Most fractional CFOs want clean books and a finished month. We start with your owner file and bring the controller with us.
Steven Palmieri is the Entrepreneur's CFO for owners under ten million whose business still needs them financially. A typical fractional CFO wants clean books, a finished month, and an owner whose personal file is already in order. Most owners in our band do not have that yet. That is the gap we were built for.
The market's printed floor is not "above ten million." We read twelve named firms from their own sites. Own-site floors cluster from about five hundred thousand to five million. Several firms run the fractional product up to twenty or fifty million and treat a full-time CFO as the conversation above that. Ten million sits inside the band, not above it.
What those firms assume is the real fence. Local Fractional in Dallas Fort Worth prices a cheaper advisory tier for businesses that already have clean books, and says the math rarely supports their partnership under two million. FocusCFO describes CFOs who support the client's existing bookkeeping and controller. The Pro CFO sells a cleanup stage before the fractional stage. Bennett says bookkeeping stops being enough somewhere between one and three million, and definitely by five. McCracken Alliance describes companies that have outgrown basic bookkeeping but do not yet need a full-time CFO.
Almost none of those pages take the owner's personal credit, personal tax file, or SBA Form 413 as the first work. They talk about the company's books and stay silent on the loop, which is why they feel like they start above you. They start at the CFO work and assume the layers under it are already there.
We work the stack in order. Owner foundation first, which means personal credit, personal taxes, and personal finances written as the personal financial statement. Company books next, which means true books with bills and payroll on time. Controller after that, so numbers are checked every month, payroll and sales tax go out on time, and the month closes with figures you can trust. CFO work last, which is cash you can see, a plan for the year, tax planning all year, and a funding file that gets a yes.
AI assists us with the grind, so monthly maintenance of your finances costs about what bookkeeping alone used to. The advisory, the CFO work, and the tax strategy ride on that care. They are not extra products you buy from a second firm once the first firm has cleaned you up.
If your business could run without you financially, a typical fractional CFO is fine. If it needs you, that is exactly why you need us.
We do not do, and you probably do not need, audits, compilations, or GAAP reports. We bring the missing layers, then we show you the picture.
Clean numbers. Clear picture.
Sources
All accessed 2026-09-14. Each URL is that firm's own site.
1. Local Fractional (Dallas Fort Worth). localfractional.com
2. FocusCFO fractional CFO services / FAQ. focuscfo.com
3. The Pro CFO. theprocfo.com
4. Bennett Financials, 2025 size guide. bennettfinancials.com
5. McCracken Alliance. mccrackenalliance.com
6. SDO CPA fractional CFO. sdocpa.com
7. CFO Centre US. cfocentre.com
8. SBA Form 413 (the owner-file document those firms do not name). sba.gov