Blog | All Posts | All Topics
Virtual CFOs and How They Help Businesses
When you’re running a growing business, one of the most difficult things you might face is managing your finances. In fact, 80% of Australian small businesses experience cash flow challenges.
Getting your books in order is one thing, but understanding how to invest your capital, forecast for the future, or cut unnecessary costs is what can help your business grow.
Many smaller businesses turn to virtual CFOs for this, as they provide financial guidance without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive-level hire. Virtual CFOs aren’t a replacement for a bookkeeper or accountant. Instead, they give your business a deeper understanding of your numbers and help shape your financial strategy.
In this article, we will cover what virtual CFOs provide businesses, why many small businesses in Australia are opting to bring them in, and how to pick the right one.
What is a virtual CFO?
A virtual CFO (Chief Financial Officer) is an outsourced expert who helps with budgeting, forecasting, cash flow planning, and financial decision-making. They are a great investment for businesses as they provide senior-level financial support without the cost of hiring a full-time CFO (requiring salary, benefits, pension contribution, and leave costs).
They don’t replace your bookkeeper or accountant. Instead, they work alongside them to turn your numbers into insights and build a plan to keep your cash flow on track.
The differences between bookkeepers, accountants and virtual CFOs
Each of these roles is distinct and can support your finances differently. In short, bookkeepers log your numbers, accountants report them, and virtual CFOs plan your financial strategy.
Here’s an overview of how they differ:
| Job title | Focus | What they manage |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Day-to-day transactions | Expenses, income, reconciliations, and payroll |
| Accountant | Compliance and reporting | Tax, financial statements, and legal reporting |
| Virtual CFO | Strategy and planning | Forecasting revenue, cash flow modelling, budgeting, and strategy support |
A virtual CFO plays a strategic role in your financial management, building on day-to-day financial work to help you take more deliberate steps towards growing your business.
What are the responsibilities of a virtual CFO?
As we’ve covered, a virtual CFO moves your financials beyond the numbers and into strategic planning. Now, let’s look at how they achieve this.
Financial reporting
It’s the job of a virtual CFO to take data and put it into clear reports that everyone in your business can understand. This includes highlighting key trends (for example, profit is up 10% but costs are up 12%) from numbers that otherwise might stay hidden in spreadsheets.
Cash flow management
Part of their responsibility is to monitor cash coming in and out of the business. They should also be able to flag risks early so your cash flow stays stable.
Budgeting
Based on your real financial performance, a virtual CFO should develop a realistic budget for your business. This helps you understand where you can spend and save. Having this confidence allows you to focus on your growth without feeling unsure about day-to-day spending.
Revenue forecasting
To understand what you can spend, it helps to understand not only where your business stands, but where it’s heading. By creating a revenue forecast, your leadership will be able to see how the business is projected to perform 12 months down the track and test how different growth scenarios might impact this.
Risk management
As part of their role, an experienced virtual CFO will be able to spot risks others might not notice. They can then help you address them and develop a plan to reduce the risk or respond if it does occur.
Identifying market trends
On top of understanding your internal numbers, a virtual CFO will also track and have a deeper understanding of the market and how this might impact your business. This helps with both spotting emerging opportunities and potential challenges.
Strategic planning
Using all they know about your business, your virtual CFO will be able to provide you with strategic advice and answer any questions you may have. This helps you make more informed plans going forward.
The benefits of working with a virtual CFO
A virtual CFO adds context and confidence to your business planning. Below are some of the other ways your business can benefit.
- Financial insight that supports both better day-to-day and long-term decisions.
- Stronger cash flow visibility reduces your financial blind spots.
- Access to senior financial expertise without the cost of a full-time hire.
- More accurate forecasting and scenario planning.
- Lower compliance risk and a better understanding of Australian law.
- Smarter capital allocation and tighter cost management.
- A clearer view of what’s driving profitability as the business grows.
Together, these benefits give you clearer direction and a stronger financial foundation for growth.
If you’re ready to experience all these benefits at your business, for a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time CFO, speak to a Visory expert today.
Real-world examples: Australian businesses using virtual CFOs
To give you a better idea of how virtual CFOs can help a business in practice, here are two Visory customer stories.
Each example highlights a different growth challenge and demonstrates how financial guidance helped them get their business on track.
Bak’D HotBread: Bouncing back
Bak’D HotBread is a family-owned bakery in Yamba, NSW, known for its award-winning sourdough and busy lunch trade.
As the business grew and pandemic pressures hit, financial oversight fell behind, making it harder for them to understand their cash flow and plan ahead.
That’s when they turned to Visory for virtual CFO services. From there, this much-loved bakery turned everything around. They got back on top of their books, and they also gained a clearer view of future performance and costs. This has since enabled the owner to make more confident decisions about investment and growth.
Tetratherix: Getting investor confidence
Tetratherix is an NSW-based biomedical company experiencing rapid growth following successful clinical trials and new funding.
