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What Does a Small Business CFO Really Do?

What Does a Small Business CFO Really Do?

If you’d like your small business to thrive, a Chief Financial Officer or CFO is an invaluable resource. Contrary to popular belief, a CFO is not a bookkeeper or accountant. Essentially, they use their deep financial expertise to analyze data and develop solid strategies that can help you meet (or even exceed) your goals. You can think of them as your own personal financial consultant.


Unlike bookkeepers and accountants who focus on recording transactions and preparing financial documents, CFOs analyze the numbers. They look at the big picture to make it easy for you to understand how your business is financially so you can continuously improve. 

A Small Business CFO is Within Reach

You may be surprised to learn that a small business CFO won’t cost you an arm and a leg, as long as you outsource them. With GrowthLab, you can enjoy a CFO along with accountants, bookkeepers, and other pros all for the price of a single full-time employee. You can enjoy a full-stack finance team and don’t have to worry about paying an in-house sky-high salary and benefits. 


Benefits of a Small Business CFO

Here are several of the many ways a small business CFO can benefit your small business.


Financial Intelligence

While you focus your time and effort on running your business, they can dive deep into pricing, performance data, and achieving realistic revenue and profitability goals. Their financial intelligence may be just what you need to steer your business toward unparalleled growth and success. 


Forecasting 

Forecasting refers to an estimate of the future financial outcomes for your business. A CFO can perform forecasting on your behalf so you allocate your resources accordingly. Without forecasting, you’ll find it difficult to gain valuable insights into your past performance and  establish realistic goals.


Expert Advice 

In a perfect world, your small business would never face financial challenges. Since this is very unlikely, a CFO is a wise investment. They can provide the expert advice you need to overcome poor cash flow and profitability, high overhead, overwhelming debt, high client churn, and so much more.


Scaling

When it comes time to scale your business, a CFO may guide you toward the right direction. They can ensure that your financial infrastructure is good to go. You can also trust them to apply for multi-state registrations, figure out the most cost-efficient tax structure, and find capital from the right lenders and investors. 


Succession Planning

Succession planning can identify the future leaders of your company and create a program that will prepare them for their new roles. If you’d like your business to continue for years to come, succession planning is a necessity rather than simply an option. You can turn to a CFO to help you decide your company’s management needs in the future. 

CFO Pricing

We bring world-class people and process to your management team. Our team's focus is 100% on helping you define and execute on your business goals.


At a lower price-point, we add greater value than an individual fractional CFO because we leverage our full-stack finance and accounting - all under one roof.

Monthly Package

starting at

$3,000/mo

What's Included in this Package

Ad-Hoc Projects

starting at

$350/hr

What's Included in this Package

Interested in a Small Business CFO? Contact GrowthLab Today

At GrowthLab, we help small businesses like yours succeed. We can pair you with a CFO team that serves as a valuable extension of your management team. Since we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions, we’ll take the time to get to know your particular needs and design the ideal CFO strategy for your unique business. Contact us at 888.673.8481 for more information!

CFO Services

409a Valuations

A 409a Valuation is a compliance document that determines the fair market value (FMV) of stock and stock options. It ensures that you are not offering your stock options below FMV. It needs to be prepared by a competent individual or firm and approved by the Board of Directors.

Accessing Capital

Accessing Capital is finding the right capital from the right lenders or investors to fund your business. This can include conversations with banks, venture capitalists, private equity funds, or mezzanine lenders. It is an all-consuming effort, touching all core functions within the business.

Employee Compensation

Employee Compensation Framework is a process grounded in your Annual Operating Plan, employee reviews, and capability or capacity gaps to achieve your corporate goals. This is tied back to yours and other team members compensation. 

M&A Transaction Advisory

M&A Transaction Advisory supports you as you navigate the buying and selling process as well as help you identify your blind spots. We improve your accounting systems to position your company for the highest value.

Bank Restructuring

Bank Restructuring Advisory is the process of understanding your history with your bank. It also focuses on understanding the questions that your bank may potentially have.

Looking to learn more about Small Business CFOs? Check out some more of our resources below!

Financial Leadership

What is Financial Leadership?

15 Feb, 2023
Time after time, CFOs state that financial leadership is exactly what allows a business to expand its performance and profitability. Accountants and bookkeepers believe it’s what enables them to take their careers to the next levels. CEOs feel that it provides them with the support they need to lead their organization with excellence.

SAFE Note vs. Convertible Note: The Differences

04 Nov, 2022
SAFE notes and convertible notes are designed to help early-stage businesses raise capital. These tools promise investors that they’ll receive additional shares down the road (unless you use a no cap, no discount SAFE). Eventually, both SAFE notes and conversion notes can be converted to equity and offer a discount and/or valuation cap.
409A

What is a 409a Valuation?

27 Jan, 2022
As long as it’s performed correctly, a 409a valuation can ensure you adhere to tax laws and help you avoid any unnecessary IRS audits that may lead to serious issues down the road. Arguably even more importantly, a 409a valuation gives your management team alternative methods for compensating key employees!
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