As a small business owner, hiring a chief financial officer may not have even crossed your mind. However, trying to juggle the daily tasks of running your business while also keeping your financial records accurate and current and adhering to bookkeeping best practices can be a major challenge without one. Many small businesses, especially start-ups and nonprofits, don’t have the budget for a full-time CFO, but they often can’t afford not to hire a part-time CFO to help keep their finances on track. Explore some of the primary ways hiring a part-time CFO can help your small business and determine whether it’s time you consider it.

Benefits of Part-Time CFO Services

Your company can benefit in many ways when you outsource your CFO services, but probably one of the biggest advantages is that you can focus on growing your business instead of worrying whether your finances are in order. Consider some of these important benefits of part-time CFO services. 

  • Affordability: The price tag for a full-time CFO is often way out of reach for small businesses, but hiring a part-time CFO lets you get the expertise you need at a price you can afford. It’s estimated that having an in-house CFO costs an average of $194,000 to $270,000 annually for smaller public and private companies, but total pay packages can run much higher with base salary and benefits combined. Paying for a part-time CFO eases the cost burden because you not only save on the associated salary and benefits, but you also save on recruitment and hiring costs that may result in hiring the wrong candidate and having to start over. 
  • Immediate assistance: Hiring a professional who’s used to jumping right in provides you with immediate assistance, which saves valuable time if you have an immediate need for CFO services. The ability to get timely help can be especially helpful if you suddenly lose your staff CFO and need someone to keep your business’s finances running smoothly until you can replace them. If you’re hiring for the role for the first time, bringing in a fully vetted professional while you complete the exhaustive process of vetting and hiring a permanent CFO can reduce a lot of stress. 
  • Access to system insights: If your company has just begun setting up the different processes and systems in your financial department, it’s an ideal time to hire a part-time CFO to make sure you get started on the right foot. Interim CFOs have worked with tons of systems, so they already know which ones work well for a variety of needs. They can share these useful insights and help you choose the best software, financial systems and cash management tools to help you set a firm foundation for your company’s future financial health. 
  • Broader experience: Interim CFOs typically work with a wide array of companies for short periods, often carrying out very specific projects. This provides them with a much broader experience than many CFOs who’ve spent decades with the same company and are less experienced dealing with different practices and situations. Small businesses building a new CFO role or that have a unique project they need help getting off the ground can greatly benefit from a well-seasoned financial professional with a broader experience across industries who can compare various strategies and help you pick the right one for your business or situation. 
  • Flexibility: Hiring an interim, part-time CFO means you can access relevant financial expertise only when you need it, instead of paying a full-time salary to an in-house CFO without having full-time work available for them. You can hire an interim CFO to handle as much or as little of your financial operations as you need, which results in a more cost-effective solution that makes more sense for small businesses. You can even scale up or scale down as needed, which lets you get more help from your outsourced CFO services only when you have a specific need to further eliminate unnecessary overhead. 
  • Reliable partner: Hiring a part-time CFO gives you a partner with expertise in strategic planning to help you drive your business’s long-term growth and financial health, no matter your future plans. An interim CFO’s experience helps you carry out these plans and achieve all your goals efficiently, which makes them an ideal choice for start-ups that are scaling or any company that’s changing their business model. Your partnership with your part-time CFO also has the added advantage of giving you an objective third-party perspective on important financial decisions. 
  • Rewards outweigh cost: If your business unexpectedly experiences rapid growth or has become so large that you and your staff can’t handle the financial responsibilities on your own, the investment in hiring a part-time CFO will pay for itself tenfold in convenience alone. Plus, that’s not even counting the peace of mind you’ll get knowing your finances are being taken care of accurately by an experienced professional. Receiving high-quality financial information is especially helpful if you’re trying to raise funds for a loan, reaching out to your investors or trying to make sound business decisions quickly. These are just a few more ways the rewards outweigh the cost. 

Signs Your Business Needs Part-Time CFO Services

Given the financial complexities even small businesses face, the services of a seasoned financial professional are truly beneficial. However, many business owners prefer to invest their resources in aspects that more directly focus on the improvement of their business rather than bookkeeping tasks. Of course, some businesses simply can’t afford to hire a full-time CFO but may still need help with their finances. Outsourcing these tasks to a part-time professional can be an excellent solution. Some definitive signs that your business needs part-time CFO services include: 

  • Rising accounting errors and confusing financial reports
  • Needing to approach investors for funding
  • Spending outweighs cash flow
  • Declining profits or underperforming profits
  • Preparing to sell your business
  • Planning on acquiring or merging with another company
  • Planning on going public or expanding your offerings
  • Needing help with tracking growth and performance
  • Needing help with budgeting and financial forecasting
  • Preparing for a pending audit 

Core CFO Services Your Small Business Needs

A chief financial officer is one of the most important members of your financial team. CFOs supervise financial and accounting statements, track and manage cash flow, determine the best way to distribute financial assets, participate in financial planning and so much more. These important finance-related tasks can fall under the radar when you have a busy small business that’s striving to expand in its market. 

Hiring a part-time CFO provides you access to a financial expert who’s fully focused on your company’s long-term financial strategy. Some critical CFO services include: 

  • Ensuring your financial documents are accurate and in order
  • Planning and executing a winning formula for financial growth
  • Analyzing cash flow and financial reports to make crucial decisions
  • Generating and tracking detailed budgets
  • Performing short-term and long-term forecasting
  • Raising capital to grow your business
  • Ensuring there’s enough cash on hand for daily operational needs
  • Representing your company during third-party audits
  • Assisting with mergers and acquisitions 

By hiring a part-time CFO, all these benefits are available without the high costs of annual salaries, employee benefits and Social Security and Medicare pay-ins. Plus, a part-time CFO can train qualified employees to accurately complete basic accounting work. 

Get Reliable Part-Time CFO Services

Our world-class CFO talent at Navitance can help your company by providing the exact support you’re missing on an interim or part-time basis. Our financial experts have decades of experience across industries and take all our clients’ finances seriously. No matter your business’s size or sector, we can help keep your financials on track.

Whether you need assistance short-term or long-term, you can count on our part-time CFO services to help your business or organization increase its profitability by improving cash flow, financial health and company value. You benefit from years of tenured insight without the cost of an in-house CFO and only when you need it.

Contact us at 978-809-3282 to learn more about our part-time CFO services and let us provide the financial services your business needs through all periods of growth, challenges or transitions.