Fractional CFO fees for SMEs and startups: Mercova packages and scope
Mercova’s published indicative fractional CFO retainers are EUR 1,500, EUR 3,000 and EUR 5,000 per month depending on scope. These are our commercial reference points, not French or Swiss market averages. The final fee depends on the agreed work: data preparation, reporting, forecasting, monthly discussion and any financing or governance support.
Your business generates revenue and the accounts are kept, yet cash remains difficult to explain. Before comparing CFO days, define the question you want answered each month: where do we stand, why, and what should we decide? The right budget depends on the work required to answer it.
Mercova packages: what each level covers
The amounts below reproduce the indicative packages on our fractional CFO service page. They are not a market price study. The diagnostic discussion establishes the final scope and fee.
- Essentials, EUR 1,500 per month: monthly rolling 13 week cash forecast, concise reporting, core indicators and a monthly review meeting. The starting point is understanding the figures and discussing priorities.
- Growth, EUR 3,000 per month: Essentials plus reporting with commentary for governance bodies, scenarios and budgets, financing support and priority access between meetings.
- Partner, EUR 5,000 per month: Growth plus board attendance, investor reporting, negotiation support, finance team oversight and preparation for an exit or acquisition.
Monthly financial support describes the foundation of the relationship: interpreting your finances and helping you move forward. A wider mandate serves additional needs. Revenue alone does not determine the appropriate package.
What changes the scope
- Data quality: current or delayed accounts, reconciliations to check and margins already available or requiring reconstruction.
- Complexity: entities, currencies, inventory, payment schedules and data sources.
- Decisions to prepare: routine management, hiring, investment, financing or a capital transaction.
- Cadence and responsibilities: update frequency, owner discussions, coordination with the accounting firm and access between reviews.
What does a useful month look like?
We start with available information, distinguish actual figures from estimates and discuss changes and their causes. Profit can rise while cash falls if customers pay later or inventory builds. The review identifies what needs checking and the decisions to make, then follows up on priorities the next month.
See our sample monthly financial report. It illustrates interpretation and questions to discuss, using clearly labelled fictional data. It is neither a client result nor a commitment to the format of your future report.
What the proposal should specify
- Deliverables, recipients and expected dates, given data availability.
- Initial work, any accounting corrections and responsibility for them.
- Access between meetings: routine questions, scenarios, urgent requests and availability arrangements.
- Billing: currency, tax treatment, possible expenses and additional services.
- Responsibilities, contract terms and the process for adjusting scope.
Do not assume bookkeeping, tax work, software, daily presence or every financing request is included in each package. Support with a bank does not guarantee credit. Financial management support does not guarantee higher margins or cash released.
Accounting firm, fiduciary, software or CFO?
An accounting firm or Swiss fiduciary may also provide forecasts and advice. First establish what is included: who explains differences, prepares scenarios and reviews decisions with you? Mercova addresses the additional need with a clear division of work. Our accountant and CFO comparison develops the questions to ask.
Software can gather data, display indicators and support forecasting. Someone still needs to check assumptions, interpret changes and weigh decisions. If your team already does this regularly, another service may be unnecessary. If nobody owns the interpretation, the need goes beyond choosing a tool.
Outsource or hire: compare the responsibility required
Hiring can make sense when financial responsibility and operational team leadership are permanent needs. A monthly mandate is better suited to a defined requirement for interpretation, forecasting and decision support. No revenue threshold settles this on its own: organisation, complexity and required availability also matter. Compare how each option covers the work, rather than budgets that fund different responsibilities.
Prepare the first discussion in France or Switzerland
For owners of SMEs and startups with roughly EUR 1–30 million in revenue, start with three things: your most urgent question, the information you currently receive and the decision you struggle to make. Recent accounts, customer and supplier schedules, cash and commitments then help define the work. We agree how information will be shared; no confidential documents are needed in the public form.
Our pages on financial support in France and financial management in Switzerland describe the working contexts. For a Swiss mandate, the proposal clarifies billing currency, coordination with the fiduciary and monitoring of CHF or EUR flows. The displayed EUR packages are not automatically converted Swiss rates.
Evaluate the work once it starts
Check whether information becomes easier to understand, data limitations are explicit and discussed decisions are followed up. Measures of progress depend on the mandate. A quantified financial gain can be relevant, but should not be invented or promised by an arbitrary deadline. The first objective is a reading of the finances you can use to run the business.
Compare price against explicit scope
Ask what is included in setup and ongoing support: data reconciliation, monthly results, cash forecasts, reviews and action tracking. Specify entities, data quality and special projects. Two fees are comparable only when responsibilities and deliverables are similar.
Annual support should not be presented as guaranteed savings. Fit depends on the decisions, continuity required and available resources. Terms belong in a tailored proposal.
Key points
- Compare scope, cadence and responsibilities before comparing daily rates.
- The core need may be a monthly interpretation of results, margins and cash, with an adviser to discuss decisions.
- Mercova’s published packages are EUR 1,500, EUR 3,000 and EUR 5,000 per month; a proposal defines the final scope.
- Software, an accounting firm or a Swiss fiduciary may already cover part of the need. Identify the actual gap first.
- A monthly review does not mean daily cash monitoring or a guaranteed financial outcome.
Frequently asked questions
What does Mercova’s fractional CFO service cost?
The published indicative packages are EUR 1,500, EUR 3,000 and EUR 5,000 per month. The final scope and fee are agreed after the diagnostic discussion. These are not market averages.
Can I start with a monthly review?
Monthly financial support is a starting point for understanding results, margins and cash and discussing priorities. Preparation work, forecasting and required availability determine the appropriate scope.
Do these amounts automatically apply in Switzerland?
No. These are indicative packages displayed in EUR. The proposal sets out the scope, currency, taxes and arrangements for a Swiss mandate.
Why add a CFO if my accounting firm already advises me?
First identify the unmet need. If your accounting firm or fiduciary already provides the regular interpretation, scenarios and decision follow up you need, an equivalent additional service may be unnecessary.
Does monthly support provide a real time cash position?
No. How current the view is depends on data sources and the agreed update frequency. The monthly review is analysis and discussion; it does not mean daily monitoring.
A second set of eyes on your numbers.
Tell us about your business and the financial question you want to resolve. We will discuss whether Mercova can help.
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