Finance update pack

Finance update pack

A finance update people actually read: three headline bullets, one table, the variances that matter with a real reason for each, then cash and runway. The script does the arithmetic so the narrative never contradicts the numbers.

Inputs

One CSV per month in data/, for example data/finance-2026-10.csv (see examples/finance-2026-10.csv):

line,type,plan,actual,prior,better
Subscription revenue,revenue,262000,268400,255100,
Hosting and model costs,cogs,41000,47800,42300,
Payroll,opex,210000,204500,203900,
New customers,metric,9,11,7,
Logo churn,metric,2,3,1,lower
Ending cash,cash,,3150000,3216800,

• type: revenue, cogs, opex, metric, or cash (one row, the ending balance).
• plan can be empty for lines with no plan. prior is last month's actual (optional, used for month over month).
• better: costs default to lower, everything else to higher. Set lower for metrics like churn.

Also ask: the month, the audience (leadership team, board, or investors), and anything already known ("the big services deal slipped to November"). If the user has a P&L export instead, map its lines into this shape and show the mapping before running.

Steps

1. Run the numbers:

   node scripts/variance.mjs data/finance-2026-10.csv --month 2026-10 --out out/finance-update

   Thresholds: a line is flagged when it misses plan by at least --threshold-pct (default 10) and --threshold-abs dollars (default 5000). Metrics use the percent only. Tune for company size.

2. Read out/finance-update-variance.md. It has the summary table, burn, runway (this month and the two-month average), and the flagged lines with an empty "Why" column.
3. Get the why. For each flagged line, ask the user one short question ("Services revenue was $8.5k under plan. Slipped deal, lost deal, or plan too high?"). Do not invent reasons. If the user does not know, write "Under review" and list it as a follow-up.

4. Draft out/finance-update.md with the template below. Match the audience:

   • Leadership: all flagged lines, owners for follow-ups, next month's watch list.
   • Board or investors: fewer lines, rounder numbers, trend over detail, and the asks. Never share salary-level detail.
5. Show the draft. Offer a short version (five lines) for a chat post.

Template

# Finance update: October 2026

**Headline**
- Revenue $277.9k, 1% under plan; subscription revenue 2% over, services 47% under (deal slipped).
- Net burn $66.8k vs $52.0k plan, driven by a conference ($14.3k over in programs).
- Cash $3.15M; runway about 4 years at current burn.

| | Plan | Actual | Var |
| Revenue | ... |
| Gross margin | ... |
| Opex | ... |
| Net burn | ... |

**Variances that matter**
- <line>: <actual> vs <plan> (<var %>). <Reason in one sentence>. <What changes next month>.

**Cash and runway**
<balance, burn trend, runway, any known lumps coming>

**Asks / decisions**
- <specific ask, or "None this month">

**Next month watch list**
- <1 to 3 items>

Guardrails

• Every number in the narrative must come from the script output or the user's file. If they disagree, the script wins; recheck the input.
• Runway is a simple cash / net burn. If the company is near breakeven or burn swings a lot, say so and suggest the cash-runway-model kit for scenarios.
• Not financial or investment advice; it is a reporting aid.
• Do not send or post the update anywhere. Write files; the user shares them.

Finance update pack

Writes your monthly finance update from one small CSV of plan, actual, and last month. A script does plan vs actual, burn, and runway and flags the lines that missed by enough to matter; Claude asks you why for each one and drafts the update for your team, board, or investors.

Who it is for: founders and finance leads who send a monthly update and want it accurate, short, and done in 20 minutes.

Example

Input: examples/finance-2026-10.csv (two revenue lines, two cost of revenue lines, five opex lines, three metrics, ending cash).

Output (out/finance-update-variance.md):

| | Plan | Actual | Var | Prior month |
| Revenue | $280,000 | $277,900 | -$2,100 | $269,300 |
| Net burn | $52,000 | $66,800 | $14,800 | $54,900 |
Ending cash $3,150,000. Runway 47.2 months at this month's burn.

Variances over 10% and $5,000: Logo churn, Services revenue, Sales and marketing programs, New customers, Hosting and model costs

Then out/finance-update.md: headline bullets, the table, each variance with your reason, cash and runway, and asks.

What it can access

• Runs node scripts/variance.mjs (Node built-ins only).
• Reads data/. Writes out/finance-update*.
• No network. It never sends the update; you do.

Setup

None. Put this month's numbers in a CSV like the example and ask Claude for the monthly finance update.