Outsourced CFO Services for
Manufacturing Companies
Get a Manufacturing Financial Assessment
Tolani Lawson
Founder & Fractional CFO
CPA
ACCA
MSc Finance
15+ Years
Why Manufacturing Companies Choose Fiscal12 Over Generic CFO Firms
Most fractional CFO firms understand profit and loss. We understand product profitability, job costing variance, and the cash flow timing that makes or breaks manufacturers.
Generic CFO Firms
Basic cost accounting
Simple expense categorization without understanding manufacturing cost flows or job-level profitability
Generic revenue recognition
Standard accrual accounting without progress billing or percentage-of-completion expertise
Simple inventory tracking
Basic inventory counts without GAAP valuation methodology or WIP accounting
One person, fixed capacity
When your CFO is busy with one problem, everything else waits
General financial planning
Revenue-based forecasting without production capacity or working capital cycle modeling
Fiscal12 Manufacturing CFOs
Job costing & activity-based costing
Direct materials, direct labor, overhead allocation by product, job, and customer — not just in aggregate
Manufacturing revenue recognition
Progress billing, percentage-of-completion, contract manufacturing, and milestone-based invoicing
Advanced inventory valuation
FIFO, weighted average, standard costing with variance analysis across raw materials, WIP, and finished goods
Integrated financial infrastructure
CFO leadership coordinated with controller and accounting operations — strategy, reporting, and underlying accounting aligned at every layer
Capacity-based financial planning
Production constraints, material cost volatility, and working capital cycle modeling built into every forecast
We Serve Manufacturing Companies With:
Make-to-order & engineer-to-order operations
Discrete manufacturing (metal fab, machinery, electronics)
Process manufacturing (food, chemicals, packaging)
Contract manufacturers & OEM suppliers
Multi-site production facilities
Multi-entity corporate structures
PE-backed manufacturers & exit-planning owners
$3M–$75M in annual revenue
Manufacturing CFO Services
Full-scope CFO-level financial leadership, applied to the specific realities of manufacturing operations. Every service below is part of a standard engagement — not an add-on.
Manufacturing Financial Planning & Budgeting
Capacity-based revenue modeling, materials and labor cost projections tied to production schedules, and cash flow forecasting built around your actual payment terms and procurement cycles — not a generic template.
Cash Flow Optimization for Manufacturers
We map your working capital cycle from purchase order to payment receipt. Typical interventions: supplier term renegotiation, customer credit restructuring, inventory purchasing timing, and banking facility alignment.
Product & Customer Profitability Analysis
Margin by product line, by customer, and by production run — not just in aggregate. We build and maintain the profitability reporting structure your business needs to make real pricing and product mix decisions.
Strategic Financial Advisory
Capital investment evaluation, acquisition analysis, bank covenant negotiations, board reporting, and long-range strategic planning. A CFO who understands manufacturing economics and who has seen how these decisions compound across a business.
Banking & Lending Relationships
We manage your lender relationships — preparing financial packages, monitoring covenant compliance, and presenting your business accurately to banks, asset-based lenders, and SBA programs.
Advanced Manufacturing KPI Dashboards
Weekly KPI dashboard showing production output, margins, cash position, and leading indicators — built to your operations, not a generic template.
What You Receive Every Month
Transparency is built into how we work. Every engagement includes recurring deliverables so you always know what to expect and when.
Deliverable
What You Receive
Monthly Management Report
Comprehensive financial review covering P&L performance, balance sheet position, cash flow analysis, variance explanations, and forward-looking commentary. Delivered within 5 business days of month-end close.
Weekly KPI Dashboard
Delivered every Monday morning. Format: your specific production metrics, margin summary, cash position, and 2–3 leading indicators flagged for management attention. Shared as a single-page PDF or live spreadsheet — your preference.
Strategic Advisory Sessions
Monthly 60-minute strategic review, quarterly deep-dive financial analysis session, and annual planning workshop aligned to your budget cycle. Available by phone or video between sessions for time-sensitive decisions.
Ad-Hoc Financial Analysis
Capital investment modeling, new customer pricing, acquisition review — whenever a decision needs financial analysis, we deliver what you need to move forward.
Board & Investor Packages
Professionally formatted financial summaries for non-financial audiences, including trend analysis and forward-looking commentary when required by lenders or investors.
When Manufacturers Need Outsourced CFO Services
Not every manufacturer needs a fractional CFO at the same stage. Revenue thresholds and situation triggers typically signal when financial complexity has outgrown what a bookkeeper or part-time accountant can manage.
$5M – $15M
Managing multiple product lines, hiring mid-level managers, and needing financial clarity to make confident growth decisions. This is when management reporting structure matters most.
$40M – $75M
Multi-entity structures, potential PE interest or exit planning, or operations across multiple locations with compounding financial complexity that requires senior-level management.
Situation Triggers
Capital Raise / New Financing
You need polished, lender-ready financial packages and someone who can represent your business in the room with your bank or investors.
PE Interest / Exit Planning
A private equity firm has expressed interest and you need to be acquisition-ready — clean financials, quality of earnings-ready records, and a defensible financial story.
Ownership Transition
Recent acquisition, buyout, or generational transfer. New ownership structures require new financial infrastructure and reporting systems.
Rapid Growth
Your current financial infrastructure is struggling to keep up with transaction volume, headcount, and the management reporting complexity your business now demands.
Reporting Blind Spots
Your current financial reporting doesn't give you the visibility you need. Decisions are being made on stale or incomplete data — management is flying without instruments.
