Most early-stage founders think about FX for the first time when a payment bounces or an invoice arrives 8% smaller than expected. This guide is what we wish someone had handed us the day we crossed our first border.
Step 1: Match currency to obligation
The first rule of treasury: hold each currency in the amount you owe in it. If your payroll is in EUR and your revenue is in USD, hold enough EUR to cover 60–90 days of payroll and leave the rest in USD.
This is not sophisticated hedging. It's basic hygiene, and it eliminates 80% of the FX pain founders actually feel.
Step 2: Convert on your schedule, not theirs
Traditional banks force a conversion at the moment of receipt — always at their worst rate. Modern multi-currency accounts let you receive in the sender's currency and convert on your own timeline.
Pick a weekly or monthly sweep window. Convert in one batch. You'll do fewer conversions, on tighter spreads, with cleaner reconciliation.
Step 3: Ladder your buffers
For each operating currency, keep three buckets: an operating float (30 days), a strategic reserve (60–90 days), and a growth pool (everything else). The growth pool is what you convert to your reporting currency or invest in a treasury product.
Step 4: Only hedge when it moves the P&L
Forward contracts and options are useful tools, but they carry counterparty risk and complexity that most companies under $50m ARR shouldn't take on. Hedge when a single FX movement can materially change reported earnings — not before.
"Treasury is not about being clever. It's about not being wrong."
