Oleksiy Baziura

Do you really know what's going on with your finances? "I have an accountant, so everything is fine with my finances" — this sounds logical, but only at first glance. The real question is: what kind of data do you use to make decisions about pricing, investments, business growth, or cutting certain areas?

Figures from official accounting reports prepared under NAS (National Accounting Standards) or IFRS are often not timely or detailed enough for day-to-day management tasks. Relying solely on them is like managing your business with your hands tied.

In this article, we’ll break down the real difference between accounting and financial management, why the latter is absolutely essential for any business — and how it helps entrepreneurs gain clarity, control, and confidence in their finances.

Accounting Is Done Mainly for the Government

Accounting is about formality and compliance. Its main purpose is to prove that your business plays by the rules: pays taxes properly, keeps records, submits reports to the tax authorities and other regulators.

What does accounting show?

• What your company owns (assets).
• How much it earns and spends (income and expenses).
• What it owes and to whom (liabilities).

This is the language of the state. That’s why everything here must strictly follow regulations: formats, deadlines, and legal terminology. For you as the owner, this data often holds only technical value.

How Financial Management Works for Your Profit

Financial management is the language of business. It’s created not for the government but for you, and it shows only the numbers that help you manage effectively, increase profits, and avoid financial losses.

What does financial management show?‍

Want to know which projects are profitable and which are draining resources? Which markup actually works? Which department generates revenue, and which burns the budget? All of this is shown through financial management.

Key distinction:
Accounting answers the question: Is everything correct?
Financial management answers: Is everything profitable?

And if you rely solely on accounting — you’re not getting analytics, you’re just getting a report.

Why Your Accountant Shouldn’t Be the Only One “Responsible for the Numbers”‍

One of the most common business scenarios is when all financial responsibilities are given to the accountant. Formally, they’re in charge of record keeping and reporting, but in practice they’re also expected to calculate profits, analyze expenses, advise on investments, and prepare budgets.

Business owners get used to having all the numbers in one person's hands, and that’s convenient — but this model has serious limitations.

Accounting and financial management are different processes, requiring different logic, skill sets, and approaches.

Key Tasks of an Accountant

These functions ensure the company's financial transparency to the state:

• Maintain records according to NAS or IFRS.
• Prepare mandatory reports for tax and regulatory authorities.
• Control primary documentation.
• Calculate payroll, taxes, depreciation, and reserves.
• Handle audits, inspections, and work with regulatory bodies.
• Ensure compliance with tax and legal requirements.

Key Tasks of a Financial Management Specialist (CFO, Analyst or Financial Analyst):

These tasks form the basis for effective management of money, profits and the financial future of the business

• Financial planning, budgeting, variance analysis.
• Profitability, cost-effectiveness, and margin analysis.
• Create financial management reports (P&L, Cash Flow, Balance Sheet in internal format).
• Forecast cash flows.
• Build financial models and assess project viability.
• Provide analytics for decision-making.
• Oversee financial strategy implementation.

In companies where only the accountant handles finances — it works only up to a certain level. But this doesn’t diminish the accountant’s role: they do complex, vital, and technical work.
It’s just that their job is about accuracy and compliance, not profitability and strategy.

If you want a true financial picture to manage your business — you need a separate function or expert focused specifically on financial management.

‍

Financial chaos? Forget it!

Finmap gives you control and order.

Try it — 7 days for free.

Try for free

no card required

‍

Compliance ≠ Cash Flow Control‍

Accounting is not designed for owners or for daily business management. Its goal is to ensure legal compliance. That’s why it doesn’t answer key questions owners ask:

• Which business line is the most profitable?
• Where are we losing money?
• What is our breakeven point?
• Which projects should be shut down, and which ones scaled?
• Will we have enough cash for payroll in two weeks?

Why Accounting Doesn’t Give You the Answers You Need

Even if the data in your accounting system is technically correct — it’s often not structured in a way that helps you manage the business. Here are the main issues:

• Reports are delayed — real data may come weeks or months after the fact.
• Data is aggregated, with no breakdown by product line, client, or sales channel.
• Expenses are recorded by accounting logic, not where they actually occurred (e.g., to the warehouse or into the cost of goods sold for the whole business).
• Financial management-specific details (like conditional costs, allocated budgets, internal transfers) are not considered.

As a result, owners receive correct but useless information. Everything looks fine on paper, but in reality — cash gaps, unprofitable units, and chaos in decision-making.

See. Calculate. Act: Why Owners Need Financial Management‍

Financial management is not about formality — it’s the core operational tool for owners and executives. When set up properly, it shows you what’s really happening in your business and helps you make fact-based decisions.

The key problems financial management solves:

‍

1. Profitability analysis by product, project, business line
   You can see exactly what’s profitable and what’s wasting resources.
2. Budgeting and financial planning
   Plan income, expenses, profits, and cash flows. Analyze deviations between plan and actuals.
3. Liquidity forecasting and cash gap prevention
   Financial reports help you know how much cash you’ll have in the future.
4. Expense control and business model efficiency
   View costs by direction, channel, or product — and cut the waste without touching profits.
5. Financial reports for owners or investors
   A transparent, structured financial model is the foundation for growth, funding, or selling the business.
6. Timely information for decision-making
   Reports are prepared weekly or monthly — not quarterly, when it’s too late to change anything.

