A fractional CFO provides the same strategic financial leadership as a full-time CFO but works with your company on a part-time, flexible basis—typically 10-20 hours per week or on a project basis. You get executive-level expertise in financial strategy, fundraising, cash management, and decision support at 30-40% the cost of a full-time hire, without the commitment of salary, benefits, and equity packages that can strain early-stage budgets.

We start with a discovery call to understand your specific challenges and goals, then propose a customized engagement plan with defined scope, deliverables, and time commitment. Most engagements begin with a deep dive into your current financial situation—reviewing systems, processes, and pain points—followed by ongoing strategic support through regular meetings, financial reporting, and collaborative work with your team. Engagements are typically structured as monthly retainers with clearly defined services.

Yes—our CFO partners collectively serve companies across a wide range of industries, and many have deep sector-specific expertise in areas like technology, healthcare, consumer products, e-commerce, professional services, and manufacturing. We take care to match you with a CFO whose background aligns with your industry's unique financial characteristics, whether that's understanding SaaS metrics, managing inventory-based businesses, or navigating compliance requirements.

Our CFOs have a proven track record of helping startups navigate fundraising, navigate cash flow complexities, build financial models, and make strategic decisions with limited resources. We bring strong collaboration skills and work effectively with cross-functional teams—we don't just crunch numbers in isolation.

During the free financial diagnostic session we will get to know about the specific goals of your business to gauge what type of experience you need—whether that's extending runway, preparing for fundraising, setting up financial systems, or pricing strategy. We will articulate specific solutions to your problems and identify resources that can help with your specific needs.

We start with a discovery call to understand your specific challenges and goals, then propose a customized engagement plan with defined scope, deliverables, and time commitment. Most engagements begin with a deep dive into your current financial situation—reviewing systems, processes, and pain points—followed by ongoing strategic support through regular meetings, financial reporting, and collaborative work with your team. Engagements are typically structured as monthly retainers with clearly defined services.

Our CFO team serves as an embedded partner, not an outside consultant who shows up monthly with reports. Expect regular collaboration with your leadership team, direct work with department heads on budgets and planning, participation in key strategic decisions, and availability for urgent financial questions. Our fractional CFOs strive to become trusted advisors who your team can lean on, even if they're not in the office full-time.

Absolutely—flexibility is one of the biggest advantages of our fractional CFO services. You can increase hours during critical periods like fundraising, year-end planning, or rapid growth, then scale back during steadier times. Our fractional CFO arrangements can be adjusted monthly with reasonable notice, allowing you to match financial support to your current business needs and budget without the complexity of hiring or laying off full-time staff.

Our fractional CFO engagements typically operate on month-to-month or quarterly agreements with termination clauses that require 30-60 days notice. If your needs change, you're experiencing a cash crunch, or you've hired a full-time CFO, you can pause or end services without the complications of severance, unemployment, or HR issues. This flexibility protects you from being locked into a relationship that's no longer serving your business.

Our CFOs complement your existing financial team rather than replacing them. Your bookkeeper handles day-to-day transaction recording and basic reporting, while the fractional CFO focuses on strategy, analysis, forecasting, and decision support. We work collaboratively with your bookkeeper and CPA to ensure clean data flows, proper financial reporting, and coordinated tax planning—essentially becoming the strategic layer above your operational accounting function.

Yes—fundraising support is one of the most valuable services a fractional CFO provides. This includes building financial models and projections that investors expect, preparing detailed due diligence materials, creating the financial sections of pitch decks, coaching you through financial conversations with investors, and helping you understand term sheets and their implications. Our CFOs have extensive experience helping companies successfully close funding rounds.

Foundry CFO Partners has a strong network of complementary professionals including bookkeepers, tax advisors, legal counsel, payroll providers, HR consultants, and banking relationships. We can make warm introductions to trusted partners who understand startups and provide services at founder-friendly pricing. This network effect often provides additional value beyond the direct financial guidance, helping you build out your full professional support system efficiently.