To choose a fractional CFO, settle three things before anything else: who will actually do the work, what happens in the first ninety days, and how you would both know it is working. The seven questions below get you there. Ask them in order and listen for specifics.
Anyone can put CFO on a business card. I have one on mine, which is exactly why I would not hire on the title.
What should you ask a fractional CFO before hiring one?
- Who will actually do the work, and how much of it is you?
- Have you run finance for a business shaped like mine?
- What happens in the first ninety days?
- Who handles the books, and what if they are not clean?
- What does a normal month look like?
- How are you paid, and what changes the price?
- How will we both know it is working?
You are not buying reports. You are buying judgment, applied to the decisions you are about to make: the hire, the truck, the second location, the loan. A fractional CFO earns the fee in the meetings where money gets committed. The only way I know to find out whether someone will show up in those meetings is to ask them how they work, and then check the answer against what you actually get in month two.
1. Who will actually do the work, and how much of it is you?
Firms staff engagements differently. Some put a senior partner on your business and back them with an analyst. Some sell you the partner and deliver the analyst. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you are buying.
A good answer names a person, says what they own, and tells you who else touches your numbers. Mine sounds like this: "I run your forecast and sit in your monthly decision meeting. Our accountant does the close. If I am out, here is who covers." A weak answer talks about "the team" and never lands on a name.
Ask the follow-up too: who is on the call every month? If the answer is "whoever is available," keep looking.
2. Have you run finance for a business shaped like mine?
The industry matters less than the shape of the business. This month I have been talking with a landscaper, a physical therapy practice, and a made-to-order manufacturer, and they have the same problem in three costumes: the work gets done before anyone pays for it. For one of them the tight stretch runs from the end of mowing season to about Christmas. For another it is waiting on insurance reimbursements. A fractional CFO who has managed lumpy, project-driven cash will be useful in all three. One who has only worked in software subscriptions will need a season to catch up.
A good answer describes a business with your shape and tells you what was hard about it. A weak answer lists industries.
3. What happens in the first ninety days?
This is the question that separates operators from report-writers. Someone who has done this before has a sequence, and it usually starts with the books.
A good answer sounds like: "First we find out whether the numbers are right. Then we build a 13-week cash forecast so you can see the tight weeks coming. Then we pick one decision you are facing and put numbers behind it." That 13-week exercise is the highest-value thing we do with a new client, and I would be suspicious of anyone who does not have a version of it. A weak answer sounds like: "We set up your dashboards and KPIs." Anyone can build a dashboard.
4. Who handles the books, and what if they are not clean?
Financial leadership sits on top of bookkeeping, and the two are often different people. If you are not sure who owns what on your own finance bench, who does what is the short version. Some firms do both layers. Some only do the CFO layer and expect your bookkeeper to keep up. Both models work, if everyone knows the handoff.
A good answer tells you honestly what they saw in your books, whether they will fix it or coordinate with whoever does, and what it costs either way. A weak answer is any version of "we will work with what you have." Either the books get fixed or the forecast is a guess.
5. What does a normal month look like?
You want to know the rhythm before you sign, not discover it in month three. What lands in your inbox and when? How many meetings, and who is in them? How fast do they answer a question on a Thursday afternoon? What is in writing?
A good answer is specific enough to put on a calendar: "Close by the tenth. Cash forecast updated weekly. One decision meeting a month, an hour, with an agenda you set. Slack or text for anything that cannot wait." A weak answer is "we are always available," which usually means nobody owns the schedule.
6. How are you paid, and what changes the price?
Most fractional CFOs charge a flat monthly fee. Some charge hourly. A few quote by project. Flat monthly is the right default for ongoing leadership, because you can pick up the phone without doing math first. Hourly is fine for a defined project such as a financing package or a model.
A good answer tells you the number, what is included, what is extra, and what notice either side gives to stop. A weak answer is any surprise on the second invoice. Published pricing is a good sign; it means the firm has thought about scope before you asked. Ours is on the pricing page, and what the market charges in 2026 is its own article.
7. How will we both know it is working?
This is the question almost nobody asks me, and it is the one that protects you. If the engagement is working, something observable changes: the forecast starts matching what happens, and decisions get made with numbers in the room instead of afterward.
A good answer names two or three of those and puts a time on them. A weak answer is "you will feel more confident." You should be able to point at something that changed.
Signs to walk away
- They cannot name who will be on your monthly call.
- The first ninety days are described as reporting rather than decisions.
- They have never told a client that the books needed fixing first.
- The price is a range that depends on "how it goes."
- They talk about your industry and never about your business.
The conversation should not run one way, either. A good fractional CFO will ask you where you want the business to be in a few years and which decision is coming up next. Those are the two questions I open every first call with, and if I do not get a specific answer to the first one, we spend the call on that instead.
Questions this answers
What is a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader your business shares with a few others instead of hiring full time. They own the forward view: cash and revenue forecasts, budgets, pricing and hiring decisions, and lender or investor conversations, for a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive.
How many hours a month should a fractional CFO work?
Fewer than you would think, if the books are clean. Ongoing leadership for a business between $1M and $20M in revenue is usually a standing monthly rhythm with a forecast, a decision meeting, and access in between, rather than a fixed block of hours. Buy the ownership of the forward view, not the hours.
Should my fractional CFO also do my bookkeeping?
Either model works as long as someone owns the handoff. One team running both means nothing gets lost between the close and the forecast. Separate providers work when the CFO is willing to tell you honestly whether the books are good enough to plan on.
Do I need a fractional CFO or a controller?
Start with the close. A late or untrusted month-end close means you need a controller before a forecast will mean anything. Reliable numbers and open questions about what happens next mean CFO work. The Financial Leadership Readiness Checkup sorts this out in ten questions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nik Cybulskis, CPA, CMA, CSCANik Cybulskis is the Managing Director of Wayfinder Partners, a fractional CFO and bookkeeping firm in Traverse City, Michigan. He reads the numbers for owner-led businesses between $1M and $20M in revenue, and writes about what he sees in them.