter\" — and creates an audit trail of which risks management saw coming vs. which surprised them. Frequently the highest-signal part of the cash dashboard at growth stage.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track risks across periods — risks that disappear without explicit resolution are usually still active, just not being managed. Boards should treat a thin or unchanged list (no movement quarter-over-quarter on multiple periods) as a yellow flag on financial-controls maturity.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.assumptions", "finance.forecast_notes", "finance.burn_rate_scenarios", "fundraising.risk_factors" ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.runway_months", "slug": "runway_months", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Runway (Months)", "description": "Estimated number of months the company can operate at the current net burn before unrestricted cash reaches zero, holding everything else constant. The single most consequential survival input for venture-backed companies — it sets the urgency of every fundraising, hiring, and cost decision. Common pitfall: runway is often quoted off `finance.total_cash_in_bank` and a single-month spot-burn instead of operationally-available cash and a 3-month-trailing burn — the result is a runway that looks 2–4 months longer than it actually is when working capital tightens. Boards should ask which cash and which burn went into the calculation.", "fieldType": "number", "unit": "months", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)", "sourceUrl": "https://www.cfodesk.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024_kbcm_sapphire_saas_survey.pdf", "sectionRef": "Months of Cash (Runway) by ARR Cohort", "publicationDate": "2024-09-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "industry-benchmark" }, "formula": "runway_months = cash_basis / finance.net_burn_rate, where cash_basis is finance.operationally_available_cash when working capital is material (Series A+), and finance.total_unrestricted_cash otherwise (early stage, when AR/AP is immaterial and the two converge). Never use max() of the two — that discards the more conservative number exactly when working capital is a headwind, the very pitfall this KPI warns about. When net burn is negative (cash-flow positive), runway is unbounded — render as ∞ rather than negative. Most boards use a 3-month-trailing-average net burn for the denominator to dampen single-month noise.", "whyItMatters": "Drives the timing of every fundraise, hire, and budget cut — and is the number investors lead with in diligence. Crossing under stage-typical thresholds usually triggers a board-level cost or fundraising conversation.", "interpretationGuidance": "Stage-typical industry context (per the 2024 KeyBanc Capital Markets & Sapphire Ventures SaaS Survey §runway / month-of-cash discussion): private SaaS companies with $10M–$50M year-end ARR median ~25 months of cash; those <$10M or >$50M ARR median ~18 months. Practitioner heuristics (industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade): under 6 months is critical (immediate fundraise or cost action); 12–18 months is healthy for active fundraising; 24+ months gives optionality. Recalculate any time burn changes materially or a tranche closes.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cash_in_bank", "finance.total_unrestricted_cash", "finance.operationally_available_cash", "finance.net_burn_rate", "finance.burn_rate_scenarios", "fundraising.target_raise" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Numerator: at growth stage (Series A+) use `finance.operationally_available_cash`. At early stage, `finance.total_unrestricted_cash` is acceptable when AR/AP are immaterial.", "Denominator: `finance.net_burn_rate` on a trailing-3-month-average basis. Match the smoothing window used in the burn calculation.", "Result is in months. Express to one decimal place when ≥ 6; whole months when < 6 (decimals at sub-6-month runway suggest false precision)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Restricted cash from the numerator (collateral, escrow, customer-prepaid-restricted balances).", "Undrawn credit facilities or venture-debt capacity — those are funding capacity, not runway. List separately as \"available capital outside runway.\"", "Equity raises in process but not closed. Runway is a backward-looking metric; pending fundraises go in the fundraising-strategy KPI, not here." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Operationally-available (or unrestricted) cash for the period close.", "Trailing-3-month net burn rate.", "Methodology flag: which cash definition and which burn smoothing window were used." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Audited or reviewed cash balance + a closed-period burn calculation.", "Treasury-system cash + FP&A burn forecast as a fallback — flag uncertainty." ], "edgeCases": [ "Negative net burn (cash-flow positive): runway is mathematically unbounded. Render as \"∞\" or \"cash-flow positive\" — never a negative or null number.", "Net burn very close to zero (break-even): runway becomes hyper-sensitive to denominator noise. Use a wider smoothing window (6-month) or flag the runway as \"approaching breakeven, not meaningful as a single number.\"", "Pending tranche close: typical practice is to compute runway both with and without the expected tranche, label clearly.", "Material foreign-currency cash: convert to reporting currency at a stable rate and disclose the conversion." ], "validationChecks": [ "Result is positive (or infinity). A negative or NaN runway indicates a bug — most often a negative cash balance or a zero burn.", "Recompute monthly; runway should change roughly linearly with elapsed time when burn is stable. Step-function jumps usually mean the burn smoothing window slid or a tranche closed.", "Cross-check against stage-typical KBCM bands (~25 months for $10–50M ARR, ~18 months below or above). Out-of-band runway is more often a calculation issue than a real outlier." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Using total cash (including restricted) in the numerator — overstates runway by the restricted balance.", "Using a single-month spot burn instead of a trailing average — runway whipsaws on monthly noise; boards see \"we lost 4 months of runway in a month\" when it's just a lumpy outflow.", "Mixing unrestricted-cash numerator with operationally-available-cash burn (or vice versa) — definitions must agree on what cash is being depleted.", "Counting undrawn venture debt as \"runway\" — boards see ~6 extra months of runway that aren't actually deployable without drawing the facility (which itself takes weeks and has covenants).", "Reporting runway from total cash but using a burn that already includes financing inflows — double counts and reads ~2x longer than reality." