Bringing in a fractional CFO should never feel like a leap of faith.
If you are an Australian founder or SME owner weighing up fractional finance leadership, you deserve to know exactly what you are buying before you commit. Not a vague promise of "strategic value". A clear, week by week picture of what changes in your business, and when.
So here it is. This is how we partner with clients at HapuCFO Solutions across the first 90 days, turning financial uncertainty into clarity and handing you the systems, the numbers and the board ready insight you need to make confident, data driven decisions.
Every engagement is shaped around the business in front of us. The arc, however, never changes stabilise, build, then direct.
Days 1 to 30: Stabilise and prove value
Objective: give you genuine financial visibility, and bank at least one quick win inside the first month.
- Access and orientation. We secure access to your accounting system, bank, payroll and document store, then map every stakeholder from your leadership team through to your accountant, broker and bank.
- Financial truth. We interrogate the last 12 months of P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, tidy the chart of accounts, and confirm your months are genuinely closed rather than simply closed on paper.
- A 13-week cash flow forecast. Opening cash through to closing position, week by week, so you can see three months ahead and plan instead of reacting.
- Compliance check. We confirm BAS, GST, PAYG, superannuation and ASIC lodgements are current, and surface any ATO exposure early, while it is still small and fixable.
- Rapid diagnostic. We pinpoint the three to five gaps or opportunities that deserve your attention most, and we tell you plainly which ones will pay.
By day 30 you will have: a working 13-week cash flow forecast, a clean read on your financial position, a focused diagnostic, and at least one quick win already delivered.
Days 31 to 60: Build the engine and tighten margins
Objective: convert the numbers into a proper planning system and start lifting the results the diagnostic exposed.
- Driver based forecast and budget. Revenue linked to your pipeline or order book. Payroll tied to your hiring plan. COGS linked to volume, with job costing and work in progress tracking where it matters, particularly across construction and manufacturing.
- KPI and margin view. Gross margin broken down by product, job, customer or division, alongside the operational metrics that genuinely move your business.
- Working capital. We go after debtor days, supplier terms, stock and WIP to release trapped cash. This step alone often funds the entire engagement several times over.
- A faster, documented close. We standardise month end, assign clear owners, and pull the close time down. A 30 to 50 per cent reduction is a realistic target.
- Leadership cadence. A monthly finance meeting with a tight agenda, plus a weekly touchpoint, so reports stay reconciled and your whole team works from one set of numbers.
By day 60 you will have: a driver-based budget and rolling forecast, a KPI and margin dashboard, a faster close, and early working capital wins already in the bank.
Days 61 to 90: Direct, systematise and prove the return
Objective: move from finance conversations to leadership conversations, embed the systems for the long term, and evidence the return.
- A board ready pack. P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, a one-page narrative, the forecast and three recommended actions. Plus, covenant and data room readiness if debt funding or a capital raise is on your horizon.
- A 12-month financial roadmap. A living plan that aligns budgeting, forecasting and capital allocation to your growth, profitability or exit goals.
- Scenario and capital planning. Best, base and worst-case scenarios, with a cash runway and spend policy, so the big calls are made with evidence rather than instinct.
- Systems that outlast the engagement. Documented processes, a trained bookkeeper or controller, and review cycles, so finance keeps running properly whether or not we are still in the room.
- A 90-day impact report. The metrics that moved, the cash recovered or protected, the risks closed off, and the road ahead.
By day 90 you will have: professional grade financial operations, a written roadmap with agreed metrics your leadership team tracks, and a clear impact report showing exactly what has changed.
What to expect along the way
- Intensity. The first 90 days run hard, typically 15 to 25 hours a month, before settling to roughly 8 to 15 hours a month as the systems embed and the focus shifts to reporting, board support and strategic projects.
- Intensity. The first quarter builds the foundation. The deepest return usually appears in months four and five, once that foundation starts driving real decisions with real money behind them.
That is the fractional advantage. C level financial leadership, on your terms, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
Not ready to commit? Start with a free check up
If you are reading this and thinking “I am not sure we are at the engagement stage yet”, that is a fair call. Bringing in a fractional CFO is a real decision, and you should never have to make it blind.
So we offer a free, no obligation financial check up before any engagement begins. It is a straightforward conversation about where your business stands today across cash flow, margins, visibility and compliance, followed by an honest view on whether a fractional CFO would genuinely move the needle for you right now, or whether your energy is better spent elsewhere for the time being.
No pressure. Just clarity, so you can make the call with confidence.
Let us map your first 90 days.
