Fractional CFO Services
You've got product-market fit, you've got substantial sales, and you've got cash in the bank. BUT debt, liabilities, or monthly burn can still put growth at risk without clear visibility into margins and cost structure.
Companies stall their growth, or worse, grow their way to extinction, because they make decisions without reliable cash flow visibility, forecasting, and KPI reporting.
Join the class of businesses that thrive with the help of a strong financial partner in the form of Dark Horse Fractional CFO Services—strategic planning, cash flow support, and financial clarity without the full-time cost. Schedule a CFO Assessment for a clear roadmap forward.
Generally, the bigger the business, the more you need a Fractional CFO, and the more time you’ll want from them. But many companies need fractional CFO services sooner than they think: before a capital raise, when pro forma projections need to pencil, or anytime cash flow and margins feel harder to predict. Either way, you get the Dark Horse advantage: a team handling the bookkeeping and outsourced accounting that can step in with CFO-level strategy, forecasting, and KPI reporting when you need it.
Fractional CFO
Our 3-Step Process
1. Initial Discovery. We’ll build a working understanding of your business, where you are today, and where you want to go, to confirm fit and define the right scope for fractional CFO services.
2. CFO Assessment. We’ll use what we learn in Discovery to deliver a clear CFO Roadmap: priorities, recommendations, and the most impactful CFO-level services to investigate and implement.
3. Ongoing Advisory. We’ll execute the roadmap with you, then review progress every 3–6 months to keep priorities, KPIs, and forecasts on track as the business evolves.
You can’t get the full value of Fractional CFO Services if your accounting foundation isn’t set up correctly. That’s why we start with a CFO Assessment: we assess your current situation and pinpoint the highest-impact improvements, so you get accurate, transparent financial data and stronger control of your business. The CFO Assessment combines our Bookkeeping and Outsourced Accounting assessments with additional CFO-level analysis, helping you work ON your business instead of IN it.
CFO Engagement Roadmap
What to Expect When We Start
After the CFO Assessment, we’ll do the cleanup work to get to a strong starting point—then it’s off to the races. We’ll establish a strategic meeting cadence and develop KPIs and proformas as a north star for accountability, helping the business hit its goals and objectives. Ultimately, we’ll serve as a fiduciary to the entrepreneur’s vision to give it the best chance to succeed in the marketplace.
CFO-Level Expertise Without a CFO Salary
There's tension embedded within the reality that the people who are going to look after your money and help you make more of it also cost you money. This is why savvy entrepreneurs right-source their accounting and finance functions by pulling on fractional, outsourced and internal staffing to obtain the right expertise at the right cost. And, let's face it, it's exceedingly difficult to find and procure qualified accountants in today's market . This is why we structure our engagements to bring the right resources to your company, whether that's supplementing in-house personnel or taking on the entire accounting and finance function ourselves, so that your business can get the advisory it needs at a price it can afford.
Fractional CFOs are more than just glorified accountants. They are your trusted financial and strategic partner. They blend financial and accounting expertise with strategic consulting to ensure the company's finances can support its mission and vision.
Context: A software company had accounting compliance covered internally but lacked CFO level expertise while experiencing 100 – 125% YOY growth.
Cashflow and Budget Planning was not put in place
Increase internal hires to account for lack of process
No clear reporting for high growth markets / clients
Accounting team was split managed between the CEO and COO
Problem: The client knew they needed to get a handle on their Accounting and Finance function but was not convinced they needed an in-house CFO. They were looking for a solution that could create immediate improvements to their process and reporting + a long term cashflow and budgeting strategy.
Solution: The client went through a CFO Assessment, evaluating the financial data quality, accounting team, processes, and identified their reporting needs.
Reorganization of their accounting roles, saving $37k annually
Implementation of 2 new accounting tools to improve processes and data accuracy
Monthly KPI reports for leadership, providing key insights in real-time
Cashflow projection model implementation, removing the need for sporadic short-term financing.
Ongoing: The Dark Horse CFO acts as a member of their leadership team, providing valuable insights into the performance of the business and executes on cost-saving strategies at a fraction of the cost of bringing this role in house.
A fractional CFO provides CFO-level strategic advisory on a part-time basis, often as an outsourced CFO or virtual CFO, so you get senior financial leadership without the full-time cost.
Fractional CFO services typically include cash flow management, forecasting and budgeting, KPI reporting, tax reporting , and strategic planning, plus oversight of accounts receivable, payroll, expense controls, and payment planning, giving you clearer financial visibility and better decision-making as you scale.
Engaging a fractional CFO can offer several advantages over hiring a full-time CFO:
In contrast, hiring an in-house CFO can be expensive, slower to ramp, and less flexible—plus turnover can create disruption while you search for a replacement.
Our fractional CFOs are CPAs with senior-level finance experience, combining public accounting rigor with hands-on leadership across multiple industries.
One of the Dark Horse advantages is that you’re not relying on one person. Our fractional CFOs collaborate with our accounting and tax teams, so you get deeper expertise and continuity as priorities shift.
Depending on what you need, we support financial reporting, cash flow management, forecasting and scenario planning, KPI reporting, and audit readiness—so you get clearer numbers, tighter accountability, and a plan you can execute.
Fractional CFO engagements are tailored to each client’s needs, but typically include strategic finance support like:
Depending on your goals, an outsourced CFO may also support:
We begin with a detailed CFO Assessment . This gives us a clear view of your books, financial operations, reporting, and business objectives.
From there, we identify the highest-impact opportunities—so your fractional CFO services focus on the work that moves the needle (cash flow visibility, forecasting, KPI reporting, margins, and decision support) without paying for services you don’t need yet.
Then we build a tailored scope aligned to your goals and budget, including priorities, deliverables, and a working cadence. As your business evolves, we adjust the plan and stay closely connected to ensure the work remains relevant and outcomes-driven.
