Early finance work starts as billing, payroll, and basic reports. Growth brings audits, board decks, and cash planning. You can meet this work with controller services, with a fractional CFO, or with both. The right split of duties keeps your close on time and gives leaders a clear plan. The first 90 days set habits that last all year.
Role overview in plain terms
A controller owns the books. This means the month-end close, reconciliations, policies, and the accuracy of financial statements. A fractional CFO owns direction. This means the plan, targets, capital strategy, and the narrative you share with leaders and investors. When both are present, the controller handles today and the fractional CFO sets tomorrow.
Controller services: core scope
The controller sets and runs the close calendar. They manage the chart of accounts and posting rules. They tie the general ledger to banks, subledgers, and payroll. They keep files and evidence in order. They set controls for vendor setup and payments. They prepare financial statements and a short variance note for each line that moved. They also coach the accounting team on quality and timing. If you need a clean audit trail and faster close, the controller is the owner.
Fractional CFO: core scope
The fractional CFO turns data into choices. They align the budget with hiring and go to market plans. They build a rolling forecast and simple scenarios. They set a cash runway view and a spend policy. They shape the board pack and help prepare for funding or debt. They meet leaders each month to review results and to pick three actions. If you need direction and a clear story, the fractional CFO is the owner.
How the two roles meet
The controller prepares numbers and keeps them true. The fractional CFO uses those numbers to plan. A good handoff looks the same every month. The controller delivers a package by a fixed date. The fractional CFO reviews trends, updates the forecast, and sets actions. The two meet at least once a week to clear blocks and agree on definitions, so reports match across teams.
First 30 days: stabilize the base
The goal in the first month is accuracy and visibility. The controller maps every account to an owner. They review bank feeds, payouts, AR, AP, and payroll. They fix chart issues that hide key lines like COGS or deferred revenue. They set a simple folder tree and name rules for evidence. They write a 10-day close plan that the team can follow.
The fractional CFO interviews leaders and reads recent metrics. They write a one page plan for the year with three targets: growth, margin, and runway. They define the metrics that matter and the cadence for reviews. They share a draft board pack outline and agree on who will update each section after close.
Days 31 to 60: speed and control
The controller implements the close plan. They lock day by day tasks, such as bank on day one and revenue on day two. They add maker and checker rules for vendor setup and payments. They close one month on the promised date and record issues to fix next time. They reduce manual entries by moving repeat items to schedules or subledgers.
The fractional CFO builds a driver model. Revenue links to pipeline and retention. Payroll links to the hiring plan. COGS links to usage or vendors. They run a first forecast and compare it to budget. They meet with sales, product, and operations to align targets with real capacity. They add a simple cash bridge that explains changes between months.
Days 61 to 90: scale and handoffs
The controller documents each recurring journal and reconciliation. They assign owners and backups. They add a monthly reconciliation review with short sign-offs. They publish a checklist that anyone can follow. They track on-time tasks and reconciling items older than 30 days.
The fractional CFO finalizes the board pack. It includes P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, and a one page narrative. It also includes a forecast view and three actions for the next month. They review covenant risk if debt is present and prepare a data room index if a raise is near.
Ownership map you can trust
Close tasks sit with the controller. This includes revenue recognition rules, deferred revenue, prepaid and accruals, bank and merchant ties, AP and payroll journals, fixed assets, and taxes payable tie-outs. Planning tasks sit with the fractional CFO. This includes budget, forecast, cash runway, headcount plan, pricing and margin analysis, and the board story. Shared items need clear edges. For example, the controller owns the accounting method for revenue, while the fractional CFO owns the forecast of revenue.
Controls and policies without heavy process
The controller keeps a short policy pack. It covers spend approvals, vendor setup, invoice coding, capitalization rules, and revenue methods. It also lists who can approve payments and who can change bank details. The fractional CFO sets spend limits by team and ties them to plan targets. Both roles review access lists each quarter and remove users who no longer need access.
Reporting that leaders will read
A useful report is short and steady. The controller produces statements and a variance page that lists three or four clear drivers. The fractional CFO adds a summary with targets, risks, and actions. The pack arrives on the same date every month. The meeting takes one hour. The first half is what happened. The second half is what to do next.
Team and tools
If you have bookkeeping help or an offshore team, the controller is their day to day lead. The controller assigns reconciliations, journals, and evidence collection. The fractional CFO sets the model and the dashboard, then uses the controller’s numbers as the source of truth. Tool choices follow scope. The controller needs a ledger with stable imports and audit logs. The fractional CFO needs a planning tool or a clean spreadsheet that pulls actuals from the ledger after close.
When to pick controller only
Choose controller services first when your main pain is late or messy closes, missing evidence, and weak controls. This is common after a period of fast growth. A strong controller can fix the base in one or two cycles. After that, you can add a fractional CFO for planning and capital work.
When to add a fractional CFO
Add a fractional CFO when you need an operating plan, a model for hiring, help with pricing, or support for a board or a raise. If the base is sound, the fractional CFO can move quickly. If the base is not sound, run both roles in parallel for the first cycle. The CFO still sets targets, but the controller sets the facts the model depends on.
Budget and cost view
The controller is usually a fixed monthly fee for steady scope. The fractional CFO is a retainer with a set number of hours and clear outputs. Start small. Increase only when the team meets dates and the work creates clear value. Tie cost to delivery, not to unlimited requests. This keeps spend aligned with the plan.
Common risks and simple fixes
Role drift creates gaps. Fix it by writing who approves what and by keeping that list in your runbook. Tool sprawl breaks reports. Fix it by using shared codes for customer, product, plan, and department. Slow reviews cause rework. Fix it by setting one weekly check between the two roles and by logging decisions in one place. If a metric creates debate, define it once and use the same rule every month.
What good looks like at day 90
The close lands on the promised date. Reconciliations are current. Evidence is stored in a clean folder with the month and the account. The forecast refreshes within two days of close. The board pack is stable and short. There is one owner per task and a backup. Finance questions from leaders get simple answers that point to the same numbers in every system.
Conclusion
A controller and a fractional CFO do different work that fits together. The controller gives you reliable books and a smooth close. The fractional CFO turns those books into a plan and a clear story. In the first 90 days, stabilize accuracy, set a steady cadence, and fix handoffs. Keep policies short and visible. Use one package for results and one model for plans. With this split in place, your finance function will support growth without confusion or delay.
