Does this sound familiar?
Sales are growing, but your bank account doesn’t show it. When you look at QuickBooks, everything is neat and tidy, but you have no idea what the next quarter will look like. And when investors ask for a forecast? You freeze. Because the truth is, you don’t have one.
If that sounds like you, it may be time.
Uncertainty isn’t just stressful. It’s dangerous. Making six-figure decisions on gut instinct means you could run out of cash with no warning, putting the business you’ve worked so hard to build in trouble.
This article covers when (and when not) to hire, affordability, benefits, and other important considerations.
Let’s dive in.
CFO vs Controller: What’s the Difference?
It’s important to clarify roles before making a big decision. So, what exactly does a CFO do?
To explain, we like to use a car analogy.
- Controllers maintain the engine, fill the gas tank, and handle repairs. They’re tacticians focused on day-to-day tasks, overseeing bookkeepers, and can tell you where you are right now.
- CFOs drive. They know how long you can go before refueling, map the best routes, and devise ways to get better fuel efficiency. They’re strategists who help you get where you want to go.
They’re both important, so most companies eventually need both. But it’s often best to start with a controller (or bookkeeper) before growing into higher-level help.
Here are some more details to explain the differences.
But the short version?
CFOs are looking forward, while controllers look backward.
| Where Am I Today? (Controller) | Where Am I Going? (CFO) | |
| Financial Reporting | Accurate historical reporting and closing the books. | Forward-looking financial analysis and forecasting. |
| Cash Management | Monitoring bank balances and ensuring bills are paid. | Proactively managing cash flow, planning liquidity, and optimizing working capital. |
| Processes & Controls | Establishing accounting processes and internal controls. | Designing scalable financial systems that support growth and reduce risk. |
| Budgeting & Forecasting | Maintaining budgets and tracking performance. | Building dynamic forecasts tied to goals, capital needs, and scenario planning. |
| Profitability Insights | Basic cost tracking and financial statement reviews. | In-depth profitability analysis by product, customer, or segment |
| Strategic Planning | Supporting operational decisions based on past performance. | Driving long-term strategy, investments, and expansion with financial modeling. |
| Leadership Role | Oversee accounting and bookkeeping teams. | Strategic advisor to owners, executives, and investors. |
| Stakeholder Communications | Preparing reports for internal use or external compliance needs. | Communicating with banks, investors, and boards |
What Types of Businesses Benefit Most from CFO Services?
Any business that’s growing, facing complexity, and needs clearer financial direction. This is especially important for fast-growing organizations, businesses making hiring or expansion decisions, startups preparing for fundraising or acquisitions, and owners who want to step back from day-to-day financial decision-making.
Signs It May Be Time
Are you asking questions like these?
- “Do we have enough cash to make it through the next season?”
- “I’ve got a handle on overall revenue, but how do I untangle how different service lines are performing? Which of our products is most profitable?”
- “Can I afford to hire help?”
- “How do I sell my business, and make sure things go as smoothly as possible?”
- “We’re growing, but why are we always tight on cash?”
Making big decisions on gut feelings can be scary. Having someone help plan cash flow and model data-driven ‘what-if’ scenarios can make a big difference.
Turning Points: When Do Businesses Actually Hire a CFO?
Companies at various stages face challenges that can’t be solved by bookkeeping or tax work alone. Here are the most common reasons business owners decide to engage the services of an expert financial leader:
- Lack of forward-looking financial visibility: You may get regular reports, but do you have the forecasts, KPIs, and insights to make confident decisions?
- Cash flow uncertainty or crunch: Growth, seasonality, or delayed receivables can cause headaches. A CFO can help you plan ahead with proper forecasts, better optimized working capital arrangements, and improved accounts receivable strategies.
- No clear strategy for scaling or profitability: Revenue may be up, but profit margins can still be unclear. Strategic cost analysis, pricing support, and financial planning can bring the clarity you need.
- Inexperience with Fundraising, M&A, or Investor Expectations: Raising capital or considering selling? A CFO can create investor-ready reports, and give you the guidance you need to move through due diligence with confidence.
- Disorganized or underdeveloped finance function: This is a good problem to have – many businesses outgrow their systems and need to upgrade their approach to lay the foundation for scaling success.
How Much Does a Fractional CFO Cost?
The median salary for a full-time CFO is ~$440,000 annually (or ~$36,000 per month), plus bonuses and equity. That’s out of reach for many companies.
By contrast, fractional CFO services can cost just a few thousand dollars per month for light-touch guidance. And if you need more dedicated support? It’s still considerably more affordable than an in-house hire.
Here are some general industry benchmarks:
- Hourly rates: $200-$700
- Day rates: $1,000 – $3,000
- Monthly retainers: $5,000 to $20,000
Our clients commonly pay between $1,500 – $10,000 per month, depending on size, complexity, and services required. But something we emphasize is CFO services should come with an ROI. Our guidance isn’t a cost center – it’s a cost saver and revenue generator.
| Related: How Much Does an Accountant Cost? |
Benefits of Having a CFO
Imagine a rolling forecast you can trust. Better clarity on what you can spend, when to hire, and how pricing impacts profitability. Cash flow surprises are less common, board decks are easy to write, and instead of making decisions alone, you’ve got a seasoned financial professional in your corner.
