Industry guide

Forecast templates and board decks: what a fractional CFO practice can license

Fractional CFO firms package senior finance judgment into repeatable tools: forecast templates, board deck formats, month-end commentary, onboarding diagnostics and fundraising support.

Most of it already sits in Excel or Google Sheets models, board deck templates, Slack and accounting systems. Buyers want the written trail of how your team actually does the work, so most owners lead with SOPs and training material, then add day-to-day records once personal details are dealt with.

AI Data Offers research deskChecked against our methodology Updated October 28, 2026 4 min read 13 sources

Key figure: None
Buyers' published range: $100K to $2M+
Time to a written offer: Days to 2 weeks
Owner time, per buyers: 1 to 3 hours

In this guide

01 / What buyers value

Records a buyer will look for at a fractional CFO firm

Forecast and model templates
Where it lives
Excel
Why a buyer wants it
Structure and assumptions
Raise first
Client figures
Board deck and KPI formats
Where it lives
Slides
Why a buyer wants it
How performance is presented
Raise first
Client data
Month-end commentary playbook
Where it lives
Docs
Why a buyer wants it
Explaining numbers
Raise first
Client specifics
Client Slack channels
Where it lives
Slack
Why a buyer wants it
Advising in real time
Raise first
Confidential plans
Onboarding diagnostic
Where it lives
Docs
Why a buyer wants it
How a finance function is assessed
Raise first
Client details

Record	Where it lives	Why a buyer wants it	Raise first
Forecast and model templates	Excel	Structure and assumptions	Client figures
Board deck and KPI formats	Slides	How performance is presented	Client data
Month-end commentary playbook	Docs	Explaining numbers	Client specifics
Client Slack channels	Slack	Advising in real time	Confidential plans
Onboarding diagnostic	Docs	How a finance function is assessed	Client details

02 / Value

Putting a number on a fractional CFO firm's data

No buyer publishes a price list by industry. What they do publish is a range for a whole company: micro1, Polyshares and Ventra each advertise deals from roughly $100K to $2M or more, and Pewter's licensing partner cites examples between $350K and $650K. Read those as the buyers' own marketing figures, not offers.

For a fractional CFO firm of about 20 people, three things move the number most: how many years of history you have, how much of the work is written down in one place, and how cleanly client and employee details can be removed. Try the worth estimator for a range based on your size.

03 / Buyers

Which buyers take fractional CFO firms

On Troveo's intake form, the closest category ("accounting, tax or bookkeeping") sits in the top of its four demand tiers, the group it says buyers pay a premium for. Polyshares lists accounting and tax as one of its premium industries.

micro1
Published size rule
Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
Too small at 20
Mode
Published size rule
At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
Fits at 20
Nyne
Published size rule
At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
Fits at 20
Pewter
Published size rule
At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
Fits at 20
Ventra
Published size rule
At least 30 US staff and three years of data
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
Too small at 20
Endless
Published size rule
Around 30 people or more
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
Too small at 20
Polyshares
Published size rule
No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
No size floor
Mercor
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
No size floor
Troveo
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20)
A 20-person fractional CFO firm
No size floor

Buyer	Published size rule	A 20-person fractional CFO firm
micro1	Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit	Too small at 20
Mode	At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law	Fits at 20
Nyne	At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history	Fits at 20
Pewter	At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors	Fits at 20
Ventra	At least 30 US staff and three years of data	Too small at 20
Endless	Around 30 people or more	Too small at 20
Polyshares	No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes	No size floor
Mercor	Publishes no minimum	No size floor
Troveo	Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20)	No size floor

Checked against a typical fractional CFO firm of 20 people. Ask each buyer whether contractors and part-time staff count.

Some buyers pay us a referral fee. It never changes your price, and it never changes the order of our rankings.

04 / Typical week

What one ordinary week produces

Monday: a cash forecast updated for a client.
Tuesday: board deck drafted.
Wednesday: month-end commentary written.
Thursday: fundraising data room reviewed.
Friday: onboarding diagnostic for a new client.

Illustrative. Multiply one week by every year you have kept, and that is the record a buyer is looking at. The written decisions matter more than the totals.

05 / Process

How a deal works

1
Check the fit
Answer a few questions about headcount, years of records and the systems you use. No files change hands.
2
Inventory call
A buyer walks through what you hold and what it wants. Most say the owner spends one to three hours in total.
3
Written offer
Buyers usually send terms within days to two weeks: price, scope, term and whether the deal is exclusive.
4
Clean and deliver
Personal details are removed under the agreed method, then a copy is exported. Your originals stay where they are.

micro1
What it asks for
Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity
Offer and payment
Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice
Ask about
Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how.
Ventra
What it asks for
Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets
Offer and payment
Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60
Ask about
Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
Polyshares
What it asks for
Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts
Offer and payment
Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days
Ask about
Licenses are exclusive by default.
Pewter
What it asks for
Operating records for the industries on its list
Offer and payment
No fee to the owner, it says
Ask about
Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays.

Buyer	What it asks for	Offer and payment	Ask about
micro1	Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity	Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice	Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how.
Ventra	Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets	Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60	Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
Polyshares	Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts	Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days	Licenses are exclusive by default.
Pewter	Operating records for the industries on its list	No fee to the owner, it says	Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays.

In each buyer's own published words. Terms change, so confirm them in writing before you sign.

06 / Timing

If you are selling or winding down

A data license can sit alongside a sale or a wind-down. If you are selling the business, agree with the acquirer who keeps the right to license the archive. If you are closing down, keep the workspace and inboxes alive until a buyer has seen them. A closed company is not out of options: SimpleClosure reports more than 150 completed sales of shut-down startups' archives.

FAQ

Questions, answered

We are 20 people. Do we qualify?

Yes for several buyers. Accounting sits in Troveo's top demand tier.

Is a 20-person fractional CFO firm big enough?

6 of the 9 buyers in our size check take a fractional CFO firm that size, going by their own published rules. Below 20 people your options narrow to the buyers with no stated minimum.

Do we lose our records if we license them?

No. A license gives the buyer a copy for agreed uses and your originals stay put. Read the term and deletion clauses closely: micro1's master terms describe a perpetual license, and Ventra warns it may be unable to erase data after delivery.

Find the buyers that fit your company

Answer a few questions about your size, tools and history. We show which buyers want a company like yours. Free, no files.

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Sources

Every number on this page links back to one of these.

Spot something wrong? See our corrections policy. Some buyers pay us a referral fee. How we make money.