FAQ
Here's what owners ask before bringing both of us into their business. If your question isn't below, book a call and ask one of us directly.
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Most Asked
We already have an accountant. Why do we need this?
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ROI Positive
What does it cost and is it worth it?
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Flexible
Can we change scope as our needs change?
Getting Started
How long before you're fully integrated with our team?
Most engagements move from signed agreement to active partner inside a couple of weeks. The first read of the books and current reporting happens in week one, the first working review lands shortly after, and from there the cadence settles into rhythm. Owners with something time-sensitive, like a bonding deadline or board meeting, get prioritized scoping so the work bends to the deadline.
What if I need to change scope midstream?
Engagements run month to month after onboarding, and scope is reviewed openly whenever the business changes shape. A growth surge, a new financing conversation, or a quieter quarter can each call for a different level of involvement. We talk it through, adjust the cadence, and either lift the scope, scale it back, or pause without penalty.
How does the fractional CFO coordinate with our existing accountant?
Your bookkeeper keeps the books current. Your filing CPA owns the return and compliance work. We sit forward of both, connecting what the numbers say to the decisions in front of the owner this quarter looping the bookkeeper into a clean monthly close and coordinating with the CPA on entity choice, owner compensation, and timing.
What separates an embedded fractional CFO from an outside advisor?
An outside advisor reads your numbers from the outside and offers an opinion. We take a seat at the table in the recurring leadership review, on the call when an unplanned decision lands midweek, and accountable for what next quarter's results actually look like.
Scope & Fit
Do you work with businesses my size?
Most of our clients run owner-operated businesses in the one to ten million revenue range the band where financial complexity has outgrown a part-time bookkeeper, but a full-time CFO is still a heavier hire than the business can absorb. We size the engagement to the work needed, not to a category.
Do you have experience in my industry?
Forty years between us puts a wide range of business models in the rearview, and the financial discipline that holds an owner-led business together rhymes more than it differs across sectors: a cash forecast you trust, a tax position set with intention, and reporting leadership can act on. We adapt that work to your business as soon as we read it.
Is ongoing support required?
No. We take on focused project work when an owner has a single clear question a financing conversation, a transition window, or a one-time piece of forecasting. The discovery call is where we figure out whether a defined project, an ongoing engagement, or a short stretch of focused work fits best.
What if there's already a CFO in place?
We work alongside an existing CFO when the role is in place but stretched an operations-heavy CFO who needs a sounding board on tax and capital structure, or a senior team that wants a second set of eyes on a major decision. The existing CFO's role doesn't change. We add what's missing for the question on the table.
Cost & Value
How is pricing structured?
Engagements are sized by depth and cadence, ranging from a lighter monthly review to a deeper weekly partnership for businesses moving fast or rebuilding their financial spine. The investment fits an owner-operated budget our engagement levels get sorted on the discovery call once we read your situation.
What kind of results should I expect?
The first ninety days usually produce three things: a cash position you actually trust, a tax conversation set up before year-end instead of cleaned up after, and a monthly review leadership plans around. The pace depends on where the books and reporting start we're honest at intake about which one your business is.
Why not just hire a financial consultant?
A consultant typically arrives with a defined question, returns with a finished recommendation, and the relationship ends there. Our work is durable we're present month after month, on the same numbers, watching the strategy actually land in the operating results.
Can I adjust the level of support?
Yes. Most owners settle into a steady cadence, but the engagement scales with the business. A capital event, a leadership change, or a stretch of fast growth can call for more involvement for a season, and a quieter quarter can call for less. We talk it through and adjust openly.
New to Fractional CFO?
From the first call to a working partnership, the path is short and the steps are plain. Take a few minutes and read how an engagement actually runs.