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "point_in_time", "production": "computed" }, "dependencies": [ { "kpi": "finance.net_burn_rate", "edge": "computesFrom" }, { "kpi": "finance.operationally_available_cash", "edge": "computesFrom" }, { "kpi": "finance.burn_rate_scenarios", "edge": "narrates" } ] }, { "rogueId": "finance.sales_commissions", "slug": "sales_commissions", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Sales Commissions", "description": "Variable sales compensation earned on bookings for the period. Separated from sales payroll because it scales with deals closed and explains period-to-period variance differently.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Variable commission expense recognized for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Ties go-to-market cost to bookings; a key input to CAC.", "interpretationGuidance": "Should move with bookings; a spike without bookings growth warrants a note.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_sm", "finance.sales_payroll" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Variable sales compensation EARNED on bookings, recognized for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Base salary (finance.sales_payroll) and marketing/partner referral spend.", "SPIFFs or non-sales incentives if tracked elsewhere." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Commission plan and period bookings.", "The capitalization/amortization policy (ASC 340-40 on incremental costs to obtain a contract)." ], "edgeCases": [ "Under ASC 606/340-40 incremental commissions may be capitalized and amortized over the contract life rather than expensed at booking — state the convention.", "Clawbacks on early churn reduce the expense." ], "validationChecks": [ "Should move with bookings; a spike without bookings growth warrants a note.", "Rolls into finance.total_sm." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Expensing at the cash-payment date instead of the earned/recognition date.", "Ignoring ASC 606 capitalization where the amounts are material." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.sales_payroll", "slug": "sales_payroll", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Sales Payroll", "description": "Fully-loaded base compensation for account executives, SDRs, and sales leadership for the period. Excludes commissions, which are tracked separately because they scale with bookings.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Fully-loaded sales base personnel cost for the period (excl. commissions).", "whyItMatters": "The fixed component of go-to-market cost; pairs with commissions for full sales cost.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read with bookings to gauge sales efficiency; keep separate from variable commissions.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_sm", "finance.sales_commissions" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Fully-loaded BASE compensation for account executives, SDRs, and sales leadership (employees), excluding commissions." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Variable commissions — those are finance.sales_commissions, kept separate because they scale with bookings.", "Marketing staff (finance.marketing_payroll) and customer-success staff (finance.cs_payroll)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Sales roster with fully-loaded base cost.", "A clean split of base vs variable compensation." ], "edgeCases": [ "A guaranteed draw is base-like; earned commission above the draw belongs in finance.sales_commissions.", "Ramp/guarantee comp for new reps sits in base until commissions are earned." ], "validationChecks": [ "Pairs with finance.sales_commissions for full sales cost; rolls into finance.total_sm." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Bundling commissions into base payroll — hides the bookings-linked variable component and distorts the fixed-vs-variable view of CAC." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.services_delivery_costs", "slug": "services_delivery_costs", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Services Delivery Costs", "description": "Direct cost of delivering implementation and professional services — the cost paired with services/implementation revenue. Tracking it against `finance.services_revenue` reveals whether services are run at, above, or below cost.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Direct cost of delivering implementation / professional services for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Pairs with services revenue to show services margin — often a board question.", "interpretationGuidance": "Compare to `finance.services_revenue`: services run below cost dilute blended gross margin and should be flagged.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cogs", "finance.services_revenue" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Direct cost of delivering implementation and professional services — delivery-team compensation, delivery subcontractors, and project-specific costs.", "The cost paired with finance.services_revenue." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Product engineering (finance.rd_payroll) and recurring support (finance.customer_support_delivery).", "Services sold but not yet delivered." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Delivery-team time and cost by project.", "Subcontractor invoices attributable to delivery." ], "validationChecks": [ "Compare to finance.services_revenue to compute services margin.", "Services run below cost dilute blended gross margin and should be flagged." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Omitting subcontractor or delivery cost — overstates services margin.", "Mixing product-engineering cost into services delivery." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.services_revenue", "slug": "services_revenue", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Services / Implementation Revenue", "description": "Recognized non-recurring revenue from implementation, onboarding, or professional services for the period. Kept separate from recurring revenue because it is lower-margin and does not compound — a services-heavy quarter can grow total revenue while ARR stays flat.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Recognized professional-services / implementation revenue for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Separating services keeps recurring revenue clean and exposes margin dilution from delivery-heavy periods.", "interpretationGuidance": "A rising services share of total revenue often pressures blended gross margin — read against `finance.gross_margin_pct`.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_revenue", "finance.services_delivery_costs" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Recognized non-recurring implementation, onboarding, or professional-services revenue, recognized as delivered (milestone or percentage-of-completion)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Recurring subscription and usage revenue.", "Services billed but not yet delivered (deferred until the performance obligation is satisfied).", "Services bundled with the subscription that are NOT a distinct performance obligation under ASC 606 — those stay in subscription revenue." ], "requiredInputs": [ "SOW / project recognition schedule and delivery milestones." