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Bookkeeper, controller or CFO: which one does your business need?
What each role actually does
| Bookkeeper | Controller | CFO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question answered | What happened? | Is it right, and why? | What should we do next? |
| Looks | Backward, daily and weekly | Backward, monthly | Forward, 13 weeks to 3 years |
| Core output | Coded transactions, reconciliations, agings | Reviewed close, monthly package, budget vs actual, lender packages | Cash forecast, scenarios, financing, pricing, hiring, exit |
| Typical full-time cost (US) | $55,000 to $75,000 | $90,000 to $130,000 | $150,000 to $250,000 |
| ProvenCFO starting price | $400 / month | +$1,000 / month | +$1,500 / month |
Signs you have outgrown a bookkeeper
- Financials arrive, and you do not read them because nobody explains what they mean.
- The bank asks for statements and it takes two weeks.
- The CPA finds the same errors every spring.
- You have more than one entity, a job-cost or project ledger, or inventory, and the bookkeeper is winging it.
- You caught an error before the bookkeeper did.
That is the moment for a controller: someone senior owns whether the numbers are right.
Signs you need a CFO, not just a controller
- There is a decision in front of you with six figures attached: a hire, a line of credit, equipment, a location, an acquisition, a sale.
- You are profitable on paper and short on cash, and nobody can tell you why.
- You are raising money, refinancing or preparing to sell in the next one to three years.
- Your surety or your lender wants to talk to "your finance person" and there is nobody to put on the call.
What companies usually need by size
| Revenue | Usually needs | What that costs at ProvenCFO |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | Bookkeeper, monthly close, a tax plan | $400 to $1,200 / month |
| $1M to $3M | Bookkeeper plus controller review | $1,650 to $2,500 / month |
| $3M to $15M | Bookkeeper, controller, CFO Foundation when a decision shows up | $2,000 to $4,500 / month |
| $15M to $50M | Full stack with CFO Growth or Executive | $5,000 to $10,000 / month |
Why the three work better as one team
When a bookkeeper, a CPA and a part-time CFO are three different firms, the owner becomes the go-between. The bookkeeper codes something wrong, the controller never sees it, the CFO forecasts from it, and the CPA fixes it in April. On one ledger with one team, the bookkeeper's work is reviewed by the controller the same month and the CFO forecasts from numbers somebody signed off on. That is the whole reason ProvenCFO sells the three as layers.
Questions people ask
Can one person be the bookkeeper and the controller?
In a small company, often yes, with an outside review. Once there are multiple entities, projects or inventory, separating entry from review catches errors before the bank or the CPA does.
Do I need a CFO if I have a good CPA?
A CPA files and advises on tax, usually once a year. A CFO works inside the business every month on cash, financing and decisions. They are different jobs, and a good CPA will tell you so.
What does a controller cost?
A full-time controller costs $90,000 to $130,000 loaded. ProvenCFO's fractional controller starts at $1,000 a month on top of bookkeeping.
Can I start with a CFO and skip the controller?
Not well. A CFO forecasting from an unreviewed close is guessing with better vocabulary. Most firms, including ProvenCFO, will run controller and CFO together.
Written by the people at ProvenCFO who do the work: fractional CFOs, controllers and bookkeepers for American owner-led companies.
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