Every growing business reaches a point where the financial decisions become too complex for the owner to manage alone. You need more than bookkeeping and tax preparation — you need strategic financial leadership. Someone who can build financial models, negotiate with banks, guide pricing strategy, and help you plan for the future. In short, you need a CFO.
The problem? A full-time CFO typically costs $200,000 to $400,000 per year in salary and benefits — a price tag that is out of reach for most small and mid-size businesses. That is where a fractional CFO comes in.
What Is a Fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO is an experienced financial executive who works with your business on a part-time or project basis, providing the same strategic insight and leadership as a full-time CFO at a fraction of the cost. Depending on your needs, a fractional CFO might work with you a few hours per week, a few days per month, or on a project-specific engagement.
This model gives growing businesses access to executive-level financial expertise that would otherwise be unaffordable, without the commitment of a full-time hire.
Signs Your Business Needs a CFO
Not sure if your business is ready for a fractional CFO? Here are the most common signs we see at Numbers Right:
- You are making major decisions based on gut feeling rather than financial data and projections.
- Your revenue is growing, but your profits are not. Revenue growth without margin improvement often signals pricing, cost structure, or operational issues that require strategic analysis.
- You are seeking outside funding (bank loans, lines of credit, SBA loans, or investor capital) and need professionally prepared financial statements, projections, and pitch materials.
- Your bookkeeper or accountant cannot answer strategic questions about pricing, margins, cash runway, or growth scenarios.
- You have outgrown QuickBooks reports and need real financial dashboards, KPI tracking, and scenario modeling.
- You are planning a major transition such as an acquisition, sale, partnership, or expansion into new markets.
If any of these sound familiar, your business has likely reached the stage where a fractional CFO can deliver immediate, measurable value.
What a Fractional CFO Actually Does
A fractional CFO does far more than review financial statements. Here is what a typical engagement looks like:
- Financial Strategy: Develops long-term financial plans aligned with your business goals, including revenue targets, margin improvement, and capital allocation.
- Cash Flow Management: Builds and maintains cash flow forecasts, identifies potential shortfalls, and implements strategies to improve working capital.
- Financial Reporting and Dashboards: Creates executive-level financial reports and real-time dashboards that give you clear visibility into the metrics that matter.
- Budgeting and Forecasting: Develops annual budgets and rolling forecasts, then tracks actual performance against plan with variance analysis.
- Banking and Lending Relationships: Manages relationships with banks and lenders, prepares loan applications, and negotiates terms on your behalf.
- Pricing Strategy: Analyzes margins by product, service, and customer to optimize pricing and profitability.
- Team Development: Mentors your internal finance team (bookkeeper, controller, accountant) and ensures proper processes and controls are in place.
Fractional vs. Full-Time CFO: Cost Comparison
The financial case for a fractional CFO is compelling. Here is a typical cost comparison:
- Full-Time CFO: $200,000–$400,000 per year (salary + benefits + equity/bonus), committed regardless of workload.
- Fractional CFO: $3,000–$10,000 per month, scalable based on your needs, with no long-term employment commitment.
For a business in the $1M–$20M revenue range, a fractional CFO typically delivers the same strategic value as a full-time hire at 20–40% of the cost. As your business grows and your financial needs become full-time, you can transition to a full-time CFO — often with the fractional CFO helping you recruit and onboard the right person.
How to Get the Most from Your Fractional CFO
To maximize the value of a fractional CFO engagement, follow these best practices:
- Clean up your books first. A fractional CFO builds strategy on top of accurate financial data. If your bookkeeping is a mess, fix that first (or hire a firm like Numbers Right that provides both bookkeeping and CFO services as an integrated package).
- Define your top priorities. What are the three to five financial questions keeping you up at night? Share these with your CFO upfront so they can focus their limited time on the highest-impact areas.
- Give them access. Your fractional CFO needs access to your accounting software, bank accounts, loan agreements, and key financial documents. The more transparent you are, the better advice they can provide.
- Meet regularly. Schedule a weekly or biweekly check-in to review progress, discuss findings, and make decisions. Consistency is key to getting results.
Get Started with Numbers Right
At Numbers Right, our CFO & Advisory Services team provides experienced fractional CFOs who have helped businesses across industries achieve financial clarity and sustainable growth. Whether you need a few hours a week or a comprehensive engagement, we tailor our services to your needs and budget.
Schedule a free consultation and let us show you how a fractional CFO can transform your business finances.