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "PSA / project-tracking system.", "Revenue-recognition subledger for the services component." ], "edgeCases": [ "Services bundled with a subscription must be split per the ASC 606 distinct-obligation test.", "Fixed-fee vs time-and-materials engagements recognize differently (percentage-of-completion vs as-delivered)." ], "validationChecks": [ "Pair with finance.services_delivery_costs to read services margin.", "A rising services share of total revenue pressures blended gross margin — read against finance.gross_margin_pct." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Recognizing services at billing or signing instead of delivery.", "Leaving non-distinct bundled services in this line instead of subscription." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.sm_tools_software", "slug": "sm_tools_software", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "S&M Tools / Software", "description": "Cost of go-to-market tooling for the period — CRM, enrichment, outbound, attribution, and sales-engagement platforms.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Sales & marketing tools / software subscriptions for the period.", "whyItMatters": "The tooling overhead of the GTM motion; scales with team size.", "interpretationGuidance": "Watch per-rep tooling cost; tool sprawl is a common, quiet cost creep.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_sm" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Go-to-market tooling — CRM, enrichment, outbound, attribution, and sales-engagement platforms." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Paid media (finance.paid_marketing) and customer-success tooling (finance.cs_tools_software).", "Company-wide IT (finance.software_it)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "The GTM SaaS-subscription list and per-rep tooling cost." ], "validationChecks": [ "Watch tool sprawl and per-rep tooling cost; rolls into finance.total_sm." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Classifying media spend as tooling.", "Overlap with CS or IT tools double-counted across sections." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.software_it", "slug": "software_it", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Software & IT", "description": "Cost of internal software, IT, security, devices, and admin tooling for the period (company-wide SaaS not specific to R&D or GTM).", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Company-wide software / IT / security cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A quiet cost-creep area as headcount and tool sprawl grow.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track per-employee software cost; rationalize overlapping subscriptions.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Company-wide internal software, IT, security, devices, and admin tooling not specific to R&D, GTM, or CS." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Department-specific tooling (finance.rd_tools_software / finance.sm_tools_software / finance.cs_tools_software).", "Production infrastructure (finance.cloud_hosting)." ], "requiredInputs": [ "The company-wide SaaS/IT subscription list and per-employee software cost." ], "validationChecks": [ "Track per-employee software cost and rationalize overlapping subscriptions; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Double-counting department tools here and in their section tooling lines.", "Letting quiet subscription sprawl creep up unmonitored." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.subscription_revenue", "slug": "subscription_revenue", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Subscription Revenue", "description": "Recognized recurring software revenue for the period — the recurring subscription fees earned under contract, recognized on an accrual basis over the service period. The core revenue line for a SaaS P&L; kept separate from usage and services so the board can read the recurring-vs-non-recurring mix. Distinct from ARR (a forward run-rate) and from cash collected (a financing-timing view).", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Recognized recurring subscription revenue for the period (accrual basis), excluding usage, services, and one-time fees.", "whyItMatters": "Isolates durable recurring revenue — the basis of SaaS quality-of-revenue and gross-margin reads.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read alongside `sales.arr`: recognized subscription revenue trails ARR and the gap reflects timing and mid-period changes. Persistent divergence warrants a note.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_revenue", "sales.arr", "sales.total_revenue" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Recurring subscription fees RECOGNIZED ratably over the service period under ASC 606 / IFRS 15 — the recurring contracted component only." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Usage / consumption / overage revenue (finance.usage_revenue) and implementation / professional services (finance.services_revenue).", "Billed-but-unearned amounts — those sit in deferred revenue until recognized; do not pull them forward.", "Cash collected (a financing-timing view) and ARR (a forward run-rate) — recognized revenue is neither." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Per-contract revenue-recognition schedule and service-period dates.", "The deferred-revenue waterfall." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Revenue-recognition subledger / billing-system rev schedules.", "GL revenue accounts reconciled to the subledger." ], "edgeCases": [ "Mid-period upgrades/downgrades are recognized prorata from the change date.", "An annual prepaid contract is recognized monthly over the term, never at the billing date." ], "validationChecks": [ "Recognized subscription revenue trails sales.arr; the gap reflects timing and mid-period changes — persistent divergence warrants a note.", "Reconcile to the deferred-revenue rollforward (opening deferred + billings − recognized = closing deferred)." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Recognizing at invoice or cash-collection date instead of over the service period — pulls revenue forward.", "Lumping usage or services into subscription — overstates the recurring quality of revenue." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.tax", "slug": "tax", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Tax", "description": "Corporate income tax, withholding tax, or other tax expense for the period. Often minimal for loss-making startups, but can be non-trivial with multi-jurisdiction operations or specific tax regimes.