Fractional CFO for Australian and NZ businesses. Free written verdict first

How it works

Three steps. The first two are free.

01
A 20 minute call.

Tell me what the business does and what’s bothering you about the numbers. Phone or video.
02
A written verdict in 24 hours.

The diagnosis you’d normally pay a CFO for, in writing, before you pay anything.
- What’s costing you money, with a dollar figure on each
- What’s exposing you, before it becomes a problem
- What to fix, in order, and what each fix is worth
- What’s still done by hand, and what could run without you
- A 45 minute call where I walk you through all of it
See an example: $72,000 a year nobody could see
03
You decide what happens next.

Do nothing, hand the report to someone else, or have me fix it: a one-off build for a fixed fee, or ongoing from A$1,500 a month. The report is yours either way.

Who does it

One working CFO. Not a firm’s add-on, not a panel.

Liam, in 88 seconds: why the review comes first, and what it found for one owner.

I’m Liam Collier, a fractional CFO to businesses up to A$30M. Before that, business advisory at BDO with clients up to $100M in revenue, then running the finance function of a 130-person Melbourne law firm: cash, management reporting, profitability, owner decision support. I completed the CA program, then chose commercial finance over compliance work. Ten years working with Australian and New Zealand businesses. The person you speak to on the first call is the person who does the work, every month, for as long as you keep me.

Fractional CFO to businesses up to A$30M Ex-BDO business advisory Ran finance for a 130-person firm One person, every time

An example verdict

Clean books, A$5.2M in revenue, and A$72,000 a year nobody could see.

A worked example of what you get back, representative of what real reviews find. No client’s file is ever used in marketing, yours included.

Finance review verdict · example Delivered within 24 hours

Verdict

Reviewed: Xero file, 24 months. Management reports (bookkeeper’s monthly P&L and balance sheet). The forecast spreadsheet and the job tracker the business runs on.

The bookkeeping is fine. Reconciled, BAS lodged on time. What it does not show is margin, cash timing or who pays slowly. The P&L is by account, not by client or job. The forecast spreadsheet does not tie to the ledger; it was built in 2024 and rolled forward since. Cash is managed from the bank balance, and the BAS has been lodged on time but paid late in three of the last four quarters.

Three findings. 01: $72,000 a year in margin on two clients. 02: about $7,400 a year in ATO interest from paying the BAS late. 03: $186,000 more than 60 days overdue, across four clients.

01 · Margin$72,000 a year

All 28 staff sit in one line, “Wages and salaries,” under overheads. There is no gross margin figure anywhere in the file. Recut using the job tracker’s hours, delivery margin is 34 percent against the 41 percent the pricing model assumes. Two of the six retained clients run below 15 percent.

Client	Fees a year	Margin now	At 30%	Gain
A	$240,000	$26,400 11%	$72,000	$45,600
B	$160,000	$21,600 13.5%	$48,000	$26,400
Both	$400,000	$48,000 12%	$120,000	$72,000

Target is 30 percent, below the firm’s 34 percent average. Figures are on current fees. Route: cut delivery hours on both to what the fees support, or reprice at renewal. No new work required.

02 · Cash$7,400 a year in ATO interest

The ATO is funding the business, at interest that is no longer deductible. Over the year the business is not short of cash. It is short for about ten days each quarter, when the BAS and a fortnightly payroll fall due together, about $210,000 in total. Instead of drawing the account down, it pays the BAS late and in part. The ATO balance has run between $40,000 and $90,000, averaging $65,000. At the current general interest charge of 11.43 percent that is about $7,400 a year, none of it deductible since 1 July 2025. A 13-week cash forecast shows each of those ten days eight to ten weeks ahead, in time to bring debtors in (03) or move an invoice run so the BAS is paid on the due date.

03 · Debtors$186,000 over 60 days

The two lowest-margin clients are also two of the four slowest payers. Trade debtors are $690,000. $186,000 is over 60 days, $61,000 of it over 90, across four clients. Clients A and B from finding 01 are two of the four: the business is financing its lowest-margin work. Invoices are chased when cash is tight, so collection and the BAS squeeze coincide. A weekly aged debtors review and a 14-day follow-up rule would collect most of the $186,000 within a quarter.

What this cannot fix

Bookkeeping stays with the bookkeeper. Whether to reprice A and B, or exit one, is a commercial decision; the margin figures above are the input.

The forecast needs rebuilding from the ledger, not patching. One that does not tie to the accounts drifts again within a quarter.

$72,000A year in margin, recurring

$186,000Overdue cash, most of it in within a quarter

$7,400A year in ATO interest, not deductible

L. Collier A worked example. No client file is used in marketing.

Two clients, in their own words, on working this way.

Client reference

“When our previous CFO moved on, Liam stepped in as our fractional CFO and has been the person we go to for anything complex in our finances since. He prepares the financial statements for our group entities, ran our annual budgeting process, and owns the forecasts our external stakeholders rely on. When we changed payroll and HR platforms mid-year, he delivered the migration on schedule, with every employee record and leave balance reconciled. He is highly responsive and turns urgent work around at short notice.”

Levent Shevki · Chief Executive Officer, Cornwalls, Melbourne

Client reference

“Liam rebuilt our budget from the bottom up and restructured the ledger so we could actually see delivery margins and where payroll was really going… The reporting was genuinely useful: true cash position after obligations, utilisation by consultant, and straight commentary on what needed a decision each month. Always delivered on time, no fuss, and having clean numbers made life easier when the business changed hands.”

George Darwent · then Chief Executive Officer, Centauri Consulting, Melbourne · Recommendation on LinkedIn

That engagement started exactly the way this page describes: a short call, a free look at the file, a findings walkthrough, then a fixed fee to fix what the file showed.

