Every growing Las Vegas business hits the same wall. The bookkeeper closes the month, the tax return gets filed, the numbers are technically correct — and the owner still walks into a Tuesday feeling blind. Can we afford another truck? Is this new hire going to pay for herself? What happens if the busy season is 20% lighter than last year? Those are CFO questions, not bookkeeper questions. A fractional CFO is how a $1M–$10M Las Vegas business gets those answers without paying a $200,000 salary.
Bookkeeper vs. fractional CFO — the real difference
A bookkeeper looks backward — recording what already happened. A fractional CFO looks forward — telling you what's about to happen and what to do about it. Same P&L, completely different job.
- Bookkeeper: categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, closes the month.
- Tax preparer: files the annual return, handles the IRS, chases deductions.
- Fractional CFO: builds the cash-flow forecast, sets the KPIs, sits in on the hire/expansion decision, and runs the numbers on the deal before you sign it.
What a fractional CFO actually does month to month
- 13-week cash flow forecast: the single most valuable tool a growing business owns. Answers "when do we run out of cash" before it becomes a crisis.
- KPI dashboard: the 5–7 numbers that actually drive your business (gross margin, revenue per employee, AR days, close rate) — reported weekly, not just at tax time.
- Monthly financial review: a real sit-down where the CFO walks you through what changed, what's coming, and where the money is leaking.
- Strategic advisory: pricing decisions, hire/no-hire calls, equipment financing, expansion into a second location, buy-vs-lease analysis.
- Banker & lender relationships: when you need an SBA loan or a line of credit, the CFO packages the financials and speaks the bank's language.
When a Las Vegas business is ready for one
There's no magic revenue number, but there is a pattern. A fractional CFO usually pays for themselves when a Las Vegas business hits one or more of these:
- Revenue between $1M and $10M and growing 20%+ a year.
- Payroll is your biggest expense and you're making hire/fire decisions monthly.
- You're planning to raise capital, take an SBA loan, or sell within 2–3 years.
- You have inventory, multiple locations, or crews on multiple job sites.
- The owner is spending nights in QuickBooks instead of running the business.
The Las Vegas market — what to expect on price
A full-time CFO in the Las Vegas market runs $180,000–$250,000 with benefits. A fractional CFO is typically $2,500–$8,000 a month depending on scope — a fraction of a full-time hire, and structured so a growing business only pays for the hours it actually uses. For most Las Vegas operators between $1M and $5M in revenue, the sweet spot is a monthly retainer covering the forecast, KPI dashboard, and a standing strategy call.
A quick example (Henderson contractor)
A Henderson general contractor doing $3.2M in revenue was profitable on paper but constantly short on cash. We built the 13-week forecast, tracked AR days by customer, and found the problem: two large GCs were paying at 75 days, funding their float on his back. A CFO conversation, a new payment-terms policy, and a small line of credit later — his cash cycle tightened by 22 days and he stopped funding payroll on personal credit cards.
How Goodfella's runs it
We built Goodfella's on family — old-school loyalty, no bait-and-switch. Our fractional CFO engagement starts with a real diagnostic: clean books, a working forecast, and the 5 numbers that matter for your business. Then a standing monthly sit-down, tax strategy baked in, and your CFO on the phone when the banker calls or a deal lands on the desk. Same firm that files your return — no handoffs, no shrugs.
Outgrowing the bookkeeper? Let's sit down and see where a part-time CFO fits.