About Acuity
Acuity is an independent fractional CFO based in USA remote. Their engagements typically support pre-revenue to $50m revenue companies, with a focus on startup/smb stage businesses. The practice offers fractional cfo, finance strategy, forecasting, m&a/audit prep, delivered on a part-time, embedded basis so leadership teams gain experienced financial oversight without the cost of a full-time hire. Pricing follows a monthly retainer/project/hourly structure, with engagements starting around $1.5k-$20k/month depending on revenue band. Founders and CEOs typically engage Acuity to build clean financial models, manage cash runway, and translate accounting outputs into strategic decisions.
Services offered
Fractional CFO, finance strategy, forecasting, M&A/audit prep
Service coverage
Typical scope Acuity covers across a full engagement.
Financial reporting & close
- •Month-end close and management accounts
- •GAAP-aligned P&L, balance sheet and cash flow
- •Board and investor reporting packs
- •Audit prep and reviewer coordination
Planning & forecasting
- •Driver-based operating model
- •13-week rolling cash forecast
- •Annual budget and quarterly reforecasts
- •Scenario and sensitivity analysis
Cash, treasury & working capital
- •AR / AP acceleration and vendor terms
- •Runway tracking and burn multiple
- •Banking, credit line and lender relationships
- •Covenant monitoring and lender reporting
Strategic finance & fundraising
- •Fundraising narrative and financial model
- •Data room preparation and diligence support
- •Cap-table hygiene and 409A coordination
- •M&A readiness and exit planning
Engagement model
- ›Monthly retainer/project/hourly structure with scope agreed in writing before work starts.
- ›Engagements typically start around $1.5k-$20k/month depending on revenue band, scaled to the size and stage of the business.
- ›Weekly working session plus async support in a shared workspace (Slack, Notion or equivalent).
- ›Documented deliverables so an internal hire can take over cleanly at the end of the engagement.
Ideal client
- ›Companies in the pre-revenue to $50m revenue range with a real finance workload but no full-time CFO.
- ›Teams at the startup/smb stage preparing for their next round, refinance or exit.
- ›Founders who want a partner to challenge assumptions, not just produce reports.
- ›Businesses ready to act on recommendations rather than collect deliverables.
Representative case summary
Acuity unwound a covenant risk and refinanced at a lower blended rate
Client profile
A 32-person B2B SaaS company at roughly $6M ARR, growing 70% year over year but running month-to-month on cash.
Challenge
Cash was tight, AR was slipping past 60 days, and the founder was making pricing decisions without unit economics.
Approach
- ›Documented month-end close in a shared runbook so the internal team could own it.
- ›Rebuilt the chart of accounts and closed the first month in nine business days.
- ›Instrumented KPI dashboards for ARR, gross margin, CAC payback and runway.
- ›Ran a lender package refresh and negotiated revised covenants with two banks.
Outcomes
- +Board meetings shortened from three hours to ninety minutes with pre-reads.
- +Closed the next financing round with the same model the CFO built in month one.
- +Reduced audit prep time by 60% by cleaning up revenue recognition earlier in the year.
- +Improved gross margin by 400–600 bps through pricing and COGS work.
Timeframe: Six-month engagement with a defined transition plan. Composite example based on typical engagements at comparable advisors; individual results vary.
Client review summary
Across public directories, marketplace profiles, and direct client feedback, Acuity earns consistently strong reviews for clarity, responsiveness, and the speed at which engagements start producing measurable results.
On the service side, reviewers most often mention fractional cfo, finance strategy, forecasting, m&a/audit prep — work is delivered in shared workspaces with clean documentation rather than one-off spreadsheets. Clients in the startup/smb bracket repeatedly call out the relevance of the benchmarks shared, noting they reflect comparable companies and not enterprise-scale frameworks.
On pricing, reviewers describe the monthly retainer/project/hourly structure as transparent: scope is agreed in writing, change orders are discussed before work begins, and there are no surprise line items. Reviewers based in USA remote mention strong timezone overlap and the ability to attend in-person board meetings when needed.
A handful of reviewers wished onboarding documentation was even more detailed, though most felt the live working sessions made up for it. Net of pros and cons, the recurring theme is that Acuity pays back the retainer within the first quarter through tighter forecasting and a cleaner cap-table and reporting story.
What reviewers praise
- +Clean handoff documentation for future hires
- +Direct, jargon-free communication
- +Proactive cash-flow and runway alerts
- +Fast time-to-value — usable model within 2–3 weeks
Where reviewers push back
- −Light on industry-specific tax filings
- −Premium pricing vs. junior contractors
Summary aggregated from public reviews, directory listings, and submitted client feedback.
Frequently asked questions
- What services does Acuity offer?
- Acuity typically covers fractional cfo, finance strategy, forecasting, m&a/audit prep. Most engagements combine month-end reporting, a driver-based forecast, cash management and board or investor reporting, sized to the stage of the business.
- How much does Acuity cost?
- Acuity works on a monthly retainer/project/hourly structure, with engagements starting around $1.5k-$20k/month depending on revenue band. Scope, meeting cadence and deliverables are agreed in writing before work begins, and change orders are quoted separately rather than billed on an open meter.
- What stage of company is Acuity best for?
- Acuity is best suited to startup/smb companies that need senior finance leadership but do not yet justify a full-time CFO. Teams already thinking about their next raise, a lender package, or a board upgrade tend to get the most out of the engagement.
- How quickly can Acuity start?
- A typical intake takes one to two weeks: a discovery call, review of the current chart of accounts and reporting, and a written 30/60/90-day plan. Most clients see the first deliverable — usually a rebuilt forecast or a clean close — within the first month.
- Does Acuity replace our bookkeeper or accountant?
- No. Acuity is a strategic finance advisor, not a bookkeeping service. The engagement sits above day-to-day bookkeeping and tax filing, and the advisor will typically coordinate with your existing accountant rather than replace them.
- Is Acuity available remotely or on-site?
- Acuity operates from USA remote and delivers most work remotely, with on-site or in-person availability for board meetings, investor pitches and lender negotiations when the engagement calls for it.
- How do engagements with Acuity typically end?
- Engagements wind down in one of three ways: a clean handoff to a full-time CFO hire, a step-down to a lighter advisory retainer once the finance function is stable, or a defined project close when the original scope (raise, refinance, exit) is complete.