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Startup Due Diligence Checklist: Finance, Legal, Tech, HR & Compliance

Run diligence without missing anything. Work through 50+ items across corporate, cap table, financial, tax, legal, IP, technology, people, customers and compliance; mark status, add notes and send the founder a list of what is still pending.

QUICK ANSWERStartup due diligence covers corporate records (MCA filings, charter documents), cap table and past rounds, financials (audited accounts, MIS, bank and GST reconciliation), tax, material contracts, IP ownership, technology and security, people (founder agreements, ESOPs, labour compliance), customers (references, concentration) and regulatory compliance.

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What the Startup Due Diligence Checklist does

✅ 50+ items in 9 areas
✅ Critical items highlighted
✅ Status, notes and completeness score
✅ One-click DD request list to founders
✅ CSV export for your IC file

How to use the Startup Due Diligence Checklist

STEP 1
Name the company
Type the company name so exports and messages are labelled.
STEP 2
Mark each item
Tap a status for every item and add notes. Critical items are highlighted.
STEP 3
Review the score and gaps
See completeness, open critical items and issues in one place.
STEP 4
Send the request list
Generate a WhatsApp or email message listing everything still pending, grouped by section.

How deep should diligence go?

Angel and pre-seed diligence focuses on founders, the problem, early customers and a clean company (MCA filings, cap table, IP). From seed onwards, financial and legal diligence deepens; Series A and later rounds usually involve law firms and accountants.

Use this list to agree scope with co-investors so the founder gets one consolidated request instead of five overlapping ones.

Frequently asked questions

What is due diligence in startup investing?

The process of verifying a startup’s claims and checking legal, financial, tax, technical and people risks before investing.

How long does startup due diligence take?

From a few days for angel rounds to 4–8 weeks for VC rounds with legal and financial diligence.

Who pays for due diligence?

Investors usually bear their own costs; in many VC term sheets the company reimburses the lead’s legal and diligence costs on closing, up to a cap.

Is this tool free? Do I need to sign up?

Yes. It is completely free, needs no login and has no usage limit. FastFee builds payment collection software; these startup and investor tools are free resources for founders, angels and fund managers.

Is my data private?

Yes. Everything you type stays in your own browser on this device (local storage). Nothing is uploaded to FastFee. Export or print a copy if you need to keep it.

Use it together with

Data Room Checklist, Tracker & Completeness Score →Track which data room documents are received or pending, score completeness and send the request list.Founder Background Check Checklist →Structured founder diligence: identity, education, work history, directorships, litigation, references.Startup Red Flag Detector & Claim Verifier →Flags unusual growth, margins, runway, concentration and cap table issues, with how to verify each claim.

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