Fractional CFO & Business Strategy
Cash flow forecasting, budgeting, growth modeling, board-ready reporting, and the kind of strategic financial thinking that usually costs six figures. Prism Consulting builds this on top of clean books, so the numbers your CFO works from are the numbers your accountant produced and your tax preparer will use. Same team, same context, nothing gets lost in translation.
Sound familiar?
Most fractional CFO clients come to us in one of these spots. If a few of these land, we're probably a good fit.
Revenue is somewhere between $500K and $5M and finance is still mostly the founder.
This is the zone where a fractional CFO usually starts paying for itself. Strategic finance without a full-time salary.
You're about to seek financing, investment, or a line of credit.
Lenders and investors expect a level of financial reporting you may not currently produce. We build that in time for the conversation.
You're considering a major decision (hire, location, acquisition, equipment) and want a real model before committing.
Scenario planning is a fractional CFO's core deliverable. We model the decision before you make it.
You can't tell from your P&L whether you're actually profitable.
Most small business P&Ls miss the categorization that separates looks profitable from is profitable. We fix that.
Cash flow is unpredictable enough that you don't sleep well some weeks.
A 13-week cash flow forecast is the first deliverable for most clients. The unpredictability usually shrinks fast.
You looked at full-time CFO salaries and almost laughed.
Full-time CFOs cost $180K to $300K plus benefits. Fractional gets you the same expertise at a fraction of the cost, scaled to what you actually need.
More profit from the revenue you already have
Clean books are the floor, not the ceiling. This is the forward-looking work that turns the revenue you already have into profit you can keep.
Margin analysis by service line
We break profitability down by service line so you can see which work makes money and which drains it.
Quarterly pricing reviews
Every quarter we revisit your pricing against costs and the market, so your rates keep pace instead of lagging a year behind.
Profit you can act on
Reporting that ends in a decision, not a spreadsheet. You leave each review knowing the one or two moves that change the number.
Strategic finance, on retainer
Fractional CFO work covers the recurring rhythm of monthly reporting and the project work of building the financial infrastructure your business needs to make bigger decisions.
Cash flow forecasting
A rolling 13-week cash flow forecast updated monthly, plus longer-horizon projections for planning. You stop guessing whether next month is tight.
Budgeting and variance
Annual budget built with you, then tracked against actuals every month. Variance analysis that explains what happened, not just what missed.
Growth and scenario modeling
Hire vs hold off. New location vs same. Equipment lease vs purchase. We model the financial impact before you commit.
Board-ready financials
Monthly reporting packages built for lenders, investors, or board members. P&L with commentary, balance sheet, cash flow statement, KPI dashboard.
Mid-year audit
A formal review around June or July to surface anything off-track and reset the second half. Comes with a written summary and recommended adjustments.
KPI design and tracking
The five to seven numbers that actually predict your business health, defined for your industry and tracked monthly. Not generic dashboards, real signals.
Strategic decision support
Standing time on the calendar to talk through decisions before they happen. Pricing changes, contract negotiations, owner compensation, retirement planning, exit timing.
Owner compensation planning
How you pay yourself affects your taxes, your retirement, and your business's bottom line. We model the right mix of salary, distributions, and benefits for your situation.
How it works
If you've been making financial decisions alone, the first thing you'll notice is the relief of having someone in your corner.
Financial deep dive
We pull the last two years of financials, current cash position, debt structure, and any forward commitments. You get a written summary of where the business actually stands financially, including the things that aren't obvious from a P&L alone.
Prism Consulting handles fractional CFO differently
Numbers come from one sourceBuilt on the bookkeeping foundation
Most fractional CFOs work from books someone else produced and have to validate the data first. We do both, so the CFO is working with numbers we know are clean. No let me check this with your bookkeeper delays.
14+ years in the weedsPractitioner experience, not theoretical
This isn't a generalist consultant giving you frameworks. It's someone who has actually closed the books, run the payroll, filed the returns, and sat with business owners through the decisions. The advice is grounded in operating reality.
Fractional by designStrategic financial leadership at a fraction of the cost
A full-time CFO costs $180K to $300K plus benefits and equity. Fractional CFO work gives you the same expertise at the depth your business actually needs, scaled month by month.
Starting at $5,500/month
The range depends on hours, complexity, and whether you need event-specific work like fundraising support or transition planning. Larger engagements are scoped and priced on the Vibe Check.
Fractional CFO questions
A fractional CFO is a senior financial strategist who works with your business on a part-time or contract basis. You get the expertise of a chief financial officer (forecasting, budgeting, financial analysis, growth modeling, board reporting) without hiring one full-time. Most fractional engagements are five to twenty hours per month, depending on what the business needs.
Ready for strategic financial leadership without the CFO salary?
A Vibe Check is free, takes about 30 minutes, and ends with you knowing whether Prism is the right fit. No follow-up sales pitch.