# Helu Financial Model

B2B SaaS FP&A platform (controlling, reporting, budgeting) for DACH-market SMEs, replacing Excel via deep DATEV accounting integration.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/helu
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/helu.xlsx
- Category: Enterprise/Security
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Series A
- Funding: $9.8M
- Founded: 2022
- Geography: DACH-first (Germany primary focus); Europe expansion implied; global B2B SaaS market cited as addressable [DECK slide 8].
- Customer: B2B

## About the company

Helu is a B2B FP&A platform for DACH small and mid-sized businesses. It combines controlling, reporting, and budgeting with deep DATEV accounting integration, positioning the software as a practical replacement for spreadsheet-led finance processes.

The company sells through a mix of direct and tax-advisor or software-partner channels. Its target customers need recurring finance visibility and planning without the cost or complexity of a large-enterprise system, which supports a company- or seat-based subscription model.

The model builds ARR from new SMEs, average subscription value, partner-sourced versus direct deals, expansion, and churn. It tracks CAC payback, net revenue retention, onboarding, gross margin, sales and partner costs, hiring, and the route to profitability.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

- FP&A platform with four modules: (1) Reporting Platform - financial statements, flexible account mapping, custom KPI calculations, 100% data integrity; (2) Controlling Platform - cost centre analysis, creditor/debtor analysis, drill-down to single booking level; (3) Budgeting & Planning - tailored calculation, individual user access rights, dynamic data visualisation; (4) Liquidity Monitor - liquidity planning/scenarios, loan repayment simulation, collaborative run-rate discussion.
- Core differentiator: unique DATEV API integration at single bookings/journal-entry level - the only platform converting raw DATEV bookings into live financial reports.
- Enables tax advisors to collaborate with SME clients on the same platform.
- Ingests non-financial data (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Personio, Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI) alongside financial data.
- Positioning: "Personio for CFOs" in DACH.

## Market

- Global B2B SaaS market: $100bn (cited as total addressable; no source given for this figure specifically - slide 8 source is Statista for company counts by country, not revenue).
- European FP&A/controlling software market: €80bn.
- DACH-specific: ~2.5m SMEs in Germany alone; 99.5% of German companies are SMEs; 97.5% of German exporters are SMEs.
- DATEV holds ~75% market share among German tax advisors.
- Comparable: Personio reached €6.5bn valuation via DACH SME focus in ~6 years.

## Revenue model

- SaaS subscription (implied by FP&A platform model); no pricing tiers, ACV, or seat pricing disclosed in deck.
- Two go-to-market channels apparent: (1) direct to SME CFO/finance teams; (2) indirect via 14 software partnerships and DATEV tax-advisor network.

## Traction & metrics

- 14 software partnerships.
- 5,250 total reach to tax advisors via partnerships.
- 14,230 total reach to SMEs.
- 35 FTEs, 12 nationalities, 8 languages, 5 previous SaaS companies on team.
- Press coverage: Frankfurter Allgemeine, DerStandard, Gründerszene, Future Zone, TechEU, Deutsche Startups, Business Insider.

## Competition / moat

- No direct competitor named in DACH for controlling & reporting software; described as "no champion for controlling & reporting software in EU".
- Moat levers:
  - Unique DATEV API at single bookings level (high technical barrier - DATEV has decentralised API per SME/tax advisor).
  - Full German accounting & tax compliance integration.
  - DATEV software cooperation status (formal partnership).
  - EU data sovereignty advantage over US incumbents (server infrastructure in Frankfurt).
  - DACH-native founding team with established press/network.
- Implicit competitive set: Excel (primary incumbent), generic BI tools (Power BI, Google Sheets), international FP&A SaaS not natively DATEV-integrated.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- Founder: Franz Salzmann - serial entrepreneur, TC Disrupt Winner, former Speedinvest partner, former board member at wefox, Adverity, GoStudent; educated at University of Oxford and Universität St. Gallen.
- Key hires: CFO (Daniel Hamada), Product Lead (David Wagner), Marketing Lead (Shawsta Leopold), Head of Sales (Leslie), Design Lead (Ines Gamler), Back-end Lead (Petar Aleksic), Front-End Lead (Lucas Traba), Customer Support Lead (Konstantin Bachmann).
- Investors: CommerzVentures, Atlantic Labs.
- Advisors: Christophe Maire (serial entrepreneur), Fabian Wesemann (CFO/co-founder Wefox), Alexander Huber (CMO Wefox), Marco Rodzynek (founder NOAH), Eric Demuth (CEO Bitpanda), Tilo Bonow (founder Piabo).

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## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** B2B SaaS ARR model. Helu is a subscription FP&A platform selling to SMEs via direct + partner channels. Revenue is recurring, seat- or company-based. The core outputs investors want are ARR bridge, net revenue retention, CAC payback, and path to profitability - all standard SaaS ARR mechanics.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 3 years monthly (Year 1–2 monthly, Year 3 quarterly rollup). Early-stage SaaS with partner channel ramp warrants monthly granularity to capture seasonal churn and partnership contribution cohort effects.

- **Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Value |
| -- | -- |
| New customers - direct (mo. 1) | 5 |
| New customers - partner channel (mo. 1) | 10 |
| Direct channel MoM growth | 10% |
| Partner channel MoM growth | 8% |
| Monthly churn rate | 1.5% |
| ACV per customer | €6,000–€12,000 / yr |
| Gross margin | 70% |
| S&M as % of revenue | 40% |
| R&D as % of revenue | 30% |
| G&A as % of revenue | 15% |
| Average team headcount ramp | +3–5 FTEs/qtr |
| Partner reach - tax advisors | 5,250 |
| Partner reach - SMEs | 14,230 |
| Conversion: SME reach → customer | 1–3% |
| DATEV market share (Germany) | 75% |
| German SME count | 2.5m |

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - **Base:** Direct channel grows 10% MoM; 1.5% monthly churn; ACV €8,000; partner conversion 1.5%.
  - **Bull:** Partner channel outperforms (DATEV cooperation accelerates lead flow); ACV €12,000 (larger SMEs; multi-module upsell); churn 0.8%.
  - **Bear:** Partner activation slow (6-month lag); direct ACV €6,000 (price pressure); churn 2.5%.
  - Flex variables: partner conversion rate, ACV, monthly churn, headcount ramp timing.

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. **Assumptions** - all drivers in one input sheet; no hardcoded numbers elsewhere.
  2. **Customer cohorts** - monthly new logos by channel (direct / partner); churned customers; ending logo count; NRR.
  3. **ARR bridge** - beginning ARR + new ARR + expansion − churn = ending ARR; MRR view for monthly granularity.
  4. **P&L** - Revenue → Gross Profit → EBITDA; headcount-driven opex (S&M, R&D, G&A).
  5. **Headcount plan** - FTE by department, salary assumptions, linked to opex.
  6. **Cash / runway** - cash burn, runway in months given raise amount (ask unknown; leave as input).
  7. **Unit economics** - blended CAC (by channel), LTV, LTV/CAC, payback period.
  8. **Dashboard** - ARR, logo count, NRR, gross margin %, burn, runway (KPI cards + ARR waterfall chart + cohort retention heatmap).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Helu financial model free?

Yes. The Helu model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.