However, with this success came a new level of scrutiny from investors and regulators. This led Tetratherix to look for a way to have this level of financial detail without needing to hire another top-level position at their startup.
To achieve this, they engaged Visory’s virtual CFO service. Now with clearer, more transparent financial insights in place, the team regained confidence in their numbers and freed up time to focus on clinical development and expansion. That financial clarity played a key role in supporting continued funding and future growth plans.
How much do virtual CFO services cost?
Virtual CFO services are typically priced through a monthly retainer, hourly rate, or project-based fee, depending on how much support you need and how complex your business is.
Typically, though, you can expect the costs to look close to this:
- Small businesses: $2,000 to $5,000 per month
- Medium businesses: $5,000 to $12,000 per month
- Project work: $150 to $350/hr, depending on expertise
If you’d like to know the exact amount for your business, book a meeting with our team or view our prices here.
What is the ROI of a virtual CFO?
When we talk about the ROI for virtual CFOs, it’s important to note that the return on investment isn’t just gained by cost-cutting. Instead, the biggest gain you’ll see comes from better financial decisions, risk management, and strategic planning as your business grows.
Here are some common ways you’ll see an ROI in practice:
| How | Examples we’ve seen |
|---|---|
| Improved cash flow visibility | Identifying potential shortfalls in advance helps avoid short-term cash flow issues or the need for emergency borrowing. |
| Increased profitability | Reviewing pricing, margins, and cost structures highlights small adjustments that compound over time. |
| Avoided compliance issues | Stronger controls and oversight reduce the risk of late filings or unexpected liabilities. |
| Informative forecasting | Forward planning helps you see overspending before it impacts your growth plans. |
| Access to funding | Having good reports on hand supports loan applications and investor conversations. |
| Operational gains | Helpful reports and KPI tracking reduce the time other employees spend pulling reports and let them focus on their skilled work. |
Is a virtual CFO right for your business?
A virtual CFO is a great investment when you have your basic numbers handled, but need strategic support to grow your business. We also see the service help a lot of businesses that are actively struggling to make sense of their finances, or feel confused about how they can safely grow their business.
Your business may be ready for a virtual CFO if:
- Your revenue is growing, but profitability is inconsistent
- Your cash flow feels hard to predict
- Leadership wants strategic financial guidance
- You’re preparing for investment, expansion, or acquisition
- Your current accounting support doesn’t provide deep strategic insight
A virtual CFO helps bridge the gap between accurate reporting and confident decision-making, without the commitment of a full-time hire.
How to choose the right virtual CFO provider for your business
Choosing a virtual CFO is about more than cost. The right provider should understand your business and be able to adapt to provide the type of support you need.
We recommend looking for a CFO who:
- Holds a financial qualification and credentials (in Australia, this is typically a relevant degree and professional memberships to CPA Australia or Chartered Accountants AU and NZ)
- Has specific experience in your industry
- Provides strategic planning support, not only reporting
- Can show a proven track record and/or customer testimonials
- Uses modern accounting software to show clear reporting and dashboards
- Communicates clearly and is available when you need them
At Visory, we can connect you with an experienced, qualified virtual CFO who understands your industry.
Book a time to speak with our team so we can understand your business and requirements, and match you with the right expert to support your next stage of growth.
Book your discovery call with Visory today.
Virtual CFO next steps
As we’ve covered, a virtual CFO can take your finances beyond basic reporting and into strategic planning.
They do this through improving your cash flow visibility, building forecasts, managing risk, and ultimately, supporting better financial decisions. For many Australian businesses, this means accessing senior-level financial guidance without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
If you’re ready to gain a clearer understanding of your numbers and how you can safely grow your business, speaking with a Visory expert is the next step.
During the call, we’ll ask questions to understand your business goals, explain how Visory works, and share what the right level of support might be for your business. Book your time here.
FAQs
What business uses virtual CFO services?
Virtual CFOs help practically every industry. They are often the right fit for small to medium-sized businesses that want that level of expertise without hiring a full-time employee.
In addition, they are particularly helpful for businesses that have ambitious growth plans or those wanting to get their financials in order for applying for funding or getting investment.
How much does a virtual CFO cost?
Typically, a virtual CFO costs between $2,000 and $5,000 per month for small businesses, and $5,000 to $12,000 per month for medium-sized businesses. At Visory, our prices start at $545 AUD per month. To learn more, book a discovery call with our team.
What is the difference between a virtual CFO and a fractional CFO?
These terms are often used interchangeably. While a virtual CFO works remotely and on a flexible basis, a fractional CFO may be more embedded in the business or be on-site some of the time.
The great part about a virtual CFO is that they can do all the same work and add the same value to your business remotely. This gives you more access to a wider talent pool with more experts who understand your industry.
Can a virtual CFO work alongside my existing bookkeeper or accountant?
Yes. In fact, that’s how virtual CFOs should work. The role is designed to complement the team you already have by interpreting their data, looking over it with an expert eye and giving you clear next steps based on your performance.
