Financial controller

Key Deliverables

Financial Reporting & P& L

▸ Build outlet-level P& L tracking with weekly and monthly close

▸ Consolidated Paashh P& L with full outlet-level break-up

▸ Variance analysis: actual vs. budget vs. prior period

▸ Monthly financial pack for Chairman and COO review

▸ Transition from current transactional accounts to analytical reporting

Unit Economics

▸ Track and report core unit economics: repeat rate, AOV, contribution margin, cost of acquisition, lifetime value

▸ Outlet-level breakeven tracking and forward projection

▸ Customer cohort analysis in collaboration with COO and Marketing

▸ New outlet payback analysis for each proposed site

▸ Cost of organic ingredient premium vs. industry benchmark

Budgeting & Planning

▸ Annual budgeting process: revenue, opex, capex per outlet and consolidated

▸ Quarterly forecast updates and reforecast

▸ Capex deployment tracking against Chairman-approved annual plan

▸ Working capital management — vendor payment cycles, advance management

▸ Cash flow forecasting and management

Statutory & Compliance

▸ GST, TDS, FSSAI fees, professional tax, local license fees — all statutory filings on time

▸ Annual audit coordination with external auditors

▸ Internal controls documentation and process standardisation

▸ Vendor payment and receivables management

▸ HR statutory compliance (PF, ESIC, gratuity) — given HR sits under FC initially

Capital Readiness (Year 2+)

▸ Build the financial story for future external capital raise (PE, family office, strategic)

▸ Investor data room preparation: financial model, KPI dashboard, historical P& L

▸ Comparable company benchmarking (multi-outlet premium F& B)

▸ Coordination with future capital advisors and due diligence support

Systems & Controls

▸ Own Tally Prime accounting environment — structure, chart of accounts, outlet separation

▸ POS integration: Petpooja / Posist — ensure revenue recognition aligns with POS data

▸ POS-CRM linkage for customer-level data (70%+ phone capture target)

▸ Internal audit readiness and process documentation

Experience & Qualifications

What matters most for this role is direct experience in F& B, hospitality, or multi-outlet consumer businesses — not a specific qualification. The right person understands unit economics instinctively from having lived in the industry.

8–12 years of finance experience, with the majority in F& B, hospitality, multi-outlet retail, or D2 C consumer businesses Hands-on experience building outlet-level or unit-level P& L structures from scratch — this is the single most important signal Exposure to unit economics-driven businesses where repeat rate, AOV, contribution margin, and payback period are core operating metrics Experience in a growth-stage business — comfortable building financial processes where none exist, not just maintaining established ones CA (Chartered Accountant) is a strong added advantage — not a mandatory requirement. Strong industry track record and analytical capability will be weighted above formal qualification Candidates with MBA (Finance), CMA, or equivalent — combined with direct F& B / hospitality experience — are equally welcome Bonus: prior experience alongside a COO or MD in a founder-led, fast-scaling business Bonus: exposure to investor relations, data room preparation, or external capital raise process

Technical Skills

Proficient in Tally Prime — chart of accounts design, multi-entity management, outlet separation Familiar with restaurant POS systems: Petpooja, Posist, or equivalent Strong Excel modelling — P& L builds, scenario analysis, payback models Comfortable building financial dashboards for non-finance stakeholders Working knowledge of GST, TDS, FSSAI, and restaurant-sector statutory compliance

Capabilities & Mindset

Analytical builder — not a compliance maintainer; can construct financial systems from a blank slate Detail-oriented and rigorous — outlet P& L accuracy is non-negotiable at this scale Commercially minded — understands the business, not just the books; translates numbers into operational decisions Comfortable with ambiguity — growth-stage environment where processes are still being built Proactive communicator — surfaces issues early; does not wait for the monthly review to flag problems Collaborative — works closely with COO, Head of Operations, and Purchase to align financial and operational realities

Cultural Fit

Personal alignment with vegetarian, organic, healthy positioning — important for authentic cultural fit Comfortable with a Chairman-led, founder-governed organisation Long-term orientation — this role evolves significantly as Paashh scales to ₹30–40 crore and beyond Comfortable being the most senior finance person in the room — no large finance team to lean on Pune or Mumbai based, comfortable with inter-city travel

What We Are NOT Looking For

A compliance-only finance professional who cannot build analytical systems Someone from a large corporate finance team expecting support staff and established processes Candidates whose entire experience is in industrial, IT services, or B2 B sectors — F& B unit economics are a distinct discipline Anyone whose primary motivation is title or designation rather than building something meaningful A CA with strong audit or compliance credentials but no P& L ownership or commercial exposure