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Tax expense for the period (subtracted in net income).", "whyItMatters": "Completes the path to net income; can surprise multi-entity companies even while loss-making.", "interpretationGuidance": "Usually small at a loss-making startup; flag if multi-jurisdiction operations make it material.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.net_income" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Corporate income tax, withholding tax, and other tax expense for the period, subtracted in net income." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Employer payroll taxes — those are loaded into the payroll lines.", "Sales tax / VAT collected on behalf of authorities — a liability, not an expense.", "Deferred-tax non-cash movements unless explicitly presented." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Tax provision by jurisdiction and withholding on cross-border payments." ], "edgeCases": [ "Usually small at a loss-making startup, but multi-jurisdiction operations or minimum taxes can make it non-trivial.", "Distinguish current tax from deferred tax." ], "validationChecks": [ "Completes the path to net income; flag if multi-jurisdiction operations make it material." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Classifying employer payroll taxes as income tax.", "Treating collected VAT / sales tax as an expense." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.third_party_data", "slug": "third_party_data", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Third-Party / API / Data Costs", "description": "Direct cost of external APIs, data providers, enrichment, and model/LLM inference consumed to deliver the product. Broken out from cloud/hosting because for AI products these costs can move gross margin materially and scale with usage rather than headcount.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Direct external API / data / model-inference cost of delivery for the period.", "whyItMatters": "For AI-native products this can be the swing factor in gross margin and deserves its own board line.", "interpretationGuidance": "Watch the ratio to usage revenue and total revenue; per-unit inference cost trends matter more than the absolute.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cogs", "finance.usage_revenue", "finance.gross_margin_pct" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Direct cost of external APIs, data providers, enrichment, and model/LLM inference consumed to DELIVER the product (per-unit serving cost).", "Broken out from cloud/hosting because for AI products it can swing gross margin materially and scales with usage rather than headcount." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Cloud compute and hosting (finance.cloud_hosting).", "Internal tooling or data used for R&D rather than serving customers (finance.rd_tools_software).", "Model spend for internal experimentation / evaluation that is not production serving." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Vendor bills split between production-serving and internal use.", "Per-unit inference / API cost." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Vendor / model-provider billing tagged by production vs internal use." ], "edgeCases": [ "A model API used both for production inference (COGS) and internal evaluation (R&D) must be allocated.", "Cost scales with usage, not headcount — track per-unit inference trend." ], "validationChecks": [ "Watch the ratio to finance.usage_revenue and total revenue; per-unit inference cost trend matters more than the absolute.", "Feeds finance.total_cogs and finance.gross_margin_pct." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Burying inference cost inside finance.cloud_hosting — hides the AI gross-margin driver.", "Counting internal-experiment model spend as COGS." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_cash_in_bank", "slug": "total_cash_in_bank", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Cash in Bank", "description": "Sum of all bank account balances at the reporting cut-off, expressed in a single reporting currency after FX conversion. This is the gross top-of-house cash number — it does not net out restrictions, near-term liabilities, or commitments. The board reads this as the absolute denominator for runway and as a checksum against the cap table (capital raised − cumulative net burn ≈ cash). Common pitfall: founders sometimes report a USD figure that silently includes ILS/EUR accounts at stale FX rates — always reconcile against the bank-accounts list (per FX-aware MultiCurrencyAccountList) and tag the rate date.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Sum of period-end balances across all bank accounts, converted to the board reporting currency at the cut-off date FX rate. See `finance.bank_accounts_list` for the underlying line items.", "whyItMatters": "The denominator of runway and the single most important survival input — every other cash KPI is read in proportion to this number. Also the basic cap-table sanity check: capital raised minus cumulative net burn should reconcile to total cash within working-capital noise.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read in conjunction with `finance.total_restricted_cash` and `finance.net_burn_rate` to derive operationally available runway. A drop materially larger than net burn for the period signals an unreported outflow (deposit, settlement, FX) that deserves a board note. No published industry threshold exists for \"good\" — interpretation is always company- and stage-specific.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_restricted_cash", "finance.total_unrestricted_cash", "finance.operationally_available_cash", "finance.net_burn_rate", "finance.runway_months", "finance.bank_accounts_list" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Every bank, brokerage, and money-market account balance at the reporting cut-off, summed.", "Both restricted AND unrestricted balances — this is the gross top-of-house number, before any restriction is stripped out (that split lives in finance.total_restricted_cash / finance.total_unrestricted_cash).", "Convert each non-reporting-currency balance to the board reporting currency at the cut-off-date FX rate, and tag the rate date.", "Reconcile the total against the enumerated finance.bank_accounts_list so no account is silently missing." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Undrawn venture debt or credit-facility capacity — that is funding access, not cash on hand.", "Cash receipts in transit that had not cleared into an account by the cut-off date.", "Investments that cannot be readily converted to cash (lock-ups, term deposits past the horizon) unless reconciled in as cash equivalents." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Full enumerated account list (bank / brokerage / money-market) with balance, currency, and as-of date.", "Cut-off-date FX rates for every non-reporting-currency account.", "Per-account restricted flag, so the restricted/unrestricted split can be derived from the same source." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Bank statements / treasury portal balances at the cut-off date.", "Accounting GL cash balance as a fallback — only after it is reconciled to the bank statements." ], "edgeCases": [ "Multi-currency cash: convert each currency at a stable cut-off rate, then sum — never mix stale rates.", "A forgotten legacy operational account or money-market sweep silently understates the total — checklist-reconcile against the prior board pack.", "Accounts opened or closed mid-period: use the period-end balance, not an average." ], "validationChecks": [ "Total cash must equal finance.total_restricted_cash + finance.total_unrestricted_cash.", "A period-over-period drop materially larger than net burn signals an unreported outflow (deposit, settlement, FX) — surface it as a board note rather than absorbing it.", "Cap-table checksum: capital raised − cumulative net burn should reconcile to total cash within working-capital noise." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Reporting a single-currency figure that silently includes foreign accounts at stale FX rates.", "Omitting an account entirely — the most common cause of a misstated total.", "Treating an undrawn credit facility as cash on hand — inflates the survival picture." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "point_in_time", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_cogs", "slug": "total_cogs", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total COGS", "description": "Total cost of revenue for the period — the sum of the COGS lines. Subtracted from total revenue to produce gross profit. Includes only direct delivery costs; operating expenses (R&D, S&M, CS, G&A) sit below the gross-profit line.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "total_cogs = cloud_hosting + third_party_data + customer_support_delivery + payment_transaction_costs + services_delivery_costs + other_cogs.", "whyItMatters": "The direct-cost base that determines gross profit and gross margin.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track as a percentage of total revenue; the inverse is gross margin. Decompose increases into the COGS lines.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.cloud_hosting", "finance.third_party_data", "finance.customer_support_delivery", "finance.payment_transaction_costs", "finance.services_delivery_costs", "finance.other_cogs", "finance.gross_profit" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_cs", "slug": "total_cs", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Customer Success", "description": "Total customer-success operating expense for the period — the sum of the CS lines. Shown as its own OpEx section (some companies fold CS into COGS; the default here is OpEx). One of the four OpEx section totals.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "total_cs = cs_payroll + cs_tools_software + other_cs.", "whyItMatters": "Isolates the retention investment so the board can weigh it against NRR.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track against NRR and revenue; classification as OpEx vs COGS is a reporting choice (statementGroup).", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.cs_payroll", "finance.cs_tools_software", "finance.other_cs", "finance.total_opex" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_ga", "slug": "total_ga", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total G&A", "description": "Total general & administrative operating expense for the period — the sum of the G&A lines. One of the four OpEx section totals.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "total_ga = ga_payroll + legal_accounting_professional + office_facilities + software_it + recruiting + travel_entertainment + insurance_compliance + other_ga.", "whyItMatters": "Overhead the board expects to grow sublinearly with revenue.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track G&A as a percentage of revenue; the ratio should compress as the company scales.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.ga_payroll", "finance.legal_accounting_professional", "finance.office_facilities", "finance.software_it", "finance.recruiting", "finance.travel_entertainment", "finance.insurance_compliance", "finance.other_ga", "finance.total_opex" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_operational_inflow", "slug": "total_operational_inflow", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Operational Inflow", "description": "Sum of cash actually received from operating activities for the period — customer collections (subscription, services, transactional revenue), refunds claimed back from vendors, and any operating tax credits. Excludes financing activities (debt draws, equity proceeds) and investing activities (asset sales, investment income). This is the numerator-side of the net-burn equation, and the cash-basis counterpart to recognized revenue on the P&L. Common pitfall: companies sometimes book annual SaaS prepayments here as a single-month inflow, masking the underlying monthly run-rate — split lumpy items out or smooth over a trailing 3 months.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Sum of operating-activity cash receipts for the period. Subtract from total_operational_outflow to get the absolute net-burn dollar value (before dividing by months to get the rate).", "whyItMatters": "Inputs the cash-basis revenue side of net burn. A growing inflow at flat-or-falling outflow is the textbook \"earning its runway\" trajectory; the reverse means the company is more dependent on the cash balance than on revenue.", "interpretationGuidance": "Reconcile against recognized revenue from `sales.arr` and bookings — a persistent gap means deferred-revenue or DSO is moving. Watch lumpy enterprise prepayments and isolate them; they distort the trailing-average net burn read.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_operational_outflow", "finance.net_burn_rate", "finance.net_working_capital_adjustment", "sales.arr" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Cash actually received from operating activities in the period: customer collections across subscription, usage, services, and transactional revenue.", "Operating refunds received back from vendors and operating tax credits/refunds actually received.", "This is the cash-basis counterpart to recognized revenue and the inflow side of the net-burn equation." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Financing inflows: equity raise proceeds, venture-debt or loan drawdowns. Operational inflow is an operating metric.", "Investing inflows: asset sales, and interest/investment income (interest income belongs in finance.interest_income_expense, not operating inflow).", "Recognized-but-uncollected revenue — this line is cash collected, not accrual revenue." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Operating cash-receipts ledger for the period.", "A flagged list of lumpy one-off receipts (large annual prepayments) so they can be smoothed or isolated." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Cash-flow-statement operating-activity receipts.", "Bank deposit reconciliation as a fallback, mapped to operating vs financing/investing." ], "edgeCases": [ "An annual SaaS prepayment from a large customer booked as a single-month inflow masks the monthly run-rate — split it out or smooth over a trailing 3 months.", "Refund timing (received this period for a prior-period charge) can distort the trend." ], "validationChecks": [ "Reconcile against recognized revenue (finance.subscription_revenue, sales.arr) ± deferred-revenue / DSO movement; a persistent gap means collection timing is moving.", "finance.total_operational_outflow − operational inflow yields the absolute net-burn dollar value (before dividing by months)." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Counting equity or debt proceeds as operational inflow — turns a fundraising month into \"negative burn\" and lies about run-rate.", "Booking recognized (accrual) revenue here instead of cash actually collected." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_operational_outflow", "slug": "total_operational_outflow", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Operational Outflow", "description": "Sum of cash actually paid for operating activities for the period — payroll and benefits, employer taxes, vendor payments (infra, tooling, contractors), sales and marketing spend, rent, professional services, refunds issued. Excludes financing activities (debt repayment, dividend payments) and investing activities (acquisitions, capex). Direct input to gross burn. Common pitfall: capitalized R&D and long-term capex sometimes get bucketed here; if so they distort gross burn. Keep this strictly operating-cash and surface investing/financing outflows separately so the board can see \"ongoing cost base\" vs. \"discretionary capital deployment\".", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Sum of operating-activity cash payments for the period. Equals gross burn × months_in_period when there are no working-capital re-classifications.", "whyItMatters": "The denominator-side of net burn and the basis of gross burn — controlling the structural cost base is the lever most boards can directly act on between fundraises.", "interpretationGuidance": "Decompose by spend category each board cycle (payroll vs. infra vs. GTM) — a sustained shift toward GTM or infra usually signals a strategic decision worth explicit board endorsement. No single industry threshold for \"good\" — interpretation is always against ARR, revenue per FTE, and gross-margin context.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_operational_inflow", "finance.gross_burn_rate", "finance.net_burn_rate", "hr.arr_per_fte" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Cash actually paid for operating activities in the period: payroll, benefits, and employer taxes; vendor payments (infrastructure, tooling, contractors); sales and marketing spend; rent; professional services; refunds issued; operating taxes paid.", "Keep it strictly operating cash — it is the basis of gross burn." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Financing outflows: debt principal repayment, dividends, buybacks.", "Investing outflows: acquisitions, capex, and the cash cost of capitalized software.", "Non-cash items: depreciation & amortization and stock-based compensation are not cash and never belong in operational outflow." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Operating cash payments broken out by spend category (payroll vs infra vs GTM vs G&A).", "A flag for any capitalized or investing item that may have been bucketed into operating payments." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Cash-flow-statement operating-activity payments.", "AP and payroll disbursement records as a fallback, classified to operating only." ], "edgeCases": [ "Capitalized R&D or capex mis-bucketed here distorts gross burn — surface investing outflow separately as \"discretionary capital deployment\".", "US employer-tax true-ups (typically Jan/Apr) spike a single month up to 30–50% above run-rate.", "Annual SaaS renewals paid as a lump in one month inflate that month's outflow." ], "validationChecks": [ "Equals finance.gross_burn_rate × months_in_period when there are no working-capital reclassifications.", "Decompose by category each board cycle; a sustained shift toward GTM or infra usually deserves explicit board endorsement." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Including capex or M&A cash in operating outflow — overstates the ongoing cost base and gross burn.", "Including non-cash D&A or SBC — outflow must be cash only." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_opex", "slug": "total_opex", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total OpEx", "description": "Total operating expense for the period — R&D + Sales & Marketing + Customer Success + G&A. Subtracted from gross profit to produce EBITDA. Excludes COGS (above the gross-profit line) and below-EBITDA items.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "total_opex = total_rnd + total_sm + total_cs + total_ga.", "whyItMatters": "The full operating cost base below gross profit — the lever between gross profit and EBITDA.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track against gross profit: OpEx growing faster than gross profit pushes EBITDA down.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_rnd", "finance.total_sm", "finance.total_cs", "finance.total_ga", "finance.ebitda" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_restricted_cash", "slug": "total_restricted_cash", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Restricted Cash", "description": "Cash on the balance sheet that is not available for general operating use because it is contractually pledged or held for a specific purpose — typical examples include landlord lease-deposit escrows, customer-funds collateral, security deposits backing letters of credit, payment-processor reserves, and debt-covenant minimum-balance requirements. Per IFRS and US GAAP balance-sheet presentation, restricted cash must be disclosed separately from unrestricted cash; the board should treat this number as removed from runway. Common pitfall: payment-processor \"reserve\" balances and large customer-deposit floats are often missed when reporting unrestricted cash, inflating apparent runway.