And although financial management is a conscious leadership choice, some countries legally require entrepreneurs to implement it alongside accounting.

To grow — you must delegate: finances should work for you‍

If your business is still small, you can start on your own: spreadsheets with income and expenses, manual cost allocations, a simple budget. That’s already better than nothing.

But sooner or later, you’ll hit a wall:

• Your numbers don’t match
• Reports lag behind reality
• You start doubting the data
• It becomes hard to make decisions — because you don’t trust the numbers

Financial management isn’t just a set of files. It’s a system that must be implemented, supported, and scalable.

That’s where experts come in. An experienced financial specialist can:

1. Build the right analytical structure
2. Set up logic for cost allocation
3. Create reports that actually work
4. Prepare you for growth or investment
5. Help you avoid costly mistakes

Your job is to make decisions. The financial expert’s job is to give you the right numbers. Regularly. Accurately. Without doubt.

So yes, both accounting and financial management matter — because they answer different questions: one ensures legal compliance, the other drives business performance.

It’s your choice: settle for what’s required by law, or implement financial management and finally start running your business based on real numbers!

Investors do not hand out money just for a good idea. They invest in a vision supported by real financial arguments. An ambitious project, a strong team, and scalability prospects are important, but without a clear financial strategy, there will be no deal.

Can you convincingly explain how the invested funds will turn into profit? If not, the chances of securing investment are nearly zero. Strong financial indicators are not only proof of a business’s viability, but also a demonstration of its readiness to compete in a large market.

How to properly prepare for attracting investments and what really convinces investors – we break it down in this article.

Why Excel Is a Trap for Business and How to Escape It

Every entrepreneur has faced this: chaos in financial management, wasted time, and endless corrections of broken formulas in Excel.

This was also the case for Artem Sitnikov, the founder of SITNIKS CRM – a customer relationship management system designed for small and medium-sized businesses.

He quickly realized that without a clear financial management system, a business cannot survive.

Where to Start? Ordering custom Excel spreadsheets. The idea seemed logical, but reality quickly made things clear:

• Constant updates – a waste of time, which is always in short supply.
• Formulas break – one mistake, and reports lose their meaning.
• Inconvenient access – employees could see everything or nothing at all.
• No change control – it was nearly impossible to track who made what changes to the files.

Managing finances in this way was frustrating, time-consuming, and did not bring the expected results.

Artem did not stop there and continued to search for the ideal financial management solution that would meet the following key requirements:

• Reduce and optimize the time spent on financial management.
• Eliminate the need to manually enter data.
• Automate report creation and avoid errors.
• Maintain transparent and efficient reporting for investors.

Automation Without Fear: How Finmap Makes Financial Management Simple and Secure

Before fully switching to Finmap, Artem Sitnikov faced common business concerns:

Should all company accounts be connected? How safe is it?

Transferring financial data is a serious step, and any mistake can be costly. The transition took quite some time, but now Artem strongly advises against being afraid. In reality, there is no risk at all.

Finmap is an aggregator of all transactions.

All operations remain in your banks – Wise, Santander or any other. The service simply collects data from bank statements into a single system to automate calculations and generate accurate reports.

The key factor in choosing Finmap was the P&L report, which Artyom called “Finmap gold”. But let's go through everything in order.

P&L, Cash Flow, and Automation: What Makes a Business Attractive to Investors

Financial routine slows down business growth. Thanks to Finmap, Artem's company eliminated financial gaps, gained a clear financial picture, and created attractive conditions for investors. Here’s how it works in practice:

• The issue of time optimization was resolved through banking and individual integrations, as well as automation rules.
• With these tools, data entry and processing require only minimal intervention from managers and the owner.
• Using flexible access settings, financial management was easily delegated to employees. As a result, Artem no longer has to dive into daily routines and can instead focus on scaling the business and attracting investments.

• Potential and existing investors gain full visibility into the company’s financial flows. They can assess its stability, expenses, and future financial obligations at any time. This not only builds trust but also makes the business more attractive for new capital investments.
• By setting up the process of collecting and processing transactions, the Cash Flow report in the company is now generated automatically.
• The Profit and Loss (P&L) report consolidates all data and provides real financial results by category, contractor, and project. A detailed filtering system helps analyze data not only on the overall state of the business but also by individual metrics. At the same time, the report’s interface and content remain simple and easy to understand.

• After solving the key financial issues, Artem focused on another critical aspect: managing accounts receivable – a hidden profit reserve. Using a specialized report in Finmap, the company quickly identified clients who delayed payments in certain months.
  ‍The result: Now, funds arrive on time, which positively impacts cash flow and helps avoid cash gaps.

How to Improve Financial Reporting: Tips from Artem

Financial reporting clearly shows where money is going, how stable income is, and whether a business can attract investments. Artem Sitnikov shares key recommendations from his own experience:

• Start using a financial service as early as possible. Time is a resource that should not be wasted. The sooner you start financial management, the faster you can optimize expenses and increase profitability.
• Make financial reporting clear. Investors and partners must clearly see how your business operates and how you plan to use their funds. Transparent finances build trust and simplify capital attraction.
• Analyze financial flows. Using modern tools like Finmap helps maintain organized records, quickly identify problem areas, and make informed decisions.

Artem’s experience proves that adopting modern financial management solutions can turn a startup into a profitable company.

