CFO Advisory
Do You Need a CFO Yet? Signs a Business Is Ready
You need a CFO when the questions you are asking are about the future and nobody in the business can answer them with numbers: whether you can afford the hire, how long the cash lasts if a big customer pays late, what a second location does to margin. You do not need one yet if the questions are still about whether last month's statements are right.
This guide is part of our cfo advisory in Wilmette, IL. Book a free consultation or call (847) 644-2288.
01What are the signs you are ready?
Decisions are waiting on numbers you do not have. You are considering a loan, a lease, a significant hire, or a new line of business, and the answer to whether it works is a feeling rather than a forecast. Cash gets tight at points in the year and you find out when it happens rather than a quarter before. You know revenue but not which customers or services actually make money.
Another sign is the audience. A lender, an investor, or a partner is asking for projections and a plan, and what you have is last year's return.
02What are the signs you are not there yet?
The books are not reconciled monthly. Statements arrive late or you do not trust them. There is no budget to compare against. If any of these is true, a CFO would be forecasting from numbers that are not reliable, and the honest advice is to fix the foundation first. That is controller work, and our controller services page describes it.
Size matters less than people assume, but it matters. The CFO package is built for established businesses in the range of about two million to one hundred million in revenue. Below that, the Growth package usually answers the questions being asked.
03Can you do the CFO work yourself?
Some of it, for a while. A simple cash forecast for the next ninety days is something every owner should keep, and our cash flow management guide shows how. A budget you actually compare against is within reach with good statements.
What is hard to do yourself is the judgment. Modelling a decision properly, seeing the margin problem before it shows in the bank, and having someone in the room whose job is to disagree with you when the numbers do. That is what you are buying with advisory, and it is not a spreadsheet.
04What does the first engagement look like?
It starts with the foundation check. If the controller work is in place, the CFO engagement begins with a forecast and a budget and settles into a weekly or every-other-week strategy call. If it is not, the close and the statements get built first, and the advisory starts once they are reliable. Everything is scoped in writing with a fixed monthly figure. Our CFO advisory page sets out what is included.
05How do you find out where you stand?
Ask. A free 30-minute call is enough to tell whether you need advisory, a controller, or nothing yet, and we will say which. Book the call or phone (847) 644-2288. If the answer is not yet, you will leave with a shorter list of what to fix first.
Common questions
Is a fractional CFO only for large companies?
No. It exists for businesses that need executive financial judgment without a full-time executive salary, which is most businesses in the low millions of revenue.
What if I need a CFO for one decision?
Say so on the call. Some engagements are shaped around a financing round or an acquisition, with the ongoing advisory decided afterwards.
Will you tell me if I do not need one?
Yes. The first call ends that way sometimes, with a note of what to put in place first.
Have a question about your situation?
Book a free 30-minute consultation and we'll walk through it together.
Schedule a ConsultationThis article is general information, not individualized tax, legal, or financial advice. Every situation is different. Reach out and we'll look at yours directly.