Startup Features – How They Help a Startup-Level Company
This guide describes each startup-level capability in simple language. No technical knowledge required.
Proposals & Invoices
Professional quotes and billing from day one
- Look professional from day one: send proper quotes and invoices with your branding so early customers and investors see you as serious.
- Get paid from day one: no need to wait until you "get proper systems"; invoice as soon as you deliver and record payments so cash flow is visible from the start.
- Convert proposal to invoice in one step so you don't re-type or lose scope when the first customer says yes.
- Correct tax and payment terms on every document so you're compliant from the beginning and don't create a mess to fix later.
- One simple flow so the founder or small team can quote and bill without a full-time finance person or complex tools.
Why it matters
Proposals and invoices provide the foundation for professional billing and cash flow management from day one. By sending branded quotes and converting them to invoices seamlessly, you look credible to early customers and investors while ensuring compliance from the start. This eliminates the need for complex systems or a full-time finance person, allowing founders to focus on growth.
Leads & Deals
Track your pipeline without a heavy CRM
- Visible pipeline: see every lead and deal in one place so you know what's in the funnel and what's about to close—no spreadsheets or forgotten follow-ups.
- Without a heavy CRM: enough structure to track "new," "contacted," "qualified," "won/lost" and deal value without learning a big sales tool.
- Prioritise who to follow up with; see which leads became deals and which deals became invoices so you can measure what works.
- Founder and early team can own the pipeline in the same app they use for proposals and invoices so sales and billing stay connected.
- Add leads and deals as you grow; when you're ready for a full CRM you already have a clear picture of your process.
Why it matters
Leads and deals provide a simple but effective way to track your sales pipeline without the complexity of a full CRM. By keeping leads, deals, and invoices in one place, you can see what's in the funnel, prioritize follow-ups, and measure what works. This gives founders and early teams visibility into sales without needing to learn a separate tool.
Chart of Accounts & Tax Settings
Proper books and compliance from the beginning
- Simple but correct structure: a real chart of accounts from the beginning so you're not building on spreadsheets and then migrating later.
- Ready for growth: when you scale, add entities, or hire an accountant, the structure is already there; you're not retrofitting messy data.
- Tax set once: configure tax treatment and rates so every invoice is compliant and you don't create a tax mess to clean up at year-end or audit.
- Auditable from day one: investors and lenders expect proper books; chart of accounts and correct tax show you take finance seriously.
- No need for a full-time accountant at the start; the system keeps the structure so a part-time or external accountant can work with it easily.
Why it matters
Chart of accounts and tax settings ensure you start with proper books and compliance from day one. By establishing the right structure early, you avoid the pain of migrating from spreadsheets later and ensure investors and lenders see you as serious. This foundation supports growth and makes it easy for part-time or external accountants to work with your data.
Clients & Vendors
One place for who you sell to and who you pay
- One place for who you sell to and who you pay: no scattered contacts in email or notes; every customer and supplier has a record.
- When you create an invoice you pick the client; when you record a payment to a supplier you pick the vendor—so every transaction is tied to the right party.
- Client and vendor history in one place so you can see what you've billed and paid and avoid "who was that again?" when scaling.
- Simple from day one: add clients and vendors as you go; no need to import thousands of records before you start.
- Supports growth: when you add more customers and suppliers, the same list scales with you and stays the source of truth.
Why it matters
Clients and vendors centralize your relationships with customers and suppliers in one place. By linking every invoice to a client and every payment to a vendor, you maintain a complete history and avoid confusion as you scale. This simple structure grows with you and becomes the single source of truth for all your business relationships.
Products & Services
Consistent catalog for quotes and invoices
- Add offerings as you grow: start with a few products or services and add more as you expand; no need to define everything upfront.
- Consistent quotes and invoices: the same item appears the same on every document so you look professional and avoid pricing errors.
- Change a price in one place when you iterate on pricing; choose whether to update only new documents or leave past ones as they were.
- Simple catalog: no complex inventory or variants—just enough to keep what you sell and what you charge clear and consistent.
- When you pivot or add a new line, add it to the catalog and use it immediately in proposals and invoices.
Why it matters
Products and services provide a simple catalog that keeps your offerings and pricing consistent across all documents. By defining items once, you reduce errors, look professional, and can easily update pricing as you iterate. This simple structure supports pivots and new product lines without complexity.
Projects & Tasks
Optional project-based work tracking
- Optional: use it when you do project-based work (e.g. client projects, deliverables) so you can track what's in progress and what's done.
- Link projects to clients so you see which client has which project and what stage it's at—useful when you have a few key customers or engagements.
- Tasks with assignees and due dates help when the team grows beyond one person; you see who's doing what without standups or separate tools.
- Add when you need it: if you're only doing simple invoicing at first, you can skip projects and add them when delivery gets more complex.
- Same app as proposals and invoices so project delivery and billing stay connected without another tool to maintain.
Why it matters
Projects and tasks provide optional structure for project-based work without requiring a separate tool. By linking projects to clients and tracking tasks with assignees, you can manage delivery as your team grows. Since it's in the same app as proposals and invoices, project delivery and billing stay connected.
Bank Accounts
Correct payment details on invoices and clear cash tracking
- Correct details on invoices from the start: your invoice shows the right bank account and payment instructions so customers pay to the right place and you look professional.
- No typing account details on every invoice; set the account once and it appears where needed so you avoid errors and look consistent.
- When you record a payment you can tag which account it hit so you know where your cash is and can reconcile with the bank statement.
- Simple: one or a few accounts at the beginning; add more as you open new accounts or entities.
- Ready for growth: when you add a second account or entity, the same structure supports it without redoing how you work.
Why it matters
Bank accounts ensure your invoices show correct payment details and enable clear cash tracking. By setting account details once, you avoid errors and look professional. Tagging payments to accounts helps you reconcile with bank statements and know where your cash is, supporting growth as you add more accounts or entities.
Automated Reminders
Get paid faster with scheduled follow-ups
- Improve cash flow early: reminders nudge customers to pay so you don't wait weeks for money that's already due—critical when runway is short.
- Fewer manual chases: the founder doesn't have to remember to email every overdue invoice; the system sends the first (and second) reminder so you focus on closing and delivering.
- Professional and consistent: reminders use your branding and the same tone for every customer so you look organised even with a tiny team.
- You still see which invoices are overdue in the app so you can follow up in person when it matters; reminders handle the routine.
- Build the habit of getting paid on time from the start so cash flow doesn't become a crisis as you scale.
Why it matters
Automated reminders help startups improve cash flow by handling routine follow-ups automatically. This frees founders from repetitive "have you paid?" emails, allowing them to focus on closing deals and delivering. With consistent, branded reminders, you look professional even with a tiny team and build the habit of getting paid on time from the start.
Start with the right foundation from day one.
Essential features for startups: proposals, invoices, leads, deals, accounting, tax, clients, vendors, products, services, projects, tasks, and more.