Pricing
Real numbers. Defined scope. No 'call us to find out.'
Published starting prices and exactly what each engagement delivers — priced not just by your revenue but by the situation you're in. The opposite of an open hourly meter.
The CFO you call when the bank is on the phone.
Your fit
Fractional CFO Retainer
Scaled to your revenue band. No long-term contract; a fraction of a $250K+ full-time hire.
What’s included
- Managed monthly close support and review
- Board-ready reporting package
- Rolling 13-week cash flow
- Standing CFO line for board, lender, and pricing calls
- Stable / growing: Driver-based FP&A model and budget-vs-actual
- Stable / growing: Board-ready monthly package and narrative
- Stable / growing: KPI dashboard tied to your growth plan
Not ready for a retainer? Start with a Diagnostic Sprint.
A fixed-fee, two-to-three week read on exactly where you stand — and it credits toward your first three months.
Transparent role rates
| Fractional CFO | $350 / hr | Strategy, board, lender, and turnaround work — the operator in the seat. |
| Controller oversight | $200 / hr | Close management and controls review on top of your bookkeeper. |
| FP&A / analysis | $175 / hr | Modeling, variance, KPIs, and the 13-week cash build. |
Retainers bundle these into a fixed monthly fee — you don't pay by the hour. The rate card is shown so the value is legible, not so the meter runs.
The productized tiers
Three ways to engage.
Diagnostic Sprint
A fast, senior read on where you actually stand
A two-to-three week engagement that produces a board-grade picture of your finances and a prioritized action list. The lowest-commitment way to get a CFO's read — and a natural on-ramp to a retainer.
- Connect your books and a full financial health review
- 13-week cash flow forecast, built from your data
- Margin and SG&A teardown — where the money actually goes
- Covenant headroom check (if you carry debt)
- A written, prioritized action list with the three things that matter most
- A 90-minute working session to walk the findings
Fractional CFO Retainer
Ongoing CFO leadership for a growing or lender-backed company
The core engagement: a named CFO running your finance function every month — close support, board reporting, cash, covenants, and the standing line for the calls that matter. Scope scales with stage; no long-term contract.
- Managed monthly close support and review
- Board-ready package: P&L, balance sheet, variance, and written narrative
- Rolling 13-week cash flow with scenarios
- Covenant & KPI dashboard with early warning
- Driver-based FP&A model for budget-vs-actual and planning
- Standing CFO access for board prep, lender, and pricing calls
- Client portal with reporting history
Turnaround Engagement
Forbearance, covenant breach, or restructuring under pressure
The intensive engagement for distressed situations: weekly cash management, lender-ready reporting, covenant bridges, and forbearance support — a steady, senior hand when the bank is on the phone.
- Everything in the Fractional CFO Retainer
- Weekly 13-week cash flow, updated and lender-ready
- Lender package: reporting, narrative, and forecast that rebuild confidence
- Covenant bridge and path-to-compliance analysis
- Forbearance and amendment support
- Restructuring / refinancing scenario modeling
- Higher-touch availability through the critical period
- Prices are starting points — final scope is set on a working session once we see your stage and situation.
- No long-term contract on the retainer. A fractional engagement runs a fraction of a $250K+ full-time CFO hire.
- Diagnostic Sprint fees credit toward your first three months if you move to a retainer.
The staffing-pool model
- Billed hourly against an open meter
- “Hourly, no hidden fees” — but no published number
- Matched to whoever’s on the bench
- Scope undefined until the invoice
CipherCFO
- Fixed monthly fee, defined scope
- Starting prices published on this page
- One named operator, every month
- Concrete deliverables you can point to
Pricing questions
Why publish prices when competitors don't?
Because hiding them wastes everyone's time. A serious buyer should be able to see a starting price and a concrete scope before a call. Most staffing-style firms quote 'hourly, no hidden fees' with zero numbers; we publish starting points so you can self-qualify.
What changes the final price?
Scope and stage. Revenue, the state of your books, whether you carry debt covenants, and the cadence you need all move the number. The published prices are starting points; we set final scope on a working session.
Is there a long-term contract?
No long-term contract on the retainer. A fractional engagement runs a fraction of a $250K+ full-time CFO hire, and you can adjust scope as your situation changes.
Does the Diagnostic Sprint credit toward a retainer?
Yes — the Diagnostic Sprint fee credits toward your first three months if you move to a Fractional CFO Retainer, so it's a low-risk way to start.
Not sure which tier fits?
Book a working session. We'll walk your numbers and tell you straight which engagement makes sense — or whether you need one yet.