Fundraising Readiness Checklist

By Tom McCollum, ACA · Former KPMG Corporate Finance · Compass & Ledger

The short answer

Work through each section below. If you can't tick most items in a section, that's where investors will slow you down. The sections that most often hold up a round are the numbers (section 1) and the legal housekeeping (section 5).

Use this before your first investor meeting. Each item includes why it matters, because knowing what an investor is testing for is half of passing the test.

1. Your numbers

Monthly accounts closed and reconciled for at least the last 12–24 months.Investors will ask for trailing monthly figures, not just annual accounts.
Accounts prepared on an accrual basis, not cash.Cash-basis accounts hide timing of revenue and costs, and investors will ask for them to be restated.
Revenue definitions written down.If the deck says ARR, bookings or GMV, you can show how each reconciles to revenue in the accounts.
Gross margin includes all costs of delivery: hosting, fulfilment, payment fees, support.Leaving these out is the most common reason margins get restated in due diligence.
Current cash, monthly net burn and runway calculated and agreed across every document.
Customer and cohort data you can export: new customers, churn, retention and revenue by cohort.

2. Round size and dilution

Round sized to 18–24 months of runway, with a buffer.
Use of funds tied to specific milestones your next investors will value.
A pro forma cap table showing ownership after the round, including every SAFE and convertible note converting.
The effect of any option pool increase on your effective pre-money valuation modelled.
A view on the terms that matter beyond price: liquidation preference, pro rata rights, board seats.

3. Financial model

A three-statement model (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow) that ties out.
Revenue built from drivers, not a growth rate.
A hiring plan linked to the cost base, with realistic start dates and ramp times.
Monthly forecasts for at least 24 months.
Base and downside scenarios, with runway shown for each.
All assumptions in one labelled place, so an analyst can flex them.

What investors look for in a financial model

4. Valuation and materials

A valuation view you can explain, supported by comparables and recent rounds in your sector.
A pitch deck whose financial slides come straight from the model.
A one-to-two page executive summary.
A Q&A pack with written answers to the questions every investor asks about margins, burn, customer concentration and assumptions.
A rehearsed walkthrough of the model, not just the pitch.

5. Legal and tax housekeeping (US)

Company is a Delaware C-corporation, or you know the conversion timeline.
IP assignment agreements signed by every founder, employee and contractor who built the product.
Founders' 83(b) elections filed within 30 days of receiving vesting stock, and copies kept.
Option grants made under a current 409A valuation and board-approved.
Cap table matches board minutes, stock ledgers and SAFE documents exactly.
State sales tax and payroll registrations in place wherever you have obligations.
Material customer and supplier contracts signed and easy to find.

6. Data room

Built before your first meeting, not after the term sheet.
Organised the way investors review: corporate, financial, commercial, legal, team, IP.
Every figure in the data room matches the deck and model.
Access controls and a record of who viewed what.

Preparing for investor due diligence

How to read your results

If you can tick almost everything, you're ready to go to market. If the gaps are in sections 1 or 3, fix those first: investors forgive an imperfect deck far more readily than numbers that don't hold together. If the gaps are in section 5, start now, because some legal fixes take weeks.

Frequently asked questions

What documents do investors ask for in a seed round?

Typically the deck, financial model, historic monthly accounts, cap table, key contracts, and corporate and IP documents. At Series A, expect more detail on cohorts, unit economics and customer contracts.

When should I build my data room?

Before your first meeting. A ready data room shortens due diligence and signals a well-run business.

What's the most common gap?

Numbers that don't agree across the deck, model and accounts, especially gross margin and revenue definitions.

Too many gaps?

That's what Investor Ready in 30 Days is built for. We close them in 30 days, working from one source of numbers.

See Investor Ready in 30 Days

Read the full guide: How to prepare for a seed or Series A raise

Next step

Thirty minutes. No pitch. Your situation, and what we would do about it.

If we are a fit, we will say so. If we are not, you will hear that too, and where to look instead. Either way you leave with a clearer picture of what good finance looks like for your business.

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