Bookkeeper vs CPA vs fractional CFO
Four layers, four horizons, and the one most agencies are missing
- Four layers
- Most agencies own two
Four layers own your numbers. Most agencies only have two.
The short version
- All three look at your money. They look at different periods of time, which is the whole distinction.
- A bookkeeper records last month. A CPA files last year. A fractional CFO sees next quarter.
- Most agencies buy Records and Files and have nothing in between.
- We cover Sees ahead, Closes and Records. Your CPA keeps Files.
Already know which layer is missing?
Thirty minutes and we'll confirm it against your actual numbers.
Sort the roles by horizon and it gets simple.
Where most agencies actually sit
Records and Files, with nothing in between. The month closes, the return gets filed, and no one can tell you what the next hire does to cash. That gap is the single most common thing we find in an audit.
The four layers
| Layer | Horizon | Who usually does it | What it owns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sees ahead | Next quarter | Fractional CFO | Forecasting, pricing, owner pay, and the hiring gate |
| Closes | This month | Controller or fractional CFO | Monthly close, margin by client, cash position, surprises caught early |
| Records | Last month | Bookkeeper | Every transaction categorized, reconciled, and closed |
| Files | Last year | CPA | Files the return and keeps you compliant |
Two are backward-looking and two are forward-looking. The line falls between Closes and Records, which is exactly where most agencies stop paying for help.
What a bookkeeper does, and where it ends
A bookkeeper categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, and closes the month. That's Records, it's the floor for everything above it, and you cannot skip it.
What it doesn't produce is a decision. You can have perfectly categorized books and still not know whether you can afford your next hire, what to pay yourself, or which client is losing you money.
we want it to be even more ruthless and dialed in so we can make more informed decisions.
His previous setup was doing "the bare minimum": a scope that technically included a balance sheet and P&L, delivered inconsistently "despite prodding."
What a CPA does, and where it ends
Your CPA files last year's return and keeps you compliant. That's Files, and it belongs with your CPA. Tax is a different discipline from management reporting, which is why we exclude it from every agreement in writing.
The practical consequence
A CPA sees your business once a year, in arrears, through a tax lens. Right tool for the job it's for. Wrong tool for a pricing decision in May.
What a fractional CFO does
Sees ahead, and usually Closes too. Forecasting on your real levers, pricing, owner pay, and the hiring gate. Margin by client. Cash position. Catching the surprise while it's still small.
It only works with the two layers underneath it. A CFO waiting on someone else's books is forecasting on a file that arrived late. More on how we run that layer.
How to tell which one you're missing
- 1
Your books are late, or you don't trust them
A Records problem.
- 2
Books are clean, but you hear about a bad month the month after
A Closes problem.
- 3
You know your numbers and still can't answer "can I hire"
A Sees ahead problem.
- 4
You're scrambling in April
A Files problem, and probably a Records one too.
The common case for an agency between $500K and $5M is Records plus Files with nothing in between. So the month closes, the return gets filed, and you still can't see what the next hire does to cash.
Still not sure which one you need?
Bring last month's P&L. The gap is usually obvious within ten minutes.
What one provider should and shouldn’t cover
What one provider should and shouldn't cover
We cover
- Sees ahead: forecasting, pricing, owner pay, the hiring gate
- Closes: monthly close, margin by client, cash position
- Records: categorized, reconciled, closed
We don't
- Files: your CPA keeps the return
- Accounts receivable and payable
- Payroll processing and payroll tax
We hold that seam even when clients would rather hand over everything.
AR, AP and payroll put a bookkeeper inside your client and vendor relationships, where a bookkeeper causes more friction than they remove. We'll build the report that shows who's late. Your team sends the email.
If you want the layers priced rather than described, the rates are on the pricing page, and the bookkeeping page covers what Records looks like month to month.
Questions
The ones people actually ask on the first call
Can one person be my bookkeeper and my CFO?
Yes, and there is an argument for it: the forecast is stronger when the person building it closed the books themselves. What one provider should not also be is your tax preparer, because that is a separate discipline and a separate licence.
Is a controller the same thing as a fractional CFO?
Roughly, a controller owns the Closes layer and a CFO owns Sees ahead. In a business doing $500K to $5M the same person usually does both, which is why the titles get used interchangeably.
Do I need a fractional CFO at $500K in revenue?
Not necessarily. Under about $500K the honest answer is usually clean books and a clean tax handoff, with a couple of calls a year. The Sees ahead layer starts paying for itself once hiring and pricing decisions are big enough to hurt.
Should my CPA be doing my bookkeeping?
Some do, and it can work. The failure mode is that bookkeeping gets treated as preparation for the return rather than as a monthly management tool, so the books are accurate in April and stale in June.
Why do you refuse to handle payroll and bill pay?
Both are excluded in writing from every agreement. Payroll processing and payroll tax filing belong with a payroll provider, and bill pay puts us between you and your vendors. Payroll reaches the books as journal entries from your provider's summaries.
Next step
Thirty minutes, and you'll know where you stand
Bring last month's P&L. We'll tell you what it's actually saying about your margin, your owner pay and your next hire. If we're not the right people to fix it, we'll say so on the call.
You bring
Last month's P&L. That's it. No prep, no forms.
We do
Read it live and tell you what it says about margin, owner pay and your next hire.
You leave with
The two or three things worth fixing first, whether or not you hire us.
No deck, no pitch. If we're not the right people for it, we'll say so on the call.