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Sum of bank-account balances flagged `restricted: true` in `finance.bank_accounts_list`, plus any restricted balances held in non-bank vehicles (escrow agents, payment-processor reserve accounts).", "whyItMatters": "Excluded from operationally available cash and from the runway calculation — reporting it inside total cash without flagging the restriction overstates runway and can mask a covenant or liquidity issue.", "interpretationGuidance": "A non-trivial restricted balance (say, >5% of total cash — industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade) usually warrants a footnote on the source of the restriction and any release schedule. Watch for restricted cash that grows faster than the corresponding operating activity (e.g. payment-processor reserves growing faster than GMV) — that often signals a tightening processor relationship.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cash_in_bank", "finance.total_unrestricted_cash", "finance.operationally_available_cash", "finance.bank_accounts_list" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Bank-account balances flagged restricted in finance.bank_accounts_list.", "Contractually pledged or purpose-held cash: landlord lease-deposit escrows, letter-of-credit collateral, security deposits, payment-processor reserves, customer-funds collateral, and debt-covenant minimum-balance requirements.", "Restricted balances held outside bank accounts (escrow agents, processor reserve accounts)." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Unrestricted operating cash that is freely deployable for payroll or vendors.", "Soft internal earmarks (\"set aside for the raise\") that are not contractually restricted — those are still unrestricted and deployable.", "Undrawn facilities or future obligations not yet funded into a restricted account." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Per-account restricted flag plus the source of each restriction (lease, LC, processor, covenant).", "Any scheduled release dates for the restriction." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "finance.bank_accounts_list restricted flags reconciled to the underlying contracts.", "Legal / contract documents and processor agreements for collateral and reserve terms." ], "edgeCases": [ "Payment-processor reserves that grow faster than GMV — often signal a tightening processor relationship; flag the trend.", "Customer-prepaid balances held in segregated / restricted accounts are NOT deployable.", "A restriction released mid-period reclassifies to unrestricted — disclose the reclassification." ], "validationChecks": [ "Restricted cash must be ≤ finance.total_cash_in_bank.", "finance.total_unrestricted_cash must equal total cash − restricted cash.", "A restricted balance above ~5% of total cash (folk-wisdom, not citation-grade) warrants a footnote on the source and release schedule." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Missing processor reserves or large customer-deposit floats — the classic way restricted cash is understated and runway overstated.", "Classifying a soft internal earmark as restricted — understates deployable cash and runway." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "point_in_time", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_revenue", "slug": "total_revenue", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Revenue", "description": "Total recognized revenue for the period — the sum of subscription, usage, services, and other revenue. The P&L revenue subtotal and the denominator for gross margin. Distinct from `sales.total_revenue` (the GTM recognized-revenue metric) and from ARR; this line is the statement total built from the revenue split.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "total_revenue = subscription_revenue + usage_revenue + services_revenue + other_revenue.", "whyItMatters": "The accounting top line and the basis for gross margin and every margin ratio.", "interpretationGuidance": "Compare period-over-period and against budget; decompose movement into the four revenue lines to explain the change.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.subscription_revenue", "finance.usage_revenue", "finance.services_revenue", "finance.other_revenue", "finance.gross_profit", "sales.total_revenue" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_rnd", "slug": "total_rnd", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total R&D", "description": "Total research & development operating expense for the period — the sum of the R&D lines. One of the four OpEx section totals that roll into Total OpEx.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "total_rnd = rd_payroll + product_design_payroll + contractors_outsourcing + rd_tools_software + other_rnd.", "whyItMatters": "The headline R&D investment line the board tracks against revenue and plan.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track as a percentage of revenue and against budget; decompose movement into the R&D lines.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.rd_payroll", "finance.product_design_payroll", "finance.contractors_outsourcing", "finance.rd_tools_software", "finance.other_rnd", "finance.total_opex" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_sm", "slug": "total_sm", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Total Sales & Marketing", "description": "Total sales & marketing operating expense for the period — the sum of the S&M lines (payroll, commissions, marketing, paid media, events, tools, other). One of the four OpEx section totals.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "total_sm = sales_payroll + sales_commissions + marketing_payroll + paid_marketing + events_conferences + sm_tools_software + other_sm.", "whyItMatters": "The headline go-to-market spend line; the numerator behind blended CAC.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track against new ARR/bookings and budget; decompose into the S&M lines to explain change.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.sales_payroll", "finance.sales_commissions", "finance.marketing_payroll", "finance.paid_marketing", "finance.events_conferences", "finance.sm_tools_software", "finance.other_sm", "finance.total_opex" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.total_unrestricted_cash", "slug": "total_unrestricted_cash", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Unrestricted Cash", "description": "Cash that the company can freely deploy for any operational purpose — total bank balances minus any contractually restricted balances. This is the input most boards actually want when judging runway, because it strips out escrows, security deposits, and processor reserves that cannot be spent on payroll or vendors. The distinction matters more as the company adds enterprise contracts (deposit obligations), debt facilities (covenant balances), and payment processing volume (rolling reserves). Common pitfall: at early stage, restricted cash is often near zero so teams equate this with `finance.total_cash_in_bank` — track them separately from day one to avoid surprise reclassifications later.