Human Resource
2 months ago
FRACTIONAL CFO SERVICES
Fractional CFO services for founders and owners who need financial strategy at the table, without hiring a full-time CFO.
There is a stage every growing company reaches where the books are fine and the decisions are not. Revenue is real and headcount is climbing. Then an investor asks for a model, or a bank asks for a forecast, or the board asks how long the runway lasts under three different hiring plans. Nobody in the room can answer with confidence, and the bookkeeper was never hired to.
A fractional CFO fills that seat on a part-time basis. You get the strategic financial work (modeling, forecasting, capital planning, board reporting, unit economics) at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire, and without the equity grant.
SG Inc CPA delivers fractional CFO services as part of a connected financial system. Clean books produce accurate statements, accurate statements feed the model, and the model informs the decision. The tax plan is built alongside all of it rather than bolted on in March.
Serving startup founders and business owners in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, and in DFW, Texas. Remote clients welcome.
SG Inc CPA delivers monthly accounting and financial reporting as part of a connected financial system. Clean records feed accurate statements. Accurate statements support better decisions. And both coordinate with your tax plan so nothing falls through the cracks at year-end.
- The gap between a bookkeeper and a CFO.
Most growing companies fill the finance function from the bottom up. A bookkeeper comes first, because transactions have to be recorded. An accountant follows, because statements have to be produced and returns have to be filed. Both are necessary. Neither is responsible for the question that actually keeps founders awake: what should we do next, and can we afford it?
That gap shows up in predictable ways. A hiring plan built in a spreadsheet nobody trusts. A fundraise that slips a quarter because the model and the financials tell different stories. Pricing set by instinct because nobody has calculated gross margin by product. A cash crunch that was visible in the numbers four months earlier, if anyone had been looking forward instead of back.
Hiring a full-time CFO solves it, and for most companies at this stage it is the wrong answer. The compensation is significant before equity, the role is not full-time work yet, and the search takes months you do not have.
Delayed accounting is not just an inconvenience. It is a decision-making handicap. For a practice owner managing overhead, payroll, and equipment costs, or a business owner planning a hire or a financing request, the gap between current and delayed financials has a real cost.
The honest version
Most companies need CFO-level thinking twenty to forty hours a month, not two thousand hours a year. At that stage a fractional engagement is not a compromise; it is the correctly sized answer.
- SERVICES
What fractional CFO services includes
Eight components, delivered on a defined monthly and quarterly cadence. The scope is set at the start of the engagement and adjusted as the company changes, rather than billed by the hour against an open-ended brief.
01
Financial modeling
A driver-based operating model built around how your business actually makes money: pipeline, conversion, churn, headcount, and gross margin. Scenario-ready, so a hiring decision or a pricing change can be tested before it is made.
02
Cash flow forecasting
A rolling thirteen-week cash forecast alongside a longer-range view. Runway calculated from real commitments rather than a bank balance, so the fundraising timeline is a plan rather than a reaction.
03
Board and investor reporting
A consistent monthly or quarterly reporting package: financials, KPIs against plan, variance commentary, and cash position. Formatted the way investors expect, so updates take an afternoon instead of a week.
04
Budgeting and variance analysis
An annual budget with monthly actuals reported against it, and plain-language explanation of what moved and why. The point is to catch drift in month two, not at year-end.
05
Unit economics and pricing support
Gross margin by product, customer, or contract. Customer acquisition cost and payback period where the data supports it. The analysis that tells you which revenue is worth chasing and which is quietly losing money.
06
Fundraising and diligence support
Model, data room, historical financials, and cap table implications prepared before the process starts. We work alongside your counsel and lead investor rather than replacing them.
07
Capital structure and entity strategy
Debt versus equity, timing, entity structure, and the tax consequences of each, reviewed together, because a financing decision made without the tax analysis is only half a decision.
08
Strategic planning and advisory
A standing seat in the decisions that carry financial weight: hiring, expansion into new states, contract terms, major purchases, and exit preparation.
What is the difference?
These roles are routinely confused, and the confusion is expensive. Hiring the wrong one means paying for a layer you already have while the gap you actually feel stays open. Here is the distinction we work to.
Accountant / Bookkeeper
- Records transactions and produces financial statements
- Looks backward at what happened
- Input: receipts, invoices, bank activity
- Output: clean books and compliant returns
- Answers: what happened?
- Needed from day one
Controller
- Owns the monthly close, controls, and accuracy of the numbers
- Looks at the present and makes sure it is right
- Input: transaction data and close processes
- Output: a reliable, on-time monthly close
- Answers: are the numbers right?
- Needed once volume and complexity grow
Fractional CFO
- Uses the numbers to decide what the company should do next
- Looks forward and models what is coming
- Input: accurate financials, plus strategy and market context
- Output: models, forecasts, board reporting, and capital decisions
- Answers: what should we do, and can we afford it?
- Needed once decisions carry real financial consequence
- All three layers are necessary
All three layers matter, and they stack. A fractional CFO engagement built on unreliable books produces confident forecasts from bad data, which is worse than no forecast at all. Where the accounting layer is not solid, we fix that first and say so upfront. SG Inc CPA can provide all three layers, or take the CFO layer alongside your existing team.
Who this is for
Monthly accounting delivers the most value to business owners who are making real decisions with their financials — or who should be, but currently cannot because the numbers are not there when they need them.