What a CFO does

Your bookkeeper tells you what happened. A CFO tells you what to do about it.

Which of these matter depends on your business: its stage, its margins, its cash. The verdict tells you which ones matter for yours, and what each one is worth to you.

Cash flow forecasting.

A three-way forecast that shows the low point months out, so cash stops being a surprise the morning it hits.

Monthly numbers you can run on.

A management pack by the fifth business day, in the language of your business, with commentary on what needs a decision.

Margin by job, client and crew.

Which work makes money, which is subsidised, and the quoting rules that stop it.

Pricing and profit improvement.

Where the margin leaks and what to charge so it exists before you win the job.

Funding, banks and refinance.

The model and the pack lenders accept, prepared by someone who has sat on your side of the table through one.

Board and owner reporting.

KPI dashboards and board packs that say what is happening and what to do, not just what happened.

Scaling, hiring and exit planning.

What the next A$5M needs from the finance function, when to hire, and what a buyer will want to see.

Automation and AI in the finance function.

Reconciliation, reporting and cash tracking that shouldn’t need a person, set up once and running without you.

Oversight of your bookkeeper and accountant.

Someone senior confirming the numbers are right before you act on them, and training your person to run what gets built.

Compare

What you’re actually choosing between.

Comparison	Accounting firm, CFO add-on	CFO panel or network	Infraxus
Who you deal with	Whichever senior is available	Whoever the panel assigns	One CFO, from the first call to the last
Before you pay	A free consult	A free consult	A written verdict on your whole finance function, in 24 hours
Then	A monthly retainer	A monthly retainer	Whatever the verdict supports, including nothing
How it’s priced	Packages, price on application	A$2,000 to A$8,000 a month, where published	A fixed fee per build, never hourly. Ongoing from A$1,500 a month, no lock-in
Automation and AI	Not usually offered	Not usually offered	Assessed in every verdict, built where it pays
If you walk away	You keep nothing	You keep nothing	You keep the report

Infraxus

Who you deal withOne CFO, from the first call to the last

Before you payA written verdict on your whole finance function, in 24 hours

ThenWhatever the verdict supports, including nothing

How it’s pricedA fixed fee per build, never hourly. Ongoing from A$1,500 a month, no lock-in

Automation and AIAssessed in every verdict, built where it pays

If you walk awayYou keep the report

Accounting firm, CFO add-on

Who you deal withWhichever senior is available

Before you payA free consult

ThenA monthly retainer

How it’s pricedPackages, price on application

Automation and AINot usually offered

If you walk awayYou keep nothing

CFO panel or network

Who you deal withWhoever the panel assigns

Before you payA free consult

ThenA monthly retainer

How it’s pricedA$2,000 to A$8,000 a month, where published

Automation and AINot usually offered

If you walk awayYou keep nothing

Book 20 minutes

Fit

Built for owner-run businesses from A$1M.

Construction and infrastructure, trades and contractors, professional services, agencies, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, healthcare practices, ecommerce, hospitality groups, and groups running several entities. Ten years of it, from single-entity operators to a group running thirteen entities and hundreds of fixed assets.

Not for businesses under A$1M revenue. See bookkeeping from A$149 a month or take the free templates

FAQ

Before you book.

Q01Why is the review free?

It’s how I find clients worth working with, and it costs me a few hours to be useful to you. If the verdict shows work worth doing, the walkthrough call ends with a fixed quote. If it doesn’t, I say so in writing. Either way the report is yours, and nothing follows unless you ask for it.

Q02I already have an accountant and a bookkeeper.

Keep them. They handle compliance and the ledger, and they should. This is the job neither of them is doing: forward numbers, margin by job and client, cash you can see coming, and the decisions that sit on top of all three.

Q03What do I have to share?

Whatever you’re comfortable sharing. Usually that’s your accounting file, read only, plus the reports and spreadsheets you actually run the business on. The more I can see, the more complete the verdict. Read-only access, granted on the call, revoked in one click whenever you like. How your data is handled is on the security page.

Q04Is this a sales call?

No. The verdict is written before any pricing is discussed, and it may say you need nothing. If it does, that’s what it’ll say.

Q05What if I only need one thing fixed?

Then that’s the job. If the verdict points to one problem (say, a forecast that doesn’t tie to the ledger), I quote it as a fixed fee on the walkthrough call. Scope sets the price, and most builds land around A$5,000. You know the full cost before you commit, it’s never hourly, and once it’s built I train you or your person to run it. You own everything it produces.

Q06What does A$1,500 a month get me?

Whatever the verdict says you need, scoped to that and nothing more: monthly numbers, a forecast kept current, a standing call, and me on the end of the phone between them. The price is fixed to that scope, and there’s no lock-in: you can stop any month.

Q07How fast?

A call within days. The verdict within 24 hours of access. A build usually inside four to six weeks.

Q08Do you do tax, BAS or audit?

No. Never. Your accountant keeps that, and nothing here changes it.

Q09What if the verdict says everything is fine?

Then you have a clean bill of health in writing, and you’ve avoided a retainer you didn’t need. That’s a good outcome.

Book

Book the twenty minutes.

Free. A written verdict within 24 hours. Yours to keep whatever you decide.

What happens next.

01You pick a time for the 20 minute call, straight after this form.
02Nothing to prepare. Twenty minutes, phone or video, whichever you prefer.
03If the review is worth doing, your written verdict lands within 24 hours, then a 45 minute call where I walk you through it.

A fractional CFO for businesses from A$1M. Find out what you need before you pay for it.