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "preSeed", "seed", "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "preSeed": "core", "seed": "core", "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "finance.total_cash_in_bank − finance.total_restricted_cash. Equivalent to the sum of bank-account balances flagged `restricted: false` in `finance.bank_accounts_list`.", "whyItMatters": "The right cash number to divide by net burn when computing the spendable runway a board can act on — restricted cash cannot bridge a payroll gap.", "interpretationGuidance": "A meaningful divergence between unrestricted and total cash (industry folk-wisdom: >5–10%) is the trigger to surface a restricted-cash schedule in the board pack. Compare period-over-period — a sudden drop in unrestricted cash that does not match burn usually means a reclassification (e.g. a new lease deposit) rather than spending.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_cash_in_bank", "finance.total_restricted_cash", "finance.operationally_available_cash", "finance.runway_months", "finance.bank_accounts_list" ], "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "point_in_time", "moneyBasis": "cash", "production": "computed" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.travel_entertainment", "slug": "travel_entertainment", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Travel & Entertainment", "description": "Cost of travel, meals, customer travel, and board travel for the period. Rolls up minor items; kept as one readable line.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Travel & entertainment cost for the period.", "whyItMatters": "A discretionary line that is an early lever when tightening burn.", "interpretationGuidance": "Read directionally; large moves usually reflect travel policy or event timing.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_ga" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Travel, lodging, meals, customer travel, and board travel for the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Event-linked travel (finance.events_conferences) and relocation (recruiting / the hire's payroll).", "Client entertainment that is actually a marketing program." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Expense-report travel-and-entertainment categorization." ], "validationChecks": [ "Discretionary — an early lever when tightening burn; read directionally; rolls into finance.total_ga." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Double-counting event travel already captured in finance.events_conferences." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.usage_revenue", "slug": "usage_revenue", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Usage / Consumption Revenue", "description": "Recognized revenue tied to usage- or consumption-based pricing for the period (metered API calls, compute, seats-on-demand, overages). Separated from subscription revenue because it scales with customer activity rather than contracted commitments and is typically more volatile period to period.", "fieldType": "currency", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Recognized usage/consumption-based revenue for the period.", "whyItMatters": "Surfaces how much revenue depends on variable customer activity vs. fixed commitments — a key durability signal.", "interpretationGuidance": "Higher volatility than subscription revenue is normal; large swings should be explained by customer activity, not pricing changes, unless flagged.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.total_revenue", "finance.subscription_revenue" ], "calculationPolicy": { "inclusionRules": [ "Recognized usage- / consumption-based revenue (metered API calls, compute, on-demand seats, overages) earned as consumed in the period." ], "exclusionRules": [ "Fixed contracted subscription fees (finance.subscription_revenue), including committed-use minimums recognized as subscription.", "Estimated usage not yet earned, and cash collected." ], "requiredInputs": [ "Metered usage records reconciled to billing, recognized on a consumption basis." ], "dataSourcePriority": [ "Metering / billing system.", "GL usage-revenue accounts reconciled to metered volume." ], "edgeCases": [ "Usage drawn against a prepaid commitment is recognized as the commitment is consumed.", "Estimated month-end usage is later trued up — disclose the estimate basis.", "Higher volatility than subscription revenue is normal." ], "validationChecks": [ "Large swings should be explained by customer activity, not pricing changes, unless flagged.", "Watch the ratio to total revenue as a durability signal." ], "commonMiscomputations": [ "Booking a committed minimum as usage (or usage as subscription) — distorts the recurring-vs-variable mix.", "Recognizing billed-but-unconsumed prepaid usage upfront." ] }, "metricBasis": { "timeBasis": "period_flow", "moneyBasis": "recognized_revenue", "production": "primary" } }, { "rogueId": "finance.working_capital_adjustments_list", "slug": "working_capital_adjustments_list", "domain": "finance", "defaultLabel": "Working Capital Adjustments", "description": "Itemized list of working-capital adjustments with explicit sign-prefix driving the additive-vs-subtractive multiplier — e.g. \"+ AR collected: $250k\", \"− Prepaid infra: $80k\", \"+ Deferred revenue: $600k\". The line-item basis for `finance.net_working_capital_adjustment` and its child KPIs (current_asset_adjustments, current_liability_adjustments). The signed-prefix UI convention prevents the most common working-capital reporting bug — sign-flips that double-count or invert the cash effect. Common pitfall: lumping unrelated items into a single \"other working capital\" line loses the diagnostic value; break out the top 3–5 components.", "fieldType": "text", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "recommended", "seriesB": "recommended", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "editorial", "sourceName": "imboard Editorial", "sourceUrl": null, "sectionRef": null, "publicationDate": "2026-04-01", "attributionNotice": null, "authorityLevel": "imboard-editorial" }, "formula": "Each row contributes `± amount` based on its sign prefix. Sum of signed amounts equals `finance.net_working_capital_adjustment`. Asset-side rows roll up to `finance.current_asset_adjustments`; liability-side rows roll up to `finance.current_liability_adjustments`.", "whyItMatters": "Makes the working-capital aggregate auditable — the board can see exactly which items moved the number and which direction. Critical at Series A+ when working capital is material.", "interpretationGuidance": "Track the same line items across periods; a previously material line that vanishes from the list usually indicates a hidden reclassification rather than resolution. New material lines deserve a one-line footnote on what happened.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "finance.net_working_capital_adjustment", "finance.current_asset_adjustments", "finance.current_liability_adjustments", "finance.operationally_available_cash" ] } ] }