SERVICES AND PRICING
Fractional CFO services for architecture and engineering firms.
For A/E firms that want CFO-level forecasting and insight without a full-time CFO on payroll. It works alongside your bookkeeper and puts their numbers to work, for one flat monthly fee.
Find where your firm lands
Most firms start where their revenue puts them and move up when the work gets more complex: a second office, a public-sector contract, a partner buy-in.
What a CFO does inside an A/E firm
A/E firms are not short on data. Timesheets, project budgets, invoices, and backlog pile up every week. What is missing is someone who turns them into decisions on who to hire, what to charge, which pursuits to chase, and when to spend.
In a large firm, that’s a full-time CFO with the salary, bonus, and benefits of a senior executive. A Fractional CFO gives you the same judgment at a fraction of the cost.
How a Fractional CFO helps your firm mature
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Catch fee overruns mid-project.
Earned fee is compared to hours every month, so a slipping project shows up while there’s still time to fix the scope or bill the change.
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Plan around slow payers.
A cash target built on how your clients pay, not on what the invoice terms say.
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Hiring, rates, and partner pay in one plan.
Every big decision runs through the same forecast, so they stop pulling against each other.
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Test a decision before you make it.
Model the new hire, the new office, or the big pursuit first, then decide.
Ownership planning is available as a separate service. Axle is led by a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), so partner buy-ins, ESOP, and sale readiness are covered. Successful exit planning increases the health and value of the company, regardless of the timeline for ownership transition.
Tailor your Fractional CFO subscription
Fractional CFO
Strategic financial leadership
For firms with a leadership team that want someone to own the numbers. Forecasting, detailed KPIs, project costing, bank relationships and incentive plans, with a seat in your leadership meetings and unlimited advisory support.
4 to 6 meetings a month.
Average price $7,100/month
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Advisory Services:
Online financial reporting
Month-end close with WIP and unbilled review
Monthly performance meeting
Driver-based forecast
WIP and revenue recognition review
Utilization, multiplier and overhead rate reporting
KPI tracking
Project costing and profitability
Leadership meeting attendance
Bank and line-of-credit relationships
Incentive compensation plans
Unlimited advisory support
Advisory & Accounting Add-ons:
Ownership transition and exit planning (separate service)
Weekly cash flow management
Payroll administration
Expense tracking
Bank and credit card reconciliations
Bill pay, including vendor and consultant invoices
Client invoicing and collections
Fractional Controller
Robust oversight and actionable reporting
For growing firms with a bookkeeper or office manager. Month-end close, WIP and revenue recognition review, a driver-based forecast and core KPIs, without ongoing strategic planning.
1 to 2 meetings a month.
Average price $6,100/month
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Advisory Services:
Online financial reporting
Month-end close with WIP and unbilled review
Monthly performance meeting
Driver-based forecast
WIP and revenue recognition review
Utilization, multiplier and overhead rate reporting
Advisory & Accounting Add-ons:
Ownership transition and exit planning (separate service)
Weekly cash flow management
Payroll administration
Expense tracking
Bank and credit card reconciliations
Bill pay, including vendor and consultant invoices
Client invoicing and collections
Fractional Accountant
Day-to-day execution
For smaller firms where the owner still watches the money. Month-end close, statements organized by project, and a monthly video review.
1 meeting a month.
Average price $4,100/month
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Advisory Services:
Online financial reporting
Month-end close with WIP and unbilled review
Monthly performance meeting
Advisory & Accounting Add-ons:
Ownership transition and exit planning (separate service)
Weekly cash flow management
Payroll administration
Expense tracking
Bank and credit card reconciliations
Bill pay, including vendor and consultant invoices
Client invoicing and collections
Every engagement is customized to exactly what your firm needs, and we remove what you do not. The prices below are average monthly prices for reference, not a quote.
Our straightforward onboarding process
1.
Identify your service level.
Discuss your firm and point in time with Axle, and we will start with general guidance.
2.
Select add-ons.
Cash flow management, payroll administration, expense tracking, reconciliations, bill pay, and client invoicing.
3.
Size it to your firm.
Pricing scales with revenue and entities to meet you where you are and lead you to where you want to be.
We build your scope with you on a live call, so we fit exactly what you need and nothing more. Axle is motivated by your firm's financial performance, so your goals are quite literally our goals too.
Flexible subscription billing
No long-term contract and no hourly meter. One set monthly fee that changes only when your scope does.
One flat monthly fee by ACH. Easy payment facilitation.
Month-to-month. Cancel with 30 days' notice.
No hourly billing, ever. A quick question never becomes a bill.
Onboarding fee covers the extra hands in your first 8 weeks.
Get started with confidence
We start the way a good new hire would: by learning how your firm runs. We review your past books, rebuild your benchmarks around projects, studios or offices, agree on how revenue is recognized, then build your forecast and KPIs.
A dedicated onboarding lead and a weekly check-in.
Setup includes your reporting package, KPI dashboard, forecast model, and meeting calendar.
Work directly with an Axle partner
You work with partners at Axle, not a faceless back office. Pick the level you need today and add the others as your firm grows.
A Fractional CFO
who owns your forecast, KPIs, and bank relationships.
A Fractional Controller
who runs the close, WIP review, and reporting.
A Fractional Accountant
who keeps the books clean and walks you through them each month.
Ready to talk with a Fractional CFO?
Free to book. No obligation to move forward.
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