Sound good? We thought so.
What Outcomes Can You Expect?
Businesses guided by a CFO move from acting on instinct to making data-driven decisions. They start asking ‘what if’ instead of ‘what happened.’ And best of all? The benefits are often self-evident within just a few months of beginning an engagement.
With our help, you’ll:
- Have better visibility into future cash and profitability
- See clear financial goals with actionable steps
- Make smarter decisions around pricing, hiring, and investments
- Feel confident to pursue growth with fewer financial surprises.
Why Hire a Virtual CFO?
It’s natural to worry if a relationship is entirely online, you won’t get to know someone like you could face-to-face. But let’s face it, even if your CFO’s office was down the street, how often would you actually walk in and talk to them?
Since Covid, remote work is more common than ever. Businesses adapted to the new reality, and so did we.
That’s why every client gets a single point of contact who is intimately familiar with your business. We’ll have regular review meetings where we walk you through every step of your financials (in plain English), and talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Remote communication is seamless, too. We guarantee responses within 24 hours (though you’ll often hear from us sooner), and while Slack is our favorite way to talk to clients, we’re happy to meet you where you are. Prefer email? A phone call? Something else? That’s fine with us.
Real-Life Stories
When a bootstrapped startup founder came to Brian Johnson for help, he couldn’t sleep at night because he was so concerned about whether or not the business would make it.
From Sleepless Nights to Profitable Growth
First, we built a model that mapped variable vs fixed costs by project. And as it turns out? Several of his flagship services weren’t profitable. Gross margins were too low to carry the business, but since his accounting aggregated everything together, he couldn’t see that.
Then, we executed a plan that moved him from breaking even to profitability after just six months:
- Repriced or removed unprofitable products
- Tightened delivery costs and vendor terms
- Right-sized overhead
- Implemented a forecast that informed hiring and cash flow decisions down the road
This founder’s story isn’t unique. Many businesses quietly scale costs on hoped-for revenue that never fully lands. Without models that track project–to-project profitability, it’s easy to drift backwards.
But with a CFO’s help, you can reset and get back on track.
From Short-Term Survival to Long-Term Clarity
When James Michalak stepped in as NeoReach CEO, he found financial chaos. Messy books, three different business lines, and revenue being recognized as if every project and campaign were a single transaction.
So we stepped in and rebuilt the foundation:
- Implemented GAAP-compliant revenue recognition their investors needed for due diligence
- Shortened month-end book closing from ~45 days to under 14
- Sped up accounts receivable collections by 25%
- Freed up 20 hours of time, per week, for James to focus on other priorities.
And the payoff showed up in the highest-stakes moments.
When NeoReach went for a $50M venture capital raise, our team joined investor calls and walked through the books line by line. We explained new policies, revenue treatment, and controls – turning their accounting chaos from a bottleneck into a credibility boost.
Before indinero, their forecasting was guesswork, cash visibility was murky, and the venture capital raise they were eyeing was in jeopardy.
But now?
They’re building toward an IPO while managing $15M in annual deal flow, with plans to move to an in-house CFO. We’re so happy to have supported their success, and while we’ll be sad to see them go, we understand that our services are a stepping stone between small companies that can’t justify a full-time hire and more mature companies that need internal teams.
Delivering a 200% Return on Investment in Just 12 Months
This client was in the biomedical field, and pouring money into research studies.
Costs were climbing, but no one could explain exactly why. Kind of like how your cable bill creeps up little by little until suddenly, you’re paying much more than you signed up for.
Their accountant wasn’t tracking context or trends, just delivering monthly reports. They did their best, but long-term strategic planning was outside their training. So our CFO dug in, spotted where expenses were rising, and helped our client get things back under control.
How to Hire a Fractional CFO
Start by deciding which responsibilities you want to pass on to someone else.
Forecasting? Budget development? Implementation? Cash flow analysis?
It’s important to know what you do and don’t need. For instance, a 12-person SaaS business may need scenario planning and fundraising prep, but departmental budgeting may not be particularly helpful. A construction company, on the other hand, may need job costing and cash flow tracking by project more than fundraising support.
Next, find someone with experience in your specific industry.
CFOs come with varied backgrounds. Some specialize in SaaS, while others are best with nonprofits or manufacturers. Company stage matters as well: someone used to working with $30M enterprises may not be a good fit for a $2M startup still looking for product-market fit.
Then, assess flexibility and communication style. A good engagement should scale with your needs and come from someone who translates accounting into plain English. Your leadership team needs to know the “why” behind the numbers – not just reports.
Finally, check references and team structure. Ask about outcomes delivered for similar clients, and confirm whether you’ll have just one CFO or a team behind them as well (controllers, bookkeepers, specialists).
Getting Started With Indinero
Wondering how our process works? It all begins with a free consultation.
We begin with a review of your goals, financial information, and business. After the initial consultation, we’ll tailor our services to your specific needs. Finally, it ends with a partnership kickoff – once we’re aligned, we’ll prioritize objectives, set up a meeting cadence, and get to work equipping you with the tools you need to make confident decisions.
You focus on growth. We’ll take care of the numbers.