Outsourced CFO vs. Full-Time CFO for Manufacturers
he question isn't whether your business needs CFO-level financial leadership — it does. The question is whether that leadership needs to sit in your office full-time at $180,000–$250,000 a year.
Annual cost
~$180,000–$250,000 salary + benefits + equity
Typically $3,500–$8,000/month depending on company size and scope — a fraction of a full-time hire
Manufacturing expertise
Depends entirely on who you hire — may not have manufacturing background
Built-in manufacturing-specific framework from day one
Team depth
One person — when they're busy with one problem, everything else waits
CFO leadership + controller + accounting ops team at every layer
Ramp time
3–6 months before becoming effective in your business
Operational within weeks, first management report within 6–8 weeks
Transition risk
High — institutional knowledge walks out the door if they leave
Low — documentation and continuity built into the model
Scalability
Fixed cost regardless of how much or little you need
Scales with your business — more or less support as needed
How We Work With Manufacturing Clients
Every engagement begins with a structured onboarding process designed to get up to speed on your business quickly — without disrupting your operations.
01
Phase 1 — Diagnose
Understand Your Business
We audit your current financial infrastructure — chart of accounts, reporting cadence, key metrics, banking relationships, and any open issues — and identify the gaps limiting your financial visibility and management decision-making.
Typically 2–4 weeks
02
Phase 2 — Design
Build the Infrastructure
We build the financial infrastructure your business actually needs: updated reporting framework, KPI dashboard, cash flow model, and a 12-month financial plan aligned to your operational calendar.
Typically 4–6 weeks
03
Phase 3 — Deliver
Ongoing CFO Services
Ongoing CFO services in full effect — monthly reporting, weekly dashboards, strategic advisory sessions, and proactive financial analysis. Available between sessions for ad-hoc decisions.
Ongoing monthly engagement
Manufacturing Financial Expertise You Can Trust
Manufacturers We Work With
$5M–$15M:
Building management reporting structure, establishing financial close discipline, and creating the KPI visibility needed to scale confidently
$15M–$40M:
Managing lender relationships, covenant compliance, and the financial complexity that comes with multi-product lines and growing headcount
$40M–$75M:
Multi-entity structures, PE interest, exit planning, and the senior financial leadership a business at this stage demands
Discrete & Process:
Job shops, fabricators, food & beverage, plastics, chemicals, and contract manufacturers across the full production spectrum
PE-Backed & Exit-Planning:
Acquisition-ready financials, QoE preparation, and board-level reporting from the start of the relationship
Manufacturing Systems & ERP Integration
We work within your existing systems — not around them. Our engagements cover the full technology stack your manufacturing business runs on:
Accounting Systems:
QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Sage 50
Manufacturing ERP:
JobBOSS, E2 Shop System, Fishbowl, SYSPRO, Epicor Kinetic — and others confirmed during onboarding
CFO Layer:
We interpret and act on the financial data your systems produce — KPI dashboards, variance reports, and management packages built from the source data your ERP generates
Manufacturing Financial Planning Approach
Production Capacity Constraints:
Bottleneck analysis and capacity utilization modeling tied to your financial plan
Material Cost Volatility:
Raw material price variance tracking and procurement timing strategies
Labor Efficiency & Overhead:
Direct labor rate analysis, overhead absorption, and efficiency variance tracking
Working Capital Optimization:
Inventory financing, payment term negotiation, and cash conversion cycle improvement
Financial Strategy Approaches
Capital Allocation:
Build-vs-buy analysis, equipment investment modeling, and ROI frameworks tied to your production capacity constraints
Pricing & Margin Strategy:
Customer and product line profitability analysis, floor pricing models, and margin improvement roadmaps
Working Capital Management:
Cash conversion cycle optimization, inventory financing strategy, and payment term restructuring
Scenario & Sensitivity Modeling:
Revenue, cost, and cash flow models built around real operational variables — volume, mix, and material cost movement
CFO Services for PE-Backed and Exit-Planning Manufacturers
Private equity-backed manufacturers and owners preparing for a sale or recapitalization have financial requirements that go beyond standard CFO work. They need financial infrastructure that performs under diligence scrutiny — and a CFO who understands what acquirers and PE sponsors are actually evaluating.
Planning an exit or working with PE investors?
We work with manufacturing owners at every stage — from building exit-ready financial infrastructure to managing the CFO workstream during a transaction.
Manufacturing CFO Results
$18M Custom Metal Fabricator
Phase 1 — Diagnose
Understand Your Current Books
Challenge: No visibility into job-level profitability; cash flow crisis every Q1 due to seasonal demand cycles with no proactive planning structure in place.
What we did: Built job costing infrastructure in QuickBooks, created monthly management reporting package, restructured line of credit to match production cycles.
3
Product lines with negative margin identified
$0
Q1 cash shortfall in year one (eliminated)
$2.1M
Credit facility renewed at improved terms
Outsourced CFO Services: Frequently Asked Questions
What does an outsourced CFO do for a manufacturing company?
How much do fractional CFO services cost?
Can you work with our existing controller or bookkeeper?
How quickly can you get up to speed on our business?
What accounting software do you work with?
Do you work with manufacturers preparing for a sale or PE investment?
Get a Manufacturing Financial Assessment
Not sure what level of financial support your business needs? We start with a no-obligation assessment of your current financial infrastructure and tell you exactly where the gaps are.
