The existing finance team
A capable bookkeeper or controller changes how much execution, review, and coordination the CFO needs to own.
Fractional CFO cost
The fee should follow the work, not a generic package.
Most Canadian engagements start around CAD $2,500 per month plus applicable tax and scale with complexity. U.S. work is quoted in USD. The right scope depends on the finance team, reporting, cadence, and decisions ahead.
What changes the fee
Revenue matters less than complexity.
A $3M company with three entities, weak close controls, bank reporting, and an acquisition ahead can require more CFO time than a straightforward $15M business with a strong controller.
Reporting and forecasting
The number of entities, locations, service lines, projects, lenders, and reporting audiences affects the workload.
Meeting and decision cadence
A stable monthly rhythm is different from weekly cash management, active financing, expansion, or transaction work.
Starting condition
If the close is unreliable or responsibilities are unclear, the early phase may require more hands-on work before the forward view can be trusted.
What the engagement should buy
Senior ownership of the finance function.
The value is not a longer report. It is better control of the work and better decisions from the finished numbers.
Finance-team management
Priorities, deadlines, review, and coordination across the bookkeeper, accountant, bank, and outside firms.
A reliable forward view
Cash planning, forecasting, management reporting, and regular updates when facts change.
Decision support
Financial work around hiring, pricing, financing, expansion, acquisitions, and owner decisions.
Compared with a full-time hire
Buy the level of judgment you need, at the amount of time the business needs.
A fractional structure works when the company needs experienced financial leadership but does not yet require a full-time executive. If the work is truly a full-time job, the honest recommendation is to hire for it.
- The owner needs an experienced finance lead, not another transaction processor.
- The company already has bookkeeping or controllership capacity.
- The finance work can be run on a defined weekly and monthly cadence.
- The important decisions benefit from senior involvement, but not forty hours every week.
- The scope can expand or contract as the business changes.
A useful first conversation
The fastest way to price the work is to understand the finance team and the decisions ahead.
Send me a short description of the business, current finance support, and the work that is not getting owned.