Most firms do not need a full-time CFO. They need someone who has sat in that chair, who already trusts the books, and who will tell them the hire is a year too early.
On a Planning retainer we show up once a month with budget vs. actual, a cash view, and one decision to work. On Fractional, we are in the operating rhythm: 13-week cash, margin by line, lender packages, and the model behind a price change.
What we will not do is sell a stack of tools and call it advisory. If the books are not closed, we close them first. A forecast built on a stale P&L is a story, not a plan.
The firms this fits: roughly a million to fifteen million in revenue, an owner who is still in too many meetings, and a sense that the next hire should be in the business, not in the back office.