Finally, the financial, operational, and technological leadership your business has earned: a senior CFO embedded in your team at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
Book a Discovery Call 10 Signs It's TimeOwner-led businesses are the backbone of the American economy. The founders and operators who built them from nothing have skills most executives never develop: resilience, resourcefulness, and an intimate knowledge of their market. But growth brings a financial, operational, and technological complexity of its own, and it is starting to show up in missed opportunities, uncomfortable surprises, and decisions made on gut instead of data.
"Peakline works with owner-led businesses generating $3M to $75M in annual revenue: companies that have outgrown basic bookkeeping but aren't yet ready for a $250K+ full-time CFO hire."
We fill that gap with senior financial leadership that is embedded, strategic, and built for the way owners actually work.
You started the business, wear many hats, and financial, operational, and technological decisions keep getting more consequential. Revenue is growing but margins feel unpredictable, cash is tighter than it should be, and no one on the team truly owns the financial story.
You inherited a solid business and want to modernize its financial, operational, and technological infrastructure, prepare it for a potential sale, or take it to the next level of growth. The books are in decent shape, but there is no forecasting and no real visibility into where the business is headed.
You have raised capital or secured a line of credit, and now investors and lenders are asking for financial reporting the current team isn't equipped to produce. The business is performing, but the story isn't being told in a way that builds confidence.
Whether the sale is in 2 years or 10, you understand that the value of your business rides on the quality of its financial, operational, and technological infrastructure, the clarity of its EBITDA, and the defensibility of its numbers. You want that foundation built now, not scrambled together at the end.
Score yourself honestly. If more than two or three of these sound familiar, the gap is already costing you.
You're managing cash by checking the bank balance, not by knowing what's coming in and going out over the next 90 days.
Your books are always a quarter behind, which means your decisions are always based on old data.
Year-end tax planning isn't happening proactively, and large unexpected liabilities are disrupting your cash position and your peace of mind.
Gross margin, EBITDA, contribution margin by product or service line: these should be at your fingertips, not require a 2-day analysis.
Lenders and investors will expect financial models, projections, and clean books, and they'll see through anything that isn't rigorous and defensible.
Buyers and their advisors will scrutinize your financials under a microscope. If they're not clean and well-organized, it costs you in valuation and deal certainty.
Bookkeepers record history. CFOs interpret it, forecast it, and connect it directly to your business strategy.
Operating without a budget is flying without instruments: you won't know you're off course until it's too late to correct.
Headcount is your largest expense, and without proper FP&A you may not realize how much it's eating into profitability until the damage is done.
The most common signal of all. Financial leadership shouldn't rest on one person, especially the person who is also running the business.
Peakline was built with the owner-operator in mind. Founders don't want another vendor; they want a partner who takes the financial burden off their plate, gives clear answers without jargon, and shows up to every conversation ready to help them make a better decision.
Our fractional model embeds a senior financial leader with 15+ years of CFO-level experience in your business on a part-time basis. We integrate with your existing team, build the financial infrastructure you're missing, and run a consistent monthly cadence that keeps you informed and in control. We're not consultants who hand you a report and disappear; we're in your corner for the long term.
Complex financial and operational data translated into plain English. You'll always know exactly what's happening in your business: no jargon, no ambiguity, no 40-page reports nobody reads. Just clear, direct answers and honest advice.
We don't hand you a strategy deck and wish you luck. We build your cash flow model, design your budget, create your board package, and execute alongside your team. Hands on, every single month.
Our team has worked with hundreds of owner-led businesses across every stage and industry. Cash crunch, key hire, acquisition offer, capital raise: we've navigated it before, and we know how to get through it.
Start with a light advisory engagement and grow into a fully embedded CFO partnership as your needs evolve. You're never locked into a fixed scope; we flex with your business as your priorities shift.
Every owner-led business is different: different stage, different industry, different goals. The services below are the full menu of what Peakline brings to the table. Your engagement is scoped to what matters most right now, and evolves as your business evolves.
The annual operating plan built collaboratively with your leadership team, a 12-month rolling forecast updated every month, and monthly actuals-vs-budget reporting with written commentary and department-level P&L visibility.
Stop flying blind; start leading with data.
A 13-week rolling cash flow forecast updated weekly, AR/AP optimization to accelerate collections, runway analysis, and an early warning system that catches cash gaps before they become crises.
Cash is oxygen. We make sure you never run out.
Zero-based or driver-based budget development, headcount planning and compensation modeling, vendor and contract spend analysis, and cost reduction opportunities identified across every expense category.
A budget isn't a constraint; it's a plan to win.
Chart of accounts restructuring for strategic visibility, month-end close redesigned to 7 business days or less, bookkeeper oversight and quality control, and historical clean-up with financial statement normalization.
Great financial leadership starts with great financial data.
Quarterly estimated tax planning in partnership with your CPA, owner compensation and distribution strategy, entity structure advisory, and year-end projections so December never surprises you.
Proactive tax planning is one of the highest-ROI activities a CFO can deliver.
Lender-ready financial package preparation, bank relationship management and covenant compliance monitoring, capital structure analysis, and investor model support for a line of credit, SBA loan, or growth capital.
You deserve access to capital on favorable terms.
EBITDA normalization and add-back documentation, Quality of Earnings preparation, 3 to 5 year projections built for the sale process, and valuation benchmarking with buyer diligence support.
Exit planning is wealth planning.
A one-page monthly owner summary you actually understand, a KPI dashboard tailored to your industry, distribution and compensation analysis, and year-over-year benchmarking and trend analysis.
