Growing CPG companies and ecommerce brands need fractional CFOs. As founders of Fiat Finance, Drew Glover and Alex Harris scaled high-growth startups at companies like Chime and Steady. Their first job was as a consultancy, but they realized CPG and ecommerce brands needed more than just standard financial solutions.

Besides crunching numbers, Fiat Finance's strategic partners manage inventory, balance cash flow with scaling targets, and analyze financial data to gain an edge. Let's examine how fractional CFOs drive performance and scalability and why they redefine finance leadership for successful companies for a fraction of the cost of full-time hires.

Why Do Growing Brands Need a Fractional CFO?

Fractional CFOs make financial roadmaps, budgets, and predictions, optimize inventory and supply chains, and consult on fundraising strategies. Unlike full-time CFOs, they provide part-time, retainer, or project expertise. Essentially, they give startups and growing companies the flexibility they need.

Better still, fractional CFOs bring cross-industry experience to help brands at all stages grow smarter. Assisting new companies to get funding and grow from a simple idea into brands that customers can find anywhere. The team uses its knowledge and Fiat Finance's tools and procedures to provide CPG and ecommerce firms a financial edge by:

• Creating scalable financial infrastructure custom to their needs
• Optimizing inventory to balance cash flow and demand
• Establishing data-driven KPIs and real-time dashboard reporting
• Preparing investor-grade financial models and projections
• Providing objective, practical advice to founders and leadership

As the Fiat Finance team put it, “A fractional CFO isn’t just a numbers person—they’re your strategic partner, guiding your business toward profitability and scale.”

How Much Does a Fractional CFO Cost vs Full-Time?

For lean startups, hiring a full-time CFO represents a significant investment - typically $200K+ annually plus equity. 

In contrast, “With Fiat Finance, you don't just get a CFO—you get a team that's 100% focused on helping you win.” Their fractional CFO services offer a more cost-effective solution, with monthly engagements typically ranging from $4-8K based on scope. With this flexible arrangement, businesses can get high-level financial advice on-demand or part-time.

Considering both tangible cost savings and the strategic value of a fractional CFO will help you decide whether it's worth it. Their track record includes saving millions, improving gross margin by double digits, and securing growth capital. Besides immediate gains, these professionals prevent costly mistakes and build strong financial foundations.

Key factors to evaluate include your company's growth stage, financial complexity, milestone urgency, existing team capabilities, and need for flexible leadership. While fractional CFOs provide strategic oversight, many brands complement this with flexible funding solutions like Clearco's 24-hour invoice funding to optimize cash flow management.

How Do Fractional CFOs Work With Your Existing Team?

A fractional CFO's integration process adapts to your existing infrastructure while elevating financial operations. Whether handling comprehensive financial solutions or addressing specific challenges, they enhance your team's capabilities through:

• Thorough discovery and assessment of current state and priorities
• Strategic systems evaluation and optimization
• Comprehensive process documentation and team training
• Custom reporting dashboard implementation
• Development of efficient month-to-month financial workflows

Fiat Finance leverages technology to streamline operations and improve collaboration. Their expertise spans from foundational accounting to sophisticated financial planning, creating tailored systems that scale with your business while ensuring your team masters these tools with confidence.

As their team said, “Our value lies in flexibility and precision. We’ve seen it all—across industries, funding stages, and growth challenges.”

Real Results - Success Stories from Brands Like Yours

Real-world results speak volumes—Fiat Finance transforms financial outcomes for brands that want more than standard solutions. Check out these success stories:

Success Story #1: Optimizing Marketing and Cash Flow

When an ecommerce client came to Fiat Finance, they were facing high customer acquisition costs (CAC) and inventory issues.

At Fiat Finance, the philosophy is clear: "Growth isn't just about selling more—it's about scaling smart." They reallocated marketing spend to focus on higher-value customers, cutting CAC by 30%. Then, they introduced inventory financing to stabilize cash flow during peak seasons and built a rolling cash flow forecast that gave them better visibility into their finances.

