FREE TRAINING THIS WEDNESDAY ON STARTING A CFO ADVISORY SERVICE
Why Productized CFO Services Are Better Than Fractional CFO Services
Adam Lean
April 15, 2025 • 5 min read
April 15, 2025 • 5 min read
How to Offer CFO Advisory Services the Right Way
If you currently offer CFO Advisory services or are considering adding them to your practice, it’s important to understand the two primary ways to structure your services: productized CFO services or fractional CFO services.
While both models offer financial guidance to business owners, one is far more scalable, efficient, and profitable than the other. Let's break down why productized CFO services are superior to fractional CFO services and how they can help you build a more successful CFO Advisory practice.
While both models offer financial guidance to business owners, one is far more scalable, efficient, and profitable than the other. Let's break down why productized CFO services are superior to fractional CFO services and how they can help you build a more successful CFO Advisory practice.
Watch the Full Breakdown
Watch the Full Breakdown
Prefer to watch the full video instead? Check it out below:
What Are CFO Advisory Services?
CFO Advisory services involve guiding business owners on how to grow and run a successful business. Unlike traditional compliance services, CFO Advisory focuses on strategy, financial planning, and profitability rather than just recording financial data.
To measure success, we use a clear benchmark:
As a CFO Advisor, your role is to help businesses achieve consistent positive cash flow so they can scale sustainably.
To measure success, we use a clear benchmark:
- A successful business is one that generates positive cash flow on a regular basis.
- If a business had $10,000 in the bank at the end of last year and now has at least $10,001, it has positive cash flow.
- This allows the business to grow, invest, and remain financially stable.
As a CFO Advisor, your role is to help businesses achieve consistent positive cash flow so they can scale sustainably.
Why Productized CFO Services Make Sense
What Is a Productized CFO Service?
A productized CFO service is structured like a product—clear, defined, and easy for business owners to understand.- Think about toothpaste: When you walk into a store, you know exactly what it is, why you need it, and how much it costs.
- This is how your CFO Advisory service should be packaged—so business owners instantly recognize its value.
When you productize your CFO services, you create a repeatable, scalable system for offering financial guidance to small businesses.
Benefits of Productized CFO Services
- Easier for Clients to Understand and Buy
- Business owners are not financial experts; they need clarity and simplicity.
- A productized service allows them to see the value immediately.
- Avoids the Accountant’s Trap
- Many accountants and bookkeepers are stuck trading time for money.
- With a productized model, you can charge premium fees without increasing your workload.
- Highly Scalable
- A repeatable service model means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with every client.
- Using systems and automation, you can serve more clients without increasing your time commitment.
How It Works
- You follow a structured process that delivers the same CFO service to every client.
- Each client gets the same framework, allowing you to work smarter, not harder.
- The system we teach at The CFO Project enables you to deliver CFO services in just 4 hours per month per client.
The Problems with Fractional CFO Services
What Is a Fractional CFO Service?
A fractional CFO works as a part-time CFO for multiple businesses, dedicating a portion of their time to each client.For example, if you have five clients, you might spend one day per week working as the CFO for each business.
Why This Model Is Problematic
- You’re Still Trading Time for Money
- While you may charge more per hour, your time commitment increases proportionally.
- There’s no scalability—your income remains directly tied to the number of hours you work.
- Each Engagement Is Highly Customized
- Every business has different needs, making each engagement unique and complex.
- You end up with five different jobs rather than a repeatable, scalable business model.
- Scope Creep Leads to Burnout
- Clients begin to rely on you for more and more tasks beyond advisory work.
- If one client has an emergency, it disrupts your schedule and creates stress.
- Revenue Instability
- If one client leaves, you immediately lose a significant portion of your income.
- This creates financial uncertainty and makes long-term planning difficult.
Why Business Owners Prefer Productized CFO Services
Business owners want clarity and consistency. They don’t want to guess what they’re paying for or what they’re getting.
With a productized CFO service:
With a productized CFO service:
- They immediately understand the value.
- They see that the service is designed to help them grow their business, not just manage numbers.
- They know exactly what they’re paying and what results to expect.
Scaling Your CFO Services the Right Way
A productized CFO service allows you to:
This is why The CFO Project teaches financial professionals how to productize their CFO services—so they can grow a sustainable, profitable practice.
- Charge premium fees without increasing your workload.
- Create a scalable system that delivers results to multiple clients.
- Avoid the stress and complexity of customized engagements.
- Provide a service business owners actually value.
This is why The CFO Project teaches financial professionals how to productize their CFO services—so they can grow a sustainable, profitable practice.
Take the Next Step
Option #1: Check out our full breakdown in our advice video.
Option #2: If you want to learn how to become a highly successful CFO Advisor, explore all of our CFO Training for Accountants, CPAs, Bookkeepers, and Tax Professionals by checking out our CFO Training.
Option #3: Join an upcoming Right-Fit call to meet with an Enrollment Advisor to get a behind-the-scenes tour of our done-with-you mentorship program where we'll give you a turnkey system to start offering CFO Advisory services. Click to reserve your spot.
Option #2: If you want to learn how to become a highly successful CFO Advisor, explore all of our CFO Training for Accountants, CPAs, Bookkeepers, and Tax Professionals by checking out our CFO Training.
Option #3: Join an upcoming Right-Fit call to meet with an Enrollment Advisor to get a behind-the-scenes tour of our done-with-you mentorship program where we'll give you a turnkey system to start offering CFO Advisory services. Click to reserve your spot.
Live Training this Wednesday for Accountants, Bookkeepers & Tax Professionals
Escape the accountant's trap and create a business that works for you!
Escape the accountant's trap and create a business that works for you!
Discover how to grow your practice this year through CFO Advisory services.
Discover how to grow your practice this year through CFO Advisory services.
Finally escape the accountant's trap (of trading time for money) and join the hundreds of other financial professionals who have made the transition to offering high-ticket CFO Advisory services.
In this training you'll discover the proven system for getting clients and providing an effective (and efficient!) CFO Advisory service.
This training is eligible to receive CPE credit.
In this training you'll discover the proven system for getting clients and providing an effective (and efficient!) CFO Advisory service.
This training is eligible to receive CPE credit.
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