Cash-Flow Forecasting
A 13-week cash model and 12-month rolling forecast — so you can see a cash crunch coming 90 days out, not 10 days after it hits.
Fractional CFO
Fractional CFO services —
for when guessing gets expensive.
Cash-flow forecasting, scenario modeling, and a CFO in the room for the decisions that actually move the business. Big-firm financial strategy without a big-firm full-time hire — or a big-firm ego.
- Years senior experience
- 15+
- Client retention rate
- 0%
- CPA-led engagements
- 0%
Which do you need
Bookkeeper, controller, or CFO?
The honest answer.
Most firms selling CFO services will tell you that you need one. Often you don't — you need cleaner books, or a controller, or nothing yet. This is the ladder we actually use when someone asks us.
| Where you are | What usually fits | The tell |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | A bookkeeper | Decisions are still small enough to make from the bank balance. A CFO at this stage is expensive theatre — and we'll say so. |
| $1M–$3M | Outsourced accounting | The bottleneck is almost always reporting that's late or wrong, not a shortage of strategy. Fix the inputs first. |
| $3M–$10M | Controller, plus CFO time | You start needing the answer before the month closes, and one bad call now costs more than a year of fees. |
| $10M+, or mid-transaction | A fractional CFO | Hiring, borrowing, buying, or selling. Decisions you can't reverse, on a timeline that won't wait for hindsight. |
Revenue is a rough proxy. The better test is how often you face a decision you can't take back — a business doing $4M with one big call a year needs less CFO than a $2M business raising capital. If the ladder puts you below CFO work, we'd rather tell you that on a free call than sell you the tier above it.
What's included
The financial strategy layer
your business is ready for.
CFO services are for the decisions that move the business — not just reporting on what already happened. Here's what you get on a fractional basis.
Annual Budget Build
A bottom-up budget built with the operator — tied to the strategic plan, broken by department, and built to be held accountable against every month.
Scenario & What-If Modeling
What happens if you hire two more people? Take on $500K in debt? Lose your biggest client? Model the financial implications before you commit.
Quarterly CFO Sessions
An in-depth quarterly review of business performance, strategic priorities, and the reforecast — with a CFO who knows the business, not just the spreadsheet.
KPI Scorecard — Level 3
Leading and lagging indicators, strategic KPIs, and board-ready summary metrics — the complete picture for running a business at scale.
Investor-Ready Reporting
Board decks, lender packages, and due-diligence support — the financial narrative told in a way that earns trust from the people you're asking for capital.
Who it's for
Right for you if big decisions
are happening more often.
A fractional CFO isn't for every stage. It's for businesses where the strategic and financial complexity has grown past what a controller or a spreadsheet can handle on its own.
A good fit if you…
- Run a $3M–$15M+ business where consequential financial decisions happen regularly
- Are raising capital, pursuing an acquisition, or preparing the business for sale
- Have accurate books and solid controller oversight but lack strategic financial direction
- Need a financial model or scenario analysis before committing to a major hire, investment, or expansion
- Present to a board, lenders, or investors and need a polished financial narrative
- Want to make decisions backed by data and modeling — not instinct alone
Probably not the right fit if you…
- Don't yet have clean, timely monthly financials — fix the books first
- Are below $1M in revenue with simple financial decisions
- Need someone to manage day-to-day accounting (that's our controller and accounting services)
- Want strategy with no implementation — we connect every strategy to the numbers
Not sure if you're ready for CFO-level work? A free consultation will tell you quickly — and honestly — what the right starting point is.
Book a free consultationHow it works
From understanding the business
to steering it forward.
Good CFO work starts with listening. Here's how we build the strategy layer — and keep it useful month after month.
-
Deep dive
We understand the business model, the key value drivers, the strategic goals, and the current state of financial reporting. Strategy built on a misunderstanding is just expensive guesswork.
-
Build the tools
We build your forecasting model, KPI framework, and reporting package — calibrated to the decisions you actually make and the audiences you present to.
-
Ongoing strategy
Quarterly strategy sessions, monthly model updates, and on-call access for the decisions that can't wait. The CFO is in your corner when it counts — not just at year-end.
"When it's time to make a real call — whether to hire, borrow, sell — you'll have the numbers behind you instead of a gut feel."
— Tristan Nguyen, CPA, MBA
Pricing
CFO strategy is included
in the Partner package.
Fractional CFO services are bundled with full outsourced accounting and controller oversight in the Partner tier — giving you the complete finance function at one predictable monthly fee.
Partner
A CFO in your corner
from$6,000/mo
For owners making bigger bets — a fundraise, an acquisition, a major expansion — who want a CFO in the room when it counts.
