Fractional CFO Services for Startups

Trivium provides outsourced CFO services to founders and executives at early- to growth-stage companies — fundraising support, financial modeling, cash flow management, KPI reporting, banking and debt strategy, and the finance systems behind it all. Senior CFO judgment, on the cadence your stage actually needs.

•     100+ venture firms  ·  thousands of founders
•     Pre-seed through Series C+
•     CFOs since 2009

A CFO when you need one. Not a salary you can’t justify.

Most early-stage companies don’t need a full-time CFO yet. They need a CFO’s judgment — when the model breaks, when a term sheet lands, when a board asks the wrong question, when the cash forecast slips a quarter. A fractional CFO from Trivium gives you that judgment at the cadence your stage actually requires, and grows into a full finance function as you do.

We’ve sat in on thousands of board meetings, helped close hundreds of rounds, and built the finance stack for companies from pre-seed to post-Series C. The bar we hold ourselves to is simple: every number in your investor deck, your board report, and your bank statement should agree, every time — without you holding it together.

“Seven pillars, one team.”

Pillar 1  Cash flow management & burn rate analysis — runway you can trust.

Cash is the only thing that kills a startup. We make sure you always know where it is, where it’s going, and how long you have — and we surface decisions before they become emergencies.

What’s included

•       Weekly or monthly cash report: opening balance, inflows, outflows, ending balance, runway in months.
•       Burn rate analysis: gross burn, net burn, trend lines, peer benchmarks.
•       13-week rolling cash forecast for tight periods.
•       AR aging and collections strategy: who owes you, who’s slow, what to do about it.
•       AP timing and vendor terms: where there’s room, where there isn’t.
•       Scenario modeling for runway extension: hiring freeze, RIF impact, marketing cuts, payment-term renegotiation.

When it matters: Every month — and especially when runway dips below 12 months, when a customer goes slow on payment, or when a hire decision could change the math.

Pillar 2  Fundraising support & investor readiness — close the round on better terms.

The hardest part of a raise isn’t the pitch. It’s the model, the data room, the diligence answers, and the term sheet review. We do that work alongside you weeks or months before the first VC meeting, so the round closes faster and on better terms.

What’s included

•       Investor-ready three-statement financial model (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) with operating drivers your investors can pressure-test.
•       Data room build-out: historical financials, KPIs, cap table, contracts, customer cohorts, board materials.
•       Pitch-deck numbers: ARR, growth, gross margin, CAC payback, runway, burn — calculated the way VCs expect to see them.
•       Diligence support: anticipating questions, drafting answers, joining diligence calls when helpful.
•       Term sheet review in plain English: option pool math, liquidation preferences, anti-dilution, board composition.
•       Pro-forma cap-table modeling: dilution at every scenario before you commit.

When it matters: Pre-seed convert, Series A through C raise, bridge or extension round, SAFE conversion, secondary tender, strategic investor add-on.

Pillar 3  Financial modeling & forecasting — a model you actually use.

A model that’s built once and never opened is worse than no model at all. We build models you actually use — driver-based, scenario-aware, and updated every month as reality catches up to the plan.

What’s included

•       Three-statement model with linked P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow.
•       Operating drivers tied to the business: pipeline conversion, sales-rep ramp, unit economics, customer cohorts.
•       Scenario planning: base, upside, downside — plus the “what if we miss” case the board will ask about.
•       Monthly maintenance: actuals roll forward, drivers re-baselined, forecast updated.
•       Long-range plan (3–5 years) for fundraising and strategy.
•       13-week cash forecast for runway-critical periods.

When it matters: Heading into a raise, planning a budget, evaluating a big hire, considering venture debt, anytime you can’t answer “how long do we have?”

Pillar 4  Budget planning & financial strategy — a budget that becomes a contract.

A good budget is a contract between the company and itself. We build it with you, get the board behind it, and track every month against it so course corrections happen before the variance becomes a story.

What’s included

•       Annual operating plan tied to strategy: headcount, revenue, gross margin, opex, capex.
•       Department-level budgets that managers actually own.
•       Board-approved budget package: assumptions, sensitivities, hiring plan, key milestones.
•       Monthly budget-vs-actuals reporting with variance commentary.
•       Mid-year reforecast when reality and plan diverge.
•       Strategic finance support: pricing decisions, expansion choices, build-vs-buy, M&A evaluation.

When it matters: Heading into a new fiscal year, after a raise, before a board meeting, anytime a major strategic decision hinges on whether the numbers support it.

Pillar 5  KPI development & financial reporting — the three to five numbers that tell the truth.

The right three to five metrics tell the truth about the business. We help you find them, instrument them, and report them — every month, the same way, so trends are real and decisions are evidence-based.

What’s included

•       KPI definition tailored to the business model: SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, services, hardware.
•       Common metrics: ARR/MRR, growth, gross margin, CAC, LTV, payback, retention, unit economics.
•       Monthly management reporting package: P&L, KPIs, cohort analyses, variance notes.
•       Board reporting package: financials, KPIs, scorecard, strategic narrative.
•       Investor update support: the monthly note that keeps existing investors warm and informed.
•       Dashboard setup in your tools of choice (Looker, Sigma, Mosaic, or plain Sheets).

