Fractional CFO CostFractional CFO cost, and the work we don't price
You're looking for fractional CFO cost, and part of that is knowing what a fee does not buy. Steven Palmieri holds no CPA license. Our work is that of a Tax CFO, and nobody here audits, reviews or compiles statements or puts a report on them. That kind of work is priced by the licensed firm that performs it, not by us. Everything else on this site describes what our own fee covers.
Sort out what I need
What our fee covers
Our monthly fee covers the books closed and matched, statements prepared from them and a monthly read with you. It includes tax planning as part of the work. The return is prepared as scoped, and the scope says up front whether the return sits inside the monthly fee or is priced on its own. Payroll comes into the picture through a full-service provider, and our share of it, a one-time setup, is priced as setup. Each item is on paper before work starts.
Prepared statements carry a plain note that no report was issued on them. That's the honest label for what they are.
Work we don't price
Three kinds of work fall outside our fee, and none of it can be priced by us.
The first is a signed outside report on your statements. Audits, reviews and compilations with a report need a licensed CPA firm. We aren't one, so we can't offer it or quote it. If a lender or investor asks for one, the cost is set by the firm that does the work, and it's a cost you'd carry separately.
The second is payroll processing. A full-service provider handles payday and charges you directly. We don't process it and we don't price it. What we price is the setup, and our checking of what the provider files.
The third is speaking for you before the IRS. Collections and disputes with the IRS often need an advocate. Those advocates are enrolled agents, CPAs or attorneys, and we are none of them, so their fees are theirs to set.
When a fee from a licensed firm makes sense
Some owners truly need an audited or reviewed statement because a bank, a bonding company or a contract requires it. In that case, the sensible plan is to hire the licensed firm for that report and keep us for the monthly work. Our closed books and tied-out schedules are what that firm starts from, which tends to keep its hours down.
No charge for being told
If we look at your situation and see that one item needs a licensed firm, we'll say so, and we won't bill you for saying it. The first look is free, and a plain pointer to the right kind of firm is part of it.
Why this belongs on a cost page
A fee is only comparable when you know what it leaves out. If a quote implies a signed report, or implies payroll is run for you, or implies representation in front of the IRS, check that against what is really being offered. The extras page and the fee list help you do that, and the questions page answers more.
Which of these do you actually need?
You will be talking to the Steven Palmieri practice.