How often finance is in the room
A light-touch quarterly cadence sits at the low end of the band; a CFO embedded in weekly operating decisions, hiring calls, and pricing sits at the high end. You pay for presence and judgment, not hours logged.
Pricing · Fractional CFO · Fixed monthly retainer
Fractional CFO pricing. A senior retainer, scoped to the work.
A fractional CFO isn’t priced like bookkeeping. It’s a senior retainer — $3,500–$8,000+ a month — that buys judgment, not transaction volume. The retainer is scoped per engagement after a free discovery call, with the exact number in writing. Every engagement is led by a signed CFO-level specialist practice.
$3,500–$8,000+
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§ 01 · TL;DR
§ TL;DR
A fractional CFO at TechBrot is a fixed monthly retainer of $3,500–$8,000+, led by a signed CFO-level specialist practice. It is priced on judgment and depth of involvement, not transaction volume, and scoped per engagement after a free discovery call, with the exact retainer in writing. Advisory only: not tax filing, not audit.
They took something that felt overwhelming to me as a first-year business owner and made it simple.
What stood out the most was TechBrot Inc’s attention to detail.
Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 and QuickBooks Workforce Certification,
§ 02 · Why it isn’t priced like bookkeeping
Judgment, not transaction volume.
Bookkeeping pricing is volume math. Count the transactions, the bank and credit accounts, the entities, the payroll runs — the fee tracks the size of the monthly close. The work is largely the same shape every month, so it prices cleanly as a recurring fixed fee.
A fractional CFO is the opposite. The deliverable isn’t a reconciled ledger — it’s decisions you can defend: a forecast a lender will trust, a board package that survives questions, a pricing or hiring call backed by unit economics, a cash runway you can act on before it’s a crisis. None of that scales with transaction count. A 30-transaction-a-month startup raising a seed round can need more CFO time than a 2,000-transaction business that just wants someone steering the quarter.
So the retainer is priced on the depth of involvement the business actually needs, not on how busy the books are, and that depth is agreed in the written scope before the engagement starts.
§ 03 · What sets the retainer
Four things move the monthly number.
Where you land in the $3,500–$8,000+ range is set by depth, not by how many transactions clear — these are the factors the discovery call surfaces.
How many entities sit under you
A single operating company is simpler than a holdco with subsidiaries, intercompany flows, or multi-state structure. More entities mean more consolidation, more moving parts, and a higher retainer.
Who’s relying on the numbers
A fundraise, an active board, or a lender covenant raises the stakes — the forecasts, scenario models, and reporting have to survive outside scrutiny. That depth of work pushes the retainer up.
How often, how deep the reporting runs
Monthly board packages, rolling 13-week cash forecasts, and live KPI dashboards take more sustained work than a quarterly review. The cadence and depth of the reporting you need shape the number.
§ 04 · Representative scenarios
Where engagements tend to land.
Illustrative only — not quotes, not real clients. Each sits somewhere in the $3,500–$8,000+/mo band; your retainer is scoped per engagement after the discovery call and confirmed in writing.
| Situation | Depth of involvement | Where it tends to land |
|---|---|---|
| Early-stage startup, single entity, preparing a raise | Forecasting, scenario models, and an investor-ready data room; mostly project-cadence around the round | Low end of the band |
| Growing operating company, steady cadence | Monthly close oversight, KPI reporting, cash-flow strategy, and quarterly planning | Middle of the band |
| Multi-entity or board/lender-driven business | Consolidated reporting across entities, board packages, covenant tracking, and embedded operating involvement | Upper end of the band, and above |
Positions are representative and never a quote. Every retainer is fixed, scoped per engagement after a free discovery call, and confirmed in writing.
§ 05 · Who leads it
Who leads a fractional CFO engagement.
Senior strategic finance can’t be mass-produced. A fractional CFO carries a small number of engagements at a time because the role demands real context — on your numbers, your decisions, and the people relying on them. Your engagement is led by a signed CFO-level specialist practice with prior CFO or controller experience, and your engagement letter names it. We take on a limited number of CFO engagements at a time so each gets senior attention.
CFO advisory engagements are backed by a specialist partner practice that has signed with TechBrot for this work, reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
The discovery call is where the fit is tested in both directions: what you need, and whether a fractional CFO is even the right answer (sometimes the right first step is cleanup and bookkeeping, then advisory later). When the fit is right, the retainer scope is delivered in writing — the exact monthly number, the cadence, and the deliverables — before anything begins.