- Tech entrepreneurs and startup founders
Founders carry the finance function personally for far longer than they should. A fractional CFO takes the model, the forecast, the investor update, and the runway analysis off the founder’s desk, and brings the R&D credit, equity, and entity decisions into the same conversation rather than leaving them to year-end.
- Companies preparing to raise
A priced round is a financial audit conducted in public. Model, historicals, cohort data, and cap table implications need to be consistent and defensible before the process starts. Preparing three months out is straightforward. Preparing during diligence is not.
- Multi-entity and multi-state operators
More than one entity means consolidated reporting, intercompany allocation, and a state footprint that expands with every remote hire. These decisions have tax consequences that compound, and they are rarely anyone’s specific job until something breaks.
- Owners approaching an exit or transition
Valuation is driven by the quality of the financial story as much as the earnings. Clean multi-year financials, defensible add-backs, and a documented structure raise the number and shorten the process. This work should start two to three years out, not at term sheet.
What changes when there is a CFO in the room.
Visibility
- A rolling forecast that shows runway under multiple scenarios
- Monthly reporting against plan, with variance explained in plain language
- Gross margin and unit economics you can actually defend
- Cash position known weeks ahead, not discovered
Decisions
- Hiring, pricing, and spending decisions tested in the model first
- A fundraising timeline chosen deliberately rather than forced by cash
- Board and investor conversations you are prepared for
- A standing advisor for the decisions that carry financial weight
Structure and tax
- Entity and capital structure reviewed against the funding path
- Financing decisions modelled with the tax consequence attached
- Credits, elections, and deadlines tracked as part of the plan
- A finance function that is ready for diligence at any time
How to get
Started
Review and set up
We review your current chart of accounts, prior-period financials, and reporting structure. Where needed, we redesign the chart of accounts to reflect how your business or practice actually runs.
Monthly close cycle
Each month, we close the books within a defined window, prepare your financial statements, and flag anything notable — unusual variances, cash flow timing, overhead changes — before sending your package.
Reporting delivery
You receive a monthly reporting package in plain language: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, and any management-level metrics specific to your business type. We are available to walk through it with you.
Tax year coordination
At year-end, we complete the close, prepare all adjusting entries, and coordinate directly with your tax preparation and planning team so there are no gaps between your financial statements and your returns.
How to get Started
Financial review
We review your current financials, entity structure, model if one exists, cash position, and reporting. You get an honest assessment of where the finance function stands and what needs to be fixed before strategic work is worth doing.
Build the foundation
We establish the model, the forecast, and the reporting package. Where the accounting layer needs work first, we address that first. Accurate inputs are not optional, and we will not build a forecast on numbers we do not trust.
Monthly cadence
Each month you receive reporting against plan with commentary, an updated forecast, and a working session to go through what changed and what decisions are in front of you.
Strategic support
Quarterly planning, board and investor material, and responsive support for the decisions that do not wait for a calendar: a term sheet, an unexpected hire, a new state, or an acquisition conversation.
If an investor asked for your model tomorrow, would you send it?
A confidential financial review will show you what your current setup can and cannot answer, and what changes when there is someone accountable for the forward-looking numbers.
What our clients say
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO performs the strategic financial work of a chief financial officer on a part-time, ongoing basis. That means financial modeling, cash flow forecasting, budgeting, board and investor reporting, capital structure planning, and acting as a financial advisor to the founder or owner. It is not bookkeeping and it is not tax preparation. The role is to use accurate financials to decide what the company does next.
How is this different from the accounting services you already offer?
Accounting produces accurate financial statements about what has already happened. Fractional CFO work is forward-looking: modeling what could happen, forecasting cash, and making decisions with that information. The two are sequential. Reliable accounting is the input to CFO work, which is why we will not start strategic work on books we do not trust.
We are a pre-revenue startup. Is it too early for this?
Sometimes, and we will tell you if it is. If you are pre-seed with a small team and a simple structure, a good bookkeeper and a proactive CPA are usually enough. The inflection point is typically outside capital, a board, employees on payroll across multiple states, or a fundraise inside twelve months. Below that threshold, the honest recommendation is usually to wait.
How is a fractional engagement priced?
Fractional CFO work is scoped and priced monthly based on the complexity of the business, the reporting cadence, and whether we are also handling the accounting layer underneath. It is not hourly. You know the monthly commitment before the engagement starts, and the scope is reviewed as the company changes. Pricing is discussed in the initial review once we understand what is actually required.
Will you work with our existing bookkeeper or accountant?
Yes. Many clients keep their existing bookkeeper and bring us in for the CFO layer. What we do require is that the underlying data is reliable and delivered on a schedule we can work with. If it is not, we will say so directly and lay out what needs to change.
Do you help with fundraising?
We prepare the financial side: the model, the historical financials, the data room materials, the metrics investors will ask about, and the tax and structural implications of the round. We are not placement agents and we do not make investor introductions. Our role is making sure that when you are in front of investors, the numbers hold up.
How does this connect to tax planning?
Closely, and that is a real advantage of getting CFO work from a CPA firm. Financing decisions, entity structure, founder compensation, equity events, and state expansion all carry tax consequences. When the CFO function and the tax function sit in the same firm, those consequences are priced into the decision rather than discovered on the return. For startup clients specifically, that includes R&D credits, equity elections, and QSBS eligibility.
- Related Resources
Related pages and guides
You do not need a full-time CFO. You need the thinking.
Financial strategy at the table, priced for the stage you are actually at, and coordinated with the tax plan instead of separated from it.