Fractional CFO
A bookkeeper records what happened. An accountant files it. A CFO tells you what to do next. Our fractional CFO service puts a finance specialist from Ali's team in that seat, working alongside your CPA, building the forecast and the monthly review that turn your numbers into decisions. Most companies under $30M never have that seat.
What you leave with
A thirteen week cash forecast, a monthly finance review you understand, and pricing and hiring decisions backed by numbers.
Who it is for
- Owners who see their financial statements once a year, at tax time
- Companies growing fast enough that cash is tight even while profit looks fine
- Investors who need reporting from a business they just acquired
What we deliver
- A thirteen week rolling cash forecast updated every week
- Monthly management accounts with margin by product, service line or location
- A twelve month budget with a reforecast each quarter
- Pricing and job costing reviews so every quote earns what it should
- Lender and investor reporting packs when you borrow or raise
How it runs
01Clean up
We work with your bookkeeper and CPA to get the chart of accounts and the close fast enough to be useful.
02Forecast
We build the cash forecast and the budget with you, line by line, so you understand every assumption.
03Review
A monthly finance meeting: what changed, why, and the two or three decisions the numbers are asking for.
04Embed
Your bookkeeper or controller takes over the routine, and we stay as a monthly reviewer or step away.
Engagement and fees
Advisory Retainer band, $8K to $25K per month, or the Fractional Executive band ($25K to $60K per month) when the seat also covers financing, acquisitions or a full finance team. Outcome based, never hourly. Every engagement is scoped after a call and confirmed in writing. See consultations and fees.
What a fractional CFO is and is not
We are not your accountant and we do not replace them. Tax planning, filings and assurance belong to a licensed CPA, and we work alongside yours. Our seat is the forward looking one: cash, margin, pricing, capital and the questions a lender or buyer will ask. Where a CPA tells you what last year earned, we tell you what next quarter needs.
If you do not have a CPA, we will say so and help you find one before we start, because the forecast is only as good as the books under it.
Cash is the number that closes companies
Profitable companies run out of cash. Trades firms fund materials before invoices clear, developers wait on draws, distributors carry inventory. The thirteen week cash forecast is the single tool we install first, because it turns a surprise into a plan with twelve weeks of notice. Once it is running, we add margin by line of business, which usually shows that one product or customer type is quietly subsidising another.
Those two views, cash and margin, change how owners quote, hire and borrow.
What to prepare and common mistakes
Bring two years of financial statements, access to your bookkeeping file, a list of loans and leases with payment schedules, and your top twenty customers by revenue. If the books are behind, say so, because that decides where we start.
The common mistake is hiring a controller to do a CFO's job. A controller keeps the records right. A CFO uses them to decide. Both matter, they are different people, and that is why a fractional seat exists. You usually need both, in that order.
Industries where we run this most
Questions about this service
Do I still need my accountant?
Yes, always. Tax, filings and assurance are done by your licensed CPA. We do forecasting, management reporting and decision support, and we work with your CPA so the two views reconcile. We never give tax advice.
Is Ali the fractional CFO?
Ali leads the engagement and attends the monthly review, but the seat is filled by a finance specialist from his team. Ali takes CMO and CTO seats himself and brings finance people for this one.
How quickly can you produce a cash forecast?
If your books are current, the first thirteen week forecast is usually ready within two to three weeks. If the books are behind, we clean up first, because a forecast on stale numbers misleads.
Can you help with financing or an acquisition?
Yes. We prepare lender and investor packs, model the deal and sit in the meetings with you. Legal and securities matters go to your lawyer and registered advisers, and Ali's BizSell.ca handles brokerage.
Tell us which seat is empty.
A 30-minute call with Ali about the business and the people running it. You leave knowing which role to fill first and whether fractional, outsourced or a hire is the right answer, whether or not we work together.