If you're working in a fast-growth start-up and the phrase “series A fundraising” has started circling leadership conversations, you know the pressure’s about to kick in.

And if you’re the finance lead, let me be really clear this is your moment. Series A fundraising isn't just a milestone for the business; it's a high-stakes test for your numbers, your systems, your processes, and your ability to handle pressure like a pro.

Whether you’re stepping up into your first finance leadership role or you’ve done this once or twice before, getting ready for a Series A raise is a huge job. But it’s also one of the most rewarding projects you’ll work on in your finance career.

So here’s what I want to walk you through: what actually needs to happen behind the scenes to be Series A ready, and what you ,as the finance person, need to get on top of before the first pitch goes out the door.

Why Series A Fundraising is a Big Deal

Series A fundraising isn’t just about getting more cash in the bank. It’s about convincing investors that this business has legs. That it’s scalable. That it’s got product-market fit. And most importantly, that the numbers hold up under scrutiny.

At Seed stage, people invest in vision. At Series A, they invest in traction and the systems that can support scaling. That’s where you come in.

Step 1: Get Investor-Ready Numbers

Your financials are going to be picked apart. If you haven’t already cleaned up your books, standardised your reporting, and sanity-checked every line of your P&L and balance sheet then start now.

This includes:

• Proper revenue recognition policies

• Clean separation of cost centres

• Realistic growth assumptions

• Consistent accounting treatments

• Accruals and prepayments done right (yes, even at early stage)

If you’re still using 6 different Google Sheets and manually reconciling Stripe revenue now’s the time to upgrade. Your numbers need to tell a clear, consistent story.  (also, check out our latest Finance Tech stack recommendations here if you need help with automations).

Step 2: Nail Your Financial Model

A strong financial model comes into its own during Series A fundraising. It should show how the business will scale, where the money will go, what metrics matter, and how you’re tracking against them.

At a minimum, your model needs to include:

• Revenue assumptions tied to funnel metrics

• Headcount plans and hiring timelines

• Burn rate and cash runway

• Unit economics

• Scenario planning (especially for downside protection)

It must be coherent, defensible, and aligned with the pitch deck.

Step 3: Build the Dataroom (and Keep It Organised)

Investors will ask for a lot and quickly. If you want to look like you know what you’re doing (and avoid 2am data scrambles), get your dataroom sorted early.

Include:

• Financial statements (historical and forecasts)

• Monthly management accounts

• Cap table (clean and up to date!)

• Customer metrics and cohort data

• Contracts, tax filings, funding history

We’ve got a full post on preparing your dataroom (see here) if you want to look at the details, but the short version is: it needs to be easy to navigate, easy to update, and easy to share.

Step 4: Align With the Founder and Pitch Deck

Series A fundraising isn’t just about the model. It’s about the story. The founder is going to pitch a vision and your numbers need to back that up.

Make sure you:

• Review the pitch deck before it goes out

• Align on key metrics and milestones

• Translate the vision into financial language

Founders often overpromise in the deck (especially around timelines or targets). Your job isn’t to shoot them down, but to pressure-test the plan and make sure the projections hold up.

We’ve got a blog post on how to support the founder with the pitch deck too worth a read if you're unsure what your role should be (see here).

Step 5: Prepare for Due Diligence (Before It Starts)

Series A due diligence is lighter than later-stage rounds but it still happens. If your processes are messy, if your controls are weak, or if you can’t back up what you’ve reported, investors will lose confidence.

So what can you do?

• Document your policies and assumptions

• Reconcile revenue sources (CRM, billing, bank, GL)

• Review your contracts and make sure they match the financials

• Be ready to explain anomalies (one-offs, timing issues, etc.) 

Series A fundraising is stressful. It’s fast-moving, high-pressure, and emotionally intense. Founders are juggling ten things at once. Investors want everything yesterday. And your inbox will never stop.

But as the finance lead your job is to stay calm, stay focused, and stay organised.

You’re the one bringing structure to the madness. And when the raise lands, you’ll know you played a critical role in getting it over the line.

Want to be a confident and skilled Finance leader in 12 months?  Then follow these steps:

• Sign up to our next free workshop.

• Access the FLF Book that gives you an overview of the FLF Framework. 

• Work with me in the Financial Leadership Foundations course  for indepth training to become a confident & skilled finance professional in 12 months.  Includes regular Q&A sessions, networking with other finance professionals & the Advanced Management Accounts course.