What a Fractional CFO Costs, and When You Need One
Published fractional CFO plans start around $1,750 to $2,000 a month as of September 2026: Pilot lists CFO plans from $1,750 a month billed annually, and Bookkeeper360 from $2,000 a month. Most small businesses need clean monthly books, a budget and a cash flow forecast first; a CFO adds strategy, fundraising and board reporting on top. SF Business Solutions keeps the books and builds budgets and forecasts; we do not sell fractional CFO service.
By SF Business Solutions · Our team includes one licensed CPA · 2 sources · Updated September 10, 2026Published prices, September 2026
Few firms publish CFO prices. These do:
- Pilot: CFO plans at $1,750, $3,150 and $5,250 a month, billed annually, including financial modeling, KPI dashboards and monthly CFO calls.
- Bookkeeper360: fractional CFO starting at $2,000 a month; a 12-month budget from $2,000 per project and a three-year forecast from $10,000 per project.
Three levels of finance help
It helps to see finance work as layers, each built on the one below.
- Bookkeeping: reconciled books and monthly statements. Everything else depends on this.
- Budgeting and forecasting: a budget, a cash flow forecast and a monthly comparison of actual against plan.
- CFO: strategy, pricing decisions, fundraising, lender and board relationships, and the models behind them.
When a budget and forecast is enough
If your questions are about cash, whether you can afford a hire, when a slow season will bite, how much to set aside for taxes, a budget and a 13-week or 12-month cash flow forecast usually answer them. That work is far cheaper than a CFO retainer and should come first anyway.
Signs you have outgrown a forecast and need CFO-level help: you are raising equity or large debt, a board or investors expect monthly reporting and a view on strategy, you are pricing a major contract or acquisition, or decisions keep stalling because nobody owns the financial picture. Below those triggers, a monthly close plus a forecast reviewed each month covers most owners' questions.
SF Business Solutions builds budgets and forecasts on top of reconciled monthly books, with bookkeeping starting at $250 a month.
What a three-year financial model contains
A useful model links three statements, income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, driven by a short list of assumptions: sales volume and price, gross margin, headcount and pay, and major purchases. It shows monthly detail for the first year and annual after that.
The test of a model is whether the first year's actuals can be dropped in each month and compared. A model built on unreconciled books fails that test from day one.
Bookkeeping firms that also offer CFO work
Some bookkeeping firms bundle CFO services, as Pilot and Bookkeeper360 do. Bundling is convenient; the trade-off is price and whether you need the CFO layer yet.
SF Business Solutions focuses on the first two layers: bookkeeping, month-end close, and budgets and forecasts. If you later need a CFO, clean books make that engagement shorter and cheaper.
How much does a fractional CFO cost for a small business?
Published plans start around $1,750 to $2,000 a month as of September 2026, from Pilot and Bookkeeper360. Many firms quote only after a call.
Do I need a CFO or a bookkeeper first?
A bookkeeper. A CFO works from your monthly statements, so reconciled books come first.
Who can build a budget and cash flow forecast for my small business?
A bookkeeper or accountant who knows your numbers. SF Business Solutions builds budgets and forecasts on reconciled monthly books.
Can you build a three-year financial model for my business?
Yes. Budgeting and forecasting is one of our services; we build models that link the three statements and can be updated with actuals each month.
Which bookkeeping firms also offer fractional CFO services?
Pilot and Bookkeeper360 publish CFO pricing. SF Business Solutions does bookkeeping, budgets and forecasts, not fractional CFO service.
What are the best cash flow forecasting options for a small business?
Start with a 13-week cash forecast built from your reconciled books, updated weekly. Software helps, but the inputs matter more than the tool.
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