--- title: "Fractional CFO for Small Business" description: "Fractional CFO services for small businesses: cash flow forecasting, monthly reporting, and pricing analysis without hiring a full-time finance leader." url: https://pinstripeservices.com/services/fractional-cfo updated: 2026-09-22 publisher: Pinstripe Business Services LLC --- # Fractional CFO for Small Business Most small businesses do not need a full-time CFO. They need someone who can tell them what the numbers mean and what to do next. That is the job. [Book a Free Consultation](https://pinstripeservices.com/contact?service=fractional-cfo&source=fractional_cfo&intent=consultation) [See Bookkeeping Services](https://pinstripeservices.com/services/bookkeeping) ## What a fractional CFO actually does A bookkeeper tells you what happened last month. A fractional CFO uses that record to answer the questions you are actually stuck on: can I afford this hire, is this client worth keeping, will cash hold through the slow season. The work is part-time by design. A small business rarely needs a finance leader forty hours a week, but it does need one a few hours a month, every month, looking at the same numbers and noticing when something moves. We do this alongside the [bookkeeping](https://pinstripeservices.com/services/bookkeeping) rather than on top of someone else's messy ledger, which is why the forecasts hold up. If the operational side is the bigger problem, that is [consulting](https://pinstripeservices.com/services/consulting) work instead. ## What you get each month ### Cash Flow Forecasting A rolling forward view of what is coming in and going out, so you know months ahead whether payroll and payables are covered. ### Monthly Financial Review A walkthrough of your profit and loss, balance sheet, and margins, in plain language, with the two or three things that actually changed. ### Pricing and Margin Analysis Which services and clients make money and which quietly do not. Most owners are surprised by at least one line. ### Budgeting and Scenario Planning Model the hire, the equipment, the new location. See what it does to cash before you commit to it. ### Decision Support On Call A finance person to call when something comes up between reviews, instead of guessing or waiting for your accountant in April. ## Signs you are ready for one - You check the bank balance to decide whether you can afford something - You are not sure which services or clients are actually profitable - Revenue is growing but cash somehow feels tighter than last year - You are considering a hire, a loan, or a lease and want the numbers first - Your accountant sees the business once a year, after every decision is made ## Fractional CFO questions we get asked ### What is a fractional CFO? A fractional CFO is a part-time finance leader. You get the forecasting, cash flow planning, and reporting a full-time CFO provides, on a monthly retainer instead of a six-figure salary. For most small businesses that means a few hours a month, not a full-time seat. ### How is a fractional CFO different from a bookkeeper? A bookkeeper records what already happened. A fractional CFO uses those records to decide what happens next: whether you can afford a hire, which services actually make money, and what your cash position looks like ninety days out. Most small businesses need the bookkeeping first and the CFO layer second. ### When does a small business need a fractional CFO? Usually somewhere between $500K and $5M in revenue, or earlier if the business is capital intensive. The common trigger is a decision you cannot make from a bank balance: a hire, a lease, a loan, a price change, or an acquisition. ### Do I need clean books before we start? Yes, and if they are not clean we fix that first. Forecasting on bad data produces confident wrong answers. We handle the cleanup as part of our bookkeeping work, then move into the CFO work once the numbers can be trusted. ### How much does a fractional CFO cost? It depends on how much decision support you need and how complex the business is. We scope it after a call rather than publishing a number that would be wrong for most people who read it. Free tool ยท Excel and PDF Job Costing & Pricing Sheet Start where most pricing reviews start: your true cost per billable hour, your break-even rate, and the price that hits your target margin. Get it free [Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/service-pricing-calculator) ## Let's look at your numbers Bring whatever you have. We will tell you honestly whether you need a fractional CFO yet, or whether cleaning up the bookkeeping gets you most of the way there. [Book a Free Consultation](https://pinstripeservices.com/contact?service=fractional-cfo&source=fractional_cfo&intent=consultation) --- Source: https://pinstripeservices.com/services/fractional-cfo. Contact: https://pinstripeservices.com/contact