The Process

No mystery. No surprises. Here’s how it works.

You get senior, CPA-level financial help shaped to fit where your business is, on a clear path that moves quickly and flexes as things change. There’s no long lock-in, and you never pay for more than you use.

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Discovery call

Share your challenges and goals. We listen, assess fit, and outline potential engagement.

30 min · Free · No commitment

Financial assessment

Deep dive into financials, operations, and growth levers. Identify quick wins.

1-2 weeks · Diagnostic report

Custom scope

Tailored engagement plan with clear deliverables, cadence, and success metrics.

Flexible hours · Month-to-month

Embedded partnership

Your fractional CFO integrates with your team, driving results from day one.

Ongoing · Measurable ROI

Four Steps

From first call to financial clarity

Four steps from first conversation to ongoing financial leadership.

Discovery Call

It starts with a free thirty-minute call. Alan asks about the business and where the money side feels tight, then he’ll give you a straight answer on whether a Fractional CFO is worth it for you. No pressure either way.

Financial Assessment

Then Alan reviews how the finances are set up today, from bookkeeping to reporting to how tax is being handled. He gives you an honest rundown of what’s holding up, what’s slipping through, and the quickest wins to go after.

Custom Scope

With that in hand, Alan sends a specific proposal: what he’d take on, how deep it runs, and how often you’d talk. Most owners land on a flexible retainer, and nothing starts until you’ve approved the plan and the price.

Ongoing Partnership

Then the real work starts. Alan keeps a regular cadence with you and stays reachable when something can’t wait, so the tax moves, the cash, and the reporting all sit with one person instead of three. It’s an ongoing role, not a fixed project with a finish line.

Your Financial Partner

A financial leader who works inside your business

The real difference is timing. Alan isn’t waiting for a scheduled call to weigh in; because he already knows your numbers, he can react the moment a decision comes up. Most of that happens over video from his Boulder base, which keeps him close to your team day to day.

Fractional CFO reviewing financial numbers alongside a Boulder business owner in an ongoing embedded partnership

Why Fractional

What you get vs. what you’d pay for a full-time CFO

Most owner-run businesses aren’t ready to recruit a permanent finance chief and keep that seat full. Fractional hands you the same senior, CPA-level judgment from month one, sized to what the business needs and flexing up or down as that shifts. See how the levels are set.

Senior financial leadership from week one
Scales up or down as your business evolves
No hiring/training/replacement cycle
Engagement adjusts quarterly
Embedded with your team not outside it

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Alan K. Scher Fractional CFO › Cash Flow 13-Week

Cash Position $0 0%

AR Outstanding $0 0%

AP Due $0 0%

Runway 0 0

Cash Forecast 13 weeks

Working Capital

Receivables 45% Payables 30% Operating 25%

Monthly Burn

Liquidity

85% Quick Ratio

72% Current

91% Coverage

The Approach

Inside your business, not around it

The rhythm is simple: you and Alan meet on a set schedule, you’re looking at live numbers instead of a stale monthly report, and the big calls get made together rather than after the fact. A question that comes up between meetings doesn’t have to wait for the next one. Here’s what lands in that engagement.

Weekly or monthly Fractional CFO touchpoints
KPI scorecard with real targets
Always-available phone and email
Quarterly forecast and planning sessions
Coordinated tax and infrastructure strategy

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KPI scorecard

KPI	Target	Actual	Δ
Revenue	$210K	$224K	+6.7%
Margin	32%	34.2%	+2.2pp
Cash flow	$28K	$31K	+10.7%
AR days	30	38	+8d
Utilization	80%	72%	-8pp

Monthly narrative

What changed? Revenue up 6.7%, AR crept to 38 days

Why does it matter? Cash conversion slowing despite growth

What should we do? Tighten collections, review payment terms

Next review

✓ KPI scorecard

✓ Cash forecast

✓ Narrative drafted

— Feb action items

Decisions logged 14 this quarter

AR alert 38d → 30 target

3 of 5 KPIs on target

Your Fractional CFO

Meet the person who’ll lead your engagement

Alan K. Scher

Fractional CFO, CPA

Alan K. Scher is a CPA with four decades behind him, first inside Delaware and Colorado firms and, since 2005, at his own practice, Scher Group. His work has always been tax-first, built around the closely held businesses and professional practices he’s served across the Front Range. More about Alan.

CPA Boulder, CO

Common Questions

About the process

What does the onboarding process look like?

After you sign off, the early weeks are mostly Alan learning the business from the inside. He gets the logins he needs, walks back through the last several months of numbers, and sits down with whoever already keeps the books. By the time the regular meetings start he’s up to speed and already pointing at what to tackle first, and a pressing deadline can shorten that ramp.

Who does the fractional CFO interact with on our side?

Mostly you, the owner, since the whole point is helping you make better calls. From there Alan coordinates with whoever already keeps your books and files your taxes, so everyone’s working from one version of the numbers instead of their own.

Will you understand our specific business model?

Most likely, yes. Across 40 years Alan has worked closely with service businesses, real estate investors, and professional practices, from medical and dental offices to engineering firms, so many business models are already familiar to him. Where yours has its own wrinkles, the discovery call and the assessment are where he learns them before he recommends anything.

Can I adjust the engagement after the first quarter?

Absolutely. The discovery call sets the starting point, but it isn’t fixed in stone. Alan revisits the scope with you on a regular basis, so when the business gets busier or quieter you can dial the engagement up or down to match.