Almost nobody in this industry publishes what things cost, which tells you something about how the category likes to sell. So let me do the thing providers avoid and lay out the actual market, the models behind the prices, and the math for deciding whether any of it is worth it, including the case where the answer is no.
One promise up front: no games. Where I give ranges, they are what you will actually encounter shopping this market in 2026. Where I give a Gevity number, it is the same one published on the pricing page.
The market, in real numbers
Fractional CFO work gets sold three ways:
Hourly: roughly $150 to $500 an hour. The floor is usually a finance-manager skill set with a CFO title; the ceiling is deep, specialized experience in demand (transactions, turnarounds, niche industries). Hourly is fine for a one-off project. As an ongoing model it quietly punishes you for asking questions, which is backwards: the questions are the point.
Monthly retainer: roughly $3,000 to $12,000 a month. This is the most common model for ongoing work at $1M to $20M. The low end typically buys a monthly reporting rhythm and a call. The middle buys real forecasting, a cash view, and someone in the room for decisions. The top end usually means heavy involvement: financing processes, board work, a team to manage.
Project or diagnostic: roughly $2,500 to $10,000 fixed. A defined scope with a defined output: an assessment, a forecast build, a financing package, loan-readiness work like the bank file. Fixed fee, known end date.
For calibration: a full-time CFO runs $250,000 to $400,000 a year with bonus and benefits before you add equity. The entire fractional category exists because businesses under roughly $20M need the judgment far more often than they need the headcount.
What moves the price inside those ranges
Four things, mostly:
- Complexity, not revenue. A $4M company with two entities, inventory, and a construction loan is more work than a $9M services firm with clean books and monthly retainers. Anyone quoting purely on your revenue is pricing their marketing, not your work.
- The state of your books. Messy books make every downstream hour slower. Expect cleanup to be scoped and priced separately, and be suspicious when it is not mentioned at all, because it means nobody looked.
- Cadence. Weekly involvement costs more than monthly. Most owners at this size genuinely need a monthly rhythm with a fast lane for decisions.
- Who actually does the work. Some firms sell you a senior face and deliver a junior team. Ask directly: who reads my numbers, and what are their credentials? A CPA license is verifiable in a public database; mine is.
The traps in each model
- Hourly with no cap invites surprise invoices, and it makes you ration the exact conversations you are paying to have.
- Retainers with vague scope drift into “we send a report every month.” A report is not the job. If the scope does not name forecasting and decisions, the price is for paperwork.
- Long contracts protect the provider, not you. Month-to-month keeps everyone honest; the work should earn its renewal.
- Packages sold before anyone examines your business are pricing theater. Nobody can honestly scope your work without looking at your numbers first.
That last trap is the reason Gevity starts every engagement with a fixed-scope diagnostic, from $2,500: a senior read of your finances, a 13-week cash view, a 90-day plan, and an honest answer about whether you need ongoing help at all. If you continue within 30 days, the diagnostic fee is credited toward month one. Ongoing support is scoped after, month-to-month, sized to what your business actually needs, which is exactly why I do not publish a one-size retainer menu.
When you should NOT pay for a fractional CFO
Credibility requires the other side of the ledger. Skip it, for now, if:
- Your books are a mess. Fix bookkeeping first; it is cheaper, and senior analysis on bad data is expensive noise. Start with the finance ladder.
- You are under about $1M and the finance questions are still simple. A great bookkeeper and an annual tax planning conversation cover most of it.
- You want execution, not judgment. If the need is invoices and payroll, hire that; it costs a lot less.
- Nothing is changing. Steady business, no financing, no expansion, no cash stress: revisit when one of those stops being true, or when the seven signs start stacking up.
The bottom line
Expect $150 to $500 hourly, $3,000 to $12,000 monthly, or a fixed diagnostic in the low thousands to start. Judge any quote by scope, seniority, and where the money comes back, and be wary of anyone who prices your business without looking at it.
If you want the looking-first version, the CFO Diagnostic starts at $2,500 and ends with a plan either way. Or start free: five questions, two minutes, your Gevity Score.
