Has your business broken the million dollar sales mark? Are you climbing up toward a ten million dollar year? While these numbers represent a lot of hard work and careful planning they also represent the potential road signs for risk ahead. That’s because businesses operating within those benchmarks can become undone under the weight of their own growth.

But the skills and services of an experienced CFO can help a business avoid some of the common pitfalls that cause some companies to never achieve their true potential. And utilizing fractional CFO services can help you receive that level of strategy and support without adding a full-time space on your org chart.

What is Fractional CFO Support?

Many businesses that are in the early stages of growth try to keep their leadership teams lean. While it may seem to make sense to not add to payroll early on, the missteps that can happen from not having strong financial strategy and oversight can end up hitting your bottom line even harder.

Utilizing the services of a fractional CFO for startups or other business entities allows you to add financial experience and strategic expertise to your team without adding a full time salary. And the benefits can be big. Most companies using fractional CFO services see a 10-20% boost in profit margins.

What Does a Fractional CFO Do?

You don’t bring a fractional CFO onboard to do your taxes. That’s what a CPA manages. And a fractional CFO isn’t going to be focused on daily operations and receipts. That’s the purview of your controller. Fractional CFO support means bringing top-down clarity, insight, expertise, and structure to your overall financial strategy.

On a practical level this can look like:

• Developing 13-week case flow forecasts to improve cash flow
• Creating strategies that will help to optimize profitability
• The creation of board-ready investor & lender packages
• Implementing pricing & cost strategies
• Uncovering areas for quick wins that will lead to optimal profit margins

When Do you Need Fractional CFO Services

There is not a singular incident that would trigger the need for you to engage with a fractional CFO. Instead, there are several signs that could indicate your need for adding a financial expert. Those include:

• Your revenue numbers are up but cash flow is tight.
• The prices for products and services haven’t changed in three-years.
• Financial reports are informational, not actionable.
• You’re thinking about transition plans.
• Growth is happening quickly.

Working With Fractional CFO Firms

Good fractional CFO services should not be out-of-the box solutions but instead tailor-made for the needs of the business. Some companies may need more intensive growth planning, forecasting, and capital planning while other companies may need quarterly strategy and profitability reviews which can be used to adjust strategies in areas like hiring for growth planning. A fractional CFO like Matthew P Schlanger will work closely with you to assess your business needs and develop a fractional CFO service plan that can meet those needs while delivering growth.

Getting Started With Fractional CFO Services

If your business is seeing revenue over a million dollars and growing, you can work to keep that growth steady and put the company on the path to a profit with the services of a fractional CFO.

If you’d like to learn more about how your business can benefit from the strategic insights and clear financial planning a fractional CFO can offer, schedule a free consultation today.