Advisory • Part-time CFO leadership
Fractional CFO Services — Hire a Part-Time CFO for Forecasting & Fundraising
Bring in senior finance leadership on a part-time basis. Forecasting, fundraising support, board reporting, and strategic finance — without the cost of a full-time hire.
Get help with QuickBooks, bookkeeping, payroll, tax planning, controller support, and CFO advisory from professionals who understand your business needs.
Overview
What a fractional CFO actually does
A fractional CFO owns the finance function part-time: cash forecasting, budget vs. actuals, fundraising support, board reporting, KPI design, and pricing strategy. They sit between your bookkeeper and your CEO, turning numbers into decisions.
- 13-week cash flow forecast updated weekly
- Annual budget + monthly variance analysis
- Board deck and investor reporting
- Fundraising support: model, data room, diligence
- Unit economics and pricing analysis
- Finance team hiring and management
Typical pricing
What this service usually costs
Project-based engagements (raise prep, exit prep) often run $15K–$50K fixed. Hourly CFO work is typically $250–$500/hr.
See full CFO pricing guideRight fit
Who should hire this professional
- Seed or Series A startups preparing to raise
- $1M–$30M revenue businesses without a finance leader
- Founders spending too much time on financial decisions
- Companies preparing for an exit or acquisition
- SaaS businesses needing unit economics analysis
- Boards demanding investor-grade reporting
Scope
Services included
Cash flow forecasting
Rolling 13-week model with weekly updates and scenario planning.
Budgeting & FP&A
Annual operating plan with monthly variance reviews.
Board reporting
Monthly board deck with KPIs, financials, and commentary.
Fundraising support
Investor model, data room prep, and diligence Q&A.
Strategic finance
Pricing, packaging, and unit economics analysis.
Team building
Hire and manage your bookkeeper, controller, and analyst.
Need help with bookkeeping, QuickBooks, tax, or CFO support?
Tell us what service you need and where your business is located.
Before you hire
Questions to ask any candidate
- 1What stage and size companies do you typically serve?
- 2Have you supported a raise at our stage?
- 3How many hours per month does the engagement include?
- 4Will you attend board meetings?
- 5How do you work with our existing bookkeeper or controller?
- 6What does your reporting cadence look like?
Get ready
Documents to prepare
- Last 12 months P&L and balance sheet
- Current cash balance and AR/AP aging
- Cap table and current investor list
- Existing budget or forecast (if any)
- Customer/revenue concentration data
- Current org chart and finance team structure
Compare
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Tell us what service you need and where your business is located.
FAQ
Common questions
How much does a fractional CFO cost?
Typical engagements run $3,000–$10,000/month depending on hours and scope. Project work (raise prep, exit) is often $15K–$50K fixed. Hourly rates land $250–$500/hr.
Fractional CFO vs. controller — which do I need?
Controllers own the close, reporting accuracy, and accounting team. CFOs own forecasting, fundraising, and strategy. Most companies under $5M revenue need a controller first; CFO comes when raising or scaling.
How many hours per month?
Common engagements: 10–20 hours/month for early-stage, 30–60 hours/month for fundraising or scaling companies, and full-day-per-week for $10M+ businesses.
Can a fractional CFO replace my accountant?
No. CFOs work alongside your bookkeeper and CPA. They translate the numbers into decisions; the accounting team still owns the data.
By city
Find fractional cfo services — hire a part-time cfo for forecasting & fundraising by city
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NYC's accountants cover Wall Street, media, real estate, hospitality, and the small businesses of all five boroughs.
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Miami's CPAs specialize in international tax, real estate, hospitality, and Latin American business.
Advisory in Chicago, IL
Chicago accountants serve professional services, manufacturing, logistics, and the Midwest's largest corporate base.
Advisory in Atlanta, GA
Atlanta's CPAs support film, fintech, logistics, and one of the country's most dynamic small-business scenes.
Advisory in Boston, MA
Boston-area accountants serve life sciences, higher education, financial services, and innovation-economy startups.
Advisory in Seattle, WA
Seattle CPAs serve tech, aerospace, and the Pacific Northwest's deep entrepreneurial bench.
Advisory in Washington DC, DC
Washington DC accountants serve federal contractors, nonprofits, associations, and the law firms that anchor the capital's economy.
Advisory in Baltimore, MD
Baltimore CPAs serve healthcare systems, port and logistics operators, biotech, and the city's deep nonprofit and higher-ed community.
Advisory in Richmond, VA
Richmond CPAs serve Fortune 500 headquarters, banking and insurance, tobacco-to-tech manufacturers, and Virginia's state-capital legal and government economy.
Advisory in Birmingham, AL
Birmingham CPAs serve banking, healthcare, steel, and the Magic City's small-business economy.
Advisory in Anchorage, AK
Anchorage CPAs serve oil and gas, fisheries, federal contracting, and the state's tourism economy.
Advisory in Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix CPAs serve semiconductors, real estate, healthcare, and one of the country's fastest-growing small-business markets.
Advisory in Little Rock, AR
Little Rock CPAs serve healthcare, logistics, agriculture, and the state's government and legal economy.
Advisory in Denver, CO
Denver CPAs serve tech, aerospace, cannabis, and the Front Range's outdoor and energy economies.
Advisory in Hartford, CT
Hartford CPAs serve insurance, reinsurance, manufacturing, and the broader Connecticut River Valley economy.
Advisory in Wilmington, DE
Wilmington CPAs serve banking, corporate trust, pharma, and the Fortune 500 entity-formation economy.
