What it is. A part-time senior finance leader: forecasting and cash-flow management, pricing and margin analysis, fundraising and lender relationships, and board-grade reporting, at a fraction of a full-time CFO's cost.
Who it is for. Rochester companies too large for books alone but not ready for a six-figure CFO hire: growing businesses, ones raising capital, or ones facing a decision where the finance answer is not obvious.
Bookkeeper, controller, CFO. A bookkeeper records the past and a controller closes it. A CFO uses it to decide the future: what to price, what to fund, when to hire, and how to finance growth.
A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader who works with your business part-time, on the strategic questions a bookkeeper or controller does not own: where cash will be in ninety days, whether the pricing actually covers cost, how to fund the next stage, and what the numbers say about the decision in front of you. Corviniti provides this to Rochester companies that need the judgment without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
The distinction matters. Bookkeeping records what happened. A controller closes the month and keeps the reporting clean. A CFO looks forward: building the forecast, managing the cash runway, pressure-testing pricing and unit economics, running the model behind a raise or a loan, and translating all of it into the reporting a board, an investor, or a bank actually reads. Most growing Rochester businesses reach a point where the absence of that role, not the absence of clean books, is what is holding them back.
We bring a CPA who has built and defended the numbers that back real financing and audits. For Rochester companies, that includes knowing the regional capital landscape, from the local banks to the accelerators and public programs, so the fundraising and lending conversations start from the right map. What a fractional CFO engagement covers is below.
This page sits under Corviniti Accounting in New York City, our New York headquarters. That page covers the full New York City and New York State picture, and links to the rest of our local coverage.
Cash flow
The 13-week cash flow, explained
The model that shows a shortfall weeks before it arrives: receipts timed by when customers actually pay, disbursements, and ending cash by week.
Anatomy of a 13-week cash flow model. Illustrative figures.
Financing
The Rochester capital map
Where a Rochester company actually raises money, and what each source expects: banks and the SBA, public incentives, and the equity and grant ecosystem.
The Rochester capital landscape. Illustrative and not exhaustive.
Margin
Unit economics: which jobs and customers make money
One blended margin number hides which jobs, products, or customers actually make money. Splitting it out is where the pricing decisions come from.
A worked unit-economics example. Illustrative figures.
This is for you if
You are growing and clean books are no longer the thing holding you back.
A strong month still leaves you unsure you can make payroll.
You are raising money or seeking a loan and need a model that holds up.
You have a board, investor, or bank covenant and need reporting they trust.
What you get
Forecast and cash-flow model A rolling forecast and a thirteen-week cash view, so cash is managed, not survived.
Pricing and margin analysis True unit economics by product, job, or customer, and the pricing that follows.
Fundraising and lender support The model, the materials, and knowledge of the Rochester capital map.
Board and lender reporting A package outside parties trust, with covenant tracking where it applies.
How We Help
What you get
Senior finance leadership for a Rochester company, part-time and scaled to what you need.
Forecast and cash-flow modelA rolling forecast and a thirteen-week cash view, so cash is managed, not survived.
Pricing and margin analysisTrue unit economics by product, job, or customer, and the pricing that follows.
Fundraising and lender supportThe model, the materials, and knowledge of the Rochester capital map.
Board and lender reportingA package outside parties trust, with covenant tracking where it applies.
When companies bring us in
You are growing and clean books are no longer the thing holding you back.
A strong month still leaves you unsure you can make payroll.
You are raising money or seeking a loan and need a model that holds up.
You have a board, investor, or bank covenant and need reporting they trust.
The Detail
The gaps, and how we close each one
Service 01
CFO work, beyond bookkeeping and the monthly close
Businesses often hire more bookkeeping when what they actually lack is financial leadership. Cleaner books do not answer whether you can afford the hire, whether the new product line makes money, or how to fund the expansion.
How we handle it
We take the strategic finance role. That means owning the forward view rather than the historical record: the operating model, the forecast, the cash plan, and the analysis behind the decisions you are weighing. We work on top of your existing books, whether we keep them or your team does, and turn them into decisions. The engagement is scaled to what you need, a few days a month for a steady business, more during a raise or a turnaround, so you get the seniority without a full-time salary, benefits, and equity.
Service 02
Forecasting and cash-flow management
Profit on paper and cash in the bank are not the same thing, and the gap is where growing Rochester businesses get caught: a strong quarter that still cannot make payroll because receivables and inventory swallowed the cash.
How we handle it
We build a rolling forecast tied to your real drivers and a thirteen-week cash-flow model that shows where the bank balance is heading before it gets there. That turns cash from a monthly scare into a managed number: receivables and payables timed deliberately, inventory and payroll planned against the runway, and seasonal swings anticipated rather than survived. When a decision affects cash, a hire, a big order, an equipment purchase, we can show its effect on the runway before you commit.
What you get: A rolling forecast and a thirteen-week cash-flow model you can steer by.
Weighing a hire, a raise, or a price change? Talk to a CFO before you commit, not after.
Many owners do not truly know which products, jobs, or customers make money. Blended margins hide the losers, and pricing set by habit or by matching competitors leaves profit on the table or quietly funds unprofitable work.