How Finmap Opens the Way to New Heights

The biggest breakthrough after implementing Finmap was that attracting investments became easier, and negotiations with investors became more convincing. Now, financial analytics are more accurate than ever, and potential partners have full access to key business indicators in real time.

Instead of endless spreadsheet exchanges and manual data consolidation – automation and transparent reporting. This is not just saved time and money, but a foundation for growth. Thanks to Finmap, the company has not only optimized processes but also become more attractive for new capital investments.

After implementing Finmap, we attracted our first investment
- Artem Sitnikov, CEO & Co-founder of SITNIKS CRM company

Tools for Your Financial Success

Regardless of your goal – attracting investments, taming financial chaos, forecasting and avoiding cash gaps – all Finmap tools work for you:

• Centralized data storage – all financial data in one system for easy analysis and management.
• Automatic calculations – calculates key financial metrics automatically, reducing time spent on manual calculations and minimizing errors.
  ‍

Financial chaos? Forget it!

Finmap gives you control and order.

Try it — 7 days for free.

Try for free

no card required

‍

• ‍Integration with banks and payment systems – seamless interaction with financial institutions.‍
• Payment Calendar – ensures forecasting and cash flow planning.‍
• Cloud storage – guarantees data security and accessibility.‍
• Automation rules – streamlines routine processes and improves efficiency.‍
• Flexible access system – custom access levels for different users.

Finmap is not just a financial management tool, but a strategic partner that helps not only organize finances but also unlock new opportunities for investment.

Ready for a financial revolution in your company? Start using Finmap today!

Most entrepreneurs perceive financial management as a continuous, systematic process of data collection and processing. They assume that once set up, it will operate seamlessly without further adjustments. However, this is a misconception.

Effective financial management is only possible when it aligns with current trends and the modern business landscape. Methods that were effective 3–5 years ago may now only complicate processes and consume additional time.

Are you ready to discover what lies ahead for financial management in 2025? The trends shaping its efficiency could be the key to your business success. Don’t miss the opportunity to implement innovations in time and stay ahead of the competition.

Cybersecurity

The advancement of digital technologies creates new opportunities for businesses but also makes them more vulnerable to cyber threats.

Financial information is one of a company's most critical assets. Protecting data from leaks, attacks, and internal threats must be a top priority.

The rise in cyberattacks worldwide is driven by increasing geopolitical instability and the digitalization of businesses. As a result, the cybersecurity market has expanded, boosting demand for automated solutions with built-in security systems.
In financial management, this translates into the need for:

• Protecting data from unauthorized access.
• Secure storage of financial documents in cloud services.
• Minimizing the risks of data loss or theft of confidential information.

Given the growing cyber threats, companies must combine innovative management solutions with robust data protection mechanisms to mitigate risks and ensure the stability of financial processes.

Systematization

Systematizing financial processes is not just a trend but a strategic necessity.

It involves structuring financial data, implementing clear standards, rules, and procedures that simplify analysis and reporting. This, in turn, enhances the speed and efficiency of managerial decision-making.

A system is what separates a successful business from chaos. - Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates

Systematizing financial management provides businesses with a range of strategic and tactical advantages, as it leads to:

• Increased accuracy of financial information.
• Transparency and control over cash flows.
• Cost optimization and improved profitability.
• Compliance with legal requirements and risk reduction.
• Strengthened financial discipline within the company.
• Readiness for scaling and attracting investors.

Companies that neglect financial systematization are playing financial roulette. Meanwhile, those that implement a structured approach gain control, predictability, and a competitive edge. In an era of rapid change, survival belongs not to the largest but to the most organized.

‍

Financial chaos? Forget it!

Finmap gives you control and order.

Try it — 7 days for free.

Try for free

no card required

‍

Process Automation

Financial Management Automation, along with systematization, becomes a key factor in effective financial management. It can be achieved by implementing the following functions:

Integration

Integrating management systems with banking and payment services (Stripe, PayPal, Fondy) enables real-time receipt, processing, and analysis of financial data, ensuring:

• significant time savings on transaction processing;
• minimization of risks associated with human error;
• transparency of financial flows;

Auto Rules

Modern financial management services allow for the creation of automatic payment distribution rules based on categories and other characteristics (for example, all payments with the comment “Payment for (product/service)” are automatically classified under income with the “Sales” category).

Automatic Financial Reporting

Instead of simply using templates or pre-made report formats, opt for programs that will automatically generate the main reports based on the entered data. Prioritize services that allow for the automatic generation of:

• Balance sheet
• Profit and loss statement
• Cash flow statement
• Debt report

Electronic Document Management

‍The transition to e-document management minimizes paperwork, automates invoice issuance, contract signing, and document exchange with counterparties and tax authorities.

Delegation and Implementation of AI

‍Continuing the topic of automation, it is important to highlight the involvement of artificial intelligence in the financial management process. Currently, AI should be seen not as a threat to jobs, but as a way to free people from routine tasks.

AI can be implemented in the following areas of management:

1. Report Generation and Analysis
   Artificial intelligence can process financial transactions and generate reports with analytical conclusions in a structured format. This helps facilitate prompt management decision-making, reduces the workload on staff, and minimizes the risk of human error.
2. Forecasting and Risk Management
   Algorithms can analyze historical data and market trends, predict future financial indicators, identify potential risks, and recommend strategies for risk mitigation.
3. Security and Responsibility Control
   This tool can verify transactions for compliance with tax and financial regulations, detect suspicious transactions, and reduce the risks of fraud.

