We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 675 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city

Money, pricing & model

Startup finance & accounting

Keep the books, watch the runway.

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What financial basics does every founder need to understand? Know your cash balance, monthly burn, runway, and gross margin cold, these four numbers decide whether you live or die. You don't need an accountin... Beginner 3 resources → What is burn rate and runway, and how do I calculate them? Burn rate is how much cash you lose per month (net burn = cash out minus cash in); runway is your cash balance divided by monthly net burn, literal... Beginner 2 resources → How should I manage cash flow so my startup doesn't run out of money? Take your profit (and taxes) off the top before you touch the rest, invoice fast, and collect faster, cash timing kills more startups than lack of ... Intermediate 3 resources → Do I need an accountant and proper bookkeeping from day one? Yes, set up clean bookkeeping and a separate business bank account from day one, even if it's just simple software plus a good CA. Messy early book... Beginner 3 resources → How do I read a P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement? The P&L shows if you're profitable over a period, the balance sheet is a snapshot of what you own and owe, and the cash flow statement shows money ... Intermediate 3 resources → What's the difference between revenue, profit, and cash in the bank, and why did my accountant say I'm profitable when my account is nearly empty? Profit is an accounting statement (revenue minus expenses on paper), while cash is what's actually in your account right now, and they diverge when... Beginner 3 resources → How do I price my product so I'm actually making money and not accidentally selling below cost? Most early founders price off gut or competitor screenshots and never compute their true unit economics, so they scale a loss. Start by knowing you... Intermediate 3 resources → What are the most expensive accounting and finance mistakes early founders make that only show up a year later? The classics: commingling personal and business money, missing GST or TDS deadlines, treating GST collected as your own cash, undocumented cofounde... Intermediate 2 resources → Do I need to understand accrual accounting and things like deferred revenue, or is cash-basis enough for a SaaS just starting out? Cash-basis is simpler and fine for very early days, but the moment you sell annual SaaS plans, cash-basis lies to you: a year of prepaid revenue lo... Advanced 2 resources →

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