Finance leaders — especially those who work at high-growth SaaS companies — are constantly being pulled in a million different directions.

They have to do the tactical things like track cash flow, ensure the books are accurate, and manage direct reports. But they also have to constantly push strategic initiatives forward, thinking about how to optimize systems and processes, while also planning for audits and helping CEOs prep for upcoming fundraises.

How do they do it all? We decided to interview some of the best finance leaders in the industry to find out. What we discovered is that, while everyone’s specific workflow and approach look slightly different, there are themes that can be pulled out across all the responses. We’ll share the most common best practices we uncovered in this blog post.

Prioritization

With so many competing priorities and fires around every corner, it would be easy for CFOs to spend their days being reactive. But the finance leaders we spoke to have guardrails in place to maximize their productivity and allow themselves to do their best work. Here are some of the tips they shared:

Tip #1: Go through a daily prioritization exercise

Myoung Kang, Interim CFO at MotherDuck and former Head of Finance at Notion, says that many people confuse calendaring with actual planning. The difference:‍

• ‍Calendaring = Blocking off time for work.
• ‍Planning = Thinking about the tasks that actually need to get done in that time.
  

That second piece, Kang says, is critical for optimizing your day as a finance leader. She maps out her priorities daily by using a physical planner.

To do this, she asks herself a few questions: “What are the things that need to get done that will make a difference for the business? Where do I need to be involved? What is high urgency? So, for instance, if something is high urgency and requires my involvement, I’ll slot that in as a top priority. Anything that doesn’t need me I’ll delegate and anything that’s not urgent I’ll schedule for later in the week.”

Tip #2. Set limits

Ruth Ku, CFO at Entrepreneurs for Global Change and former CFO Advisor at Ellevest, uses a similar approach. But an additional guardrail she implements is making sure she’s realistic about what she can get done in a day.

“I choose four to five priorities every day, which are things I know I need to resolve or address that day. These could be meetings, high-urgency tasks, or just things I need to review. But I never have more than four or five items because I know I won’t realistically get to all of them and that just builds frustration.”

Tip #3. Put out the fires — but learn from them

However, the reality of working at a startup is that there will be fires and last-minute, urgent needs that require your attention. Mary Saunders, fractional CFO for early-stage, high-growth startups, finds that these unplanned interruptions can often surface valuable learnings.

“Sometimes things come up that need to be solved right then. And that's just part of working at a startup. But what I ask myself after is: based on this incident, are there any learnings I should incorporate into my workflow or process? So, for instance, maybe an urgent task that came up was one that could have been addressed weeks ago if the situation had been monitored more regularly. It’s worth trying to understand if there’s a takeaway. And sometimes the answer is no, but there are times that it’s yes.”

Delegation

There’s a reason why CFOs and VPs of Finance have robust teams. One person can’t possibly manage all the finance-related tasks at a high-growth startup, and the finance leaders we interviewed were highly cognizant of this, which is why one of the most common pieces of advice they shared was to delegate as much as possible.

Tip #1: Invest time in hiring the right people

Jenny Bloom, fractional CFO and former CFO of MailChimp and Zapier, says hiring the right people is key to delegating well. That’s why she often spent several hours in the mornings and evenings sourcing candidates on LinkedIn for critical job openings. This, she says, is especially critical for remote companies.

“Zapier was 100% remote when I worked there. So you had to trust the people on your team and empower them right because you're not with them in the office. That’s why I invested so much of my time in hiring the right people.”

Tip #2: Know what’s already being handled

Jeremy Lambertsen, VP of Finance at Alyce, has a comprehensive delegation system. During his meetings with direct reports, he has them run through three points:

• Progress. The 3-5 deliverables they worked on since the last meeting.
• Plans. The 3-5 deliverables they’re going to deliver in the next period.
• Priorities. What their top priorities are.

“If something is on someone’s plans or priorities list, I forget about it completely. I delegate 100% of that thing to the person who is doing it and let them do their jobs. That’s why I surround myself with great people. I hold them accountable, they hold me accountable, and that allows me to rigorously prioritize my own work.”

Tools & Automation

We live in a world of endless options when it comes to software. The best finance leaders recognize this and lean into technology, rather than resisting it, to help them optimize their work on a day-to-day basis. But they also find ways to protect their time against the constant distractions of different tools. Here are some of the best tips they shared:

Tip #1: Triage effectively

Jeff Epstein, Operating Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and former CFO of Oracle, has a process for triaging emails on a daily basis.

“Even if I receive 200 emails, I'll end up with zero at the end of the day. The way that I do this is that, with every email, I either make a decision and do something with it. Or I respond immediately and say, ‘I don't have time to read this now, but I will over the weekend.’ Then I put that in a folder that I review on Sunday.”

Tip #2: Carve out time for silence

One of the most ubiquitous tools that can be found at most startups, of course, is Slack. Georgie Berry, VP of Finance at Grip, is diligent about restricting the amount of time she spends on the messaging platform.

“If I have something I need to do and constantly look at Slack, it’s easy to be taken out of what I’m working on. That’s why I carve out focused time where I’m not on Slack, which has been hugely beneficial for my productivity.”

Tip #3: Automate your mental processes

Most modern finance teams are always thinking about ways to automate their tech stack. But Saunders encourages leaders to think about how to apply this lens to their own mental processes as well.

“I really rely on systems and processes to ensure that the work is getting done. So, for example, every Tuesday I reconcile cash flow from the week prior. I have weekly meetings with my accounting team where we cover the same topics every week, so everyone knows what to expect. I have a checklist for the monthly close. The more opportunities I can find for mental automation, the more of my brain I can free up to focus on more strategic initiatives to move the business forward.”

Being a finance leader at a fast-growing SaaS startup requires discipline, composure, and structure. While everyone’s method for optimizing their days will look slightly different, these best practices may help you refine yours.

If you’re looking for more ways to get time back, consider automating your accounting tech stack with Rillet. To learn more, visit www.rillet.com and request a demo with a product expert today.