Cash forecasting and runway
Advisory
04 / ADVISORY
Outsourced CFO
Senior finance leadership when a full-time CFO is early.
Founders and operators after a first institutional round who need senior finance leadership and are not ready for a full-time CFO.
The work
Founder-led finance runs out before a full-time CFO makes sense.
An outsourced CFO is senior finance leadership on a retainer: cash, board reporting, controls, and the next round, without a full-time hire.
Growth-stage companies often outgrow founder-led finance before a full-time CFO is the right hire. The board wants a pack. Cash needs a view before the month ends. The next round needs a model someone will defend.
01
CFO services for startups
CFO services for startups are the operating layer after the first institutional round. Investors expect a forecast, a monthly pack, and controls that go past the bookkeeping.
The bookkeeping stays the source of the numbers. The outsourced CFO uses them. When both sit with PIF Advisory, the close feeds the board pack instead of being rebuilt for it.
02
When a fractional CFO is the right scope
A fractional CFO is an outsourced CFO limited to the hours the company needs. The work is the same: a forecast, a board pack, controls, and a plan for the next round.
A full-time hire makes sense when that work fills a week, every week, and the company wants the person inside. Until then, a fractional CFO keeps the judgment without the seat.
03
How the work runs
We work inside the systems the company already has. Scope is agreed before the retainer starts. Each month produces a cash view, a pack the board can read, and a list of what changed.
PIF Advisory does not publish a rate card. The first conversation is about where the finance work is breaking, and what a month of it should include.
Scope
What this practice covers.
The operating work inside this engagement, named clearly.
Board and investor reporting
Financial controls and a close the board can trust
Preparation for the next round
Cap table and equity support
Coordination with bookkeeping, tax, and audit
From the library
Related notes
Notes from the operating team that sit next to this practice.
FAQs
What to know before we begin.
The questions operators ask before an engagement starts.
An outsourced CFO covers the senior finance work a full-time hire would own, scoped to the company. That is cash, board reporting, controls, and preparation for the next round. PIF Advisory does the work inside the existing finance stack, on a monthly retainer.
A fractional CFO is the same job, limited to the hours the company needs. The title matters less than the work. If the company needs a forecast, a board pack, and a plan for the next round, and does not need a full-time executive, a fractional CFO is the usual shape of an outsourced CFO engagement.
CFO services for startups usually start after the first institutional round, when investors expect a forecast, a monthly pack, and controls that go past bookkeeping. Before that, outsourced bookkeeping is often the right first hire.
Engagements are monthly retainers. Scope and price are set in a first conversation. PIF Advisory does not publish rates, because the work depends on the company.
Inquiry
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Most engagements begin with a short conversation about the constraint in front of the business.
Practices
01
Outsourced CFO
Senior finance leadership without a full-time hire.