- Everything in Growth (accounting + controller)
- Fractional CFO — quarterly strategy sessions
- Rolling 12-month forecast + reforecast
- Scenario & what-if modeling
- Level 3 KPI scorecard — strategic & leading indicators
- Board-, investor- & lender-ready reporting
Growth
Numbers that drive decisions
from$2,500/mo
Not ready for full CFO strategy? Start here — controller oversight, budgeting, and monthly reporting — and step up when the business is ready.
- Full outsourced accounting & monthly close
- Fractional Controller oversight
- Annual budget + monthly budget-vs-actual
- Level 2 KPI scorecard
- Monthly checkup call
Frequently asked
CFO questions, answered plainly.
- When does a business actually need a fractional CFO?
- When strategic financial decisions — hiring, borrowing, raising capital, acquiring, or selling — are happening often enough that a gut feel isn't good enough. Typically this is $3M–$15M in revenue, though it depends more on the complexity and frequency of decisions than on the revenue number alone.
- How is a fractional CFO different from a fractional controller?
- A controller ensures the books are accurate and the close runs on time — operating historically. A CFO takes those accurate numbers and turns them into a forward-looking strategy: forecasting, scenario analysis, capital allocation, and the financial narrative for investors, lenders, or board members. The CFO looks forward; the controller looks back.
- Can you help prepare for a fundraise, sale, or acquisition?
- Yes — this is one of the highest-value situations for a fractional CFO. We build the financial model, prepare the data room, tell the story behind the numbers, and act as a financial co-pilot through the transaction. We've supported clients through equity raises and business sales.
- How often will we meet?
- The baseline is a quarterly strategy session — an in-depth review of performance and strategic priorities. We're also available between sessions for key decisions, and we update your financial model monthly. During a transaction or high-growth sprint, cadence increases to match the moment.
- Do I need to have clean books before engaging a fractional CFO?
- Yes — CFO-level strategy is only as good as the numbers underneath it. If your books aren't clean and closed on time, we'd recommend starting at Foundation or Growth to get the accounting and controller layer right first. A CFO built on unreliable books isn't a CFO — it's guesswork with a better title.
- How much does a fractional CFO cost?
- Published ranges from other firms typically run $5,000–$15,000 a month for the strategy layer alone — on top of whatever you're already paying someone to do the bookkeeping. Our Partner tier is $6,000 a month and includes the accounting and controller layers underneath it, because CFO advice sitting on books that closed three weeks late isn't worth much. If your accounting is genuinely solid elsewhere and you only need the strategy layer, say so on the call and we'll price it honestly rather than making you buy the stack.
- How do I tell a real fractional CFO from a bookkeeper with a better title?
- Ask for a forecast. A bookkeeper can tell you what happened; a CFO should be able to walk you through what happens to cash if your biggest customer leaves, or if you hire three people in Q3. Ask who builds the model and whether you get to keep it. Ask what they'd tell you not to do. If the answers are all about clean-up, reconciliation, and catching up the books, you're buying accounting — which may well be what you need, but it should be priced like accounting.
- Can I hire you for a single project instead of a retainer?
- Sometimes, and we'll tell you when that's the smarter buy. A one-off financial model, a lender package, or a scenario analysis before a big hire are all real projects with a beginning and an end. Where a retainer earns its keep is when decisions keep coming — the model has to stay current, or it's just a snapshot that ages badly. If you're not sure which shape fits, that's a good thing to work out on the call.
- What do the deliverables actually look like?
- A rolling cash-flow forecast you can open and change assumptions in, a KPI scorecard sized to the handful of numbers that actually drive your business, and a monthly reporting package written to be read by an owner rather than an auditor. Plus the quarterly session itself, which is where most of the value lands. You keep the models — they're yours, not ours.
- Who actually does the work?
- The CPA you meet on the intro call is the CPA in your quarterly sessions. We don't run a model where a partner sells the engagement and it gets handed to someone you've never spoken to.
In their words
Owners making decisions
with confidence.
An objective scorecard to grow against
"Having Tristan take care of my accounting provides me with the ability to constantly self-evaluate on an objective scale so that I can determine better options and alternatives to pursue Meraki's interests."
A real handle on the firm's numbers
"After working with Tristan CPA I got a better sense of accounting for my firm. My experience working with Tristan was fantastic!"
Accounting systems built to last
"Tristan CPA has been instrumental in helping us create and maintain accounting systems that will provide the Dorchester Brewing management team with financial clarity and oversight for years to come."
Also from Tristan CPA
The full finance function —
one team, every stage.
Fractional CFO strategy is most powerful when the foundation is solid. The accounting and controller layers below are what make the forecasts meaningful.
Let's talk
Ready to stop deciding
on gut feel?
A free, no-pressure consultation — wherever you are in the country. Tell us about the decisions you're facing, and we'll map out what CFO-level support would look like for your business.
Book a free consultationMailing address
801 Travis St, Ste 2101, PMB 1845
Houston, TX 77002
A remote firm — serving clients nationwide