That’s the Dark Horse approach: personalized, flexible, high-impact CFO support designed to drive clarity now and build a stronger foundation for long-term growth.
We believe the best KPIs (key performance indicators) come from a collaborative process. Here’s how we approach KPI reporting:
We're committed to working closely with you to develop the most meaningful and actionable KPIs for your business.
Absolutely. Cash flow is where growth gets won or lost. We help you forecast cash flow based on current operations and expected changes, map timing for inflows and outflows, and plan ahead for working capital needs. Then we build a practical plan to improve cash flow—tightening collections, prioritizing payments, and reducing or delaying non-essential outflows—so you can protect runway and make decisions with confidence.
We tailor engagement to your needs and preferences. For our Fractional CFO services, where we play a more active role in your business operations, we'll maintain a regular cadence of meetings to stay closely connected.
To maximize convenience and efficiency, the majority of our meetings will be held virtually. However, we understand that some business owners may initially be reluctant and prefer in-person interactions. The remote-focused model actually gives you a significant advantage: access to a much wider pool of experienced CFOs. You're not limited by location, allowing you to select the expert with the ideal skillset for your specific industry and business needs.
Of course, we recognize the value of occasional in-person interactions. If you have critical on-site meetings, your Fractional CFO can attend with appropriate notice.
Absolutely. Our team has experience working with businesses across a wide range of industries. We take the time to understand how you operate, what’s driving (or constraining) performance (cash flow, margins, working capital), and the reporting and compliance requirements in your space. If your industry has unique complexity, we’ll connect you with the right CPA for your needs. Take a look at the industries we serve here .
I’m very satisfied with the service provided by Mark Kuca. I don’t usually leave business reviews (I’m basically a review hermit), but their effort and professionalism were exceptional. If you’re a small business owner looking for honest, reliable, high-quality service, I highly recommend him.
After years of feeling underwhelmed by every tax professional I worked with, we finally found Chris Ries at Dark Horse. We did a wide search for a CPA who could handle both our business and personal needs. Chris stood out from the start. He's not just deeply knowledgeable about tax law - he's genuinely thoughtful and strategic in how he applies it to your specific situation. What truly sets Chris apart is how responsive and engaged he is throughout the entire year. Our strategy sessions allowed us to get ahead of issues long before tax season, which made the whole process significantly smoother and less stressful.
You won’t find a more reliable, honest, or trustworthy CPA to work with than Mark. I would give this company more than five stars if I could. Highly recommend him and his services.
Chris is exceptional. He is far more professional, clear in his communication, and knowledgeable than any CPA I’ve worked with. He has expertly managed both my personal and business tax needs and consistently goes above and beyond—helping me make informed, strategic decisions well in advance of future tax filings. I cannot recommend him highly enough.
Earlier this year, I was presented with the opportunity to purchase a company in San Francisco and needed a highly qualified business and tax accountant to guide me through the process. After many interviews, I was introduced to Chris and the Dark Horse team—and I’m extremely glad I was. Chris has been consistently responsive, deeply knowledgeable in corporate taxes, and generous with his expertise. He’s taught me a great deal, always looks out for my best interests, and approaches his work with both professionalism and integrity. I am 1000% satisfied with his services—and on top of that, he’s genuinely a great human to work with. My experience with Dark Horse was so positive that I also hired a fractional CFO through them, Susan Snowden, who has been equally impressive. I highly recommend Chris and the Dark Horse team. If you’re looking for smart, trustworthy professionals who truly know their stuff and care about their clients, you won’t go wrong with Chris or Susan.
Provides great service. Very professional. Very responsive to questions and inquiries. Very punctual, I would highly recommend their services.
I’m very satisfied with the service provided by Mark Kuca. I don’t usually leave business reviews (I’m basically a review hermit), but their effort and professionalism were exceptional. If you’re a small business owner looking for honest, reliable, high-quality service, I highly recommend him.
After years of feeling underwhelmed by every tax professional I worked with, we finally found Chris Ries at Dark Horse. We did a wide search for a CPA who could handle both our business and personal needs. Chris stood out from the start. He's not just deeply knowledgeable about tax law - he's genuinely thoughtful and strategic in how he applies it to your specific situation. What truly sets Chris apart is how responsive and engaged he is throughout the entire year. Our strategy sessions allowed us to get ahead of issues long before tax season, which made the whole process significantly smoother and less stressful.
You won’t find a more reliable, honest, or trustworthy CPA to work with than Mark. I would give this company more than five stars if I could. Highly recommend him and his services.
Chris is exceptional. He is far more professional, clear in his communication, and knowledgeable than any CPA I’ve worked with. He has expertly managed both my personal and business tax needs and consistently goes above and beyond—helping me make informed, strategic decisions well in advance of future tax filings. I cannot recommend him highly enough.
Earlier this year, I was presented with the opportunity to purchase a company in San Francisco and needed a highly qualified business and tax accountant to guide me through the process. After many interviews, I was introduced to Chris and the Dark Horse team—and I’m extremely glad I was. Chris has been consistently responsive, deeply knowledgeable in corporate taxes, and generous with his expertise. He’s taught me a great deal, always looks out for my best interests, and approaches his work with both professionalism and integrity. I am 1000% satisfied with his services—and on top of that, he’s genuinely a great human to work with. My experience with Dark Horse was so positive that I also hired a fractional CFO through them, Susan Snowden, who has been equally impressive. I highly recommend Chris and the Dark Horse team. If you’re looking for smart, trustworthy professionals who truly know their stuff and care about their clients, you won’t go wrong with Chris or Susan.
Provides great service. Very professional. Very responsive to questions and inquiries. Very punctual, I would highly recommend their services.
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