Virtual CFO
Fundraising financial models
A fundraising model for a Canadian raise starts from your actual QuickBooks Online, Xero or Sage 50 history, not a template, and walks a lender or an equity investor through exactly how the funds get used, month by month, in Canadian dollars, with the assumptions that will get questioned laid out for scrutiny rather than buried in a formula.
13-week cash forecast
Illustrative client · August 2026
CAD
- Cash today
- $244,220
- Lowest week ahead
- 239,800
- Largest outflow
- Payroll, 46,300
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Where Canadian rounds get stuck
A raise rarely stalls on the pitch. It stalls when a term sheet arrives and the underlying spreadsheet cannot answer a direct question: why does the customer acquisition number assume that ramp, what happens to runway if a hire slips a quarter. We build the model so every assumption traces back to a line in your actual books, not a formula nobody can explain in the room.
The mechanics
Three statements: profit and loss, balance sheet, cash. Twelve to twenty four months of history pulled directly from your accounting file sets the base case. Forward assumptions, headcount, pricing, customer acquisition cost, get layered on top and flagged separately, so a reviewer can see exactly where history ends and the plan begins.
Grants, tax credits and Canadian specific inputs
Many Canadian founders raise around SR&ED tax credit timing or provincial grant cycles, both of which change the shape of a cash forecast in ways a generic template misses. A BDC term loan behaves differently in a model than a venture equity round, since a lender reads debt service coverage where an investor reads growth multiple. We build to whichever your next conversation actually needs.
Pressure tested before it leaves your hands
Before a model goes to an investor or a bank, we run the downside case ourselves: a slower sales ramp, a delayed grant payment, a higher burn month. If the model breaks under a reasonable stress case here, it breaks in the meeting instead, and we would rather find that first. Pairs with investor reporting for the cadence once money lands.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Fundraising financial models
Can you build a model that includes SR&ED tax credit timing?
Yes. SR&ED credits typically arrive well after the spend they relate to, and we build that lag into the cash forecast rather than treating the credit as immediate cash.
Do you build models for a BDC or bank term loan, not just an equity raise?
Yes. A lender model emphasizes debt service coverage and collateral; an equity model emphasizes growth and burn multiple. Same underlying data, different framing for the audience.
How current does our bookkeeping need to be before you start?
Current enough that the last full month is closed. If your books have a backlog, we close them first so the model's base case is not built on a guess.
Will the model survive a term sheet negotiation?
We stress test the downside case ourselves before it leaves our hands, so the assumptions most likely to be challenged are already flagged rather than discovered live.
What exactly is included in fundraising financial models?
A three-statement model (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) driven by real assumptions, and historical actuals tied to your books, not estimated. This work runs inside Excel or Google Sheets, whichever your business already has in place, and it rolls into your regular monthly close rather than sitting off to the side as a separate, unreconciled process.
Will you help us defend the model to investors?
We build the model to withstand scrutiny and can walk you through the assumptions before a raise, though we are not a party to your investor conversations.
How far back does the historical data need to go?
As far back as clean records exist. Most models use 12 to 24 months of actuals as the base for the forward assumptions.
Can the same model support a debt raise instead of equity?
Yes. The model logic is the same; the assumptions and the output a lender wants differ from what an equity investor wants, and we build to the audience.
What if our records for fundraising financial models are not up to date?
If your records are behind, we scope a catch-up first so fundraising financial models starts from a clean, reconciled base. That catch-up is priced and timed separately from the ongoing engagement, so you always know what each part costs.
Related services
- Virtual CFOInvestor reportingA recurring investor update built from your actual numbers: the metrics investors expect, delivered on a schedule you can rely on.
- Virtual CFO13-week cash flow forecastA rolling week-by-week cash forecast that shows what is coming in, what is going out, and where the next 13 weeks get tight.
- Virtual CFOPricing and unit economicsA clear read on what each customer, order or unit actually costs and earns, so pricing decisions are based on margin rather than a guess.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.