Forecasting

‍Oleksandr Kravchenko, Managing Partner at McKinsey in Ukraine, advised businesses at the "Ukraine Tomorrow" event to change their approach to activity planning and develop three scenarios: optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic.

Finmap experts recommend creating financial forecasts based on last year's data while considering the aforementioned scenarios. This approach will provide you with a clear action plan and allow you to take informed steps in case of various challenges.

You can’t predict the future, but you can plan for it. - Peter Drucker

Thus, financial management in 2025 requires not only accuracy but also adaptability to changes. Companies that implement modern tools for financial management and forecasting will not only optimize their operational processes but also enhance their competitiveness in the business environment.

Are you looking for a solution that meets all the trends of modern financial management? Start working with Finmap — turn numbers into a tool for business scaling and make proactive decisions!

The beginning of the year is an opportunity to see the true picture of the business based on the results of the past period. What worked best? Where are the hidden reserves for growth? How can you prepare the financial foundation for a successful start to the new year?

In this article, we will explore how to summarize the financial results of the year without missing any important details and how to prepare for planning the upcoming year.

How to Prepare Your Annual Financial Statements Without Any Hassle

Effective financial planning and summarisation helps businesses make informed decisions and avoid mistakes. Follow these tips to make the annual reporting process more accurate and convenient.

• Summarize the annual results at the beginning of January, not at the end of the calendar year. This way, you can collect and systematize all the data related to the past period, even if payments were delayed.
• Implement regular monitoring of the financial situation to minimize the risk of unexpected results at the end of the reporting period.
• Use specialized financial tools throughout the year to collect and store data in a unified system.

Key Metrics for Assessing the Financial Health of a Business

Financial analysis is the foundation of effective business management. To make the right decisions, it is important not just to record income and expenses but also to evaluate key indicators, track their dynamics, and identify patterns.

This will help uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the business, optimize costs, and improve financial results. Let’s explore which indicators should be analyzed and how understanding them can enhance profitability and financial stability of the company.

• Sales Volume in Monetary Terms: This indicator should be analyzed by major product groups, services, and projects, comparing them with previous periods and analyzing the factors that influenced fluctuations.
• Net Cash Flow, according to the Cash Flow report, shows the balance between the company's income and expenses on a monthly basis. Cash flow analysis helps identify periods with a negative balance and the sources to cover it, which is crucial for planning future financial flows.
• Total Business Profit for the Year is a key performance indicator that reflects the overall financial outcome of operations and allows an assessment of the change in results compared to the previous year.
• Profit Dynamics by Month serves as an indicator of business seasonality. If profit shows clear peaks or declines, it allows for adapting the financial strategy, optimizing costs, and adjusting marketing activity.
• Profit by Business Areas – projects, locations, sales points, product/service groups, etc. – helps identify the most profitable products and services, enabling more effective resource allocation and focus on promising directions.
• Margin by Key Areas and Projects reflects how much net profit each area or project generates after accounting for variable costs, which is critically important for strategic business management.

• Share of Key Expenses Relative to Sales allows you to assess the proportion of each expense item, determining their impact on the overall financial result and controlling the dynamics of changes. If the share of key expenses is constantly rising, it signals the need to review the cost strategy, especially if sales are growing more slowly.
• Business Profitability for the Year is a relative profitability indicator used for comparison with market averages. When compared to last year’s data, it provides insight into whether operational efficiency is increasing.
• Financial Position of the Business: Analyzing assets and equity, as well as the ratio of working capital to current liabilities. This is determined based on the management balance sheet and helps to identify changes in the structure of assets and liabilities, as well as assess the company’s ability to meet obligations and the effectiveness of profit utilization.
• Additional key indicators for your business may include: ROI, LTV, MRR, Break-even Point, Unit Economics, etc.

Regularly assessing key indicators allows you to control the financial situation and identify hidden opportunities for growth. A strong business is built not on assumptions, but on accurate data.

Therefore, it is important not just to look at the numbers, but to understand their meaning, learn to forecast risks, and act proactively. Those who systematically analyze their finances achieve stability and a competitive advantage, which ultimately determines the company’s future.

‍

Financial chaos? Forget it!

Finmap gives you control and order.

Try it — 7 days for free.

Try for free

no card required

‍

Benefits of Annual Analysis for the Financial Health of the Company

Annual analysis is not only an assessment of the company’s performance but also an important tool for strategic planning, allowing you to:

• ‍Adjust current business processes.‍

If throughout the year the company faced issues such as a lack of working capital, failure to account for seasonality, or a slowdown in sales, it signals the need for changes.‍

• ‍Conduct a deep analysis of the company's financial position.

‍It is important to focus on the ratio of working capital to current liabilities to avoid cash flow gaps. Profitability and margin indicators should be used to assess the effectiveness of resource utilization.

• Make decisions regarding key business areas.‍

Annual analysis helps identify the most profitable projects and assess the costs of supporting unprofitable ones, as well as their impact on overall financial performance. Based on the report, insights can be gained on alternative monetization strategies or the reformatting of unprofitable assets.

Predefine the break-even point for each business area to keep track of the indicators throughout the year.