When it matters: From your first board seat onward — and earlier if you want to manage the business by numbers instead of vibes.

Pillar 6  Banking, debt & capital structure — the plumbing of your finances, set up right.

The plumbing of your finances quietly determines what you can and can’t do. We get it right early so it doesn’t bite you later.

What’s included

•       Banking strategy: primary bank selection (SVB, Mercury, Brex Treasury, traditional banks), operating vs. reserve accounts, FDIC limits, sweep options.
•       Venture debt evaluation: term sheet review, covenant analysis, lender intros, timing relative to equity rounds.
•       Lines of credit and revenue-based financing: when it makes sense, when it doesn’t, who to talk to.
•       Capital structure design: equity, debt, SAFEs, convertible notes — the right mix for your stage.
•       Cap-table coordination: 409A timing, option-pool sizing, employee equity hygiene.
•       Debt covenant tracking and lender reporting.

When it matters: From incorporation forward — and especially during a raise, when extending runway with debt, after a large deposit moves the bank-risk calculus, or when a covenant gets close.

Pillar 7  Finance infrastructure & systems setup — a small, well-chosen stack you don’t have to rebuild.

A modern finance function runs on a small, well-chosen stack. We set it up once, integrate it, and document it — so you’re not rebuilding it in 18 months when the tools you outgrew start dropping balls.

What’s included

•       Chart of accounts and GL setup, designed for how the company actually runs.
•       Accounting platform selection and implementation: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct, NetSuite (when you’re ready).
•       Expense management: Ramp, Brex, Airbase, or Bill.com — selected and configured.
•       AP/AR automation and approval workflows.
•       Payroll integrated with HRIS and benefits.
•       Banking and credit card integration.
•       FP&A tool selection (Mosaic, Pigment, Cube, Causal) when you outgrow Excel.
•       Data room and document retention setup.

When it matters: At founding, after a major raise that changes scale, or whenever the existing stack takes more time to manage than it saves.

“And here’s what an engagement actually looks like.”

How a Trivium CFO engagement works

A fractional CFO engagement sized to your company, not our firm.

A Trivium CFO engagement is sized to where you are. We start with a scoping call, recommend a cadence, and stage up or down as your needs change. All three engagement shapes below share a single team — the CFO, a senior controller, and the accounting and tax leads already running your books.

Engagement shapes

•       Embedded fractional CFO. Weekly or twice-weekly working sessions, full ownership of the model, board package, and close. Best for companies actively fundraising or running on tight runway.
•       Strategic CFO partner. Bi-weekly or monthly working sessions plus on-call support. Best for steady operators who need senior judgment at decision points, not full-time presence.
•       Project-based CFO. Fixed scope: a raise, a budget, a board package, a systems migration, an M&A diligence. Defined start and end.
  
  

“Why a Trivium CFO instead of a contractor — or a full-time hire.”

Why Trivium

Why founders pick a Trivium fractional CFO.

•       Real CFOs, not consultants. Our fractional CFOs have closed books at public companies, led finance from Series A through IPO, built FP&A teams from scratch, and sat across the table from boards. Not analysts in CFO clothing.
  
  
•       One team, all the way down. Your CFO works with the same bookkeeping, tax, and HR people doing your monthly close — so the model agrees with the books, and the books agree with the bank.
  
  
•       Senior level judgment, startup cadence. You get CFO time when you need it (term sheet at 6pm, board prep on a Sunday) without paying for it when you don’t.
  
  
•        Exponential scale but but built to step back. When you’re ready to hire a full-time CFO, we help you find them, transition the work, and stay on for systems and oversight where useful. No lock-in.
  
  

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about fractional CFO services.

What’s the difference between a fractional CFO and an outsourced CFO?

Mostly nomenclature. A fractional CFO works for you part-time at the senior level. “Outsourced CFO” is the same thing, usually delivered through a firm (like Trivium) with the supporting accounting team built in. We use both terms.

When does a startup need a CFO?

Three common triggers: you’re raising more than $3M, your monthly burn crosses $100K, or your board starts asking questions your bookkeeper can’t answer. Earlier doesn’t hurt — especially if cash flow management or financial modeling is currently a founder task.

How much do fractional CFO services cost?

Trivium engagements typically run a small fraction of a senior in-house CFO salary, scaled to the cadence you actually need. Embedded engagements run higher than monthly partners. Project work is fixed-fee. We quote after a 30-minute scoping call.

Will I work with the same CFO every time?

Yes. You get a named CFO who knows your company, your investors, and your model. You also get the supporting team behind them — controller, accountants, tax, HR — so context never lives in one head.

Can you help us hire a full-time CFO when we’re ready?

Yes. We’ve helped clients transition from fractional to in-house — writing the job description, evaluating candidates, orienting the new hire, and staying on for systems oversight if useful.

Do you handle our bookkeeping and tax filing too?

Yes. Most clients use Trivium for the full back office — CFO plus bookkeeping, tax filing, and HR. The integration is where much of the value lives. We also run CFO-only engagements when the books live elsewhere.

Talk to a fractional CFO who’s done this before.

Tell us where you are — raising, growing, fixing — and what’s keeping you from spending your time on the company. We’ll show you what a Trivium fractional CFO engagement would look like and what it would cost.

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