Fractional CFO

CFO leadership,
one day a month.

The big agency-CFO firms are built for $5M+, and pricing to match. A full-time CFO costs $200K+. If you're an agency or professional services firm doing $500K–$3M, you're stuck between a bookkeeper who reports the past and nobody who'll plan the future. That gap is the whole reason SmartScale exists.

Who this is for

You've outgrown
"the books are fine"

Your P&L says you're profitable. Your bank account disagrees. Retainers land before the work does, one client eats half your team, and the numbers can't tell you which one — bookkeeping reports the past, and you're making six-figure decisions about the future.

If a few of these sound familiar, it's probably time.

  • Revenue is growing but you're not sure the profit is
  • Cash feels tight even in good months, and you can't say why
  • You're weighing a hire, a loan, or a big purchase on instinct
  • You don't actually know your margins by product or client
  • A bank or investor asked for projections and you froze
  • You want a finance brain in the room, not another report
What's included

What your fractional CFO actually does

Concrete work, delivered every month — not vague "advisory." Here's what lands on your desk.

Cash flow forecasting

A rolling 13-week cash forecast, updated as reality changes. You see shortfalls weeks ahead — with time to do something about them.

Budgeting & forecasting

An annual operating budget and a 12-month forward forecast, translating your goals into a real plan with numbers attached.

Margin & profitability analysis

Where you actually make money — by product, service line, or client — so you can price and prioritize on facts.

KPI dashboard

The handful of numbers that run your business, tracked monthly with trends and plain-English commentary on what moved and why.

Decision support

Hire, expand, raise prices, take on debt? We model the scenarios so you walk into every big call with the math already done.

Lender & investor readiness

Financing packages, projections, and the summary a bank or investor expects — prepared before you need them, not the night before.

How it works

From messy to on top of it

A clear path from first call to a business that runs on real numbers.

Discovery call

A free 30 minutes on where the business is, what's keeping you up, and whether we're a fit. No pitch.

Financial baseline

We get the books clean and current, then build your first forecast and dashboard so we're working from truth.

Monthly rhythm

Each month: updated numbers, a KPI review, and a working session with Amy on the decisions in front of you.

On the big calls

When a real decision comes up — a hire, a loan, a pivot — we model it together, on your timeline.

Before the retainer

Most engagements start with an audit

A monthly retainer is a real commitment, and you shouldn't have to make it on a thirty-minute call. The Agency Profit Audit is a fixed-fee analysis of your client profitability, utilization, and cash — $2,000, two to three weeks, yours to keep. If you move to a retainer within 60 days, 75% is credited against your first three months.

See the audit →
CFO engagements

Choose your level of partnership

Every engagement is scoped to your business on a discovery call. These are starting points, not ceilings.

CFO Lite
Forecasting & monthly guidance
$1,500 /mo & up
  • Rolling 13-week cash forecast
  • Monthly KPI dashboard
  • Monthly 60-min strategy call
  • Budget vs. actuals review
  • Email access to Amy
Start here
CFO + Books
Full stack, one partner
$3,200 /mo & up
  • Everything in Fractional CFO
  • Full monthly bookkeeping included
  • AP / AR management
  • One team owning the whole stack
  • Priority access to Amy
Talk it through

Engagements are month-to-month after a one-month onboarding. Final scope set on the discovery call.

Common questions

About fractional CFO work

What's the difference between a bookkeeper and a fractional CFO? +

A bookkeeper records what happened — accurate, essential, backward-looking. A fractional CFO uses those numbers to look forward: forecasting cash, analyzing margins, and helping you make decisions. Think of it as the difference between the scoreboard and the game plan. Many clients keep both, and we can be both.

Do I need clean books before we start? +

Not necessarily. If your books are behind or messy, getting them current is the first thing we do — it's the foundation the forecasting sits on. You don't have to fix anything before reaching out.

Is my business too small for a CFO? +

Fractional CFO work is built for exactly this range — roughly $500K to $3M in revenue. You're big enough that decisions carry real money, but not big enough to justify a full-time finance hire. That gap is the whole reason fractional CFO services exist.

How much of your time do I actually get? +

It varies by engagement, but think in terms of a few focused days a month rather than hours logged. You get the deliverables, the monthly working sessions, and Amy on call for the decisions that come up in between.

Do you replace my CPA? +

No — we work alongside your CPA. They handle tax filing; we handle the ongoing financial planning and keep your books so clean that tax time is faster (and often cheaper). If you don't have a CPA, we can point you to good ones.

Free 30-minute call

See what a CFO would change

Bring your biggest financial question. In 30 minutes I'll tell you honestly whether fractional CFO support is the right move — and where I'd start.

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