• Develop a growth strategy adapted to the real market conditions.‍

Use the data collected to compare with market averages and adjust the strategy to external changes. Market shifts may require adjustments to pricing policies or product assortments.

How Annual Analysis Helps in Making Strategic Decisions

Assess possible business development scenarios based on financial data and prepare flexible strategies for different economic conditions (growth, recession, changes in demand).

Annual reporting is also one of the key foundations for building a financial model for the business, which in turn helps to find answers to questions such as:

• How to predictably and steadily earn more;
• How to keep the business above the break-even point;
• Is it profitable to open a new business direction;
• How to prevent crisis situations.

Thus, compiling annual reports helps analyze business performance and make informed management decisions regarding future development. It’s important to note that you can quickly obtain accurate annual results only with a well-established systematic accounting process.

Finmap will help organize your finances and become your reliable support in the world of numbers. No more trouble with reporting!

Modern business faces numerous challenges that often require innovative solutions for success. When entrepreneurs launch new ventures or projects, financial management becomes critically important to ensure the stability and growth of the company.

In this context, the experience of Anita Solovei and her financial director Bohdan Puzansky is particularly interesting. With the help of Finmap, they successfully implemented a systematic financial management process. In this case study, we will examine in detail how Finmap helped address the challenges posed by business expansion and how significant results in financial management were achieved.

Key Business Projects of Anita Solovei

Anita Solovei is an entrepreneur who manages several businesses across various fields:

1. Instagram page Be My Guest, which specializes in short-term apartment rentals in Kyiv, allowing tourists and business people to stay in comfortable apartments for short periods.
2. Instagram hotel Live.Here.Hotel offers guests comfortable rooms and an individual approach to each client, highlighting style and atmosphere.
3. Online camp "The Path of the Orange Blogger" is a project offering educational courses for bloggers and those who want to develop their online presence.
4. Instagram page Blog of Anita Solovei, a personal blog where Anita shares her experiences, ideas, and advice with her followers.

Anita Solovei actively develops these projects, combining traditional and innovative approaches, which requires efficient financial management and precise accounting.

Challenges faced by the business

As Anita's business grew and the number of directions increased, Bohdan Puzansky, the financial director, faced numerous difficulties. Initially, financial accounting was conducted using Excel. However, with the expansion of projects that cover both offline directions (real estate rentals, mini-hotel) and online activities (educational programs, Instagram blog), this approach became inefficient. Managing expenses was especially problematic, as funds were often withdrawn from personal cards, leading to data confusion and complicating financial analysis.

Before the pandemic, the business was actively engaged in short-term property rentals, managing 60 apartments, which required daily accounting of large volumes of income and expenses. The pandemic forced a re-evaluation of priorities, with the focus shifting to the blog and info products, which increased the number of directions and complicated accounting for the 20-person team.

Project Specifics

Anita Solovei and her team manage several businesses, each with its own characteristics:

1. Be My Guest Apartment Rentals
   Short-term apartment rentals require constant tracking of income and expenses, which change daily. The need for accurate accounting of each transaction is critically important to determine the profitability of each apartment.
2. Live.Here.Hotel
   The hotel business requires not only financial management but also client service, which complicates accounting. Expenses may include staff wages, maintenance, and other operational costs.
3. Online Courses
   Running online courses requires systematizing expenses for advertising, learning platforms, and other services related to the course.
4. Anita Solovei's Blog
   The blog also has its own expenses: content creation, promotion, technical maintenance, etc.

With the appearance of several directions, there was a need to simplify the process, as managing Excel spreadsheets began to take up too much time. The large amount of data made it difficult to understand what was really happening in the business.

Therefore, Finmap was tasked with the following:

• Systematize accounting to see the overall picture of the business and data for each direction separately.
• Simplify accounting and spend less time on it.
• Make the data visual, so that at any moment, the financial picture of the business could be quickly understood without spending time on analysis.

‍

Financial chaos? Forget it!

Finmap gives you control and order.

Try it — 7 days for free.

Try for free

no card required

‍

Establishing New Financial Principles

Bohdan immediately decided not to create several companies in the service but to manage accounting in one, dividing it into Projects. After all, the company is essentially one. There is a general bank account from which money is distributed across different directions. Therefore, it was more convenient to create several projects within one company to see:

• how much money the business has overall;
• how financial flows are distributed;
• which direction is working well and which is not.

‍

‍

At the first implementation of Finmap 1.0, each apartment in the short-term rental business was made a separate project. There ended up being 70 projects. On the one hand, this helped track the profitability of each apartment.

‍

On the other hand, such a number of projects complicated accounting, as expenses were often shared. For example, the purchase of towels, bed linen, and cleaning supplies. There was one expense, but it had to be distributed across 70 projects. Therefore, the first use of Finmap was quite challenging.

Evolution of Management Strategies

With the start of the pandemic, the demand for short-term rentals significantly decreased. Anita and Bohdan noticed that business efficiency had dropped, although time expenses remained high. The decision was made to rent most of the apartments for long-term leases and abandon part of the real estate. The main focus shifted to educational courses and the blog.

Now, Bohdan manages 7 projects in Finmap instead of 70. All apartments were combined into one project, as most of them are rented for the long term, and the data doesn’t change much from month to month. However, thanks to the ability to divide one payment across several projects, they can effectively manage the finances for each apartment individually. Tags are used for detailed accounting, which allows for a quick view of the information on each property.

