In a small or growing business, wearing multiple hats is standard. You’re not only the founder, but maybe also the strategist, the marketer, and the customer service team. More often than not, you’re also the one making financial decisions. While stepping into the role of Chief Financial Officer for your business can seem daunting, with the right mindset and a few core strategies, you can apply CFO-level thinking to your operations without a full-time executive. As experienced outsourced CFOs, we have a few tips on how.

What Does “Thinking Like a CFO” Actually Mean?

CFOs don’t just keep the books in order, but interpret the numbers to inform smart decisions. Where bookkeepers record and an accountant reports, a CFO guides. Their primary role is to use financial insight to drive strategy.

Thinking like a CFO means trying to see the full financial picture, balancing short-term cash flow with long-term value and ensuring your decisions safeguard the future of your business. This means asking questions such as:

• Are we pricing profitably?
• Can we scale this model?
• Where are we leaking cash or missing opportunities?
• How healthy is our cash flow, and what could put it at risk?

Actionable CFO-Level Strategies for SMEs

Even if you don’t yet have a CFO on the team, these practical steps can elevate your financial approach.

1. Understand Your Unit Economics

   Understand what it costs you to deliver each product or service, and how much profit you keep per sale. Knowing your gross margin isn’t optional; it’s essential for pricing, marketing spend, and scalability. Make sure you break down variable and fixed costs, and watch how changes in sales volume affect your margins.

2. Forecast Cash Flow (Not Just Revenue)

   It’s common for growing businesses to focus on sales targets while ignoring the timing of cash in versus out. A CFO would build a cash flow forecast to help you navigate things like seasonal changes in demand, invoicing delays, and sudden costs.

3. Build a Rolling Budget

   Traditional yearly budgets are fixed. A rolling budget is a financial plan that’s revisited monthly or quarterly, and continuously updated based on the latest financial results and changing business conditions. This approach can be more valuable to your strategy than a static annual budget because it allows you to adjust decisions in response to real-world changes, such as rising supplier costs or new revenue streams. While you can still maintain an annual budget, regularly comparing it against monthly or quarterly ‘actuals’ (your true financial performance) helps you keep forecasts accurate and up to date.

4. Know When (and How) to Raise Capital

   Thinking like a CFO for a small or medium-sized business often means looking at ways to secure funding. If you’re planning to raise investments, you’ll need a clear pitch backed by solid financial models. Data to highlight for investors includes your revenue growth, profit margins, and customer acquisition cost vs lifetime value.

5. Establish Financial KPIs

   CFOs monitor all key financial indicators. This goes beyond just revenue and includes metrics like:

   Gross Profit: Profit after subtracting the direct costs of producing goods/services

   Average Debtor Days: Time on average it takes your customers to pay you

   Cash Runway: How long you can operate at a loss before running out of money

   Net Promoter Score: A customer satisfaction metric measuring customer loyalty

   Choose KPIs that reflect your business model and growth stage. For example, average debtor days aren’t as relevant if you deal in instant transactions via an e-commerce website. Review these monthly with your leadership team, even if that’s just you and a spreadsheet for now!

When to Outsource Your CFO Responsibilities

While adopting CFO-level thinking early is a major advantage, there comes a point when DIY finance hits its limits. When you need help with your business’s financial strategy, hiring an experienced CFO is a wise investment. However, for many business owners, the cost and commitment of staffing a full-time executive can be a deterrent to seeking help. That’s where outsourced or fractional CFOs come in, offering expert financial guidance without the burden of a full-time engagement.

Consider outsourcing financial leadership for ongoing part-time support when:

• You’re scaling quickly and need better financial systems.
• You’re preparing for funding, a merger, or acquisition.
• Your cash flow is unpredictable and you need expert insight to adapt.
• You want to confidently make data-backed decisions.

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, there are so many ways an outsourced CFO can benefit your business — but most importantly, you get personalised expert-level financial strategy with a degree of flexibility that suits a new or growing business.

You don’t need a CFO title to think like one. By sharpening your financial awareness and incorporating strategic habits into your operations, you set your business up to succeed. And when you do bring a CFO on board, you’ll be ready to speak their language and get even more value from the collaboration. Interested in exploring a CFO partnership with The Co.? We’d love to hear from you.