You built this business; you deserve to understand it fully.
Our tiers are designed to meet you where you are, whether you need a trusted sounding board or a fully embedded CFO partner. All engagements are month-to-month with transparent pricing and no long-term lock-in.
For businesses in the $3M to $10M range with stable operations that need senior strategic guidance and a sounding board without full execution.
For growth-stage businesses in the $10M to $40M range with active growth, capital needs, or operational complexity that need active CFO execution and leadership.
For high-complexity businesses in the $40M to $75M+ range with active transactions, PE interest, or exit preparation that need near full-time CFO support.
Not sure which tier fits? Most clients start at one tier and grow into the next as the business scales.
Find Your Starting PointAn onboarding and operating cadence designed to deliver value fast, and keep delivering it for years. Here's what to expect from day one to long-term partnership.
Week 1
A 45-minute conversation about your business, your current financial infrastructure, and your most pressing challenges. No pitch deck; just listening and honest answers.
Weeks 1 to 2
A deep dive into your books, reporting cadence, cash position, and gaps. You receive a written Financial Health Summary that tells you exactly where things stand, with no sugar-coating.
Weeks 2 to 3
A custom scope designed around your priorities, not a one-size-fits-all package. You know exactly what we'll do, how we'll work together, and what it costs before signing anything.
Month 1 Onward
Your Peakline CFO integrates with your team: attending leadership meetings, building financial infrastructure, delivering monthly reporting, and available when decisions need to be made.
Every Quarter
We revisit your priorities and evolve the engagement as your business changes. As you grow, we grow with you, always staying one step ahead of what your business needs next.
Composite illustrations representative of the results Peakline has helped owner-led businesses achieve. Specific results vary by business, industry, and circumstances.
Professional Services | $12M Revenue
The owner had no cash forecasting and frequent overdrafts despite strong revenue. Peakline built a 13-week rolling forecast and redesigned the AR process: aging reports, automated follow-ups, and a billing cadence that accelerated client payments by 11 days.
$340K of recoverable AR identified within 30 days. Overdrafts eliminated within 60.
Family Manufacturing | $28M Revenue
A 20-year-old family business faced its first ownership transition with EBITDA understated by untracked add-backs. Peakline ran three years of financial normalization, documented every add-back, and led a full Quality of Earnings preparation.
Sold at a multiple 1.8x higher than the owner's original estimate. Diligence done in 6 weeks with no material adjustments.
Healthcare Services | $8M Revenue at Start
A growing practice wanted new locations but had no financial model to evaluate them. Peakline built a location-level P&L and expansion pro forma showing break-even and payback per site, then led the financing and secured a $3M credit facility.
3 new locations in 18 months. Revenue grew from $8M to $14M.
Our Owner-Led Business Diagnostic produces an objective, 100-point Business Health Score across five weighted dimensions. We use it in engagement discovery to show you exactly where you stand today and what to prioritize for your growth, exit, or succession goals.
Business Foundation & Strategy
Financial Health & Reporting
Operational Infrastructure
People, Leadership & Culture
Growth, Exit & Transition Readiness
Results are reviewed collaboratively with your Peakline engagement partner.
Your bookkeeper records what happened and your CPA files your taxes. Your CFO asks why it happened, what it means for your business, and what you should do about it. Think of it as the difference between a historian and a navigator.
You can, but a qualified CFO typically costs $200,000 to $300,000 per year in salary alone, plus benefits, bonus, and often equity. A fractional CFO gives you the same caliber of expertise at 15 to 25% of the cost, and when you're ready for a full-time hire, we'll help you make that transition too.
We integrate with your existing team; we don't replace them. Think of us as the quarterback of your finance function: your bookkeeper handles day-to-day recording, your CPA handles tax and compliance, and we handle strategy, reporting, and financial leadership.
We're financially fluent in your business within 2 to 3 weeks: historical financials reviewed, team met, operations walked through, and an initial Financial Health Summary produced before the end of the first month. We've done this hundreds of times.
A close review with your bookkeeper to ensure the books are closed accurately and on time, a financial package delivered in plain English (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, and KPIs), a monthly strategy call, and ad hoc availability for questions and lender calls as they arise.
Absolutely. All Peakline engagements begin with a mutual NDA before any financial information is shared. Your financial data is never shared outside our team without your explicit written consent.
SaaS and technology, e-commerce and consumer brands, healthcare and life sciences, professional services, manufacturing and distribution, and PE-backed companies. Our CFOs are matched to clients by industry experience, so you work with someone who has seen your business model before.
Month-to-month with a 30-day notice period. We prefer long-term partnerships, and most clients stay with us for 2+ years, but we never lock you into a contract you can't exit. We earn your continued business every month by delivering real value.
You'd be surprised how often we hear that, and how often it's fixable. We've onboarded businesses with years of uncategorized transactions and missing reconciliations. Cleaning up the books is part of what we do, and it's one of the most valuable early wins because everything else builds on that foundation.
Schedule a Discovery Call. It's 45 minutes, completely free, and there's no obligation. We'll listen carefully, ask good questions, and tell you honestly whether we think we can help. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you that too.
Schedule your complimentary Discovery Call. In 45 minutes, we'll assess your current financial situation, identify your biggest opportunities and risks, and tell you exactly how Peakline can help you run a stronger, more valuable business.
Book Your Discovery CallNo pitch. No pressure. Just a real conversation with someone who's been in the room with hundreds of founders.