Categories and Payment Calendar

Bohdan actively uses the Categories functionality in Finmap to clearly allocate expenses and income among different aspects of the business. This functionality allows him to easily structure financial flows, separating payments related to real estate management, educational projects, and the blog. Thanks to this, Bohdan can see not only the overall picture but also analyze each business direction in detail.

Categories help him quickly identify where financial performance changes are occurring, enabling him to respond promptly and adjust strategies. This is particularly important as financial flows can vary greatly for each of his projects: real estate has stable long-term income, while educational courses and the blog may experience more dynamic changes due to seasonality or market demand. Thanks to such financial organization, Bohdan finds it easier to manage the business and make well-informed decisions quickly. He also uses the Payment Calendar to plan income and expenses, which helps track cash inflows and avoid liquidity gaps.

‍

‍

‍

It is very convenient to label them with categories and track how much money is being spent where. This also helps to notice when some variable expenses become fixed, so they can be planned in the Payment Calendar for future reference.

In the Payment Calendar of Finmap, you can plan Income and Expenses. Moreover, if you add future expenses or receipts, the Payment Calendar will show whether there will be enough money or if there’s a risk of a cash gap.

How to Simplify Financial Accounting: Bohdan’s Lifehacks for Effective Financial Management‍

Financial accounting can seem like a daunting task, especially when projects and expenses accumulate. However, Bohdan shares practical lifehacks that can help streamline finances and avoid unnecessary stress:

• Enter information daily. But if that’s not possible, at least make notes; otherwise, things are forgotten even by the evening of the same day.

‍

• Connect accounts and cards in Finmap so that transactions are entered automatically.

• If you have several projects or directions, but the same employees work in them, it’s better to separate salaries from projects and make them a separate category of expenses. For example, if you have a hotel, a blog, and a course, but the same marketer handles social media for all of them. 
• If this is not done, it’s difficult to allocate each salary to all projects. And tying it to just one direction is wrong because one project would bear the costs for all.
• Don’t hesitate to reach out to Finmap's support team.

‍

‍

Transparency and Control: The Results of Using Finmap in Anita Solovei's Business

The implementation of Finmap allowed Anita Solovei and her team to systematize their financial accounting, combining all the data in one place. Now, it is convenient to track both the overall financial status of the business and the indicators of individual projects. Thanks to automation and transparent reports, financial control has become much simpler, and expenses—more understandable.

• Financial accounting for all 7 projects of Anita Solovei has been systematized. Now all the data is in one place. It’s convenient to view both information about the financial state of the entire business and individually for each project.
• At any moment, Bohdan can check how much money is in each account and on each card. He no longer needs to log into the personal accounts of each bank separately. Plus, it’s immediately clear how much money on the card belongs to the business. This is especially convenient when there are cards that are used for both business and personal needs.
• Now, Bohdan and Anita know exactly what expenses the business can afford. Finmap has information about planned expenses and how much money is currently in the accounts. It’s easy to assess what will remain at the end of the month and whether they can spend on something extra.
• Now, small expenses are accounted for, such as bank fees, which were previously not tracked because the amounts were insignificant. However, over a month or a year, they accumulate into large costs.
• Reports no longer need to be made manually—the Finmap program performs the analysis on its own. Now anyone who needs to can access and view the entire picture of the company. And thanks to the clarity of the reports, even those who don’t understand much about finance can see what’s happening in the business.
• Accounting has become simpler. Now, less time is spent entering information and analyzing it.

Watch the full episode of "If Only I'd Known Earlier" with Anita Solovei and find out:

‍

• What questions every entrepreneur should answer.
• How Finmap helped her avoid the theft of $4,000 and 20 sets of bed linen.
• What Anita wishes she had "known earlier" about finances and business management

^{*The interview was recorded before the full-scale invasion by the russian federation. Currently, the participants in the video communicate exclusively in Ukrainian.}

Bohdan Puzansky, the financial director, and entrepreneur Anita Solovei were able to successfully solve their financial management issues by implementing the Finmap system. This program allowed them to organize their accounting, simplify financial processes, and achieve significant results in controlling expenses and income. Finmap helped Anita Solovei and her team focus on business development and implementing new ideas, ensuring stability and transparency in financial processes.

Thanks to the systematization of financial data and convenient tools for financial management, Anita Solovei's companies can now effectively plan and control their expenses, ensuring stable financial growth.

Launching and developing online schools and online courses is a complex process, especially when it comes to working with several projects at the same time. Dmytro Frolov, the founder of a production center and co-owner of an English language school, faced the need not only to launch new courses efficiently but also to maintain control over finances in the face of rapid business development. Find out how he managed to put his finances in order and ensure the stability of his projects with the help of Finmap in this article.

Meet: Dmytro Frolov and His Production Center

Dmytro Frolov is an entrepreneur who runs a production center specializing in launching and driving cold traffic to online schools and online courses. He also co-owns an English language school for Ukrainians founded by Kirill Makashov. These business lines pose many financial challenges for Dmytro, which must be addressed for the sustainable development of the projects.

