Monthly retainer
$8,000 to $20,000
US market, senior capacity.
Across a year
$96,000 to $240,000
The same range, twelve months.
Full-time, first year
Often past $350,000
Before equity. Base is usually $250,000 to $400,000.
PIF Advisory does not publish a rate. Scope and price are set in a first conversation, because the work depends on the company. The operating work is Outsourced CFO.
What sits inside the range
Hours move the number more than the title does.
- A few days a month. A cash view, a board pack built from books someone else closes, and a forecast the founder can defend in one meeting.
- Closer to a part-time seat. The close, the model, investor questions, and a controller or bookkeeper already in the stack.
- Ten hours and twenty-five hours. Those are different jobs.
- One entity and four. So are a single revenue stream and usage-based contracts.
- Who the pack is for. A board that meets quarterly is a different month from a lender who wants a pack every month.
What a full-time hire costs beside it
- A full-time CFO at a venture-backed company often has a base between $250,000 and $400,000.
- With benefits, bonus, and payroll taxes, the first year often passes $350,000 before equity.
- A retained search commonly takes four to six months before a start date.
- The retainer does not include equity, benefits, a recruiting fee, or a person in the building every day.
The longer comparison is outsourced CFO compared with a full-time hire.
What moves a company up or down the range
A company pays less when:
- The books already close.
- A controller owns the month.
- The outsourced CFO is there for the forecast, the board, and the next round.
A company pays more when:
- The close is still late.
- Entities do not eliminate.
- A raise is inside two quarters and the model does not exist yet.
Price without that context is not a quote. Two companies can both say they need an outsourced CFO and need different months of work.
When the retainer is the wrong shape
- Full-time. The finance work fills a week, every week, and the company wants that person inside.
- Bookkeeping. The problem is the close, so a bookkeeping retainer is the right first hire.
Mixing those two into one price is how a company pays CFO rates for reconciliations, or bookkeeping rates for a board pack nobody owns.
Questions
How much does an outsourced CFO cost?
In the US market, senior capacity for a growth-stage company usually costs $8,000 to $20,000 a month, about $96,000 to $240,000 a year. That is a market range. It is not a PIF Advisory price.
Does PIF Advisory publish an outsourced CFO rate?
No. PIF Advisory does not publish rates. The range on this page is the US market. Scope and price are set in a first conversation, because the work depends on the company.
When is a full-time CFO the right cost instead of a retainer?
A full-time hire is the right cost when the finance work fills a week, every week. A US base of $250,000 to $400,000, plus bonus and payroll taxes, often puts the first year past $350,000 before equity.