Fractional CFO CostWhat should a fractional CFO fee include each month?
You're looking for what a fractional CFO fee should include each month, so you can tell a full one from a thin one. Tax CFO Steven Palmieri leads a practice that sorts a fee into what it covers and what's billed apart, and Steven and his team show it in that order. Five things belong inside, and three kinds of work belong on their own lines.
Check what my fee covers
The first thing inside, the month closed
A CFO can only read books that are right. So the fee should say who closes the month. That means the month is recorded, matched to the bank, adjusted and locked, and statements are prepared from it. If a quote says nothing about this, ask who keeps the books. If the answer is "you do," the CFO fee is for reading, and the closing is a separate cost.
The second, the monthly read
A CFO sits down with you and goes through the closed month. What happened, what changed, what it means for cash and what to do about it. The fee should say how often this happens and how it's delivered, whether on a video call or in a short written note.
The third, the cash view and the plan
Looking ahead is the part that separates a CFO from a reader of reports. The fee should include a view of the next several weeks or months of cash, and a plan with a few targets that you can repeat in one breath. It shouldn't be a wish list.
The fourth, the tax work
This is where fees differ most. With a Tax CFO, planning is part of the monthly work. Estimates are set from months that were closed, and the choices are made in the fall, while the year still has room to move. Ask to see this named. A quote that treats tax planning as a separate product will usually add a second charge later. Why tax planning sits inside explains the reasoning.
The fifth, your questions
Questions during the month should be part of the fee. If your phone call or your email costs extra, you'll ask fewer of them, and the small ones become big ones. Look for a line that says questions are included, and ask what "included" means in practice.
What's usually separate, and should be named
Three kinds of work often sit outside the monthly number. They aren't wrong to bill apart, but they should be named, with a price, before they start.
The first is catch-up. If your books are months behind, bringing them current is a project, not a month. It needs its own size and price.
The second is the tax return. Some fees include the return and some don't. Whichever it is, the quote should say so and give a price if it's separate.
The third is setup work. A new set of books, or payroll set up on a provider you'll run, is a one-time job. It's priced as setup, so it doesn't hide inside the monthly figure.
How the five fit together
The items depend on each other. The read needs the closed month. The cash view needs the read. The tax work needs both. If a quote includes only the last items and leaves out the first, then the work underneath it has to come from somewhere, and the bill will show up later. A full fee covers the chain from the bank statement to the decision.
That chain is what you're buying. A good quote makes it visible, so you can see where each piece comes from and who does it.
How to use this list
Take any quote and line up its contents against the five inside items and the three separate ones. For each, mark included, extra or not mentioned. A not-mentioned row is a question to ask before you sign. Comparing two quotes puts this into a table.
Why the scope belongs in writing
A fee with no scope is a promise, and a promise is hard to hold anyone to. A fee with a written scope is a record. When something comes up three months in, the page you signed tells you whether it was included. That page also protects the CFO, since both sides can see what was agreed.
Inside the fee. For this page's subject, a fair fee names the month closed, the monthly read, the cash view and plan, the tax work and your questions, and it names what's billed apart.
What does your fee leave out?
You will be talking to the Steven Palmieri practice.