Advisory in Honolulu, HI
Honolulu CPAs serve tourism, military contracting, real estate, and the islands' small-business community.
Advisory in Boise, ID
Boise CPAs serve tech, agriculture, manufacturing, and a fast-growing relocation-driven small-business economy.
Advisory in Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis CPAs serve manufacturing, life sciences, logistics, and motorsports.
Advisory in Des Moines, IA
Des Moines CPAs serve insurance, agribusiness, biofuels, and the state's growing tech economy.
Advisory in Wichita, KS
Wichita CPAs serve aviation, aerospace, energy, and agriculture.
Advisory in Louisville, KY
Louisville CPAs serve bourbon, equine, automotive manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics (UPS Worldport).
Advisory in New Orleans, LA
New Orleans CPAs serve maritime, tourism, oil and gas, and the city's film and hospitality economies.
Advisory in Portland, ME
Portland CPAs serve tourism, fisheries, forestry, and the state's growing remote-work and craft economies.
Advisory in Detroit, MI
Detroit CPAs serve automotive, mobility, healthcare, and the broader Southeast Michigan manufacturing base.
Advisory in Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis CPAs serve Fortune 500 headquarters, medical devices, agribusiness, and finance.
Advisory in Jackson, MS
Jackson CPAs serve manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and the state's government and legal economy.
Advisory in St. Louis, MO
St. Louis CPAs serve agribusiness, defense, biosciences, financial services, and logistics.
Advisory in Billings, MT
Billings CPAs serve agriculture, energy, healthcare, and Montana's tourism economy.
Advisory in Omaha, NE
Omaha CPAs serve insurance, financial services, agribusiness, and the Berkshire Hathaway ecosystem.
Advisory in Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas CPAs serve gaming, hospitality, entertainment, real estate, and a fast-growing logistics base.
Advisory in Manchester, NH
Manchester CPAs serve advanced manufacturing, biotech, healthcare, and a thriving small-business community.
Advisory in Newark, NJ
Newark CPAs serve pharma, financial services, logistics, ports, and the NYC-metro small-business economy.
Advisory in Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque CPAs serve federal labs and defense, oil and gas, film, and tourism.
Advisory in Fargo, ND
Fargo CPAs serve agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and the Red River Valley's tech and healthcare economy.
Advisory in Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma City CPAs serve oil and gas, aerospace, agriculture, and the state's growing healthcare and bioscience industries.
Advisory in Portland, OR
Portland CPAs serve tech, athletic apparel, forestry, and the Pacific Northwest's craft beverage and outdoor industries.
Advisory in Providence, RI
Providence CPAs serve financial services, healthcare, defense manufacturing, and tourism.
Advisory in Charleston, SC
Charleston CPAs serve ports, aerospace, automotive, hospitality, and a growing tech economy.
Advisory in Sioux Falls, SD
Sioux Falls CPAs serve financial services, credit card processing, trust administration, and healthcare.
Advisory in Brookings, SD
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Advisory in Nashville, TN
Nashville CPAs serve healthcare, music and entertainment, hospitality, and the state's franchise and excise tax compliance.
Advisory in Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City CPAs serve the Silicon Slopes tech corridor, outdoor recreation, mining, and financial services.
Advisory in Burlington, VT
Burlington CPAs serve craft food and beverage, tourism, healthcare, and outdoor brands.
Advisory in Charleston, WV
Charleston CPAs serve coal and natural gas, chemicals, healthcare, and state government.
Advisory in Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee CPAs serve manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, and the Lake Michigan industrial corridor.
Advisory in Cheyenne, WY
Cheyenne CPAs serve energy, ranching, trust administration, and a growing data-center and tech economy.
Advisory in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte CPAs serve the second-largest U.S. banking center, plus energy, healthcare, motorsports, and one of the fastest-growing relocation markets in the country.
By state
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How they compare
Fractional CFO vs Virtual CFO
The terms overlap. In practice, fractional CFOs work part-time with a small portfolio of clients, often onsite. Virtual CFOs work remotely and typically serve more clients across more geographies.
| Consideration | Part-timeFractional CFO | RemoteVirtual CFO |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery | Hybrid — often onsite monthly | Fully remote via video and shared dashboards |
| Time commitment | 20–60 hours/month per client | 5–30 hours/month per client |
| Client load | 2–6 companies | 6–20 companies |
| Pricing | $4k–$12k/month | $1.5k–$6k/month |
| Best deliverables | Fundraising, exit prep, board reporting | KPI dashboards, monthly reviews, forecasting |
| Best for | Companies raising capital, preparing for exit, or in a heavy strategic phase. | Steady-state companies that need ongoing financial visibility on a lean budget. |
Bottom line: Pick fractional for hands-on strategy engagements; pick virtual for lean, recurring financial leadership.
Advisor-grade guides
Downloadable ebooks & templates
CPA-ready playbooks and templates you can use today — instant downloads, no signup required.
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The Definitive Bookkeeping Cleanup & Recovery Guide
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The Freelancer Tax Guide
The practical tax playbook for freelancers, contractors, and solo creatives — deductions, quarterly estimates, and self-employment strategies.
The Year-End Tax Planning Guide
The CPA's December playbook — practical strategies to reduce your tax bill before the year closes.
The Premium Bookkeeping Template Pack
Automated dashboards, multi-account reconciliations, and CPA-ready reporting workbooks for serious owners and bookkeepers.
Tax & Bookkeeping Resource Library
Our complete advisor-grade collection — every premium asset an owner needs to run clean books, lower taxes, and recover messy ledgers, in one bundle.