A bookkeeper tells you what happened. A CFO helps you decide what to do next. Fractional CFO advisory brings that strategic financial leadership (forecasting, budgeting, KPIs, pricing, and financing) to businesses that need it but are not ready for a full-time executive salary.
What a fractional CFO actually does
- Builds and maintains a rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast, so you see shortfalls weeks before they happen.
- Sets an annual budget and compares actual results to it every month.
- Designs a KPI dashboard of the handful of numbers that drive your business.
- Models scenarios: a new hire, a price change, a second location, a large contract, or a slow quarter.
- Prepares lender and investor materials and supports financing and fundraising conversations.
- Reviews pricing and margins by product, service line, customer, or job.
Bookkeeper, controller, CFO
These roles stack. A bookkeeper records and reconciles transactions. A controller makes sure the books are accurate and complete, closes the month, and produces reliable statements. A CFO uses those statements to plan and advise. Most small businesses need all three functions but not three full-time people, which is why CFO advisory is built on top of monthly bookkeeping rather than replacing it.
When it makes sense
- Revenue is growing but cash always feels tight.
- You are preparing to borrow, raise money, or sell.
- You are opening a new location, launching a new line, or hiring ahead of revenue.
- You cannot say with confidence which services, customers, or jobs are most profitable.
- Decisions are being made from the bank balance rather than from a plan.
Many profitable businesses run out of cash because customers pay slowly, inventory ties up money, or growth requires spending ahead of revenue. The 13-week forecast is the tool that makes that visible.
The monthly rhythm
- 1The books close by the 10th of the month.
- 2We prepare a reporting package: statements, budget versus actual, KPI dashboard, and an updated cash forecast.
- 3We meet to review what changed, why, and what to do about it.
- 4Action items are tracked into the next month's meeting.
KPIs that matter by industry
Every business has a short list of numbers that explain most of its results. For restaurants it is prime cost and labor as a share of sales, covered in the restaurant accounting guide. For contractors it is job margin, labor burden, and over- or under-billing, covered in the contractor guide. For service firms it is utilization, effective hourly rate, and days sales outstanding. For product businesses it is gross margin, inventory turns, and customer acquisition cost against lifetime value. We pick the five to eight that matter for you and track them monthly.
Forecasting and scenarios
A forecast turns questions into numbers. What happens to cash if your largest customer pays 30 days late? How many new clients does a hire need to break even? What does a 5% price increase do if you lose 3% of customers? Scenario models answer these before you commit, and they make conversations with lenders and partners far more productive.
Tax and strategy together
Because we also handle tax planning, operating decisions and tax consequences are evaluated together: an equipment purchase, a bonus plan, or a new entity is modeled for both cash and tax impact. That coordination is difficult when your CFO and tax accountant are different firms.
The first 90 days
The first month is about accurate numbers: we review the books, fix what is misclassified, and build the first 13-week cash forecast. The second month adds the budget and the KPI dashboard, so results can be compared against a plan. By the third month the engagement settles into its rhythm: a closed month, a reporting package, and a strategy meeting focused on the two or three decisions that matter most right now.
Getting ready to borrow or raise
Lenders and investors look for the same things: accurate historical statements, a credible forecast with stated assumptions, and evidence that management understands its numbers. We prepare the financial package, model how much financing is actually needed and how it would be repaid, and join conversations with banks or investors when that helps. Businesses that prepare this way typically get faster answers and better terms.
Pricing and margin reviews
Many small businesses set prices once and adjust them only when costs force it. A margin review breaks profitability down by service line, product, customer, or job, including the overhead each one actually consumes. It usually reveals a few offerings or clients that are far less profitable than assumed, and a few that deserve more attention. Small, well-targeted price changes are often the fastest way to improve both profit and cash flow.
Reporting for partners and boards
When a business has multiple owners, investors, or a board, consistent reporting builds trust. We prepare a standard monthly or quarterly package (results against budget, cash position, KPIs, and the decisions needed) so every stakeholder works from the same numbers.
Getting started
Engagements begin with a review of your books and a first cash forecast, which often surfaces the most urgent issue in the first month. For businesses with a physical location, the local business accounting guide covers the monthly numbers worth watching, and what accounting services cost explains how advisory pricing compares to compliance work.