DirectCFO
Services

Three engagements.
One finance seat,
scoped to your cadence.

DirectCFO runs the CFO function for growing businesses at three distinct depths. We recommend one on the first call — not the most expensive one, the right one.

01
Monthly · part-time

CFO Advisor

Engagement
$2,500/month · monthly retainer

A finance chief on call, once a month.

You have the day-to-day covered. What you need is a finance professional who reads your numbers, catches the drift before you do, and tells you plainly what to act on.

What you get
  • —The CFO Report — your monthly financial package, expanded
  • —Monthly 60-minute CFO session
  • —Bi-weekly 30-minute check-in (off-week)
  • —Annual budget coaching — structured and pressure-tested
  • —Written decision memo each quarter
  • —Scheduled-call access — email queued to your next call
Good fit if
You have solid bookkeeping and need a sharper second pair of eyes — someone who can read what your numbers are saying and translate them into a clear next move.
02
Most common
Bi-weekly · embedded light

CFO Partner

Engagement
$4,000/month · monthly retainer

Embedded in your leadership cadence.

We sit in your leadership meeting, work the cash model with you, and own the strategic finance function alongside your management team. You get finance represented at the table — without another seat on payroll.

What you get — everything in Advisor, plus
  • —Finance function oversight — we direct and review your in-house finance staff; they stay your employees
  • —Rolling 13-week cash flow forecast (built into the CFO Report)
  • —Scenario modeling and what-if analysis on demand
  • —Written decision memos — as warranted, typically monthly
  • —Monthly leadership/management meeting attendance
  • —Quarterly strategic off-site
  • —Vendor and lender coaching — we prep you and walk you through
  • —Lender and capital readiness — scoped as needed
  • —Lender- and board-ready reporting package
Good fit if
You are running a real management team and need finance represented at it.
03
Weekly · full function

CFO Embedded

Engagement
$6,500/month · monthly retainer

The seat — without the six-figure headcount.

Full CFO function. Close ownership, cash discipline, board reporting, capital readiness, finance team guidance. The only material difference from a full-time CFO is the invoice line.

What you get — everything in Partner, plus
  • —Rolling 13-week cash flow updated weekly
  • —Weekly 30-minute check-ins
  • —Weekly leadership meeting attendance
  • —Board meeting attendance and preparation
  • —Lender and capital readiness — included (refinancings, SBA, lender selection, financing strategy)
  • —Board and investor-grade reporting package
  • —Finance team guidance — hiring scope, role design, comp benchmarking, interview support, onboarding
  • —Direct coordination with banking, legal, and advisory partners
Good fit if
You are growing fast enough that finance needs a chair at every table — and you are not yet ready to hire a full-time CFO at $200K+ all-in.
Scope at a glance

What sits inside each engagement.

Capability
CFO Advisor
CFO Partner
Most common
CFO Embedded
Cadence
Monthly
Bi-weekly
Weekly
The CFO Report
Monthly
Monthly
Monthly (expanded)
Decision memos
Quarterly
As warranted (typically monthly)
As needed
Cash forecast
—
13-week, monthly
13-week, weekly
Scenario modeling
—
On demand
On demand
Leadership meeting
—
Monthly
Weekly
Strategic off-site
—
Quarterly
Quarterly
Board pack & attendance
—
On request
Each meeting
Vendor & lender support
—
Coaching
Coaching + active coordination
Lender / capital readiness
—
Scoped add-on
Included
Oversight of your finance staff
—
Included
Included
Finance team hiring guidance
—
—
Included
Monthly retainer · 3-month minimum initial term · 30-day notice thereafter · no hourly billing
Hybrid engagements

Need the books too?

DirectCFO works on top of clean, accurate books — we don't replace them, we rely on them. If your bookkeeping needs rebuilding, or your bookkeeper has left, or you'd just rather have one team handle both sides, we run a sister practice: Settled Books.

For clients who want both, we offer Hybrid engagements — books and CFO advisory in a single monthly retainer, integrated deliverables, one point of contact. It's how most of our best work happens.

Foundation
$3,500/month
Books and strategy in one team.
Settled Books Core + CFO Advisor

Built for owners who want one number to call and one team behind it.

Growth
$5,500/month
Integrated finance for the company that's outgrowing piecemeal support.
Settled Books Essential + CFO Partner

Books, cash, strategy, and leadership presence delivered as one engagement.

Enterprise
$8,500/month
Full finance function — books, cash, strategy, board — under one roof.
Settled Books Advanced + CFO Embedded

Multi-entity, board-grade reporting, weekly cash, weekly leadership presence. The fractional CFO function with the books beneath it.

All Hybrid engagements: 3-month minimum · 30-day notice · single integrated CFO Report · one point of contact
Frequently asked

Plain answers, in advance.

01

Are the prices fixed?

Yes. Each tier is a fixed monthly retainer — the same number for every client at that tier. We size the engagement to your business on the discovery call; if your needs grow over time we have a conversation about moving up a tier before any change to the invoice. No surprise charges.

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02

How long is the commitment?

3-month minimum initial term, then month-to-month with 30 days notice. No annual contracts, no auto-renewal traps.

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03

Will you work with our existing bookkeeper or controller?

Yes. Many clients keep their current bookkeeper and add DirectCFO on top. If your books need rebuilding, or you want both handled by one team, our sister practice Settled Books does the bookkeeping, and we run integrated Hybrid engagements that combine both. If you need a controller we can’t provide, we’ll tell you and help you hire one.

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04

Can you take over the person who oversees our money?

Often, yes — that’s finance function oversight, included at Partner and Embedded. If you have someone in-house handling the mechanics (entering bills, running AP and AR, keeping the books moving), we direct and review that work rather than replace it: we assign it, check it, own the month-end calendar, correct the process when something goes wrong, and give your team one place to escalate. Your staff remain your employees — we own the output and the calendar, not the employment relationship. We don’t do the day-to-day entry ourselves; if you need that covered too, Settled Books picks it up under a Hybrid engagement.

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05

Do you do fundraise support?

We handle lender and capital readiness — refinancings, SBA loan packages, lender selection, financing strategy. Scoped as needed at Partner; included at Embedded. We don’t act as placement agents on equity transactions — that’s a regulated activity outside our scope.

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06

Where are you based and where do you work?

We’re based in Montgomery County, just north of Houston. Most of our clients are in Texas — primarily the Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio metros — but we work with companies wherever the relationship takes us. Engagements run primarily via video conference; in-person sessions are arranged case-by-case.

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07

What if none of the three tiers fit?

We say so. The free business financial review is $0 and you leave with a memo either way.

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08

Do you offer bookkeeping and CFO work together?

Yes — through Hybrid engagements. Settled Books handles the books, DirectCFO handles the strategic side, one retainer covers both, one team delivers. You get clean financials and strategic commentary in the same monthly package.

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Not sure which tier fits? We will tell you on the first call.

30 min · no pitch