Fractional CFO
Fractional CFO support for owner led Australian businesses
A senior financial mind in the room when the decisions actually matter. Institutional grade thinking on profit, cash and value, for businesses ready to move beyond compliance reporting. Transparent monthly pricing, and no long term lock in.
Investment from $3,750 per month
Most owners have plenty of financial information. What they are missing is interpretation, perspective, and a senior voice in the room when decisions are made. The reports tell you what happened. They rarely tell you what to do next.
How do we price for the value we actually deliver? Where is cash really getting trapped? Which clients are profitable once the true cost to serve is counted? When do we hire, and how do we fund it? If we wanted to sell in three years, what would we change today?
These are CFO level questions. A fractional CFO answers them, with the seniority of a full time finance chief but without the full time salary of $250,000 or more.
What a fractional CFO actually does
What it is not
It is not a bookkeeper, and not a tax accountant. It is not a consultant who delivers a report and leaves. It is not a junior finance manager processing transactions. None of those roles sit beside you when the hard calls are made.
What it actually is
It is a senior financial partner who turns your numbers into decisions, builds the forecasts and scenarios behind every major move, and becomes the financial voice on pricing, hiring, investment, funding and exit. Strategy, not data entry.
What is included
Every partnership is shaped around your business. Most include the following.
Clarity and rhythm
Monthly performance reviews. A clear management pack each month, with the story behind the numbers, not just the numbers.
Rolling cash flow forecasting. Always knowing what your cash position looks like twelve weeks out, and well beyond.
KPI and dashboard design. The handful of numbers that actually run your business, visible and current.
Board and investor reporting. Board grade reporting that stands up to scrutiny from lenders, partners and investors.
Strategy and capital
Pricing and margin analysis. Finding and fixing what quietly dilutes margin across clients, products and services.
Budgeting and scenario modelling. A plan you can steer by, and the ability to test a decision before you make it.
Capital and funding strategy. Structuring debt, facilities and equity so growth is funded on the right terms.
Strategic decision support. A senior partner to think with on every major move, between the formal reviews as well as during them.
Who it is for
Owner led businesses across Australia, typically turning over between $1M and $20M. We work with allied health practices, professional services firms, construction and trades, manufacturing and logistics, retail and hospitality, property businesses, technology companies and family businesses.
You will get the most from a fractional CFO when revenue is growing but profit is not keeping pace, when you are making big decisions without clear financial visibility, when you are preparing for a raise, a sale or a transition, or when your accountant is excellent at compliance but cannot help you think strategically.
Under $1M in revenue, a one off diagnostic is usually a better place to start than the ongoing partnership.
How the engagement unfolds
Weeks 1 to 2
Discovery and diagnostic
We get under the numbers, understand the business and your goals, and surface the issues and opportunities that matter most.
Weeks 3 to 4
Baseline and rhythm
We establish clean reporting, set up your cash flow forecast, and agree the rhythm of reviews and decisions going forward.
Month 2
First decisions
The early wins start to land, in pricing, in cash, or in cost, and the management pack becomes the centre of how you steer.
Month 3 and beyond
Embedded support
We are now a fixture in how the business runs, the senior financial partner you think with on every major move.
Investment from $3,750 per month. Month to month, paid in advance, with no long term lock in.
Case study
An allied health group, twelve months on
A multi site allied health group was growing quickly, yet the owners were working harder for the same money and could not see why. We took on the fractional CFO role. Within the first quarter we had rebuilt the reporting, mapped profitability by site and service, and reset pricing that had drifted below the true cost to serve. Over twelve months the picture changed.
19%
EBITDA margin, up from 12%
$185k
working capital released
41%
more owner drawings, same revenue
$1.2M
estimated valuation uplift
Client details are anonymised and figures are rounded to protect confidentiality. Results vary by business and are never guaranteed.
Why ProfitPulse
Institutional experience
Our financial leadership was forged on large scale transactions across debt, mezzanine and equity. We bring that institutional lens to businesses your size.
Transparent pricing
Our investment levels are published, starting from $3,750 per month. No negotiation theatre, and no surprises. You know where you stand before we ever speak.
Built for decisions
We are not here to replace your accountant. We work alongside them, focused on the forward looking decisions that grow profit and value.
Built on institutional experience
ProfitPulse was founded by a Chartered Accountant whose career was built in investment banking, structuring and executing more than 50 large scale infrastructure transactions across Australia, Asia and Africa, spanning debt, mezzanine and equity finance.
We bring that same institutional grade thinking into Australian SMEs. The discipline used to underwrite a major infrastructure project is the discipline that transforms a $5M business. The principles do not change with the size of the balance sheet, only the scale. That is the thinking you have alongside you, every month. You can read more about the firm and the bench behind it on our about page.
Common questions
What does a fractional CFO cost?
Across the market, fractional CFO support generally runs between $3,000 and $8,000 per month depending on scope. ProfitPulse starts from $3,750 per month, billed month to month, with no long term lock in. Our pricing page sets out how every engagement is sized to your business.
How is this different from my accountant?
Your accountant looks backward, keeping you compliant and lodging your tax. A fractional CFO looks forward, helping you decide what to do next. The two roles work best together, and we partner with your existing accountant rather than replacing them.
Is my business big enough?
The ongoing partnership suits businesses turning over roughly $1M to $20M. If you are smaller than that, a one off diagnostic is usually the better starting point, and we will tell you so honestly.
How quickly will I see value?
You will have a clear management pack within the first few weeks. The reporting rhythm and the first real decisions are typically in place inside the first 90 days.
Do you work with businesses outside Queensland?
Yes. We work with clients across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and remotely with owner led businesses Australia wide.
Can you help when we raise capital or sell?
Yes. An optional capital markets add on covers live raises, refinances and sales, drawing on real transaction experience across debt, mezzanine and equity.
What if our financial records are messy?
That is common, and it is not a problem. The first weeks are spent getting the numbers clean and reliable, so every decision that follows rests on something solid.
Can you help me understand what my business is worth?
Yes. Understanding and lifting your value is part of the work. Our guide on how a business is valued explains the fundamentals, and we go further with an indicative valuation when you need a real number.
Bring senior financial thinking into your business
A 45 minute discovery call is complimentary. You will come away with at least one practical observation about your business, whether or not we go on to work together.