Flagship project · 30 days
Investor Ready in 30 Days
Model, valuation, investor deck and data room — all of it, in 30 days.
OngoingMonthly retainerFrom $5,000/mo
Fractional Finance Department
For companies that need CFO-level financial leadership without hiring full-time. One point of accountability for the numbers instead of three part-time ones.
A CFO-led finance function, from bookkeeping to board pack.
What this is
Most owners end up with a bookkeeper, an accountant and whoever is building the forecast this quarter: three people, no single owner of the numbers. This replaces that with one finance department, led by a CFO. A senior adviser owns the forecast, the reporting and the cash position, and a team behind them runs the bookkeeping, the close and the monthly pack. Or we work alongside the bookkeeper and accountant you already have.
Books closed by working day ten. The same reporting pack every month, so you can compare like with like. And someone to ring when a decision needs a number behind it.
At a glance
- Fee
- From $5,000/mo
- Shape
- Monthly retainer
- Close
- By working day 10
- Term
- Rolling, 30 days notice
- Includes
- Bookkeeping, close and CFO leadership
- Access
- Direct, not ticketed
How it runs
The shape of the work.
- Month 1
Take-on
Chart of accounts, reconciliations, reporting pack design and a close calendar you can hold us to.
- Monthly
Close and report
Bookkeeping, reconciliations, close by working day ten, management pack with commentary, rolling cash forecast.
- Quarterly
Planning and judgment
Budget versus actual, reforecast, board or lender reporting, and the pricing, hiring and capital decisions that come with them.
What you get
Everything delivered, listed.
One engagement, one fee, one set of assumptions behind all of it.
- Monthly close by working day ten
- Management reporting pack with written commentary
- 13-week rolling cash flow forecast
- Budget versus actual with variance explanation
- Board and lender reporting in the format they ask for
- KPI reporting tied to the accounts, not a separate spreadsheet
- Annual budget build and quarterly reforecast
- Direct access for decisions between reporting dates
- Fee
- From $5,000/mo
- Shape
- Monthly retainer
- Close
- By working day 10
- Term
- Rolling, 30 days notice
- Includes
- Bookkeeping, close and CFO leadership
- Access
- Direct, not ticketed
“Compass and Ledger became our fractional finance department and quickly became central to how we run the business. They built the financial model and reporting that gave us real visibility, then got us investor-ready for two separate raises over the past 5 years. Investors trusted the numbers because they had been built properly. We got senior CFO judgement without the full-time cost. Compass & Ledger is a genuine partner, not just a service provider.”
Included capabilities
What this engagement is built from.
Each capability has its own page — the method, the output format and the standard it is held to.
Capability
Monthly close & controls
Books closed by working day ten, in the same format every month.
CapabilityBoard & lender reporting
Covenant packages, board packs and investor updates in the format they actually want.
Capability13-week cash flow forecasting
The single most useful tool in a small business. Updated weekly, owner-friendly.
CapabilityFinancial models
Three-statement, monthly, driver-based. Built so an analyst can follow it without ringing you.
Common questions
Asked before every one of these.
Do you replace my bookkeeper?
Either way works. Our team can run the ledger and the close, or we can work alongside the bookkeeper you have. What does not work is nobody owning the close.
Is there a minimum term?
No. It is rolling with thirty days notice. Work that has to be locked in by contract usually is not working.
Can you handle a raise while on retainer?
Yes — transaction work is scoped separately so the monthly reporting does not quietly slip while a deal runs.
Other engagements
If this is not the right starting point.
Project · 2–6 weeks
Financial Model
A clean, owner-friendly three-statement model you can drive yourself. Three tiers by complexity.
Project · 60 days
The 60-Day Finance Reset
For books that will not yet support a 30-day turnaround. Rebuilt from the ground up.
Ongoing · Monthly engagement
Investor Outreach & Raise Support
Investor research, tailored outreach and pipeline coordination for a live raise.
Next step
Twenty minutes. No pitch. Your situation, and what we would do about it.
If we are a fit, we will say so. If we are not, you will hear that too, and where to look instead. Either way you leave with a clearer picture of what good finance looks like for your business.