Financial Traps: How Cash Gaps Almost Destroyed Business

Prior to founding the production center, Dmytro ran a marketing agency, but faced two serious cash gaps that negatively impacted his experience and reputation. Previous financial strategies based on manual calculations in Google Spreadsheets and working with old-school accountants were not effective, and Dmitry was tired of continuously trying to control the chaos in his finances.

One of the main mistakes was the perception of the account balance as a financial result of the business, which led to a misunderstanding of the company's real performance.

Thanks to these lessons, the entrepreneur began to study financial literacy and learn how to structure his finances correctly. This experience confirms the importance of proper financial accounting for any business, regardless of its scale. After all, 70% of businesses close due to cash gaps, which can be avoided if you manage your finances properly.

Finmap: From Chaos to Clear Financial Management

Since the launch of the production center, Dmytro and his team have been working with several clients at the same time (from 3 to 5 schools), creating an internal management system. When the English language school appeared, there was a need to build a financial system from scratch.

The growth of the business led to an increase in sales flow, the emergence of accounts receivable and the opening of accounts in different countries, which made it difficult to manage. Then, on the recommendation of a friend, Dmytro decided to turn to Finmap.

Immediately after connecting Finmap, he managed to combine all the accounts into one system and get a complete picture of the business's finances. On the very first day of using the tool, Dmytro saw how much money the company had, which was a real eye-opener.

Finmap made it possible:

• Quick access to financial information. At any time, Dmytro can use his smartphone to view the full picture of his finances, which has greatly simplified his control over the business.
• Automation of complex processes.Thanks to Finmap, salaries and payments to partners are now distributed without any problems. Systematizing expenses by categorizing them in a few clicks helps to avoid mistakes in payments.
• Integration of financial instruments. Previously, due to the large number of accounts, there was often a lack of funds to pay for certain services or salaries, as some expenses might not have been taken into account and automatic debits from linked cards or accounts went unnoticed. Thanks to Finmap, Dmytro can now quickly integrate all his accounts and systematize cash flows, which helps him avoid such situations and keep his finances under control.
• Preventing cash gaps. With Finmap, Dmytro can now track account balances and forecast cash flows, which allows him to identify possible cash gaps in advance and take the necessary steps to avoid them.

Why Does an Entrepreneur Need Financial Management from Day One?

Often, entrepreneurs rely on accountants alone, believing that this is enough to manage their finances effectively. However, this is a misconception, as controlling finances is a key responsibility of a business owner.

It's important not only to develop a product or marketing, but also to keep your finger on the pulse of cash flow.

Finmap helps to avoid the difficulties associated with manual accounting in Google Spreadsheets. With this system, you can easily control financial flows, including expenses for salaries, taxes, and advertising. This is especially useful for those who have many accounts and currencies.

Initially, the production center had a chaotic financial situation and could not clearly track expenses and income.

As we started to grow, our expenses increased every month, and the number of accounts grew with them. However, it was thanks to Finmap that we were able to integrate all financial flows into one system and get a clear picture of the state of our finances.

This allowed him to avoid cash gaps and plan expenses effectively. Financial transparency helped the entrepreneur to control every aspect of the business and make informed decisions.

Why is it Important to Start with the Financial System at the Start of the Project?

Creating a financial system at the start is much easier than trying to implement it when the business has already scaled up. With Finmap, you can track all expenses and income in real time, avoid mistakes, and keep control of your finances.

The biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make is to postpone the implementation of the financial system until later.

‍

Financial chaos? Forget it!

Finmap gives you control and order.

Try it — 7 days for free.

Try for free

no card required

‍

‍Advice for Entrepreneurs from Dmitry Frolov

Dmytro recommends creating a reserve fund of 10-20% of revenue to cover salaries, advertising, and contractors during crisis periods. He emphasizes that businesses that had a financial cushion were able to better adapt in times of crisis (pandemic, war), quickly restart their projects or start new ones.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, his business grew by 300% in one month. Then the war created new difficulties, but thanks to migration processes, in particular the increased demand for online education among Ukrainians who went abroad, the business experienced an explosion of growth again. People were looking for opportunities to develop and learn, which led to an increase in the customer base.

Dmytro shared his experience in financial management, highlighting the key mistakes he faced before implementing Finmap.

Top mistakes in financial management:

1. Cash gap. Unforeseen expenses or improper cash flow management.
2. Chaos in the accounts. A large number of accounts in different systems can lead to a lack of funds for payments or services.
3. Unaccounted for costs. Entrepreneurs often forget about small expenses, which can create liquidity problems. In Finmap, all expenses are integrated automatically, allowing you to better control your finances.
4. Create chaos in spreadsheets instead of integrating the system in a week. In Finmap, all finances are automatically accounted for and systematized, allowing you to effectively manage cash flow.

Finmap as a Solution for Business Scaling

With the help of Finmap, Dmitry Frolov's production center was able to significantly optimize its finances, avoiding chaos in accounts and cash gaps. Automated processes have allowed the business to focus on scaling and growth, particularly during the pandemic and military challenges.

Finmap has become an indispensable tool for transparent financial management and a reliable partner for businesses seeking to grow without financial barriers.

How can an online school build an effective business model and ensure financial stability? This was the question facing Mathema, an online school specializing in teaching math to schoolchildren. Low repeat sales and insufficient control over cash flow were hindering its growth.

