What Is a Fractional CFO?

A fractional CFO is an experienced Chief Financial Officer who works with your business on a part-time or contract basis. You get senior-level financial leadership, including cash flow management, financial reporting, strategic planning, and investor-ready projections, without hiring a full-time executive at a $200,000+ salary.

Fractional CFO services typically run $2,000 to $10,000 per month depending on the scope. At TrueInsights CFO, ongoing engagements start at $3,000 per month minimum with no long-term contracts, and we cover your QuickBooks Online subscription for the life of the engagement. For targeted help without a retainer, we offer Books Cleanup at $150/hour, Budget Builder at $250/hour, and Monthly Bookkeeping at $1,000/month (QuickBooks included there too).

A bookkeeper records transactions after the fact. A CPA files your taxes once a year. A fractional CFO is in the numbers every month: building the budget, flagging a cash crunch before it hits, and telling you honestly whether that hire or that lease makes sense right now.

Most businesses reach out somewhere between $500K and $5M in revenue, usually because cash flow has gotten unpredictable, a capital raise or loan is on the table, or too many decisions are still being made on gut feel. If you've outgrown your bookkeeper but can't justify a full-time CFO, that's usually the sign.

No. Your CPA still handles compliance and taxes. We handle the forward-looking side, budgets, forecasts, and financial strategy, working directly alongside whoever already does your books.

It shifts depending on the week. Some days it's reviewing reports, managing cash flow, and tracking KPIs. Some weeks it's closing the books, prepping board-ready financials, and updating the forecast. And every quarter there's a real budget review and scenario planning, not just a rubber stamp.