Fractional CFO for Vertical SaaS
Senior finance leadership for founders navigating fundraise, growth, and strategic pivots — without the full-time cost. We have scaled payments, lending, and fintech companies from $5M to $50M+.
Finance leadership for pivotal moments
We do our best work when the financial stakes are highest — preparing for a raise, deploying capital, or navigating a transition that requires operator-level judgment, not just accounting.
Prior to Series A
- Investor-ready financial model and data room
- Clean books with proper revenue recognition
- KPI narrative calibrated to your target investors
- Cap table, dilution, and use-of-funds modeled
Deploying Capital
- Headcount plan tied to ARR targets and payback
- GTM spend tracked against pipeline and conversion
- Monthly burn and runway visibility for the board
- Unit economics tracked and improved each quarter
Navigating a Transition
- Margin analysis and spend triage when growth slows
- Support through a pivot or leadership change
- Restructuring plan with clear financial milestones
- Exit-ready financials and investor narrative
From onboarding to strategic clarity — in 30 days
Every engagement starts with understanding where the business is today, where it's headed, and what matters most. Then we get to work.
We audit your financials, payments stack, and data infrastructure. We map your gross and net revenue, platform, payment, and passthrough fees, and payout schedule — and identify what's missing, broken, or not being tracked.
- Month-to-month drivers of GPV, collections, and revenue — explained
- Performance review against annual plan — key risks highlighted
- Monthly strategy session for senior leadership — deep dive into sales, client performance, hiring, pricing, and more
- Quarterly board and investor update, data room management
We build the financial infrastructure your business needs to operate with clarity — a KPI framework calibrated to how vertical SaaS actually make money, a financial model tied to real drivers, and a reporting cadence your board can act on.
- KPI dashboard: GPV, take rate, gross and net revenue, payment volume, refund rate, chargeback rate
- Financial model: gross revenue waterfall, net revenue after fees, headcount plan, burn, and runway
- Investor narrative: the story your numbers tell — metrics at the right altitude to validate your strategic plan
- First monthly performance review with variance analysis and forward-looking commentary
A CFO's job is not to report — it's to drive decisions. Every month we translate your financials into actions for the leadership team, and we own the investor and board relationship alongside you.
- Monthly close narrative: what changed in payment volume, collections, and net revenue — and why
- Rolling forecast: updated with actuals, including payout timing, refunds, and forecasting adjustments
- Board deck: built on the same numbers, with a narrative investors can repeat — not just slides
- Investor relations: proactive updates, diligence Q&A, and data room management
- Strategic decisions: hiring, pricing, capital allocation, and fundraise timing — modeled before you commit
From $4,750 / month
Scoped to your stage and time commitment. No equity, no benefits, no recruiting. Adjust with 30 days' notice.
The best time to bring on your CFO was 3 months ago. The second best time — today.
It's never too early to bring on an experienced CFO, even part time. Your accountant tells you what happened. A CFO tells you what to do next.
Common Questions
What does a fractional CFO do that a bookkeeper can't?
A bookkeeper records what happened. At Bridges, a fractional CFO drives what happens next.
- Builds the financial model, board deck, and investor narrative
- Owns fundraising prep — data room, diligence Q&A, and round sizing
- Drives forward-looking decisions: hiring, pricing, and capital allocation
- Tracks unit economics and burn against your growth plan
What KPIs should a vertical SaaS company track for its board?
At Bridges, we build board reporting around the six metrics that matter most for payments companies.
- Gross Payment Volume (GPV) and growth rate
- Take rate — gross and net after processing fees
- Gross and net revenue — reported separately
- Burn rate and runway — months remaining at current spend
- CAC payback period
- NRR and ARR waterfall
What metrics do Series A investors care about for a vertical SaaS company?
At Bridges, we calibrate every financial model and board deck to the metrics payments investors actually use to make decisions.
- Net revenue growth — not GMV alone
- Gross margin — 60%+ for payments-heavy models
- NRR — 110%+ signals strong retention and expansion
- CAC payback — under 18 months is the current bar
- Burn multiple — net burn divided by net new ARR
- Take rate — and how it trends at scale
What's the right burn multiple for a vertical SaaS company raising Series A?
At Bridges, we calculate burn multiple as net burn divided by net new ARR — and track it every month as part of board reporting.
- Under 1.0 — exceptional capital efficiency
- 1.0–1.5 — strong, Series A fundable
- 1.5–2.0 — acceptable with a clear efficiency plan
- Above 2.0 — a red flag investors will push back on
Target under 1.5 before entering a Series A process.
How does a fractional CFO help a vertical SaaS company prepare for fundraising?
At Bridges, fundraise preparation is a core part of every fractional CFO engagement — not a separate project.
- Builds the investor-grade financial model and scenario analysis
- Prepares the board deck and KPI narrative calibrated to payments investors
- Organizes and manages the data room
- Models round size, dilution, and use-of-funds
- Handles diligence Q&A directly so the founder stays focused on the business
Make your next financial decision with confidence
Whether you're 6 months from a raise, deploying capital, or trying to understand why growth isn't converting to profit — a 15-minute call is enough to know if we're the right fit.