So, what happened? 40% improvement in cash flow and scalable growth. As the Fiat Finance team described, “We don’t just manage your finances—we turn them into a growth engine. Our team ensures every decision you make is backed by precision and foresight.”

Success Story #2: Streamlining Multi-Brand Accounting

There was a CPG client who had separate accounting systems for their main and secondary brands. Their fractional finance team had to manually manipulate data to consolidate with the parent company's financials, and this only happened annually for tax reporting. Beyond that, no regular reporting consolidated both lines of business.

Hearing their frustration with this suboptimal workflow, Fiat Finance offered a solution: using automation tools that could generate months of journal entries within QuickBooks Online (QBO) in seconds. It consolidated all the historical data so the client could move forward with one set of books while still analyzing full historical performance.

Despite the client expecting a 40-50-hour project, Fiat Finance completed the data migration in just 15% of the time they expected.

Success Story #3: Maximizing Profitability

Fiat Finance helped a CPG company with underperforming SKUs and high holding costs:

• Dug into their data, identified the low-margin products, and phased them out, boosting overall margins by 15%
• Optimized the inventory system, reducing holding costs by 25%
• Developed an investor-ready financial model that helped secure $3M in growth capital

As Fiat Finance puts it: "We don’t just manage your finances; we position you for scalable, sustainable success."

Many brands find that combining high-level financial guidance with flexible funding maximizes their development potential. Financial management is complete with Fiat Finance optimizing strategy and Clearco helping qualifying firms ($10K+ monthly revenue) obtain rapid working capital.

Launching a Marketplace for Home Sellers and Investors 

Sundae is the first marketplace that connects investors with homeowners looking to sell as-is. Fiat Growth guided Sundae through its launch, early growth, and go-to-market strategy. As Sundae's growth partner, we led their paid growth efforts and developed a comprehensive city-by-city expansion strategy.

We implemented A/B testing frameworks to identify the most effective creatives, audiences, and copy while analyzing city-specific data and trends. Our team led the optimization of the full sales funnel through robust feedback loops and analytics. Additionally, we guided marketing technology implementation to support these efforts.

Beyond tactical execution, we helped Sundae build and scale its internal growth team. Our partnership helped establish Sundae as the market leader in their category, culminating in their recognition on Forbes' "Next Billion-Dollar Startup" list.

What Are Some Common Challenges & How Do Fractional CFOs Solve Them?

CPG and ecommerce brands face several common financial challenges:

Inventory Management 

Keeping stock levels balanced is key to meeting demand. Fiat Finance's fractional CFOs optimize inventory systems to minimize waste, avoid stockouts, and maximize profits.

Cash Flow Forecasting

Unpredictable cash flow is a problem for a lot of brands. It's easier to plan your development when you know where your money is going with Fiat Finance's cash flow forecasts.

Margin Optimization

High holding costs and underperforming SKUs can strain a business. Fiat Finance's CFOs create robust financial roadmaps that optimize inventory systems, reduce waste, prevent stockouts, and maximize SKU profitability. Their granular analysis of unit economics helps brands understand exactly what drives their profitability.

Fundraising Readiness

It takes more than good numbers to get growth capital. Fiat Finance prepares investor-ready financial models and narratives to position brands for fundraising success. Here's what they do:

• Analyze and report financial data
• Monitor your cash flow
• Track easy-to-understand growth metrics
• Create compelling financial stories

What's Next for Financial Leadership in CPG & Ecommerce?

Today's standout CPG and ecommerce brands will leverage fractional CFOs who combine traditional finance expertise with emerging capabilities:

• Integrated data across multiple sales channels
• Analytics that predict market shifts before they happen
• Sustainable planning that appeals to conscious consumers while improving efficiency

Fiat Finance put it succinctly: “Ultimately, it’s about building a foundation that makes you more efficient, scalable, and ready for whatever’s next.”

A successful brand doesn't just monitor its finances, it converts them into competitive advantage. When it comes to raising capital or optimizing for profitability at scale, partnering with a specialized financial team like Fiat Finance can mean the difference between growing and thriving in a dynamic market.