Fractional CFO –
your external CFO, part-time
Ongoing part-time finance leadership: reporting, planning and cash management with an agreed time commitment – for PE portfolios and tech scale-ups. Day rate and working days are fixed before the start.
In brief
Last updated: 14 September 2026
A fractional CFO provides ongoing finance leadership on a regular part-time schedule. They own reporting, planning, cash management and communication with shareholders and banks. Day-to-day bookkeeping remains with your team or a specialist. At nugrow, CFO support starts at EUR 1,800 per day excluding VAT; scope, term and notice period are agreed individually.
- Model: permanent and part-time, typically one or two days a week, with no end date
- Start: first profiles within 24 hours; the engagement is designed to last
- Cost: CFO support from EUR 1,800 per day excluding VAT × agreed workload; details on the pricing page
- Experience: 350 projects, comprising interim assignments and advisory projects. Sebastian Janus’s published references document more than twelve mandates as interim CFO and advisor since 2019, including PE- and VC-backed companies. nugrow GmbH is based in Bochum and works across Germany.
Experience from 350 projects.
What we can evidence
Since 2019, Sebastian Janus's references document more than twelve mandates as interim CFO and advisor, mainly in PE- and VC-backed companies. The case descriptions explain the tasks, starting points and engagement context.
What a fractional CFO is responsible for
CLIENT VOICES
What clients say about working with us
Real quotes from founders and managing directors, translated from German (originals on the German page). Some mention ScaleupLab – nugrow's former brand, same team, same company.
We have tackled several projects together with Sebastian and his team and have been working together since mid-2021. For medium- to long-term financial planning to optimise our business model, we brought in support for our financing documents and strategy, as well as for our pitch deck. Sebastian helped us with advice and hands-on work to make our financial planning more concrete, which supports our long-term strategic direction. We were also able to improve our EBIT. We can highly recommend working with Sebastian & nugrow.
Hannes Ott
TAKE A SHOT
Whether directly as CFO or as an adviser, Sebastian is a positive and proactive partner who really helped me. He finds the right approach for every startup and knows how best to put it into practice. I can only recommend him.
Raphael Fellmer
SirPlus
With his entrepreneurial background, Sebastian is a true expert and an experienced sparring partner in financial planning. His experience with tools is just as helpful as his DATEV knowledge and his understanding of what matters in investor conversations. Sebastian works as an equal and is always there with advice and support. What I also value highly: Sebastian gets to the point quickly and delivers very reliably.
Johannes Woithon
Orgavision
Our know-how
Our experience spans 350 projects, including interim mandates and consulting projects such as digitalising a finance department. This includes working with common finance tools, from accounting and controlling to reporting.
Does part-time finance leadership fit your situation?
Our Partners & Collaborations
A fractional CFO rarely starts from scratch: they take over an existing system landscape and an existing network of tax advisors, auditors, banks and investors. Those connections come with us.
The three most common starting points
Part-time finance leadership does not fit everywhere. These are the situations in which it is regularly the right answer.
After the first funding round
Investor reporting, a runway calculation and a plan that holds up in the next due diligence. Bookkeeping alone no longer carries that – and a dedicated CFO position would not yet be fully used.
Management carries finance on the side
In mid-sized companies finance responsibility often sits with the management team, on top of everything else. A fractional CFO takes it on to the extent that it actually arises – and gives management its time back.
Regular meetings with banks or investors
A credit renewal, covenant reporting or an upcoming round: anyone who has to explain figures regularly needs someone who owns them, not only someone who produces them.
From the first hour to a fixed rhythm
Intro call and scoping
Thirty minutes on the situation, the scope and the share of time. If part-time leadership is not the right model, we say so – sometimes the answer is an interim CFO, sometimes a permanent hire. After that you get a proposal with scope, a fixed weekday and an agreed day rate and workload.
Build-up phase
The first months take more time than the later steady state: chart of accounts, reporting structure, planning model and cash forecast all have to be built. The scope is therefore set deliberately higher at the start and reduced afterwards.
Steady state and transition
In steady state a fixed share of steering work remains: month-end close, forecast, shareholder and bank meetings. As the company keeps growing, a dedicated position eventually becomes economical. A good mandate supports that transition instead of delaying it.
Further reading
We have answered the questions that come up before you decide on a model in detail.
Decision and selection
- Interim CFO, CFO as a service or a permanent hire? – the decision guide to work through before you start looking for a provider
- Alternatives to a full-time CFO – six ways to cover the CFO function, compared by cost and decision questions
- Is a fractional CFO worth it at 30 employees? – break-even calculation with example figures and a free Excel template
- Fractional CFO, external CFO, part-time CFO – five labels, two models: what the terms actually mean
- What does an interim CFO cost? – day rates by role, billing models and a worked example
Process and contract
- Interim management in the finance department – roles, how a mandate runs and the first 90 days
- Service contract or employee leasing? – criteria, deadlines and liability when the classification tips over
Terms in the glossary
- Interim CFO – responsibilities, typical situations and how it differs from other models
- Interim management – the principle, the triggers and the legal framework
- Fractional CFO – definition, target groups and how it differs from an interim CFO
- Employee leasing – licence requirement, the 18-month limit, equal treatment
- Bogus self-employment – criteria, back payments and the status determination procedure
- Service contract and contract for work – effort versus result, acceptance and warranty
Interim CFO references – twelve mandates since 2019 in portfolio companies of Main Capital Partners, Verdane, Paragon Partners, AEM Capital, Insight Partners, eCapital and BayBG, each with the brief, the scope and the outcome.
FAQ
The questions that come up regularly before deciding on a fractional CFO – on responsibilities, scope, cost and how the model differs from the alternatives.
Articles on typical CFO situations
CFO has resigned: bridging the vacancy
Options, timeline and cost when finance leadership drops out at short notice.
Carve-out finance by day one
Standalone balance sheet, ledger and payment operations ready for the first day on your own.
The first statutory audit
Audit requirement, process and the preparation that keeps the timetable.
All articles at a glance
Transactions, crisis and closing – sorted by topic.
Before you decide: How to find an interim CFO · CFO as a Service: modules and pricing