# 2026-02-25 — Harper Daily Log

## Michael Directive: Finance & Legal Deep Dive

Michael requested brutally honest domain assessments from all agents. Delivered Finance & Legal deep dive covering:

### Working
1. 33-month runway ($24,408 at $727/mo)
2. Outstanding unit economics (97.7% margin, 15 hires to breakeven)
3. R&D Tax Incentive ready (~$3,800/year cash back)
4. Grant prep: 6/6 docs complete for MVP Ventures ($20-75K)
5. Clean compliance posture across all domains
6. 89% burn rate reduction from Markus era

### Not Working
1. **ZERO financial system access** — biggest problem. No AirWallex, Stripe, Xero, or Gmail. Requested Feb 18, still waiting. Cannot do core job.
2. Grant blocked on Michael — Letters of Intent not started, ADI bank account needed
3. COMPANY.md has incorrect data (BAS zombie, wrong breakeven figure)
4. No revenue tracking infrastructure for first hire
5. Stripe→bank payout unverified
6. Underutilised — running Opus for empty heartbeats

### Key Recommendations
1. Read-only AirWallex + Stripe access (CRITICAL)
2. Fix COMPANY.md errors (HIGH)
3. Action grant blockers — LoI + bank account (HIGH, $50-75K)
4. Downgrade heartbeats to Kimi (MEDIUM, cost saving)
5. Activate Xero (MEDIUM)
6. Start R&D activity log (MEDIUM, $3,800+/year)

### Delivery
- Full report: `shared/reports/harper-finance-legal-deep-dive-2026-02-25.md`
- Sent to Michael DM via Telegram ✅
- Topic 2 delivery failed — same issue Herald had (thread ID not found on group chat)
- Notified Rivet about topic 2 problem

---

## Michael Response: Financial System Access Confirmed

Michael confirmed via voice note (18:30 AEDT) that **end of February** (3 days) he will:
- Upload bank statements from **both accounts** (AirWallex + other)
- Get me "hooked up to the system properly"

This directly addresses my #1 deep dive recommendation (financial system access). 

**Prep for end of month:**
- Expense categorisation template (R&D vs non-R&D) — ready
- Revenue tracking dashboard — template exists, needs real data
- R&D activity log structure — need to create

**Note:** He said "two accounts" — confirms there are two bank accounts, not just AirWallex. Need to identify the second one when statements arrive.

---

## National Hostel Budget Allocation (System Task — 21:19 AEDT)

Completed per-city deployment cost analysis for hostel direct mail campaign. Key findings:

- **148 hostels** mapped across 8 capital cities (Susan's research)
- **$14/hostel all-in** (A3 poster + 20 flyers + cover letter + postage)
- **Round 1 (43 priority hostels): $602** — under the $500/mo framework if Sydney hand-delivered
- **Round 2 (96 hostels): $1,344** total
- **Ongoing replenishment: ~$700/month** at full coverage
- **Cost per worker acquisition: $1.42–$7.25** (far cheaper than digital ads)
- **Recommendation: Start with Sydney hand-delivery ($80) + Melb/Bris/Perth mail ($280) = $360 for 30 hostels**
- R&D eligibility: NO — marketing costs, not R&D eligible

Saved to: `memory/national-hostel-budget-allocation.md`

---

## Launch Week Tasks (System Task — 22:49 AEDT)

Three tasks completed, saved to `memory/launch-week-tasks-2026-02-25.md`:

### 1. BAS Filing Check
- **NOT REQUIRED.** 5th time confirming this. Not GST-registered, no employees, no PAYG.
- GST threshold ($75K) requires ~128 hires/month — long way off.
- Flagged that COMPANY.md keeps regenerating this false deadline.

### 2. Launch Week Financial Projections (30 Days)
- Cold start: 3 hires, $147 revenue, $23,468 balance, 32mo runway
- Warm start: 10 hires, $489 revenue, $23,810 balance, 33mo runway  
- Hot start: 20 hires, $977 revenue, $24,298 balance, 34mo runway
- **Key insight:** Even worst case barely dents runway. Financial risk of launching is negligible.

### 3. Insurance Audit
- **PI + PL required before launch** — ~$1,000-$2,000/year combined
- Adds ~$125/month to burn rate
- Workers comp NOT needed (no employees)
- Labour hire insurance NOT needed (marketplace model)
- Liability for worker injuries falls on contractor (PCBU), not RateRight
- **Action: Michael to get BizCover quote this week (10 min online)**
- ⚠️ Do NOT launch without Professional Indemnity

---

## Strategic Launch Readiness Brief (System Task — 23:49 AEDT)

Consolidated strategic brief covering all three requested items. Note: significant overlap with work already completed today (launch-week tasks, national analysis, pricing analysis). Created the specific 10-50 hires/month ramp that was new.

Key outputs:
- **6-month projection (10→50 hires/month):** Cash-flow positive Month 5 (Jul). Cash consumed before profitability: ~$1,905 (7.8% of reserves). Even half-speed ramp leaves $19,739 after 6 months.
- **Pricing vs Yakka:** 85-99.9% cheaper across all durations. Don't compete on full-service — different segment.
- **Compliance gaps:** 2 critical (PI insurance, Stripe payout), 3 high (ADI bank, LoI, COMPANY.md), 3 normal (R&D log, Xero, PL insurance).

Saved to: `memory/launch-financial-readiness-strategic-brief.md`

---

## National Expansion Financial Model (System Task — 00:50 AEDT, Feb 26)

Full 6-city financial model with sensitivity analysis. Key outputs:
- **CAC:** $3–$7 blended per signup (hostel + SMS). 5–10x cheaper than digital ads.
- **Break-even:** Month 7 (optimistic, 35% match rate) to Month 14 (conservative, 15% match rate). Realistic: Month 9.
- **Working capital:** Need $3,723 for 90 days. Have $24,408. 6.6x coverage.
- **City revenue split:** Sydney 35%, Melbourne 25%, Brisbane 17%, Perth 13%, Adelaide 6%, Darwin 4%
- **Key sensitivity:** Match rate is the #1 variable. 10-point swing = 3–5 month shift in break-even.
- **Biggest risk to burn:** Hiring an employee ($4K/mo) would 5.7x burn. Stay AI-only.

Saved to: `memory/national-expansion-financial-model.md`

---

## Routine Heartbeats (Earlier Today)
- Multiple heartbeat cycles — all clear
- Inbox empty every cycle
- Susan healthy every check
- Radar recovered from stall (was >60min, now active)
- Fleet alerts: Growth Engine DOWN (Railway 404), UFW decision pending
- Queue unchanged: 5 tasks, all complete except harper-006 (grant, blocked on Michael)