Monthly financial review
Where the money actually went, and what it means for the next quarter.
Fractional CFO
A Fractional CFO for businesses that have outgrown their numbers.
Your bookkeeper records what happened. Your accountant reports it to the ATO. Neither is engaged to tell you what to do next. That is the job.
Monthly retainers or fixed-fee project work, quoted before anything begins · Bendigo, working with owners Australia-wide
The gap
“We seem to be doing well, but there’s never any money in the account.”
It is the most common thing an owner says before they hire a CFO. Profit and cash are different things, and the gap between them is where growing businesses get into trouble — not because anyone did anything wrong, but because nobody was watching that particular number.
01
You find out too late
Accounts arrive weeks after the month they describe. By the time you see a problem, you have been living with it for six weeks.
02
You decide on instinct
A hire, a price rise, a piece of equipment. Good instincts get you a long way, right up until the decision is big enough that being wrong is expensive.
03
Nobody argues with you
Your team works for you. Your accountant sees you once a year. There is often no one whose job it is to say “the assumption behind that number is wrong”.
What it is
What a Fractional CFO actually does
The title is used loosely, so it is worth being specific. A Fractional CFO is senior financial leadership bought by the month rather than employed — a few days a month, not a few hours a week.
| What it is | What it is not |
|---|---|
| Monthly reporting you can decide from | Bookkeeping or data entry |
| Cash forecasting and funding planning | Preparing and lodging your tax returns |
| Pricing, margin and profitability analysis | Replacing your accountant or tax agent |
| Modelling decisions before you commit | A software subscription |
| Someone to argue with about the assumptions | Someone who agrees with you |
| Board, lender and investor-ready reporting | A full-time hire on a full-time salary |
It sits alongside your accountant, not instead of them. Your accountant looks backwards and satisfies the ATO. A CFO looks forwards and helps you decide. Most businesses need both, and they are different jobs.
Included
What a retainer covers
Scoped to the business rather than sold as a package. These are the components most engagements are built from.
Rolling cash flow forecast
Thirteen weeks out, updated monthly, so surprises arrive early enough to do something about.
Pricing and margin analysis
Which customers, products and jobs actually make money once everything is counted.
Investment decisions modelled
A second set of eyes, and a spreadsheet, before you commit capital.
Board and lender reporting
Reporting packs that stand up to outside scrutiny.
Exit readiness
The value drivers worth fixing now, years before you need them fixed.
Project work
Not everyone needs a retainer
Some businesses do not need someone in the numbers every month. They need one specific thing built, fixed or answered — and then they want to get on with it. That work is available on its own, priced as a fixed-fee project with a start and an end.
01
A cash forecast, built and handed over
A rolling 13-week model set up properly once, with the method explained, so you can keep running it yourself afterwards.
02
A pricing and margin review
Which customers, products and jobs actually make money once everything is counted — and what to do about the ones that don’t.
03
A funding or lender pack
The reporting and forecasts a bank or investor will ask for, prepared properly before they ask rather than scrambled together after.
04
A budget for the year ahead
Built with the assumptions written down, so that when variances appear you know which assumption was wrong.
05
A decision modelled
A new site, a major hire, a large piece of equipment. What it does to cash and profit across a few scenarios, before you commit.
06
An exit readiness review
What a buyer would question, and which of those things can realistically be fixed in the time you have.
Every project is quoted as a fixed fee after a short scoping call, so you know the cost before anything starts. There is no expectation of anything ongoing afterwards — if a retainer would suit you better, I will say so, and if it wouldn’t, I won’t raise it.
Free self-assessment
Twenty questions. How many can you answer yes to?
A scorecard you complete yourself in about ten minutes, across four areas: whether you know your numbers in time, cash, decisions, and risk. It tells you which area is weakest — and it includes the part most firms leave out: when you probably don’t need a CFO at all.
- Twenty questions, scored out of 20, with three interpretation bands
- Written for owners, not accountants
- Useful whether or not you ever speak to us
Send me the scorecard
No cost, no obligation, and I won’t add you to a mailing list.
How it works
Fixed fee, scoped before it starts
01
A short scoping call
Fifteen minutes to understand the business and what is actually missing. No charge, and often the answer is that you do not need this yet.
02
A written proposal
Scope, rhythm and a fixed monthly fee, agreed in writing before anything begins. Priced to the business rather than to a package.
03
The same person every month
Nick does the work. There is no team for it to be handed down to, and no hourly billing to make you hesitate before asking a question.
No lock-inMonth to month, with the scope reviewed as the business changes — not a fixed term
IndependentNo product sales, no commissions and no referral fees — the advice has no other agenda
FixedEvery fee agreed in writing before work begins — no hourly billing, no surprises
15 minA free scoping call before anything is proposed, quoted or charged
Common questions
What owners ask first
Is a fractional CFO the same as a virtual CFO?
Yes. Fractional CFO, virtual CFO, part-time CFO and outsourced CFO all describe the same arrangement: senior financial leadership engaged for part of a month rather than employed full time. We say “fractional” because it describes what you are actually buying — a fraction of a CFO’s time, not a remote version of one.
Do I have to leave my current accountant?
No, and you shouldn’t. A Fractional CFO works alongside your accountant rather than replacing them. They handle compliance and lodgements; I work on the forward view — cash, pricing, decisions and reporting. Most engagements involve talking to your accountant, not around them.
How is this different from a bookkeeper?
A bookkeeper records transactions accurately, which is essential and a different skill. A CFO interprets what those records mean and helps you act on it. If your bookkeeping is behind, that needs fixing first — I will tell you if that is the case rather than layering analysis on top of poor data.
Is my business big enough?
There is no revenue threshold, but there is a practical one: if you can still hold the whole business in your head and decisions are small, you probably do not need this yet. The scorecard above is designed to answer exactly this question honestly.
What does it actually cost?
Every engagement is quoted individually, because the right scope for a $2m business and a $20m one are not the same. After a short scoping call you get a fixed monthly fee in writing, and it does not change unless the scope does. There is no hourly billing, and no charge for the scoping call.
Can I start small and scale up?
Yes, and most do. A common starting point is monthly reporting and a rolling cash forecast, then adding pricing work or board reporting as it becomes useful. The scope is reviewed rather than locked.
Next step
Start with fifteen minutes.
Tell me roughly what the business does and what you can’t see clearly at the moment. If a retainer isn’t worth it yet, I’ll say so — and tell you what to fix first.