Fractional CFO Services: What They Are, What They Cost, and How to Hire One

A fractional CFO provides part-time, senior-level financial leadership. They handle cash flow planning, financial forecasting, KPI development, and strategic guidance without the cost of a full-time executive.

Businesses between $2M and $50M in revenue — the Partnership is built primarily for companies above $5M, with the Executive Advisory tier serving the $2M–$5M range. Large enough to benefit from strategic financial leadership, but not yet ready for a $200K–$400K+ full-time CFO.

Our Fractional Executive Advisory tier is $2,500/month. The Fractional CFO Partnership is $5,000–$10,000+/month, flat retainer, no hourly billing. A full-time CFO typically costs $200K–$400K+ a year fully loaded, so the Partnership runs roughly 20–40% of that cost.

A Strategic Advisor acts as a high-level consultative mentor for smaller companies who already have clean, up-to-date bookkeeping. For $2,500 a month, you receive up to two strategic review meetings per month to identify growth metrics. This is an advisory tier, not a fractional CFO engagement. A Fractional CFO, at $5,000–$10,000+ a month flat retainer, is an embedded executive partner who handles the complex, in-the-weeds financial design — building 13-week cash flow models, managing bank lines, structuring exit strategies, and coordinating bookkeeping and controller-level support through strategic partners where needed.

No — and you wouldn't want that. A bookkeeper records daily transactions, reconciles accounts, and keeps the ledger accurate. A fractional CFO needs that clean ledger as the foundation for forecasting, strategy, and executive decision-making. We work alongside your bookkeeper or recommend one if you need to upgrade. If your current bookkeeping is the bottleneck, we will say so on our first call and help you fix it before spending CFO-rate hours on bad data.

Most growing companies need both. Your CPA files taxes, handles compliance, and reports on the past. A fractional CFO sits inside your business looking forward — cash flow planning, pricing strategy, capital raises, margin expansion, and exit readiness. The two roles are complementary, not competitive. We collaborate directly with your existing CPA firm and often make their job easier by delivering cleaner financials at year-end.

Yes — it's the most common reason we're hired. We build rolling 13-week cash flow forecasts, stress test scenarios, identify trapped working capital, and install the reporting rhythm that keeps leadership ahead of cash events instead of reacting to them.

Absolutely. Exit preparation is one of our core strengths. We clean up financials, install the reporting and KPI discipline buyers expect, defensibly normalize EBITDA, build the data room, and work alongside M&A advisors and attorneys through diligence and close. Typical readiness work starts 12–24 months before a planned transaction.

Before kickoff we agree on the 2–3 outcomes that define success (cash runway, margin, a capital raise, EBITDA, a faster close, exit readiness) and report against them monthly. Early wins usually land in the first 60–90 days: a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast, freed-up working capital, pricing or margin corrections, and a weekly reporting rhythm. Strategic results compound over 6–24 months.

Most Local Fractional engagements begin within 5–10 business days of signing. We run a 1-hour intro and assessment, send a scoped engagement letter within 48 hours, and schedule the kickoff the following week. Urgent situations — a covenant breach, a pending lender meeting, a buyer LOI — can compress to 48–72 hours. Our 72-Hour Cash Flow Analysis is purpose-built for exactly those moments.

Most engagements run 6–24 months. Some clients graduate to a full-time CFO once the business can support one; others keep fractional support because the model fits.

No. We work with clients nationwide, mostly remotely, and travel when being in the room matters. In Dallas–Fort Worth, where we are based, we also meet in person.

Trades and construction (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, general contracting), manufacturing and distribution, professional services, CPG and SaaS. We understand job costing, WIP schedules and percentage-of-completion revenue, and our co-founder Taber Wetz works as the finance seat in EOS-run companies so owners can stay in the operator role.

No. Our $2,500 Strategic Advisor tier is a low-touch advisory framework reserved exclusively for companies that maintain fully up-to-date financials. If your books require forensic clean-up, transactional restructuring, or deep accounting management, you require an embedded Fractional CFO engagement, which is $5,000–$10,000+ monthly. We can coordinate bookkeeping and controller-level work through strategic partners as part of that engagement.

When is it time to move from fractional to a full-time CFO? Usually when the business crosses ~$50M in revenue, or when finance-related demands exceed 40 hours/week for sustained periods. Your fractional CFO should be the first to tell you when the cost of fractional exceeds the cost of full-time.