A bootstrapped Mumbai SaaS founder had strong product metrics and growing MRR — but when investors asked for 12 months of MIS reports, there was nothing to show. Here's how we turned that around in 90 days.
The Client
Our client is a Mumbai-based B2B SaaS company that builds workflow automation tools for mid-sized businesses. Founded in 2021 by two tech entrepreneurs, the company had grown quickly — they had paying customers, good monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and a product that worked. But their finances were a mess.
The Problem
When they first came to us, the founders were spending 10–12 hours every month just trying to reconcile bank statements on their own. There was no proper accounting system, GST filings were delayed, and TDS compliance was being handled manually through spreadsheets.
The real breaking point came when a VC investor asked for 12 months of MIS reports and a detailed P&L. The founders had no idea where to start. They had strong product metrics but couldn't present their financial story clearly — and that was costing them investor trust.
Here's what we found when we came on board:
- Books had not been properly maintained for over 14 months
- Three bank accounts with no reconciliation trail
- GST returns filed late for 6 consecutive quarters (with penalties)
- No clear separation between founder expenses and company expenses
- No MIS framework — revenue, costs, and burn rate were all tracked in separate Excel sheets
What We Did
We didn't just clean up the books. We built a financial system the company could grow with.
A modern startup founder's workspace: clear financial dashboards showing MRR growth, key SaaS metrics, and strategic Series A planning notes.
Step 1 — Diagnostic & Cleanup (Weeks 1–3)
We audited 14 months of transactions across all three bank accounts. Every entry was categorised, mismatches were flagged, and director loan accounts were properly documented. We also filed pending GST returns with a reconciled computation to minimise penalty exposure.
Step 2 — Accounting Structure & Compliance (Weeks 3–6)
We set up cloud-based bookkeeping using Zoho Books, created a clean chart of accounts tailored to SaaS business models (separating recurring vs. one-time revenue, COGS, and software expenses), and put TDS deductions and quarterly advance tax payments on a calendar-driven compliance schedule so nothing would be missed again.
Step 3 — MIS Reporting Dashboard (Weeks 6–10)
We built a monthly MIS report template designed specifically for what SaaS investors want to see: MRR, churn rate, gross margin, EBITDA, runway, and cash flow. Every month, the founders now receive a clean 3-page report that tells the full financial story of their business.
Step 4 — Investor Readiness Pack (Weeks 10–12)
We prepared 12 months of audited financials, a detailed P&L, and a supporting data pack that answered the due diligence questions a Series A investor would ask. We also helped the founders structure their cap table documentation and reviewed their term sheet from a tax-efficiency standpoint.
The Results
Within 90 days of engaging MN & Co., the company had:
- ✓Clean, audit-ready books going back 14 months
- ✓100% GST and TDS compliance — all filings current
- ✓A monthly MIS report that the founders actually use to run the business
- ✓A Series A data room that impressed investors on first review
- ✓35% reduction in founder time spent on financial admin
The founders went into their Series A investor meetings with full confidence in their numbers. One investor specifically commented that their financial presentation was "unusually well-organised for a company at this stage."
“We were good at building product, but we kept avoiding the finance side because it felt overwhelming. MN & Co. didn't just fix the mess — they made it simple for us to understand our own numbers. For the first time, we actually know how our business is doing financially.”
What This Means for You
If you're a startup founder in India dealing with overdue GST or TDS filings, investor due diligence with no financial structure, no visibility into your monthly burn rate, or messy books from using spreadsheets for too long — you don't need to figure it out alone. We've done this for SaaS companies, tech platforms, and digital businesses across India. We speak your language, and we work at startup speed.
Services Used in This Engagement