How to make financial accounting a tool for strategic decision-making? How to increase the transparency of financial processes and stabilize profits? The answers to these questions were found in the Finmap program, which changed Mathema ' s approach to financial management. In this article, we'll look at how Finmap implementation helped the school achieve financial sustainability.
‍‍

Mathema - Personalized Learning to Improve Math Skills

Mathema is an online math school founded in 2021 that specializes in one-on-one tutoring for students in grades 1-11. The school provides personalized learning that helps students improve their knowledge and fill in gaps. As of today, Mathema serves more than 2,000 students and conducts more than 20,000 lessons every month.

Key Tasks and Challenges on the Way to Success

At the beginning of his journey, the company's co-founder Vitaliy Shkil aimed to create a systematic, predictable and stablebusiness. The idea was to find a business model that would ensure repeatability of processes and transparency of results. Working in the field of education has always been interesting, but there was often a problem with adults dropping out of training even after paying for it in full. This created certain difficulties for the business due to the low level of repeat sales and short-term interaction with customers.

The turning point was the realization that education for children is a completely different market. Children cannot stop learning because it is an obligatory part of life for them, just as work is for adults. This creates an opportunity to build long-term relationships with clients, as the learning process lasts for years.

The Requests of the Online Math School Mathema that Needed to be Solved:

• Business scaling. Aiming to expand an online math school by attracting more students, increasing the number of classes and teachers. To do this, it is important to have a clear vision of cash flows while scaling to avoid financial risks, loss of funds, or inefficient use of resources.
• Increase in sales. The need to increase sales, which requires an accurate understanding of how to invest in attracting new customers in a cost-effective manner.
• Transparent financial management. The need for proper accounting of all financial transactions to ensure transparency and control over the business. This includes accounting for student revenue, teacher expenses, marketing, course platform, etc.

I was lucky with my finances, I always listened to smart people, and they all said: control your finances.

In his previous online course business, Vitaliy tried to keep financial records, but it was more "reporting for reporting's sake," without a real understanding of its usefulness. It did not help in business management and did not influence important decisions.

Case study When he started Mathema, his approach to finance changed. Vitaliy already had basic knowledge and understood the difference between cash flow and profit and loss (P&L) statements and why it was important. Thanks to this experience, he was able to build a financially stable foundation for the business, which helped in the development and scaling of Mathema.
‍‍

I was already applying my knowledge of financial accounting to a new business, making it financially healthy from the start. Because I realized that for me, finance is one of the areas from which I can diagnose something in business.

The main challenges for the company in the future were scaling and sales growth. As the business became bigger and more complex, there was a need for effective financial management, which became one of the key conditions for further successful development.

To do this, it was decided to use the Finmap financial accounting system , which helps to maintain control over cash flows and ensures stability in the face of business growth.

Why Switched from Excel to Finmap

Initially, Mathema used Excel to keep track of funds. It seemed like a simple and convenient solution, but over time, it became clear that Excel was no longer suitable for a growing business. It only helped to count money, but did not give a complete picture of finances, which made it difficult to work.

5 Reasons to Switch from Excel to Finmap:‍

• A complete picture of finances. Owners can see all the company's financial flows on one screen, which allows them to better control income and expenses.
• Different levels of access. In Finmap, you can customize roles for employees. For example, managers can see only what is relevant to their work, without having access to company expenses.
• Integration with banks. Finmap synchronizes with bank accounts, so all payments automatically appear in the system. This reduces the risk of mistakes that used to happen with manual accounting. For example, once $250 were lost in Excel and the team spent two hours looking for the error. With Finmap, this no longer happens.
• Transparency of all operations. All transactions are immediately displayed in the system, which makes it easy to track payments and not lose information.
• Reports for analysis.Finmap allows you to see monthly financial dynamics, which helps you make decisions about business development.

‍

Financial chaos? Forget it!

Finmap gives you control and order.

Try it — 7 days for free.

Try for free

no card required

‍

I also want to support cool Ukrainian products like Finmap.

Results of Cooperation - What Has Changed in Mathema with Finmap‍

Since March 2021, Mathema has been actively using Finmap for financial management.

Key Results of Cooperation with Finmap:‍

• Control of the key metric. For an online school, an important indicator is the number of payments for the first lessons. This is the entry point for new students, and further income depends on its stability. With Finmap, owners can quickly track these payments and respond quickly to declines to avoid losing potential sales.‍
• Monthly analysis of P&L and Cash Flow. Once a month, the owners check the profit and loss (P&L) and cash flow statements in Finmap. This helps to draw conclusions about the state of the business and make plans for the future.‍
• Daily monitoring of cash flows. Every day, the owners monitor what is happening with the finances. Thanks to this, the company has never fallen into a cash gap. For example, Mathema has a fund to pay teachers, which is formed from subscription fees, and Finmap helps to keep track of these funds, preventing them from being spent on other needs.‍
• Cost optimization. Finmap allowed us to see the cost structure in detail and compare them. For example, it turned out that the company was paying too high a commission, which was optimized, freeing up additional funds for the budget.

Thanks to Finmap Mathema not only improved its financial management, but also received a tool for strategic planning. This allowed the company to avoid financial difficulties and use resources more efficiently.

The Finmap program has become an integral part of financial management, giving owners full control and confidence in the stable development of their business.

You can get this result for your business too! Try Finmap today and experience how easy it is to manage your finances, optimize costs, and plan for the future with confidence!