What is NOW CFO?

NOW CFO serves a broad market—from small businesses needing short-term bookkeeping help to mid-market companies requiring fractional CFO coverage. Their model is particularly well-suited for companies facing a specific challenge: a controller leaving, a system implementation, an audit, or a major transaction.

The ideal NOW CFO customer needs flexible, skill-specific finance help rather than a dedicated embedded team. They might be a $20M company that needs a 6-month project to clean up their accounting before a fundraise, or a PE-backed business that needs staffing augmentation during an integration.

Companies that want a single, dedicated finance team that fully owns their financial function long-term are less well-served by NOW CFO's rotating consultant model.

NOW CFO offers a comprehensive set of finance and accounting services across multiple service lines:

Fractional CFO & Finance Strategy: Budgeting, forecasting, M&A support, cash flow management, KPI development, board reporting, treasury management, and margin improvement. This is their strategic layer.

Controller & Accounting Advisory: Month-end close management, audit preparation, financial reporting, systems implementation (NetSuite, Sage Intacct, etc.), technical accounting support, and internal controls development.

Staff Accountant & Financial Operations: Bookkeeping, GL maintenance, accounts payable and receivable management, payroll processing, and inventory management. The operational finance work that keeps the business running.

Recruiting Services: They also place permanent finance hires—controllers, CFOs, accounting managers—for companies that want to build their internal team rather than relying entirely on outsourced support.

Specialized Projects: Audit preparation, accounting clean-up, budget management, and financial systems implementations. These project-based engagements are a core part of their model.

NOW CFO uses hourly billing with rates in the $150–$300/hour range depending on the level of expertise required. They advertise no hidden fees and no long-term contract requirements, which is a genuine differentiator for companies that want flexibility.

For a company engaging a fractional CFO at 10 hours/month at $200/hour, that's $2,000/month—plus additional hours for controller or bookkeeping work if needed. The hourly model makes costs proportional to usage, which is attractive for companies with variable finance needs.

The tradeoff is predictability. If your finance needs are constant, a monthly retainer with a dedicated team may be more cost-effective than hourly billing. And the lack of a named, dedicated team means you're paying for expertise each time rather than investing in a relationship.

Scale and Breadth: With 300+ professionals and 20+ offices, NOW CFO has capacity that most fractional CFO firms can't match. If you need multiple resource types simultaneously—a CFO for strategy, a controller for close, and a staff accountant for bookkeeping—they can field that team.

Project Flexibility: The no-long-term-contract model and hourly billing are genuinely flexible. Companies appreciate being able to engage for specific projects without committing to an annual retainer.

National Presence: Multiple office locations means they can provide on-site support in various markets. For companies with operations in multiple cities, this is useful.

Recruiting Capability: The ability to both place permanent finance hires and provide interim fractional support is valuable for companies building their internal team while transitioning away from outsourcing.

Breadth of Expertise: Their consultant pool includes specialists in different accounting systems, technical accounting areas, and industry verticals. This breadth is helpful for complex, multi-disciplinary challenges.

Longevity: Founded in 2004 gives them credibility and track record that newer entrants in the fractional CFO space can't claim.

Rotating Consultants: The hourly, project-based model means you may work with different consultants for different engagements—or even within the same engagement. This lack of continuity makes it hard to build the deep business knowledge that effective finance leadership requires.

No Dedicated Team: Companies that want a named CFO who knows their business inside and out will find NOW CFO's model frustrating. You're buying hours and expertise, not a relationship.

Quality Consistency: With 300+ professionals across a large network, service quality inevitably varies. Some clients get exceptional consultants; others get less experienced support. The lack of control over individual assignment quality is a known risk.

Strategic vs. Transactional: NOW CFO excels at filling specific resource gaps or completing projects. But for ongoing strategic finance—building a financial culture, being available for daily decisions—their model is less suited.

Scale Costs: For a company that needs constant, daily finance support, the hourly model can become more expensive than a dedicated fractional team. The flexibility cuts both ways.

NOW CFO and Eagle Rock CFO both provide finance function coverage, but the models differ fundamentally. NOW CFO is a consultant marketplace: you buy hours from a pool of professionals for specific work. Eagle Rock CFO is a dedicated finance team: you get a named group that embeds in your business and owns the entire finance function through our outsourced accounting services, controller services, and treasury management.

The NOW CFO model makes sense for project work, specific skill gaps, or transitional periods. The Eagle Rock model makes sense for companies that want a stable, long-term finance partner that knows their business deeply.

If you're considering NOW CFO, ask yourself: do you want a team that knows your business and is available daily, or do you want flexible access to finance professionals on an hourly basis? For established businesses in the $5M–$50M range, the dedicated team model almost always delivers more value over time.

See our outsourced controller services and accounting services for what that includes.