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Do I need a fractional CFO? Take the 2-minute quiz

Eight questions, two minutes, and a straight answer: fractional CFO, fix the books first, or plan a full-time hire.

By the FractPros team · Updated November 2026

Eight quick questions. You'll get a straight answer on whether a fractional CFO fits your business right now, or what to do first if it doesn't.

2. How current and reliable are your books?

Months behind or messy Mostly current, but I don't fully trust them Closed every month and accurate

3. How often are you surprised by your cash balance?

Rarely. I can see what's coming. Sometimes Often. Profitable on paper, short on cash.

4. Are you planning to borrow, raise money, buy a business or sell in the next 2 years?

No Maybe Yes

5. Do you know which customers, jobs or products make the most money?

Yes, clearly Roughly Not really

6. Who handles finance today?

I do it myself A bookkeeper A bookkeeper and an outside CPA An in-house controller or finance team

7. Do you have a forecast or budget you actually use?

Yes, updated regularly We made one once No

8. How much senior finance help do you need?

A few hours a month A few days a month Most of every week

Please answer every question.

How we score it

The quiz looks for the situations where a part-time senior finance leader pays off fastest: cash surprises, upcoming financing or a sale, unclear profitability and no working forecast. It also checks two things that change the answer. If your books are badly behind, a CFO can't help much until they're fixed. And if you need senior finance help most of every week, a full-time hire is usually better. It's a rule of thumb, not a diagnosis.

Want to go deeper? Read 9 signs it's time to hire a fractional CFO, compare CFO vs. controller vs. CPA, or run the numbers with our cost calculator.