The Process

Here’s exactly what happens when you hire a fractional CFO

No mystery to how this works. The path runs from a first conversation to a clear scope to a steady monthly rhythm, sized to what your business actually needs. You stay in control of the depth at every step.

Book a Discovery Call View Pricing →

Discovery call

Share your challenges and goals. We listen, assess fit, and outline potential engagement.

30 min · Free · No commitment

Financial assessment

Deep dive into financials, operations, and growth levers. Identify quick wins.

1-2 weeks · Diagnostic report

Custom scope

Tailored engagement plan with clear deliverables, cadence, and success metrics.

Flexible hours · Month-to-month

Embedded partnership

Your fractional CFO integrates with your team, driving results from day one.

Ongoing · Measurable ROI

Four Steps

Every engagement follows the same proven structure

Four steps from first conversation to ongoing financial leadership.

Discovery Call

The first call is half an hour, no cost. You walk me through what’s on your plate and what’s been bothering you about the money side. After thirty years in accounting, I can usually tell inside that conversation whether a Fractional CFO engagement is the right move for you, and I’ll say so either way.

Financial Assessment

If the fit is there, the first weeks are spent reading the actual state of the business. The books, the bank, the tools you already use, and the numbers nobody has been looking at squarely. The output is an honest read of what’s solid, what’s leaking, and what to handle first.

Custom Scope

From the assessment, I write a scope back to you. The depth, the cadence, what I’ll own, what stays with you. You read it before anything is locked in, and the shape gets adjusted until it matches the business. The work doesn’t start until you say yes.

Ongoing Partnership

Then the rhythm settles in. Books close on a steady cadence, the cash plan stays current, and each month I walk the numbers through with you in person. When something material hits, you reach me directly, not a queue. Tax planning runs in coordination with your filing CPA so the year doesn’t end in surprises. The full set of services embedded in your operations covers the bookkeeping, cash, reporting, and strategy work together.

Your Financial Partner

An embedded Fractional CFO, not a quarterly check-in

An embedded Fractional CFO is in the books each month, in the cash plan each week, and on the line when a real decision shows up. Not a quarterly slide deck. Not a phone call you have to remember to schedule. The numbers and the conversation about them happen in the same place, every month, with one person who knows your business as well as you do.

Embedded Fractional CFO engagement with monthly review session for a small business in Calhoun, Georgia

Why Fractional

What you get vs. what you’d pay for a full-time CFO

The fractional model exists because most owner-led businesses need senior financial thinking before they need a full-time finance leader on payroll. You get the same caliber of work scoped to what’s actually warranted, with no recruiting cycle, no onboarding lag, and no fixed-cost overhang when the business goes through a quieter season. The engagement adjusts as you do. The published engagement levels show the shape of each tier.

Immediate access to CFO-level thinking
Engagement grows with your business
No lengthy search or interview process
Adjust scope as priorities shift
Part of your team not an outside vendor

Get Started

Debbie Deknight Fractional CFO › Cash Flow 13-Week

Cash Position $0 0%

AR Outstanding $0 0%

AP Due $0 0%

Runway 0 0

Cash Forecast 13 weeks

Working Capital

Receivables 45% Payables 30% Operating 25%

Monthly Burn

Liquidity

85% Quick Ratio

72% Current

91% Coverage

The Approach

What the ongoing engagement looks like

Once the scope is set, the work runs on a steady cadence. Books close monthly with a real read, not a stack of reports. The cash plan stays live because account discipline that protects profit only holds when somebody is in it every week. When a big decision shows up between sessions, you call. That’s the working rhythm.

Monthly Fractional CFO review session walking your numbers
Weekly cash check-in to keep the plan honest
Available between sessions when a real decision lands
Books closed each month with the read tied to the meeting
Tax planning coordinated with your filing CPA

View Services

KPI scorecard

KPI	Target	Actual	Δ
Revenue	$210K	$224K	+6.7%
Margin	32%	34.2%	+2.2pp
Cash flow	$28K	$31K	+10.7%
AR days	30	38	+8d
Utilization	80%	72%	-8pp

Monthly narrative

What changed? Revenue up 6.7%, AR crept to 38 days

Why does it matter? Cash conversion slowing despite growth

What should we do? Tighten collections, review payment terms

Next review

✓ KPI scorecard

✓ Cash forecast

✓ Narrative drafted

— Feb action items

Decisions logged 14 this quarter

AR alert 38d → 30 target

3 of 5 KPIs on target

Your Fractional CFO

Meet your fractional CFO

Debbie Deknight

Fractional CFO

I’ve spent more than thirty years in accounting and the last eight running my own practice. The work I do as a Fractional CFO sits at the intersection of clean books, disciplined cash, and the strategic conversations that turn numbers into decisions you can act on.

Master Certified Profit First Professional Calhoun, GA

Common Questions

About the process

What should we expect during the first month?

Light onboarding for the first week or two: a kickoff conversation, access to the books and the bank, and a first working session that sets the meeting cadence and the reporting. Inside the first month, the books are closed cleanly, the cash plan has its first version, and you’ve sat through at least one real review of where the numbers are pointing. Urgent situations compress that timeline.

How does the fractional CFO plug into our existing team?

The role is additive, not a replacement. Your bookkeeper continues the day-to-day if they’re keeping up, your CPA owns the tax filings, and I sit on top of all of it as the financial leadership layer: the cash plan, the monthly review, the strategic conversations, and the planning work that changes what hits your bottom line.

How does industry experience factor into the engagement?

Thirty years in accounting touches a lot of industries, so the financial mechanics of most owner-led businesses look familiar. The first weeks of any engagement are spent learning how YOUR business actually makes money, which products carry their weight, where the margin pressures sit. Recommendations don’t land until that learning is done.

How does the scope change over time?

Engagements bend with the business. Quarterly check-ins are where I look at whether the depth of work still matches what’s actually needed, and adjustments happen by conversation. A growth stretch calls for more, a quieter period calls for less. Either side can change course if the fit isn’t right.

I opened a small business 3 years ago and have had difficulty finding the insight and individual guidance I was looking for until I found Debbie! I had previously tried working with a small business consultant and different accountants searching for the guidance I needed. As a small business owner, I often felt dismissed. The very first time I spoke with Debbie, I knew I finally found what I had been searching for! She spent time with me reviewing my quickbooks and teaching me new skills for bookkeeping and budgeting. She helped me brainstorm ways to make my business more profitable and helped me decide what to prioritize. I was caught in a state of inaction due to the stress of moving forward with these difficult decisions. Debbie helped me write my specific changes and come up with a step by step plan for me to implement these changes in a way that felt more comfortable for me. I could not have done it without her guidance! I look forward to continue working with Debbie

Kelsey A.

Owner

Before working with Debbie, I knew my business was making money but I never seemed to have any. Within a few months of implementing Profit First with her, I was paying myself consistently and had cash set aside for taxes for the first time. She doesn’t just do the books — she actually understands what’s happening in a business.

Emily S.

Co-Owner

For years I ran my business by checking the bank balance. Working with Debbie changed that completely. Profit First gave me a system, but what really moved the needle was having her in my corner as a CFO — looking at the numbers with me every month, telling me what they actually mean, and helping me decide what to do next. I make better decisions now because I’m not guessing anymore.

Vince T.

Owner