What does a Virtual CFO do? (Deliverables checklist + the first 30 days)
If you’re a founder, hiring finance support can feel vague.
You don’t want more spreadsheets. You want answers:
- Can we afford this hire?
- Why did cash drop even though revenue is up?
- What should we focus on next month?
A good Virtual CFO (remote-first CFO support) turns your accounting data into decision-ready visibility — then helps you run a consistent finance cadence so you’re not always reacting.
The simplest definition
A Virtual CFO helps you:
- See what’s happening (clear reporting)
- See what’s coming (cashflow forecasting)
- Decide what to do (priorities, trade-offs, scenarios)
“Virtual” describes delivery (remote-first). “Fractional” describes engagement (part-time). The work is CFO-level either way.
Deliverables checklist (what you should actually expect)
Below is a practical checklist you can use to evaluate any Virtual CFO provider.
1) Cashflow visibility (short-term control)
- A simple cash view (what’s in the bank, what’s due soon)
- AR/AP hygiene and a basic cadence (what to check weekly)
- Runway / burn-rate clarity (so you’re not surprised)
2) A forecast you can trust (forward-looking)
- A 13-week cashflow forecast (for many SMEs, this is the most valuable CFO deliverable)
- Scenarios: “If we hire X / spend Y / delay Z, what happens?”
3) Budgeting that actually gets used
- A budget that maps to how you run the business
- Budget vs actual tracking (with clear commentary)
4) KPI cadence (weekly vs monthly)
- Define what you track weekly (cash, sales pipeline, collections) vs monthly (margin, churn, overhead)
- A simple KPI dashboard (don’t overbuild)
5) A monthly reporting pack (founder/board-friendly)
- P&L that’s readable (not 80 lines of noise)
- Balance sheet highlights (what matters, what changed)
- A short narrative: what changed, why, and what to do next
6) Decision support (the real value)
This is the part founders actually feel:
- Hiring plan and affordability
- Pricing / margin decisions
- Cash preservation vs growth trade-offs
- Prioritisation: what to fix first so finance stops being a bottleneck
What a Virtual CFO typically does not do
This is where expectations get messy.
Most Virtual CFOs are not your:
- Day-to-day bookkeeper (data entry, receipts, categorisation)
- Payroll administrator
- Tax filing provider (some partners bundle this; many don’t)
However, a good Virtual CFO will make sure those functions are working, because CFO work is only as good as the underlying data.
The first 30 days (what good looks like)
Here’s a realistic, founder-friendly timeline.
Week 1: Onboarding + data access
- Confirm scope + goals (what decisions you’re trying to make)
- Access to Xero/QuickBooks, bank feeds, AR/AP, reporting history
- Establish “source of truth” for numbers (and what’s currently unreliable)
Week 2: Baseline reporting
- Clean, readable P&L structure (or a plan to get there)
- A short list of the biggest reporting blockers (duplicates, misc buckets, coding drift)
Week 3: Cashflow visibility
- A cash visibility routine (what to check weekly)
- First-pass runway view
- Decide whether you need a full 13-week forecast now
Week 4: Operating cadence + next steps
- Monthly reporting pack + review rhythm
- KPI list (weekly vs monthly)
- A 30–90 day action plan: what to fix first for maximum clarity
Are you “CFO-ready”?
If the books aren’t up to date, CFO work becomes cleanup.
You’re usually CFO-ready if:
- Books are up to date (within ~2 weeks)
- Bank recs are current
- Month-end close happens reliably
- Your P&L isn’t dominated by “misc/other”
If you’re not there yet, the fastest path is often: bookkeeping cleanup → then CFO cadence.
What to do next
If you want the fastest answer on what you need (bookkeeping vs CFO vs both), start with the diagnostic:
You’ll get a clear view of what’s blocking decision-ready reporting — and what to prioritise first.