Iter Advisors · Startup and SaaS finance
A fractional CFO is a finance director who supports a startup part-time without a full-time position.
Your startup must decide when to hire, how much to invest and how to fund the coming months. A Fractional CFO builds a consistent view of cash flow, revenue and budgets with your teams, preparing leadership decisions and investor discussions.
An initial conversation to understand your situation and next steps.
Fractional CFO describes finance leadership on a part-time basis. This page addresses startup and SaaS needs; the general offer explains other arrangements. The need depends on decisions, data quality and internal skills. Revenue or cash burn alone does not justify an engagement. If permanent presence is required, hiring may be more suitable.
Deliverables are agreed during scoping, according to your priorities and available data.
Manage an international Series B in an unstable regulatory and macroeconomic environment, while also pursuing an acquisition and building a finance function that did not yet exist at this scale.
This cleantech case covers 2022 to 2024 and illustrates financial preparation for transactions. It is not a SaaS case or a forecast of results; leaders, investors and advisers contributed.
Read the case and its scope| Topic | Data to examine | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring revenue | Contracts, new customers, expansions and cancellations | Define MRR and ARR without including one-off services |
| Cash flow | Bank balances, due dates, overdue receivables and committed expenses | Do not confuse available cash with requested financing |
| Acquisition and margin | Sales expenses, cohorts and service costs | Document periods, attribution and included costs |
| Board and investors | Actuals, budget, variances and upcoming decisions | Use consistent definitions between reports |
Indicators and frequency depend on your model. No universal runway, CAC or growth threshold replaces analysis of your situation. Models retain limitations: short histories or incomplete data reduce scenario reliability.
Share deadlines, finance organization, board expectations and available documents. Identify what the team and accountant produce, then agree access and responsibilities.
Review accounts, banks, invoicing, subscriptions and commercial assumptions. Document variances, missing information and indicator definitions before building reporting.
Present scenarios and limitations, assign decision owners and deadlines, then update assumptions. Initial deliverables and timing are agreed during scoping, without promising identical setup for every startup.
The leader sets priorities and decides. The CFO prepares the model, challenges assumptions and organizes follow-up. The accountant remains responsible for work under its engagement terms; sales and operations explain activity data.
Fundraising preparation may include the model, data room and due diligence questions. Discussions involve leaders, investors and advisers. Funding, valuation or privileged access to funds are not guaranteed.
If an internal CFO joins, handover covers sources, assumptions, authorized access and the calendar. Finance leadership does not automatically confer signing authority or power over bank accounts.
How this fits within a Fractional CFO engagementRecurring Iter support ranges from €3,000 to €8,000 excluding VAT per month. The quote depends on entities, data, reporting and the assigned profile. Exceptional projects, travel and other advisers’ work are identified separately. Comparison with hiring should include availability and responsibilities: these are different services.
View CFO pricingA fractional CFO is a finance director who supports a business part-time. At Iter, the CFO is not employed by the startup client. Outsourced describes external support; part-time describes the recurring working arrangement.
The arrangement provides part-time finance leadership. Startup needs include growth assumptions, cash consumption, financing and investor expectations. For SaaS, this also includes consistent recurring revenue data.
Yes. Scoping distinguishes accounting production, data reconciliation and financial management. The CFO works with your firm and teams; included work and contacts are specified in the contract.
Needs are assessed according to decisions and available data. A focused modelling project may be more appropriate than recurring support. No funding stage automatically requires a Fractional CFO.
Organization, deadlines, recent accounts, budget and key indicators. For SaaS, identify invoicing and subscription tools. Secure sharing of detailed documents is agreed afterwards.
Starting depends on the available profile, scope and access. Iter’s indicative range is 1 to 8 days per month, without a guaranteed day package. Review frequency, urgent requests and initial deliverables are agreed together.
The contract specifies scope and additional projects. One-off work is agreed separately.
Describe your needs, current organization and calendar. We will identify useful work together.
Describe my needs