Investor and lender reporting
The money has landed. Now the bank, the investor or the board expects to hear from you, on time, in a format they can read, with the covenants calculated and the surprises explained before they are asked about. Most owners treat this as a chore and deliver it late. We treat it as the way a company keeps the confidence of the people who funded it, and we build a reporting routine that runs every month without drama.
What you leave with
A reporting pack your lenders, investors and board receive on schedule, with covenants tracked and the story told before it is asked for.
Who it is for
- Owners with a term loan, a line of credit or a government lender that requires regular reporting
- Founders with outside investors or a board for the first time
- Companies in a covenant breach or close to one
What we deliver
- A reporting calendar listing every lender, investor and board requirement with its due date
- A monthly or quarterly pack in the format each reader expects
- Covenant calculations with headroom tracked every month, not just at test dates
- A board or investor update with the narrative written in plain language
- Early warning when a covenant or a forecast is at risk, with the plan to address it
- Attendance at lender reviews and board meetings alongside you
How it runs
01Inventory
We read every loan agreement, shareholder agreement and side letter and list what each reader is owed and when.
02Design
We design one set of monthly numbers that feeds every pack, so nothing is produced twice.
03Run
We produce and present the first three cycles with you, including covenant tracking and the narrative.
04Transfer
We hand the routine to your controller or keep running it under a retainer, as you prefer.
Engagement and fees
Included in a fractional CFO seat at $25K to $60K per month. As a standalone routine, an Advisory Retainer at $8K to $25K per month covers monthly production, covenant tracking and attendance at reviews. Every engagement is scoped after a call and confirmed in writing. See consultations and fees.
What each reader wants
A bank wants the covenant calculations, the aged receivables and payables, the financial statements and a short explanation of anything unusual. A government or development lender adds the use of funds and the progress against what was promised. An investor wants the KPIs, the burn and runway if the company is not yet profitable, the forecast against plan and the decisions coming up.
A board wants all of that in one page, with the detail behind it, and it wants to know what the management team needs from them. The common thread is consistency and no surprises. The number in the pack must match the number in the statements, and bad news must arrive from you before it arrives from the numbers.
Covenants, tracked monthly
Most covenants are tested quarterly or annually. Most breaches are discovered at the test. Tracking them monthly, with the headroom shown as a trend, gives you a quarter's warning, which is the difference between a conversation with your lender and a default notice.
Common covenants in BC lending to companies your size are debt service coverage, a debt-to-EBITDA ratio and a working capital or current ratio. Each has a definition in the loan agreement that is not always the obvious one. We calculate them the way the agreement says, show the headroom in the pack and flag the month the trend turns.
The narrative is the product
Numbers without a story make the reader guess, and readers guess badly. Each pack carries a short narrative: what happened, why, what we are doing about it and what we expect next. It is written in plain language for someone who has fifteen minutes and twenty other companies to read about.
When the news is bad, the narrative arrives early and comes with a plan. Lenders and investors have seen bad quarters. What they have not forgiven is being surprised. The reporting routine exists to make sure they never are, and to make the next conversation about capital an easy one.
- Every loan, shareholder and investor agreement, including amendments
- The last packs you sent, if any, and the feedback you received
- Your current monthly financial statements and KPIs
Industries where we run this most
Questions about this service
We are close to breaching a covenant. What should we do?
Tell the lender before the test date, with the numbers, the cause and the plan. Lenders can waive, amend or reset a covenant, and they do so far more readily for a borrower who came to them early. We prepare that conversation with you and attend it.
How often should we report to investors?
Monthly if the company is early stage or burning cash, quarterly if it is established and profitable, and whenever something material happens in between. The shareholder agreement often sets a minimum. Reporting more often than required, briefly, is cheap insurance.
Can you present at board meetings?
Yes. We prepare the finance section, present it and answer the questions. Over time we coach you or your controller to take that seat, because a board should hear the finance story from inside the company.
Does this replace what our CPA sends the bank?
No. Your CPA produces the year-end statements the bank requires annually. We produce the interim reporting, the covenant tracking and the narrative in between, and we make sure the two agree.
Start with a finance review.
Ninety minutes with Ali on your cash, margin and pricing. You leave with the four numbers to watch and the two or three moves that change them, whether or not we work together.