Fractional CFO services in Houston, without the W‑2 commitment.
A fractional CFO is a senior finance brain in the room for the decisions that matter — cash forecast, lender meetings, board reporting, sale prep — without the $250K all-in cost of hiring one full-time. Serving Houston, Katy, Sugar Land and Fort Bend County, at the cadence your business actually needs.
What a fractional CFO does, on retainer.
Not bookkeeping with a fancier name. Real CFO deliverables: forecasts, board materials, lender packages, scenario models.
13-week rolling cash flow forecast
Weekly-refreshed forecast of every dollar in and out over the next 13 weeks. The single most important tool for an operator under $20M — it tells you what next Wednesday looks like, not just last month.
Monthly board-style reporting
A board packet — even if there’s no board. KPI dashboard, narrative, variance analysis. Built to the standard your bank, sponsor, or future buyer will expect. Monthly close that feeds it.
KPI dashboard setup
Four to seven metrics that actually drive your business, tracked monthly. Customer acquisition cost, gross margin by line, days sales outstanding, whatever moves the needle for you.
Banking & lender liaison
Lender presentations, covenant compliance certificates, borrowing-base calculations, refinance packages. Banks ask better questions when there’s a CFO across the table from them.
Financial modeling and scenario planning
Pricing changes, headcount additions, debt restructures, acquisition opportunities. Modeled before the decision, not justified after it.
Sale or capital-raise preparation
Data room organization, quality-of-earnings coordination, working-capital peg, sources-and-uses modeling. We sit in the meetings, not just the workpapers.
When a fractional CFO fits, and when it doesn’t.
There’s a band of company size where fractional is the right answer. Below it, a bookkeeper plus a tax CPA is enough. Above it, hire a full-time CFO.
- Businesses at $1M–$20M revenueBig enough to need monthly close, KPI ownership, and lender-grade reporting. Not yet big enough to justify $200K+ of full-time CFO comp.
- Founders without finance backgroundsYou built the product, you sell it, you run ops — the finance brain is the gap. Fractional CFO fills it without you having to recruit, manage, or equity-grant someone.
- Pre-sale or pre-raise prepSale event 6–18 months out, or a debt refinance / equity raise in the pipeline. A fractional CFO for the deal window is far cheaper than scrambling diligence later.
- Multi-entity operatorsHolding company plus operating subs, intercompany flows, multi-state footprint, segment reporting. Multi-entity tax handled here.
Fractional, outsourced, virtual, part‑time — mostly the same job.
The full comparison, including what each arrangement actually costs, is in the outsourced CFO guide.
Four labels get used for one role and the differences are smaller than the marketing suggests. Here is what each usually means when a Houston firm says it.
Fractional CFO
A senior finance executive who works for you part of the time, on an ongoing basis. You get a named person, a fixed rhythm, and strategic work — forecasting, board reporting, lender relationships, deal preparation. That is what this page describes.
Outsourced CFO
Usually the same job. The word emphasises that the function sits outside your payroll. One difference worth asking about: some firms use it to mean a team you rotate through rather than one person who knows your business.
Virtual CFO
Also the same job, named for how it is delivered. Video calls rather than a desk down the hall. Most fractional CFO work in Houston is already remote most months, so the label rarely changes the scope.
Part-time CFO
This one is genuinely different. A part-time CFO is normally your employee on reduced hours — which means payroll, benefits eligibility, and the employment obligations that come with an employee rather than a firm.
Controller — a different role, and often the one you need first
A controller owns the monthly close and the accuracy of the numbers. A CFO uses those numbers to decide what to do next. If your books are not closing cleanly and on time, a CFO retainer is the wrong purchase — start with bookkeeping and controller work and add the CFO layer once the numbers are reliable.
Three steps. No portals.
Same shape on every engagement at the firm — individual, entity, books, or CFO work. The simpler the path in, the faster you get to the work that actually matters.
Free 30-minute consultation
We talk through your situation, scope the work, and tell you straight if we’re the right fit. No intake form, no portal, no sales pitch.
Engagement letter & flat fee
Scope confirmed in writing. Fixed price. You see what’s included and what isn’t before a single hour is logged.
The work, year round
Your file runs through Tim directly. Quarterly check-ins, same-day IRS notice handling, and a direct line through the rest of the year.
Retainer, scoped to outcomes.
Monthly retainer based on close complexity, reporting cadence, and any transaction work in flight. Hours don’t get billed — deliverables and meetings do. Scope reviewed quarterly. What a CPA costs, in full.
Fractional CFO questions founders ask first.
Specific to fractional engagements.
01 How does fractional cost compare to a full-time CFO?
A real CFO in Houston runs $200K–$300K all-in once you add benefits, bonus, and equity. Most $2M–$15M businesses don’t need that 40 hours a week — they need 15–20 hours of senior judgment. Fractional gets you that for $48K–$144K annually.
02 How many hours per month is a typical engagement?
Light retainers are 15–20 hours, standard runs 30–40, heavy (deal work or rapid scaling) lands at 60+. We scope the retainer to a deliverable rhythm — monthly close, board packet, forecast refresh — not hours billed.
03 Retainer or hourly — which makes sense?
Retainer. Hourly creates the wrong incentive (CFO bills more when problems persist; client hesitates to call). Flat retainer means the answer to “should I call?” is always yes.
04 When do I actually need a fractional CFO?
Three triggers: you’re over $1M revenue and the books arrive too late to act on, you’re preparing for a transaction (sale, raise, refinance) in the next 18 months, or you’ve realized you can’t answer “what’s our cash position next month” without spreadsheet gymnastics.
05 Do you replace my controller / bookkeeper?
No — a fractional CFO sits above operational accounting, not in it. We elevate your existing team and own the strategic layer. If you don’t have a controller yet, we can also handle the close ourselves under the bookkeeping engagement.
06 Do you work with businesses outside Houston?
Yes. The firm is based in Richmond, Texas and most clients sit in the Houston metro — Katy, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Pearland and the rest of Fort Bend County. Fractional CFO work is largely remote regardless, so Texas businesses outside the metro are straightforward. Out-of-state works too, though multi-state payroll and franchise tax exposure are worth raising on the first call rather than discovering at year end.
“Working with Tim as my virtual CFO has been a game-changer. He’s done a phenomenal job managing my books, keeping everything organized and efficient.”
A finance partner for the next 18 months.
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll diagnose what your finance function actually needs and propose a scoped retainer.