CFO judgment without a W‑2 commitment.
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. Engaged at the cadence your business actually needs.
Senior finance work, 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.
Scenario modeling
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 fractional actually fits.
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.
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- 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.
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 founders ask before signing.
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.
“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.