How we handle it
We break the business down to unit economics: true cost by product, job, or customer, including the overhead and labor that blended numbers bury, so you can see what actually earns and what only looks busy. From there we model pricing changes, evaluate which lines or customers to grow or fire, and set the margin targets the business should be run to. For the region's manufacturers and contractors especially, where a single mispriced job or quote can erase a quarter, getting this right is often the highest-return work we do.
What you get: Unit economics by product, job, or customer, and a pricing plan that follows.
Service 04
Fundraising, lending, and the Rochester capital landscape
Raising money or securing a loan on the wrong terms, or with a model that does not hold up, is expensive for years. Rochester has real capital sources, but they each expect the numbers presented a particular way.
How we handle it
We build the model and the materials behind a raise or a loan, and we know the local map: bank and SBA lending through institutions like ESL, Genesee Regional, Five Star, and Canandaigua National, and it helps to know who actually writes the checks, since ESL has led the region in SBA loan count and Genesee Regional in SBA dollars in recent years; economic-development financing through Empire State Development and the Monroe County IDA (COMIDA), whose sales tax and mortgage recording tax exemptions and PILOT abatements are real money on facility and equipment projects; and the equity and grant ecosystem around Excell Partners, NextCorps, and the Luminate optics-and-photonics accelerator, which invests 100,000 dollars in each cohort company with follow-on rounds behind it. Food and agriculture companies have their own lane: the Grow-NY competition awards 3 million dollars a year across the region that includes the Finger Lakes, with a 1 million dollar top prize. We prepare the projections, the cap table math, and the diligence support each of these expects, and we sit in the conversations so the finance side is handled by someone who has done it before.
What you get: The model, materials, and local-capital knowledge behind a raise or a loan.
Service 05
Board, investor, and lender reporting
Once a business has a bank covenant, an investor, or a board, someone has to produce reporting those parties trust, on time, in the format they expect. Done badly, it erodes confidence exactly when you need it.
How we handle it
We produce the reporting outside parties actually read: a clean monthly or quarterly package with the KPIs that matter to your business, covenant-compliance tracking for lenders, and board or investor materials that present the facts accurately. Because the reporting is built on books we can stand behind, it holds up to questions rather than raising them. The result is that your bank, board, and investors get a consistent, credible view, which is what keeps the financing and the trust in place.
What you get: A board and lender package built on numbers that hold up to questions.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CFO actually do?
The strategic finance work: forecasting and cash-flow management, pricing and margin analysis, fundraising and lender relationships, and board or investor reporting. It is the forward-looking role, distinct from bookkeeping (recording the past) and controllership (closing the month). You get that judgment part-time, scaled to what the business needs.
How is this different from a bookkeeper or controller?
A bookkeeper records transactions and a controller closes the books and keeps reporting clean. A CFO uses those numbers to decide the future: what to price, what to fund, when to hire, how to finance growth. Many businesses have the first two and are missing the third.
We are trying to raise money or get a loan. Can you help?
Yes. We build the model and materials, and we know the Rochester capital landscape: bank and SBA lending, Empire State Development and COMIDA programs, and the equity and accelerator ecosystem around Excell Partners, NextCorps, and Luminate. We prepare what each expects and sit in the conversations.
How much time and cost is a fractional CFO engagement?
It scales to your needs, from a few days a month for a steady business to more during a raise or a turnaround, at a fraction of a full-time CFO's salary, benefits, and equity. We set a flat monthly scope so the cost is predictable.
Do we need to switch our bookkeeping to you?
No. We can work on top of your existing books whether your team keeps them or we do. That said, the CFO work is stronger when the underlying books are clean, so if they need attention we will say so.
Do you work with contractors and the trades?
Yes, in the CFO role. The numbers that run a contractor are backlog, gross margin per job, work in progress and over or under billings, and cash timing against progress payments and retainage. We build the job-level margin view and the cash forecast so you bid and staff off real numbers.
Do you work with medical and dental practices?
Yes, in the CFO role. The drivers are production per provider, the net collection rate against billed production, payer mix, and the economics of adding an operatory, a chair, or an associate. We model the expansion and the financing behind it.
Do you work with restaurants and cafes?
Yes, in the CFO role. Prime cost, food plus labor as a share of sales, is the number that decides a restaurant; we track it by location and period, model a new location or a menu change, and build the cash forecast around the slow season.
Do you work with e-commerce and retail businesses?
Yes, in the CFO role. The drivers are contribution margin after fees and shipping, customer acquisition cost against lifetime value, and inventory turns and the cash tied up in stock. We build the model that shows which channels and products actually fund the business.
Do you work with law firms and professional services?
Yes, in the CFO role. The drivers are realization and utilization, revenue per timekeeper, work in progress and collection speed, and the partner compensation math. We build the reporting a partner group depends on and the model behind a lateral hire or a new office.
Do you work with real estate investors and operators?
Yes, in the CFO role. The numbers are net operating income and cap rate per property, debt service coverage, and the cash and returns on an acquisition or a refinance. We build the model behind the deal and the reporting your lender and investors expect.
