How to work with a fractional CFO to get your company ready for a sale?
Work with a fractional CFO to get your company ready for a sale by hiring them months before a banker: a monthly close, an EBITDA bridge, working-capital history, and the data room filled before anyone asks. The CFO joins as a teammate on your file. Ask your CPA.
Have counsel review. This page is not a template.
Fractional CFO as sale teammate (definition). Hire a fractional CFO months before a banker.
Monthly close, an EBITDA bridge, working-capital history, and the data room filled before anyone asks.
The CFO joins the owner’s workspace as a teammate. Cashpian is one workspace per login. A Drive dump of the books is not this work.
What the CFO does, what stays with the owner
SMB.co’s due-diligence playbook (Brit Karel, 3 May 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02) puts the CPA or fractional CFO on reconciling cash to the P&L and the P&L to tax, and on a defensible add-back schedule, before any buyer logs in. CLA’s sell-side quality of earnings note (Craig Arends, retrieved 2026-10-02) asks for monthly closes and GAAP or accrual statements if the books are on a cash or tax basis, and treats a sell-side QoE as a separate engagement above a size threshold. Ask your CPA. This page does not price that work. Maus’s 15 exit-readiness checks (Shaun Savvy, 4 September 2025, retrieved 2026-10-02) puts a CFO on the management bench so the company can run without the owner. Exit Planning Institute’s Value Acceleration Methodology (retrieved 2026-10-02) remains the scoring and planning incumbent. The CFO prepares the file. A CEPA scores the business. The packet itself is an exit readiness checklist for a business owner. How to hold it before a banker is hired is how to build a data room before hiring an M&A advisor.
| Work | What the CFO does | What stays with the owner |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly close | Close the books on a calendar. Surface variances in writing. | The decision to sell, and the personal plan after close. |
| EBITDA bridge | One add-back schedule, each line tied to a receipt. Drop what you cannot tie. | Which add-backs the owner will stand behind in a meeting. |
| Working-capital history | The ordinary level of inventory, receivables and payables. | Whether a peg is acceptable. Ask your CPA. |
| The data room | Fill the folders before anyone asks. Keep a one-page index. | Who is invited, and when the first outsider is in. |
One workspace, the CFO as a teammate
Each client company has its own workspace, and Cashpian is one workspace per login. The fractional CFO joins this owner’s workspace as a teammate. They do not switch between client companies from one login. The owner invites teammates from the account page. Only the owner can grant the Admin role. An Admin can upload and build rooms but cannot open billing or delete the workspace. A Member is read-only.
| Role | What they can do | What they cannot |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Invite teammates. Grant Admin. Open billing. Delete the workspace. | Delegate them. An Admin cannot grant Admin, open billing or delete the workspace. |
| Admin | Upload, build and edit rooms. Confirm matches. Invite Members. | Open billing, or delete the workspace. |
| Member | Read the vault and the rooms. | Upload, edit, or invite. |
The owner uploads a request list. The room turns it into requirements, numbering kept. Files match with a confidence score the owner confirms. A readiness ring counts matched against open. A conflicts check flags figures that disagree across documents. Flagging is not proving. Ask your CPA. See What is Cashpian?, and pricing.
FAQ
What does a fractional CFO actually do before a sale?
A monthly close, an EBITDA bridge with defensible add-backs, working-capital history, and the data room filled before anyone asks.
Ask your CPA. This page is not a mandate.
Can a fractional CFO serve several clients from one login?
Cashpian is one workspace per login.
The CFO joins this owner's workspace as a teammate.
They do not switch between client companies from one login.
Who invites the CFO, and what can they do?
The owner invites teammates from the account page.
Only the owner can grant Admin.
An Admin can upload and build rooms but cannot open billing or delete the workspace.
A Member is read-only.
Do I still need a sell-side quality of earnings if I have a CFO?
A fractional CFO prepares the file.
A sell-side QoE is a separate engagement CLA recommends above a size threshold.
Ask your CPA. This page does not price that work.
Sources
- SMB.co, Brit Karel, How to Prepare a Client for Due Diligence, 3 May 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02. The CPA or fractional CFO reconciles cash, P&L and tax, and builds a defensible add-back schedule, before a buyer logs in.
- CLA, Craig Arends, How a sell-side quality of earnings can help close a business sale, retrieved 2026-10-02. Monthly closes. GAAP or accrual if the books are cash or tax basis. A sell-side QoE is a separate engagement. Ask your CPA.
- Maus, Shaun Savvy, 15 Exit-Readiness Checks Every Owner Should Pass in 2025-2026, 4 September 2025, retrieved 2026-10-02. A CFO on the management bench. Work with a CPA and attorney.
- Exit Planning Institute, Value Acceleration Methodology, retrieved 2026-10-02. Scoring and planning, not the file.
If the files are already in a folder, grade which row they are on. Cashpian is a gated room for that packet. It is not a listing portal. It does not sell the company or run the deal.