Fractional CFO Services
A CFO who's embedded in your business. Not one who drops in twice a month.
Most fractional CFOs work alone, review your data, and disappear. Northstar's CFO has a full accounting team underneath them producing clean data in real time, so they can actually lead.
500+
Businesses Served
35%
Avg. Tax Savings
$7B+
In Transactions Advised
Included in Financial Leadership engagements. CFO oversight and project-based access available at all engagement levels. See all engagement levels →
You need a CFO. You just can't justify the hire.
Your decisions around expansion, deal structure, and cash positioning are CFO questions, but you're answering them alone. Your accountant closes the books and files returns. That's valuable, but it's entirely backward-looking. Nobody is translating your financial data into a growth strategy, and the questions keep piling up.
What a fractional CFO looks like with Northstar.
You're not hiring a consultant. You're plugging into a complete finance function: a CFO backed by a dedicated controller, senior accountant, and bookkeeper who produce clean, current data every day.
Your CFO and your bookkeeper are on the same team, sharing the same data, in the same system. When your CFO tells you your margins are shifting, it's because they watched it happen in real time, not because they read it in a PDF you emailed them last week.
Monthly strategy sessions
A standing meeting where you and your CFO review performance, interpret the numbers, and make decisions together.
Financial forecasting and scenario modeling
Before you commit to hiring, expanding, or taking on debt, your CFO builds a model showing cash impact and breakeven under multiple scenarios.
Cash flow management
A rolling forecast tied to your payment cycles, seasonal patterns, and upcoming obligations so you always know your runway.
KPI development and dashboards
Your CFO identifies 5-7 metrics that predict business health and builds a live dashboard you can check anytime.
Board, partner, and investor reporting
Polished reporting packages for boards, PE sponsors, lenders, or partners that tell your financial story clearly.
Capital strategy
Your CFO models lines of credit, SBA financing, investor capital, and debt restructuring to recommend the best path for your stage.
Transaction support
Valuation, deal modeling, due diligence, and advisor coordination for acquisitions, sales, mergers, or partner buy-ins.
Tax coordination
Your CFO and tax strategist evaluate every financial decision for tax impact in real time, not retroactively at filing.
Not all fractional CFOs are built the same.
Solo Fractional CFO
One person reviewing data your bookkeeper produced, often weeks late. No control over data quality. No team underneath them. They give advice based on whatever you hand over.
In-House CFO
A full-time hire you may only need 15 hours a week. Most businesses under $20M can't justify it, and many find the CFO spending their time on controller-level work instead of strategy.
Northstar's Fractional CFO
A CFO who oversees the accounting team producing your data, so they spend time on strategy, not spreadsheets. Full-time depth with fractional flexibility, and the underlying numbers are always right.
Is this right for your business?
This is built for you if:
$5M-$50M revenue, financial decisions outgrowing your current setup
Need strategic planning, not just bookkeeping
Want CFO-level guidance without a full-time hire
High-complexity industry: cannabis, construction, healthcare, e-commerce
This might not be the right fit if:
Earlier stage and need clean books first. Start with our Accounting Foundation and add CFO when ready
See Engagement LevelsNeed project-based CFO support (modeling, investor prep, deal analysis) without an ongoing engagement
See Engagement LevelsGetting started is straightforward.
Step 01
Strategy Call
A 30-minute conversation about your business, financial pain points, and goals to determine fit.
Step 02
CFO Assessment
Your CFO reviews data quality, reporting gaps, and strategic needs, then delivers a clear priority roadmap.
Step 03
Pod Deployment
We assemble your CFO, controller, and bookkeeper, integrate with your systems, and begin producing results.
Step 04
Ongoing Partnership
Monthly strategy sessions, continuous oversight, and no long-term contracts; your CFO joins your leadership circle.
What this looks like in practice.
The Situation
A multi-location cannabis operator doing $8M in revenue had no financial leadership beyond a part-time bookkeeper. The owner was making expansion decisions without understanding location-level profitability, 280E cost of goods, or cash flow impact.
What We Did
We deployed a CFO-led pod that rebuilt their chart of accounts for location-level P&Ls and implemented a missing 280E cost allocation strategy. We also built a cash flow forecast exposing a 90-day gap in their fourth-location expansion and modeled three deal scenarios for an MSO acquisition conversation.
The Result
The 280E restructuring saved $340K in year one, and bridge financing covered the cash gap the owner would have discovered too late. The MSO negotiation, backed by financial clarity, resulted in a purchase price $1.8M above the initial offer.
Northstar has excelled in supporting us on every front. They're attentive, always available, and an amazing part of the team.
Tyson McDonald
Fractional CFO
Northstar stepped in as our full controller solution during rapid growth. They cleaned up our books, guided us through two audits, and built the reporting infrastructure we needed to expand with confidence.
Dov Weisman
VP of Finance, Libertana Home Health
Your CFO leads a team. They don't work alone.
This is what makes Northstar different from every solo fractional CFO. Your CFO sits on top of a dedicated controller and bookkeeper who close your books monthly. The data behind every forecast and dashboard is produced by your own team, not emailed to a consultant. Your tax strategist coordinates in real time.
Related Services
Outsourced Accounting & Controller
The foundation your CFO builds on. Audit-ready books, monthly close, management reporting.
Learn MoreTax Strategy
Year-round tax planning integrated with your financial data.
Learn MoreTransaction Support
Exit readiness, deal modeling, and due diligence when you're buying, selling, or restructuring.
Learn MoreIndustry-Specific Expertise
Common questions about fractional CFO services.
Northstar's CFO oversees the accounting team that produces your data, so they see issues in real time instead of reviewing stale reports. Because accounting, CFO, and tax functions are all under one roof, nothing falls between the cracks.
Most engagements involve 10-20 hours of CFO time per month, plus the accounting team's time. CFO hours scale up during transactions or fundraising and scale down during steady-state periods, so you never pay for time you don't need.
A CFO is only as good as the underlying data. That's why most of our CFO engagements include the full accounting team. Your bookkeeper, senior accountant, and controller produce the clean data your CFO needs to lead. If you already have a strong accounting function in-house, we can layer CFO services on top.
Let's talk about what your business actually needs.
Book a 30-minute strategy call. We'll discuss your business and financial goals, then tell you honestly whether a fractional CFO is the right move.
Schedule a CFO ConsultationOr call us directly: 888.999.0280