Days 1–30: establish the baseline
Clarify the owner’s priorities, review the accounting and reporting foundation, map short-term cash, identify information gaps, and define the decisions that require better financial support.
Fractional CFO Vancouver
Fractional CFO and part-time CFO services for Vancouver businesses.
Turn historical financials into forward-looking decisions. HS Strategic CFO Advisory provides Vancouver, BC businesses with senior, part-time financial leadership connecting cash-flow control, integrated forecasting, lender-ready financials, KPI reporting, and major owner decisions—without adding a full-time CFO.
What fractional and part-time CFO services do for an owner-led business
Fractional CFO, part-time CFO, and outsourced CFO are different ways owners describe senior financial leadership without a full-time hire. The work starts by understanding how the business actually makes money, then connects the model, cash, tax, capital, and reporting to the decision in front of the owner.
01Understand the business
02Build the model
03Forecast cash
04Structure capital
05Report what matters
06Decide and execute
A practical first 90 days
Start with visibility, then build the decision system the business needs.
The sequence depends on the immediate decision and the condition of the underlying information. A typical fractional CFO engagement moves through three practical stages rather than imposing a generic reporting package.
Days 31–60: connect the model
Build or repair the operating forecast, working-capital assumptions, debt schedule, KPI view, and management reporting so actual results connect to forward cash requirements.
Days 61–90: establish the cadence
Use the model to support financing, growth, acquisition, capital-allocation, or operating decisions, then establish responsibilities and a useful review rhythm for management.
Industry depth
Fractional CFO support for construction and real estate businesses.
Project-based businesses need company-level financial control and project-level visibility to reconcile. HS combines senior finance leadership with specialist development and real estate finance capability.
Real estate developers
Connect corporate cash, project equity, development pro formas, financing conditions, draw timing, overhead allocation, and the next capital decision.
Explore development finance supportConstruction companies
Bring together backlog, work in progress, gross margin, labour and subcontractor commitments, billing, collections, equipment, and weekly cash requirements.
Owner-led groups
Coordinate operating companies, holding companies, property ownership, guarantees, debt service, distributions, and after-tax capital allocation around one decision framework.
Cash Flow Control
13-week cash forecasts, monthly reporting, variance analysis, customer collections, supplier timing, payroll planning, and early warnings before cash pressure becomes a crisis.
Explore cash flow forecasting servicesIntegrated Forecasting
Revenue forecast, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, working capital schedule, and debt schedule connected into one decision model.
KPI and Unit Economics
Revenue drivers, gross margin, contribution margin, customer economics, utilization, capacity, hiring plan, and the operating metrics behind the financial statements.
Financing Readiness
Start by estimating how much the business can safely borrow. Then connect debt capacity, DSCR, collateral, working-capital need, sources and uses, covenant sensitivity, and owner guarantees in a credible lender case.
See what financials a lender will expectOwner Tax and Wealth
Salary versus dividend, holding company review, passive income exposure, real estate ownership, compensation planning, and after-tax capital allocation.
Review common sources of owner tax leakageAcquisition and Exit Support
Normalized EBITDA, owner add-backs, working capital, quality of earnings, buyer trust, 100-day cash plan, and financial cleanup before diligence.
Explore acquisition and exit advisoryWhere the service fits
Use fractional CFO support when the decision is forward-looking.
The service is designed to work alongside—not replace—the professionals responsible for bookkeeping, tax, assurance, legal advice, lending, or transaction execution.
- A strong fit: cash visibility, financing readiness, integrated forecasts, management reporting, growth decisions, acquisitions, exits, or overlapping business and real estate decisions.
- Usually a different professional: transaction entry, basic reconciliations, tax filings, assurance engagements, legal opinions, or investment-product recommendations.
- Project or ongoing: begin with the smallest responsible scope for the decision, then continue only when recurring senior finance leadership creates value.
A useful CFO model has more than a revenue tab.
The model should show how growth turns into cash, how cash turns into financing needs, and where tax, debt, working capital, and owner distributions change the answer.
Operating model
How the company earns revenue, what drives cost and capacity, which customers or products carry margin, and where growth strains people, systems, or cash.
Working capital model
Receivables, payables, inventory, deposits, deferred revenue, and payment timing, so profit is not confused with available cash.
Debt and capital model
Drawdowns, repayments, interest, covenant pressure, equity needs, investor cases, and financing gaps before they become urgent.
More than a generalist CFO model
For owners whose decisions involve property, construction, or complex funding, HS also brings specialist capability in development pro formas, construction cash flow, project funding, lender draws, and real estate finance.
Explore development finance capabilityWhen the next decision depends on the numbers, the reports need to explain what to do.
Monthly financials should do more than summarize the past. They should clarify whether to raise capital, cut spend, buy property, restructure debt, sell, hire, or wait.
- Compare actuals against forecast and identify the operational cause, not only the accounting variance.
- Separate sustainable earnings from one-time items, owner expenses, and timing distortions.
- Show the owner how each option changes cash, tax, debt capacity, valuation, and personal risk.
Fractional CFO Fit Review
A focused first review for owners who need to understand whether the current finance function, tax structure, forecast, and capital plan support the next major decision.
Request a Fractional CFO ReviewCommon CFO questions we help answer.
Can the business afford the next move?
Hiring, expansion, equipment, real estate, acquisition, or a new financing round should be tested against cash runway, margin, working capital, and debt service.
What would a lender or buyer question?
Debt providers and buyers look for sustainable cash flow, clean reporting, normalized earnings, defensible forecasts, and a clear bridge from history to plan.
Is the owner keeping enough after tax?
Profit is only part of the answer. Compensation, holding companies, passive investments, real estate, debt, and exit planning determine what the owner actually keeps.
Fractional CFO services: frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CFO do?
A fractional CFO provides part-time senior finance leadership across forecasting, cash flow, KPIs, working capital, financing, owner decisions, and major transactions.
When should a Vancouver business hire a fractional CFO?
When growth, financing, cash pressure, weak reporting, an acquisition, an exit, or another major decision demands more financial leadership than bookkeeping and year-end accounting provide.
How is a fractional CFO different from a bookkeeper or accountant?
Bookkeeping records transactions and accounting supports reporting and compliance. Fractional CFO work uses those records to forecast cash, evaluate options, prepare for financing, and guide the next decision.
Can a fractional CFO help prepare lender-ready financials?
A fractional CFO can organize historical results, operating assumptions, cash-flow forecasts, working capital, debt service, DSCR, and downside cases into a lender-ready financial model and financing package. Assurance or tax filings remain with the appropriate accounting professionals.
Does HS Strategic CFO work only with businesses in Vancouver?
HS Strategic CFO serves Vancouver and British Columbia businesses and can provide fractional CFO support remotely to owner-led businesses elsewhere in Canada.
Do real estate developers and construction companies use fractional CFO services?
Yes. The work can connect company cash flow, project budgets, work in progress, financing, draw timing, margin, overhead, and management reporting while specialist accounting, legal, and lending roles remain separate.
How much does a fractional CFO cost in Vancouver?
The answer depends on scope, complexity, cadence, and whether support is project-based or ongoing. See the practical cost and scope guide.
Is a part-time CFO the same as a fractional CFO?
The terms often describe the same practical arrangement: CFO-level support without a full-time hire. Part-time may emphasize scheduled capacity, while fractional CFO may emphasize access to senior leadership for an agreed share of time or scope. Responsibilities, deliverables, cadence, and authority matter more than the label.