Virtual CFO
Hiring a CFO costs a quarter of a million dollars a year and takes six months to find. You probably don't need one full-time. You do need someone senior who owns the numbers, sees a cash problem before it lands, and can tell you what the model says about the hire you're considering.
In short
A virtual CFO is a senior finance lead you work with part-time instead of hiring full-time. They own your cash flow, forecasting, reporting and funding readiness, and join the decisions that move the numbers.
In Canada, virtual CFO services typically run from about $2,000 to $10,000 or more a month depending on scope, compared with around $250,000 a year for a full-time CFO. Orientum’s Virtual CFO starts at $2,000 a month, usually for companies from about $1M in revenue.
What's included
Stabilise the business and remove the immediate founder stress.
Optimise, scale, and prepare for the next milestone of $5M+ in revenue.
Phase 1 gives you peace of mind. Phase 2 builds a financial engine investors trust. Together, they take you from surviving to scaling.
Canada and the US
The same roadmap works for US-headquartered companies, with reporting in the format US investors and lenders expect. For Canadian companies, these are the moments the border starts to matter.
Nexus and sales-tax questions start the moment you sell across state lines, not when you incorporate.
The structure decision is cheap now and expensive in two years. The highest-value conversation we have.
Payroll, withholding, benefits, and the permanent-establishment risk that comes with a person in a state.
They’ll have opinions about your structure. Better to have the answer before you’re asked.
How we compare
| Feature | Orientum Virtual CFO | Full-time CFO | Traditional CPA firm | Bookkeeping service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | From $2,000 a month | $250K+ a year | Annual or per-filing fees | Low monthly fee |
| Getting started | After a short diagnostic | About six months to hire | At year-end | Sign up online |
| 13-week runway and cash flow | ||||
| Investor-ready financial model | ||||
| SR&ED structuring and grants | ||||
| Filing guarantee and CRA audit defence | ||||
| Proactive check-ins and WhatsApp access | ||||
| Pricing, equity and ESOP advice | ||||
| Founder network and events |
Orientum Intelligence
Automated transaction coding, models that rebuild on live data, and a close measured in days rather than weeks. It's in development, and as each piece ships it buys back time for the part you're actually paying for, someone senior thinking about your business. What's in build →
Engagement
Retainers start at $2,000 a month, priced against your transaction volume, entity count and reporting cadence. We quote in writing after the diagnostic.
Fifteen minutes to see whether we're the right partner.
We review your books, systems and reporting, and come back with what's broken and what it's costing.
Clean-up, chart of accounts, systems and the AI layer switched on.
Monthly cadence, senior advisor on call, quarterly strategy review.
Questions
Owns the finance function without the full-time cost: monthly close review, 13-week cash forecasting, KPI and board reporting, budgeting, pricing and hiring models, and preparation for fundraising or bank financing.
Orientum’s Virtual CFO starts at $2,000 a month. Across Canada, fractional CFO services commonly range from about $2,000 to $10,000 or more a month depending on company size and scope. A full-time CFO typically costs around $250,000 a year.
Usually once revenue passes about $1M, when you are raising money, hiring quickly, running low on runway visibility, or your bookkeeper can report the past but not forecast the future.
A bookkeeper records transactions. A controller makes sure the books are accurate and closed on time. A virtual CFO uses those numbers to plan: cash, pricing, hiring, funding and strategy.
Yes. We work with founders across Canada and with Canadian companies expanding into the US.
SR&ED structuring and development-hour tracking are part of Phase 2. The claim itself is handled by our SR&ED team on a 15% success fee.
Book the fit call. Bring last year's statements if you have them.