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Next Level Business Growth Starts with a Fractional CFO

Written by Tarsus | Dec 5, 2023 5:00:00 AM

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, your business began as a simple vision. Over time, you refined your vision, ambitiously studied your market, targeted your customers, developed a plan, and turned your vision into a reality through grit and determination. Now your business is up and running and probably growing faster than you thought possible.

But, as usual, more growth only leads to more problems that need to be solved. If this story sounds familiar, you’ll want to keep reading to learn how hiring a fractional CFO can ease some of your company’s growing pains.

Managing Growing Pains

At this point, you may find yourself getting lost in the day-to-day operations of running the show. You spend hours making financial decisions, paying bills, and dealing with staffing issues.

Even though you are busier than ever, the cash flow isn’t matching your expectations or meeting your goals.  The vision that brought you this far is feeling stifled. There are just not enough hours in the day to manage your evolving business while also planning for your company’s financial future. Essentially, you’re spending too much time working in your business, not on your business. But who else can you trust to run the most critical financial aspects of your business?

 

It’s time to hire a Virtual CFO

There’s no time to waste.  Bringing in a talented CFO to accurately assess your cash inflows and outflows, offer strategic financial analysis, and suggest creative ways to save money is critical to the success of your business. However, hiring a full-time, in-house CFO is usually overly expensive and, for many small businesses, may not be entirely necessary.

Thanks to technology, you can now hire an experienced financial professional to provide the same function as a traditional CFO– at just a fraction of the cost.  A fractional or outsourced CFO works part-time and remotely to tackle payroll, provide timely and accurate reports, manage the complexity of your books, and ensure your cash is flowing so you can focus on what really matters: building your business.

 

Make expert financial decisions

Financial advice is critical to your company’s financial well-being.  When you hire a Fractional CFO, you’re hiring someone who not only generates reports but also interprets data, provides valuable insight into economic trends, and helps you make the best financial decisions for your business. Just like how every pilot needs a copilot, a Fractional CFO will serve as a trusted advisor who helps steer your company in the right direction.

A Fractional CFO will be responsible for creating a financial plan that uses historical financial data and forward-thinking ideas to give you a competitive advantage that can help you reach your financial goals. They are a trusted team member who protects you and your assets. By using video conferencing, email, and document sharing, your Virtual CFO provides you with the communication you need to make expert financial decisions at all stages of growth.

 

Fractional CFO Vs. In-House

If your company has been experiencing rapid growth, then you might be torn between hiring an in-house CFO and an outsourced one. But, one thing is for sure: you can’t keep doing the job of both CEO and CFO. So, here are some points to consider when choosing between an in-house vs outsourcing a CFO.

Hiring an In-House CFO:

  • Price Tag: A full-time, in-house CFO often comes with a hefty price tag. You’ll need to pay a hefty salary and benefits to attract top talent.
  • Employee Risk: There’s also the risk that you might make the wrong hire, which could hurt your company in the long run. If you bring on a full-time CFO who isn’t the right fit, then it’ll be much more difficult to cut ties, and worse is that they leave with all the company knowledge that now will take time to re-acquaint your new CFO with.

Hiring a Fractional CFO:

  • Less Overhead and Risk: When you hire a Fractional CFO, you get custom services specific to your needs without the overhead and risk.  A Fractional CFO works in various business sectors and brings their vast financial knowledge, experience, insight, and deep understanding of accounting practices to your company.
  • Flexibility: You can leverage your Fractional CFO depending on the needs of your business, which optimizes the use of resources. For example, you could lean heavily on their expertise to help with a big project before scaling the service back once the project has ended.
  • Access to Technology: Fractional CFO companies often have access to expensive tools and technology, which you would otherwise have to pay for.
Whether you’re experiencing rapid growth, struggling to optimize your profitability, or need help navigating your financial decisions, a Fractional CFO might just be your next best step.