What does a fractional CFO do for a multi-unit operator?

The same things a full-time CFO does — capital allocation, unit-level FP&A, board and sponsor reporting, cash and liquidity, M&A diligence — on a part-time or interim basis scaled to what the business actually needs. For a multi-unit operator, the center of gravity is unit-level economics: making the per-location numbers trustworthy and timely enough to allocate capital and run the portfolio against them.

When should a multi-unit operator hire a fractional CFO instead of a full-time one?

When the business needs CFO-level judgment but not a full-time seat — typically below the scale that justifies a permanent executive comp package, or during a period where the work is intense but finite. A fractional arrangement also fits when you want senior finance discipline installed and a team built to own it, rather than a permanent dependency on one expensive hire.

Do you work with PE-backed operators or only operator-led businesses?

Both. Recurring engagements run across PE-backed multi-unit operators, hypergrowth franchises, and operator-owned businesses. The lens is the same in each: I am a franchisee myself, so I read a team and a business before I read a P&L, whether the sponsor is a fund or the founder.

How do you produce a consolidated read across multiple brands?

By fixing the data layer before the report, not after. That usually means a unit-economics framework that defines what is measured and who owns it, a chart of accounts and close calendar that actually consolidate, and reporting built on a trusted single source rather than spreadsheet-stitching that nobody believes by the time the meeting starts.

Fractional CFO

Fractional CFO for multi-unit operators.

Senior finance leadership across your locations, brands, and units — without the cost or the commitment of a full-time hire.

A multi-unit business does not fail for lack of revenue. It fails when the finance function cannot keep pace with the footprint — when no one can say which units are actually making money, when capital gets allocated on instinct, and when the consolidated number nobody trusts arrives three weeks too late to act on.

I work as a fractional CFO for founders and multi-unit operators who need that discipline now and do not need a full-time hire to get it. The seat is the same one a permanent CFO holds: capital allocation, unit-level economics, the reporting cadence the business runs on, and the calls in the room with operating leadership. The difference is that you bring me in for the work the business actually needs, at the level of involvement it needs.

Who this is for

Founders and multi-unit operators — PE-backed or operator-led — running across many locations and, often, more than one brand. Restaurant and food franchises, consumer-services platforms, fitness and membership concepts, and roll-ups assembling a portfolio by acquisition. If you are scaling unit count faster than your finance function can keep up, this is built for you.

When to bring me in

What is usually breaking.

Most operators reach for a fractional CFO when one of these is true. If more than one is, the work is overdue.

You are growing unit count faster than your finance function can keep up with it.
Every brand or region keeps its own numbers, and no one agrees on the consolidated read.
Capital is being allocated on instinct because there is no unit-level economics you trust.
The board or sponsor wants visibility you cannot produce on their timeline.
Acquisitions are landing faster than diligence and integration can absorb them.
Cash decisions are being made in the rearview mirror rather than ahead of the position.

The work

What the engagement covers.

The engagement is scoped to the seat, not to a deliverable. It runs through the same four-stage method I bring to every engagement — read the business, frame the plan, build the systems, and compound the result — applied across the financial, operational, technical, and organizational domains that decide how a multi-unit business scales.

Capital allocation and the call in the room

Financial and strategic clarity that turns instinct into a capital allocation decision the team can defend. I am in the room with founders and operating leadership for the choices that shape the next stage of growth — not reporting on them after the fact.

Unit-level FP&A and reporting

Weekly unit-level P&L, labor, and pacing built for operators to use, not just for Finance to read. A consolidated read across brands that holds, so leadership argues about the decision rather than about whose number is right.

Board and sponsor reporting

The timely, defensible line of sight a board or PE sponsor expects — reporting that survives the capital conversation rather than complicating it. Forecasts and scenario models that give ownership a basis for the bets they are already making.

M&A diligence and integration at roll-up pace

Quality-of-Earnings diligence and a unit-economics read that informs valuation as an input to the deal, not a validation after it — with integration planning connected to the findings before close.

Proof

Multi-unit finance leadership, in practice.

Anonymized engagements across PE-backed multi-unit operators, hypergrowth franchises, and operator-owned businesses. The proof below maps directly to the work above.

FP&A buildoutForecasting & planning rigorUnit economics framework

FP&A team built during 4x location growth. Weekly unit-level dashboards. EBITDA consistency held through scale.

National multi-unit franchise · Expanded from a few hundred to roughly a thousand locations during the engagement (about 4x)

Read the engagement

FP&A buildoutERP selection & implementationUnit economics framework

FP&A function built from scratch. NetSuite selected and implemented. New brands integrated within six months.

PE-backed multi-brand franchisor · Multi-brand franchise system in an active growth phase, adding brands through acquisition

Read the engagement

Margin transformationCash & liquidityM&A diligence

300–400 bps gross margin and a 20–30% EBITDA improvement over two years. Finance team cut roughly in half while revenue more than doubled.

PE-backed multi-unit operator · $500M+ in system revenue across more than 900 locations

Cash & liquidityForecasting & planning rigor

13-week liquidity forecasting held within a few percentage points. Proactive cash decisions. Vendor payables managed as a strategic lever.

PE-backed multi-unit operator · Multi-brand portfolio, hundreds of locations, active lender relationship

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M&A diligenceUnit economics frameworkPost-close integration

Diligence on 20+ transactions, 60+ acquired units. QoE process built and operated internally at roll-up pace.

PE-backed multi-unit operator · Active roll-up strategy across a multi-brand portfolio — multiple transactions per year

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Operating intelligenceData infrastructure

Enterprise-grade data warehouse and AI analytics built for an operator-owned franchise — run by one person, no BI team. Daily operating intelligence at a scale where nobody builds this.

Operator-owned multi-unit franchise · Small business — operator-owned and run, not PE-backed, not venture-funded

Read the engagement

View all engagements

Questions

Frequently asked.

What does a fractional CFO do for a multi-unit operator?: The same things a full-time CFO does — capital allocation, unit-level FP&A, board and sponsor reporting, cash and liquidity, M&A diligence — on a part-time or interim basis scaled to what the business actually needs. For a multi-unit operator, the center of gravity is unit-level economics: making the per-location numbers trustworthy and timely enough to allocate capital and run the portfolio against them.
When should a multi-unit operator hire a fractional CFO instead of a full-time one?: When the business needs CFO-level judgment but not a full-time seat — typically below the scale that justifies a permanent executive comp package, or during a period where the work is intense but finite. A fractional arrangement also fits when you want senior finance discipline installed and a team built to own it, rather than a permanent dependency on one expensive hire.
Do you work with PE-backed operators or only operator-led businesses?: Both. Recurring engagements run across PE-backed multi-unit operators, hypergrowth franchises, and operator-owned businesses. The lens is the same in each: I am a franchisee myself, so I read a team and a business before I read a P&L, whether the sponsor is a fund or the founder.
How do you produce a consolidated read across multiple brands?: By fixing the data layer before the report, not after. That usually means a unit-economics framework that defines what is measured and who owns it, a chart of accounts and close calendar that actually consolidate, and reporting built on a trusted single source rather than spreadsheet-stitching that nobody believes by the time the meeting starts.

Interim CFO Finance infrastructure The Operator's Capability Framework

The fastest way to find out if we are a fit is a short conversation. Tell me about the work you are trying to do.

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