§ 06 · What the retainer is — and isn’t
Advisory, not tax or audit.
A fractional CFO retainer is advisory and strategic finance: forecasting, cash-flow strategy, KPI and board reporting, scenario and fundraise modeling, and the financial judgment behind operating decisions. It is delivered as a fixed retainer against a written scope — never hourly.
It is not tax filing and not audit or assurance. TechBrot does not file your returns or issue audited financials; the fractional CFO coordinates with your CPA or EA, making sure the strategy and the books are ready for them, but tax and attestation stay with the appropriate licensed professional. If you don’t have a CPA, the engagement helps you work with one — it doesn’t replace one.
§ 07 · From question to retainer
Four steps to a number in writing.
- STEP 1
Free discovery call
30 min · no obligation
- STEP 2
Written scope
within 3 business days
- STEP 3
Retainer, in writing
no hourly billing
- STEP 4
Engagement begins
your finance lead introduced
§ 08 · Next steps
Where to go next.
The Fractional CFO service
The flagship engagement in full — what a fractional CFO does, the deliverables, and how the retainer is scoped. Start here if you’re weighing the work itself.Fractional CFO serviceAll TechBrot pricing
The canonical fixed-fee overview — every service and range in one place, including where fractional CFO sits beside bookkeeping and QuickBooks work.Pricing overviewAdvisory services
The wider advisory practice the CFO retainer draws on — financial strategy, forecasting, KPI reporting, and cash-flow management.Explore Advisory
§ 09 · Questions
Questions about fractional CFO cost.
What determines where my retainer lands in the range?
Four things: the depth of involvement you need (light quarterly cadence versus embedded in weekly decisions), the number of entities under you, whether a fundraise, board, or lender is in play, and the cadence and depth of the reporting and forecasting required. These are surfaced on the discovery call and reflected in the written scope — the retainer tracks judgment and presence, not how busy the books are.
Why is fractional CFO priced differently from bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping prices on transaction volume — accounts, entities, and the size of the monthly close, which is roughly the same shape each month. A fractional CFO produces decisions and strategy — forecasts a lender will trust, board packages that survive questions, pricing and hiring calls backed by unit economics — and none of that scales with transaction count. So the CFO retainer is priced on depth of involvement rather than volume.
How many fractional CFO engagements does TechBrot take on?
We take on a limited number of CFO engagements at a time so each gets senior attention. Senior strategic finance can’t be mass-produced: a fractional CFO carries a small number of engagements at a time because the role demands real context on your numbers and your decisions. The discovery call tests fit in both directions — what you need, and whether a fractional CFO is even the right answer. When the fit is right, the retainer scope is delivered in writing first.
Does the fractional CFO retainer include tax filing or an audit?
No. The fractional CFO is advisory and strategic finance only — it is not tax filing and not audit or assurance. The CFO coordinates with your CPA or EA, who handle returns, IRS matters, and any attestation, making sure the strategy and books are ready for them. The retainer doesn’t replace a licensed tax professional; if you don’t have a CPA, the engagement helps you work with one.
Is the retainer hourly, and are there long-term contracts?
The retainer is a fixed monthly fee against a written scope — never hourly, so you’re never penalized for asking questions or for the provider’s pace. It runs month to month against that scope; if the work genuinely expands beyond the agreed scope, the retainer is re-quoted and re-approved in writing before anything changes.
How do I get an exact fractional CFO quote?
Start with a free 30-minute discovery call — or call (877) 751-5575. If the fit is right, TechBrot delivers a written retainer scope — the exact monthly number, the cadence, and the deliverables — before you commit to anything. The call also confirms whether a fractional CFO is the right next step for your business at all.
Who exactly do I contract with, and how do I pay?
You contract with TechBrot, Inc., a Delaware corporation, under one written scope. You always pay TechBrot, Inc. directly, by ACH or wire. TechBrot invoices every engagement. No one on our team will ask you to pay through a personal link, a gift card or cryptocurrency. TechBrot is an independent firm and is not affiliated with Intuit.
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Get a fractional CFO number in writing.
Tell us which decisions the numbers need to support. We’ll tell you whether advisory, a controller or cleaner books come first.
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