Alex Smith, Fractional CFO
Fractional CFO

You need a CFO. Not a $300,000 hire.

I make your financials trustworthy, then I show you where to grow and where money is leaking. For companies that have outgrown a bookkeeper and cannot justify a full-time CFO.

15+ Years in Corporate Finance
$200M+ Budgets Managed
$2–10M Typical Client Size
100% You Work Directly With Me

The Seat Between Bookkeeper and Full-Time CFO

Books that you can actually run the business from take real work. I do that work. Then I sit with you and show you where to grow — and where money is leaking.

Bookkeeper

Categorizes transactions. Sends a P&L you cannot use. Your CPA still cleans it up at tax time. Nobody is telling you what the numbers mean.

Fractional CFO

I close the books so they are decision-ready, then I use them with you: margins, cash, leaks, and the next move. A day a week is typically about $5,000 a month. You work with me.

Full-time CFO

The right seat at $20M+. Fully loaded, that hire is $250,000 to $400,000. Most companies in this range need the thinking, not the headcount.

Who This Is For

Companies that need a CFO and cannot afford to hire one. Finance is the problem. Industry is secondary.

Typically $2M–$10M

Big enough that the founder cannot keep the numbers in their head. Not so big that a full-time CFO is the obvious next hire. The edges are in the FAQ.

Any industry

Service firms, trades, professional practices, product companies, operators with messy multi-entity books. The finance job is the same: trustworthy numbers, then a conversation about what to do.

Local and remote

Based in Arizona's North Valley. I work with owners here and with companies anywhere the books and the decisions matter.

Fractional CFO

The finance seat for companies that need a CFO and aren't ready to hire one. I close the books, then I sit with you and turn them into decisions. A day a week is typically about $5,000 a month. $2M–$10M. Any industry.

CFO Advisory

Let's talk

You already have the books. We price the seat on the call.

Best for: You already have a bookkeeper or controller and need a CFO at the table

  • Forecasting, cash, and decision support on top of your existing books
  • I work with your bookkeeper, controller, or CPA — I don't replace them
  • The right fit when the numbers are already trustworthy and you need a finance seat
  • Common above ~$10M, or whenever you already have accounting staff
Book a Call

A day a week typically lands around $5,000 a month. Cleanup to get current is scoped separately. If you already have a bookkeeper, or you need more than a day, we price that on the call.

Not Sure If You Need a CFO Yet?

Take the 2-minute Financial Health Scorecard. Ten questions about whether your numbers are timely, trustworthy, and actually used to run the business. Instant score, no financial data required.

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How It Works

1

Book a Call

We talk through the business, the current numbers, and what is not working. No pitch. A real conversation about whether a finance seat would help.

2

Get a Clear Proposal

Within 24 hours you have a written scope and a monthly price. If the books are behind, cleanup to get current is scoped separately. No hourly surprises.

3

Close, Review, Decide

Every month: a clean close, then a conversation. What's working, what's leaking, what to do next. You leave with a picture you can run the business from.

This is the same discipline I used managing closes and presenting to boards. The difference is you get the seat without a finance department.

Common Questions

What size company is this for?

The companies that get the most from this are typically doing $2M to $10M. That is the band where you need a CFO and cannot justify a $250k–$400k hire. Around $1M it can still make sense if margins are strong or the alternative is flying blind — a day-a-week seat is real money, so the pain has to be real. Above about $10M you usually already have a bookkeeper or controller. I can still be the CFO seat, but I am not also doing the transaction work at that scale. $15M is usually a different engagement: advisory on top of a finance person you already have.

Do you only work in one industry?

No. Finance is the language. Industry is second. Cash, margins, a clean close, and a decision are the same job whether you run a service firm, a trade, a professional practice, or a product company. If your industry has quirks, I learn them. I do not lead with a niche.

What does a typical $5,000 month include?

A day a week: the close and the insight. I make the books trustworthy — so you are not paying your CPA to clean them — then I sit with you and use them: what's working, where money is leaking, cash, margins, and what to do next. You work with me. More time or more complexity is a different number. If you already have a bookkeeper or controller, we scope an advisory seat instead.

What if my books are a mess right now?

That is how most engagements start. I do a cleanup to get current first, then we move into the monthly close and review. Cleanup is scoped separately so the monthly price stays about the ongoing seat, not the backlog.

Will I actually talk to you?

Yes. You work directly with me. There is no handoff to junior staff, no ticket queue, and no offshore team. That is the point of a fractional seat.

How is this different from my CPA?

Your CPA is for tax. I make sure they get clean books and I stay out of their lane. What I add is the monthly operating picture: cash, margins, leaks, and decisions during the year — not a scramble in March.

What software do you use?

QuickBooks Online for most clients. If you are on something else, we will talk about whether to keep it or move. I will recommend the setup on the first call, based on how you actually run the business.

Do you help with one-off projects?

Yes. Cleanup, a forecast, a model, a reporting system, a look at cash. If you do not need a monthly seat yet, we can scope the project. Book a call and we will see which is the better fit.

Alex Smith

I've been an analyst at Fortune 500 companies, worked in finance at two PE-backed startups, served as a director at a $60M marketing holding company, and ran finance for a government transit authority as CFO. I've also started, grown, and sold my own company. I started this practice because businesses in the $2M–$10M range deserve a real finance seat, not a bookkeeper they outgrew or a full-time CFO they cannot afford.

Learn more about my background

Ready for a Finance Seat?

Book a call. We'll see if your numbers — and the business — are a fit.

Book a Call