5 best outsourced CFO services for startups

Outsourced CFO firms can provide the financial guidance your business needs for a fraction of the cost of a full time CFO.

We’ve analyzed the features, pricing, and reputations of various providers to identify the 5 best outsourced CFO services for startups in 2025.

To help you find the right CFO service for you, let’s explore what each of our CFO selections has to offer.

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Outsourced CFO Services

1. Zeni
2. Pilot
3. inDinero
4. airCFO
5. Paro

1. Zeni Fractional CFO

Zeni combines bookkeeping, payroll, tax, and outsourced CFO services into an all-in-one financial management solution. Clients also gain access to a suite of essential supporting tools, including automated bill pay and employee reimbursement software.

Every feature lives in our integrated dashboard, which uses the power of AI to streamline workflows. Our new AI agents have taken its automation abilities to the next level. 

They are capable of handling complex tasks like scenario planning, flux analysis, and payment scheduling.

In addition, all subscriptions include support from a dedicated team of startup experts. Whether you’re bootstrapping seed funding or pursuing your next priced round, our professionals can help you overcome the obstacles on your path to growth.

While Zeni is designed to be a one-stop-shop for all your finance needs, our fractional CFO services are available separately:

• CFO Starter: This plan includes annual budgeting, budget vs. actual analysis, and a 12-month cash flow forecast. It starts at $1,500 per month ($1,350 per month when billed annually) plus a one-time $2,000 setup fee.
• CFO Growth: In addition to the benefits of the Starter plan, this includes financial modeling, scenario planning, and KPI tracking. It starts at $2,900 per month ($2,610 per month when billed annually) plus a one-time $6,000 setup fee.

Schedule a consultation with one of Zeni’s finance experts to get a free software demonstration and learn more about our services.

2. Pilot

Pilot is a financial service provider that offers tax and bookkeeping services, as well as fractional COO and CFO support. It specializes in serving startups and small businesses in industries like consumer goods, medtech, and consulting.

When you sign up for Pilot’s virtual CFO service, your financial expert will start by building a comprehensive model to gain strategic insight into your business’s financial performance. More specifically, that includes creating:

• Financial statements
• Scenario planning model
• Industry-specific KPI dashboards
• Budget vs. actual variance analysis

Each month going forward, your fractional CFO will meet with you to update your financial data and provide ongoing strategic guidance. For example, they may review your KPI trends and analyze the variances between your budget and actual results for the most recent period.

For $2,000 per month ($1,750 per month when billed annually), you can get Pilot’s Basic CFO plan. It includes monthly meetings and fundamental strategic financial planning.

For $3,600 per month ($3,150 per month when billed annually), you get Pilot’s Essentials CFO plan. It includes bi-weekly calls and additional services, including cash runway optimization, fundraising and M&A guidance, and investor or board reporting support.

Pilot’s custom plans start at $6,000 per month ($5,250 per month when billed annually). In addition to everything in Essentials, they include weekly calls and the option to add services like 13-week cash flow analysis, compensation planning, acquisition strategy, and more.

3. inDinero

inDinero is a financial management solution that offers a variety of services, including bookkeeping, accounting, business taxes, payroll, business intelligence, and fractional CFO support.

The platform works with businesses of all sizes, including startups and small businesses, mid-sized companies, and enterprise-level organizations. Its experienced CFO outsourcing may include:

• Interim CFO services: Provide strategic planning during critical transition periods and growth phases.
• Financial modeling services: Create custom financial models for valuable insight into strategy, including scenario planning, cash flow management, budgeting, and more.
• Fundraising support for startups: Help prepare for and navigate the fundraising process, including pitch deck creation, investor outreach, and term sheet negotiation.
• Business exit strategy consulting: Provide assistance with various aspects of exiting your business, like valuation, succession planning, and tax strategy.
• Mergers and acquisitions support: Help navigate business restructuring transactions, including due diligence, FP&A, and post-merger integration.
• Investor relationship management: Keep your stakeholders engaged with timely investor updates, compliance reporting, and crisis management.

inDinero doesn’t share the cost of its outsourced CFO services on its website, but you can call for a personalized quote. To give you an idea of what to expect, its bookkeeping subscriptions range from $750 to $1,250 per month.

4. airCFO

airCFO is a back office and outsourced CFO service provider. Its goal is to provide all of the internal infrastructure your startup needs, including finance, tax, human resources (HR), and controller services.

Here’s what its finance offerings include:

• Fractional CFO service: airCFO can help with revenue operations, vendor management, and advanced financial reporting, including detailed month-end analysis.
• Financial planning and analysis: airCFO can help expand your financial visibility through financial modeling, budgeting, and advanced metric tracking.
• Full-cycle fundraise advisory: airCFO can help you secure venture capitalist funding, handling board reporting, investor relations, and cap table management.

Designed specifically for startups, airCFO structures its offerings around the following stages of development:

• Pre-seed stage: Startups with less than $2M raised, less than $50K in monthly expenses, and less than $25K in monthly revenue can get virtual CFO services for $400 per hour.
• Seed stage: Startups with $2M–$10M raised, $50K–$200K in monthly expenses, and $25K–$100K in monthly revenue can get fractional CFO packages starting at $1,600 per month.
• Series A stage: Startups with $10M–$30M raised, $200K–$500K in monthly expenses, and $100K–$300K in monthly revenue can get fractional CFO plans starting at $2,500 per month.
• Series B+ stage: Startups with $30M+ raised, $500K+ in monthly expenses, and $300K+ in monthly revenue can get fractional CFO packages starting at $4,200 per month.

The higher tiers include additional hours of support each month and the opportunity to benefit from more advanced recurring services.

5. Paro

Paro is a financial services marketplace that connects users with fractional experts from its network, including CFOs. The platform uses AI to analyze your business’s needs and match you with a professional who has the most relevant financial expertise.

Only 2% of the experts who apply to offer financial services through Paro qualify. The result is a talent pool with an average of 15 years experience, including consultants from Fortune 500 companies and Big Four CPA firms—all of whom are based in the U.S.

Generally, there are four main types of engagements when outsourcing CFO services through Paro:

• Transaction advisory: Provide due diligence and strategic risk management support for M&A transactions and business exits. 
• Business process consulting: Identify and resolve inefficiencies in your financial operations, workflows, and tech stack.
• Financial strategy support: Create short- and long-term growth goals based on market research and SWOT analysis.
• Startup and fundraising services: Help secure debt and equity financing by providing compliance, investor relationship management, and forecasting support.

Because Paro connects you with individual service providers rather than operating as an outsourced CFO firm directly, it doesn’t offer monthly pricing. Instead, costs and engagement structures are negotiable directly with your fractional expert.

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