Insights guide
What is a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader who works inside your business part time, giving you the strategic thinking of a Chief Financial Officer without the cost of a full time hire. This guide explains what the role actually involves, how it differs from a bookkeeper or an accountant, when a business needs one, and what it costs.
What a fractional CFO actually does
A fractional CFO works at the level of decisions, not transactions. The day to day bookkeeping and compliance stay where they are. What you gain is someone who translates your numbers into commercial choices, builds the forecasts and cash models that drive those choices, and sits in the room when the decisions that shape the next few years get made. In practice that means a senior voice on pricing, margin, cash, hiring, capital and eventual sale. You can see the full scope on the Fractional CFO page.
What a fractional CFO is not
It is not a bookkeeper who runs your software, and it is not your accountant. Your accountant keeps you compliant through tax, financial statements and BAS, looking mostly backwards at what has already happened. A fractional CFO is forward looking and commercial. The two roles complement each other, and most businesses keep both. It is also not a one-off consultant who delivers a report and disappears. The value sits in the ongoing rhythm, not a single document.
Where the roles sit: what they look at and how much rides on the answer
Illustrative positioning of the three roles on two measures.
Influence on your decisions
Records what happened, accurately and on time.
Reports what happened, files what the law requires and advises on structure and tax.
Plans what happens next and helps you decide.
TakeawayThe higher a role sits, the more of your future rides on its answer, which is why the work is scoped and priced differently.
Note: Positions are illustrative and show typical scope, not a ranking of importance. Every role is needed.
On the chart the accountant sits in the middle for a reason. The annual return looks back, while the one-off work looks ahead but rarely repeats: structuring operating and holding entities and trusts, deciding how the owners are paid, bringing in a partner, or preparing for a sale. Businesses run through a company, trust or partnership lodge a tax return each year, yet only some entities must lodge financial statements with ASIC, such as large proprietary and public companies. The monthly forward view is the gap a fractional CFO fills. Rules and rates are stated in general terms. Your legal adviser or tax adviser can confirm how they apply to your business.
Fractional, virtual or outsourced. What is the difference?
In practice the terms are used interchangeably. Fractional emphasises that you are buying a fraction of a senior person's time. Virtual emphasises that much of the work is delivered remotely. Outsourced emphasises that the person sits outside your payroll. The underlying role is the same: senior financial leadership, scaled to an SME. ProfitPulse delivers it across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and interstate in Sydney and Melbourne, so the label you use matters far less than the substance behind it. You can see where we work for the detail.
When does a business need one?
The model fits owner led businesses turning over roughly $1M to $30M. The clearest signals are familiar: revenue is growing but profit is not keeping pace, decisions feel like they are made in the dark without good financial visibility, a capital raise or sale is on the horizon, or the business is scaling faster than its financial systems can support. Below about $1M, a one-off diagnostic is usually a better fit than an ongoing retainer. Above $20M to $30M, a full time CFO often becomes justifiable. If you are weighing it up, our free business benchmarking tools show where your numbers stand against businesses like yours.
A simple test: if the financial questions keeping you up at night are about the future rather than compliance, you are in fractional CFO territory.
How much does a fractional CFO cost?
Most providers will not publish a number, which makes the category hard to compare. ProfitPulse publishes its rates: five places for new clients from $2,950 a month plus GST (not available to existing clients), held for 24 months, then from $3,750, paid monthly in advance, month to month with 30 days notice. Our guide to what a fractional CFO costs sets out the Australian range. Groups with a Board, an audit or a transaction ahead usually sit in Command or Executive. A few quick questions size your price to the characteristics of your business, and the pricing page shows every ProfitPulse package.
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Every business is different, so these prices are a guide. Most of our engagements are tailored to what the client needs.
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How an engagement works
It usually starts with a diagnostic over the first few weeks, a full review of your financials, systems and operating rhythm that ends in a written summary of the highest leverage areas in your business. From there it settles into a monthly cadence of performance review, a rolling cash view and the decisions that move profitability and value. By month three the financial fog clears, calls get shorter and decisions get faster. The Fractional CFO page sets out each stage in detail, and if a raise or sale is ahead, the guides on business valuation, investor readiness and exit readiness are a useful next read.
Common questions
What is the difference between a fractional CFO and an accountant?
Your accountant keeps you compliant through tax, financial statements and BAS. A fractional CFO is forward looking, helping you make commercial decisions on pricing, cash, capital, growth and value. The roles complement each other and most businesses keep both.
Is a fractional CFO the same as a virtual CFO?
For most purposes, yes. Virtual simply emphasises that the work is delivered largely online, while fractional emphasises that you are engaging a senior person part time. The role and the value are the same.
What size business needs a fractional CFO?
Typically between $1M and $30M in revenue. Below that, a one-off diagnostic is usually more cost effective. Above it, a full time CFO often becomes justifiable, though some larger businesses keep a fractional partner in parallel for specific work.
What does a fractional CFO cost?
ProfitPulse is priced from $2,950 a month plus GST for its next five new clients (not available to existing clients), on one fixed monthly fee with no timesheets. Our pricing page explains how every engagement is sized, and a few quick questions will point you to the right starting point in about a minute.