Cfo Advisor
Install this when you need startup cash-flow runway math, P&L-vs-cash gaps, and non-dilutive funding options without hiring a fractional CFO.
Overview
CFO Advisor is an agent skill most often used in Operate (also Validate, Grow) that teaches startup cash-flow mechanics, runway risks, and funding levers distinct from P&L revenue.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill cfo-advisorWhat is this skill?
- Cash equation separate from accrual P&L with a concrete enterprise-deal timing example
- Catalog of under-used cash sources (deferred revenue, vendor terms, cloud credits, RBF, venture debt)
- Cash drain checklist (annual licenses, events, recruiting fees, legal, slow enterprise AR)
- Framing that unprofitable runway can work but zero cash cannot
- $25K–$100K AWS/GCP startup credits cited as commonly available
- $50K–$200K legal surprise range for data room and close
- 15–25% recruiting fee of first-year salary noted
Adoption & trust: 565 installs on skills.sh; 17.5k GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You track MRR and revenue on a spreadsheet but cannot explain why payroll is tight despite "good" December numbers on the P&L.
Who is it for?
Bootstrapped or venture-backed solo builders modeling runway, enterprise billing terms, or lump-sum annual costs.
Skip if: Deep tax filing, statutory accounting, or automated bank reconciliation—use a CPA and your ledger tools instead.
When should I use this skill?
Planning hires, annual prepays, enterprise contracts, or fundraising when you need cash-first reasoning instead of P&L-only metrics.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a structured cash lens—sources, drains, and accrual-vs-cash examples—so agent-assisted forecasts and spending decisions align with bank reality.
- Cash-focused narrative analysis
- Checklist of sources and drains applied to your scenario
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Cash and runway discipline matter most once you are spending and collecting in production, but the same mental model applies when validating pricing and planning growth burn. Operate→iterate is the canonical shelf for recurring financial hygiene—forecasting, leak detection, and runway decisions—not a one-off launch task.
Where it fits
Stress-test annual vs monthly billing on cash collected before you commit to a discount-heavy enterprise proposal.
Interpret MRR dashboards alongside collection timing so growth charts do not mask a payroll crunch.
Audit lump-sum Q1 software renewals and recruiting fees against ending cash for the next 90 days.
How it compares
Financial reference prose for agents, not a live accounting integration or dashboard MCP.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is cfo-advisor for?
Solo founders and small teams who own pricing, hiring, and vendor commits and want CFO-grade cash framing without a full-time finance hire.
When should I use cfo-advisor?
In Validate when setting pricing and contract terms, in Grow when scaling spend against predictable MRR, and in Operate when iterating forecasts, reviewing AR slippage, or evaluating credits and non-dilutive debt.
Is cfo-advisor safe to install?
It is reference documentation with no built-in tool execution; review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page before enabling the skill in your agent.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Cfo Advisor
# Cash Management Reference Cash is the oxygen of a startup. You can be unprofitable for years. You cannot be out of cash for a day. --- ## 1. Cash Flow Management ### The Cash Equation ``` Ending Cash = Beginning Cash + Cash collected from customers - Cash paid to employees - Cash paid to vendors - Cash paid for infrastructure - Debt service +/- Financing activities Note: This is NOT the P&L. Revenue recognition ≠ cash collected. ``` ### Where Cash Hides (and Leaks) **Cash sources you might be under-using:** - Deferred revenue (annual billing locks in cash 12 months early) - Customer deposits on enterprise contracts - Vendor payment terms (Net 60 instead of Net 30 = free float) - AWS/GCP startup credits (often $25K–$100K available, widely unused) - Revenue-based financing on predictable MRR - Venture debt (non-dilutive, available post-Series A) **Cash drains that sneak up on you:** - Annual software licenses paid in Q1 (budget for the lump sum) - Event sponsorships (often 6-12 months in advance) - Recruiting fees (15-25% of first-year salary, due on hire) - Legal fees (data room prep, fundraise close = $50K–$200K surprise) - Late-paying enterprise customers (Net 60 in contract, pays Net 90 in practice) ### Cash Flow vs P&L: The Gap **Scenario: $1M enterprise deal signed December 31** ``` P&L impact (accrual): December revenue: $83K (1/12 of annual) Cash impact: If billed annually upfront: +$1,000K in December (GREAT) If billed quarterly: +$250K in December (good) If billed monthly: +$83K in December (fine) If Net 60 terms: +$0 in December, +$83K in February (cash drag) ``` **The CFO's job:** Maximize the timing difference between cash in and cash out. - Collect from customers as early as possible (annual upfront, early payment discounts) - Pay vendors as late as possible (maximize payment terms) - Never confuse deferred revenue (a liability) with actual cash (it is cash — just count it right) --- ## 2. Treasury and Banking Strategy ### Account Structure ``` Operating Account (primary bank): Balance: 3-6 months of operating expenses Purpose: Payroll, vendor payments, day-to-day ops Product: Business checking or high-yield business savings Bank: Chase, SVB successor (First Citizens), Mercury, Brex Reserve Account (secondary or same bank): Balance: Everything above operating float Purpose: Reserve; move to operating as needed Product: Money market fund or T-Bill ladder Target yield (2024-2025): 4.5%–5.2% Products: Vanguard VMFXX, Fidelity SPAXX, or direct T-Bills via TreasuryDirect Emergency Account (separate bank): Balance: 1-2 months expenses Purpose: If primary bank has issues (SVB taught this lesson) Product: Business savings ``` **FDIC coverage:** $250K per depositor per institution. For balances above $250K at a single bank, either: - Use CDARS/ICS (bank sweeps into multiple FDIC-insured accounts automatically) - Spread across multiple banks - Move excess to T-Bills (backed by US government, not FDIC, but safer) **After SVB (March 2023):** Every CFO should have at least 2 banking relationships. If one bank fails or freezes, you can make payroll. ### Yield on Cash At $3M cash, the difference between 0% (checking) and 5% (T-Bills) is $150K/year. That's a month of runway for a $150K/month burn company. **Get yield on reserves.** ``` Monthly yield on $3M at 5%: ~$12,500 Annual: ~$150,000 This is not optional. Set it up once and automate. ``` --- ## 3. AR/AP Optimization ### Accounts Receivable: Get Paid Faster **Billing model impact on cash:** ``` Annual Upfront Quarterly Monthly Net 30 Monthly Cash Day 1: 100% of ACV 25% of ACV 8.3% 0% Cash Month 2: 0% (done) 0% 8.3% 8.3% 12-month total: 100% 100% 100% 100% For $100K ACV customer, Year 1 cash: Annual upfront: $100K i