Fractional CFO services for the decisions ahead.
A fractional CFO provides recurring financial leadership without a full-time hire. Taxstra connects your cash forecast, profitability, financing decisions, and tax planning so you can decide when to hire, invest, borrow, or take a distribution with a clearer view of the consequences.
CPA-led · Nationwide remote service · Approximately 1,500 clients
When a fractional CFO is worth considering
A profitable business can still struggle to fund payroll, collect invoices, or evaluate its next investment. CFO support becomes useful when the decisions have outgrown the reports you receive. The question is what management needs to decide, not whether revenue has crossed a universal threshold.
We work with established, owner-operated businesses that need recurring financial analysis alongside reliable accounting. You should have a real operating decision, accessible records, and someone in the business able to approve assumptions and follow through.
- You are considering a hire, location, equipment purchase, or acquisition and need scenarios before committing.
- Cash varies sharply despite reported profit, and you need collections, debt, taxes, and distributions in one forecast.
- You need a lender or management reporting package with supporting schedules and explanations.
- Your bookkeeper records the activity, but no one connects the results to next quarter's decisions.
If the immediate problem is unreconciled books, start with cleanup or controller support. A forecast cannot compensate for an unreliable opening cash balance.
What the engagement produces
We define the reports, models, meeting cadence, and responsibilities in your proposal. A useful CFO relationship leaves you with work you can inspect and use between meetings. The package should explain what changed, what management needs to decide, and who owns the next action.
| Deliverable | What it answers | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling cash forecast | When does cash fall below the operating reserve? | Bank balances, collections, payroll, tax and debt schedules |
| Profitability analysis | Which customers, services, or locations create margin? | Revenue and cost detail with agreed allocation methods |
| Budget versus actual | What changed from the plan and why? | A consistent close and an approved budget |
| Decision model | What happens if we hire, invest, or delay? | Explicit assumptions and comparable alternatives |
| Management review | What will we do next, and who owns it? | Prepared questions, decisions, dates, and follow-up |
A cash decision you can actually examine
Illustrative example: a service business starts a quarter with $180,000 cash. Its forecast shows $420,000 of collections and $465,000 of operating, debt, and tax payments over 13 weeks. Without a new investment, projected ending cash is $135,000.
Management wants to buy $70,000 of equipment. Paying cash reduces the projected ending balance to $65,000, below its chosen $90,000 reserve. The CFO's job is to compare the cash purchase, a delayed purchase, and financing using dated cash flows and the business's actual financing terms.
| Scenario | Projected ending cash | Difference from $90,000 reserve |
|---|---|---|
| No equipment purchase | $135,000 | $45,000 above |
| $70,000 cash purchase | $65,000 | $25,000 below |
| Delay until collections improve | Model the actual payment date | Recheck weekly minimum cash, not just quarter end |
A quarter-end balance can hide a shortfall in week five. A full 13-week forecast tests the lowest weekly balance and the timing of receipts. This example excludes financing terms and tax consequences; it is not a recommendation to borrow.
The first 90 days: establish, model, decide
The sequence depends on the condition of your records. We agree on an initial work plan rather than promising a forecast before the underlying numbers are usable.
- You provide access to books and schedules, identify known commitments, and approve operating assumptions.
- Taxstra performs the agreed analysis and explains the options, sensitivities, and limitations.
- Management makes the business decision. Legal, lending, investment, and other specialist work remains separately assigned.
| Phase | Work | Useful result |
|---|---|---|
| Understand the business | Review financials, entities, cash movements, debt, and current decisions | A list of information gaps and priorities |
| Build the baseline | Agree on starting balances, assumptions, metrics, and forecast ownership | A forecast that can be traced to source records |
| Run the decision cycle | Compare scenarios, review actual results, and update assumptions | A documented management decision and follow-up cadence |
Bookkeeper, controller, or CFO?
These are different responsibilities. Bookkeeping records and reconciles activity. Controller work owns close quality, accounting policies, and reliable reporting. CFO work uses that foundation to evaluate future cash and business decisions.
If you need an external team to own the accounting and finance process together, our outsourced CFO service addresses that broader operating model. If you have a functioning accounting team, fractional CFO support can sit above it. Virtual delivery describes how the relationship operates; it does not define its scope.
Fees follow the work and the decisions
The fee depends on reporting complexity, entities, data quality, forecast depth, meeting frequency, and transaction or financing work. A simple monthly review and a weekly financing process should not carry the same scope.
Ask for a written list of deliverables and exclusions. Confirm whether monthly accounting, historical cleanup, payroll, tax returns, and one-time transaction support are included or separately priced. We discuss fees after identifying the work; a free consultation does not include a completed forecast or financing opinion.
Taxstra is led by Bryan Martin, CPA, MBA, and serves clients nationwide. Accounting and tax context inform the analysis, but the value of the engagement must be visible in its models, explanations, and decisions.
Bring the decision and the records behind it
For the initial conversation, describe the decision, its deadline, and what makes it difficult. You do not need to email sensitive documents before we establish a secure exchange.
- Recent profit and loss statements and balance sheets; tell us which periods are reconciled.
- Current cash, debt payment schedules, accounts receivable, and known large commitments.
- The budget or forecast you already use, even if it is incomplete.
- The proposed hire, purchase, financing request, or distribution you want to evaluate.
Questions before working together
What does a fractional CFO do?
A fractional CFO provides recurring financial analysis and decision support. Typical work includes cash forecasting, profitability analysis, budget comparisons, financing models, and management meetings. Your proposal defines the actual deliverables and cadence.
How much revenue do I need before hiring a fractional CFO?
There is no universal revenue threshold. Complexity, decision size, cash volatility, and management's need for analysis matter more. If the main problem is bookkeeping, fixing the close may be the better first engagement.
Can Taxstra work with our existing bookkeeper?
Yes, if responsibilities and access are clear. The bookkeeper or controller supplies reliable records; the CFO engagement uses them for forecasts and decisions. We identify any gaps before agreeing to a reporting timetable.
Does fractional CFO support include tax returns?
Only if your agreement includes them. CFO analysis, bookkeeping, tax planning, tax returns, and transaction support should each be clearly assigned in the proposal.
How often would we meet?
Meeting frequency follows the work. A stable business may need a monthly operating review; a financing or hiring decision may need more frequent analysis. The agreement states the cadence and how questions between meetings are handled.
Do you guarantee financing or business growth?
No. We can prepare the agreed analysis and financial packages, but lenders make credit decisions and business outcomes depend on execution and market conditions.
Educational information, not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Examples are hypothetical. Your records, tax year, state rules, and engagement scope determine the work required.
Discuss your next decision with Taxstra
Book a free 30-minute initial consultation. We will discuss your situation, whether we are a fit, and the scope and fees for the next step. The initial call is not a completed tax plan or a review opinion.
Loading calendar
Related Taxstra resources
Continue with the services, planning tools, and explainers most relevant to this topic.