Fractional CFO for Agencies
Trimline gives $1–10M independent agencies the strategic firepower of a CFO without the full-time cost. We fix margins, stabilise cash flow and build agencies worth buying — for founders across Australia and New Zealand.
Most agencies scale revenue but stall on profit. Revenue climbs, the team grows, and somehow there’s never more in the bank. That’s the problem we exist to fix.
What Is a Fractional CFO for Agencies?
A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader who works with your agency part-time, at a fraction of the $300K+ a full-time CFO costs.
To see why that matters, look at your finance team the way we do. Every role works on a different point in time:
| Role | What they do | Where they look |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Records the transactions | The past |
| Accountant | BAS, tax and compliance | The past |
| Financial controller | Keeps day-to-day cash and reporting under control | The present |
| CFO | Pricing, forecasting, hiring calls and strategy | The future |
Most $1–10M agencies have the first two covered, sometimes the third. Almost none have the fourth. That’s like sailing with a perfect log of everywhere you’ve been and no chart of the waters ahead. You know exactly where the money went. You have no idea where it’s going.
A fractional CFO fills that seat: someone reading the conditions ahead — cash, capacity, pricing — and plotting the course. You need all four roles. Only one of them grows profit.
The “for agencies” part matters. Agency economics are their own beast: retainers that quietly rot, utilisation nobody trusts, scope creep that eats the margin you priced in. We work exclusively with independent agencies, so we’re not learning your business model on your time. We benchmark it against 125 of your peers.
What You Get
Every engagement follows the same proven path:
Step 1: The Agency Roadmap. Every engagement starts with a deep dive into your existing financial systems and numbers. We assess your agency against key industry benchmarks from our survey of 125 independent agencies — net margin, utilisation, pricing, revenue per FTE — so you know exactly where you’re starting from. Then we diagnose what’s holding profit back and get hyper-specific about the handful of changes that will actually move the needle, ranked in priority order. Technically it’s onboarding. Practically, it’s the clearest picture of your agency’s finances you’ve ever had, and the plan is yours to keep.
Step 2: Strategic analysis. Dashboards and monthly reporting so you spot issues early. Team capacity modelling, client profitability tools, and our signature Trimline Profitability Project™ — the process that finds where your margin is leaking and plugs it.
Step 3: Grow the business. Forecasting, strategic planning and monthly CFO guidance as you scale. Pricing reviews, hiring models, cash runway targets, and a business that runs with less of you in it.
Month to month, that looks like: a monthly review of the numbers that matter, 8–12 weeks of cash flow visibility, pricing and scope discipline, and a sounding board for the big calls — hiring, firing clients, restructuring, exiting.
Signs Your Agency Needs a CFO
- Revenue is climbing but net profit is stuck under 10%
- Cash flow keeps surprising you, even in “good” months
- You don’t know which clients or services actually make money
- You’re pricing on gut feel and probably over-servicing
- You can’t tell whether you can afford the next hire
If two or more of those hit home, you’re exactly who we work with. If you’re pre-revenue or just need your BAS lodged, you don’t need us yet — a good bookkeeper and accountant will do.
Does It Work? The Numbers Say Yes
In our Australian Independent Agency Report, 30% of agencies reported net profit below 10%, and only 26% cleared the 20% mark we consider healthy. The gap between those groups isn’t talent or revenue. It’s financial control.
One $3M agency we worked with went from zero to 26% net profit in six months.. without adding a dollar of revenue. Repriced retainers, cut senior roles sitting in the wrong seats, walked away from big unprofitable clients they were over-servicing, and built a forecast that made every decision obvious.
For the full playbook, read our guide to agency profitability.
What Does a Fractional CFO Cost?
Less than the profit it should find. A full-time CFO costs around $300K a year — $25K a month before they’ve made you a dollar. Our fees are a fraction of that, scoped to your agency’s size and stage.
Engagements start with a three-month sprint: kickoff, your Agency Roadmap, and your reporting dialled in. After that, support scales up or down with what your agency needs. Find 1–2% of margin and the engagement pays for itself.
Who You’ll Work With
Trimline is led by Michael Wark, a Chartered Accountant with 20+ years of experience across finance and agency land. Based on Sydney’s northern beaches, Michael works remotely with agency founders across Australia and New Zealand — bringing calm, clarity and real numbers to every stage, from scaling up to stepping back.
Fractional CFO for Agencies: FAQ
How is this different from my accountant?
Your accountant manages the past — compliance, BAS, tax. We manage the future — margins, pricing, forecasting and the decisions that grow profit. We work alongside your accountant and bookkeeper, not instead of them.
Do you only work with agencies?
Yes. Digital, creative, marketing, dev and consulting agencies between roughly $1M and $10M in revenue, across Australia and New Zealand. Specialising is why we’re fast: we’ve seen your problem before.
Do we need to be in Sydney?
No. Everything runs remotely — dashboards, monthly reviews and calls work the same whether you’re in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Auckland.
How long until we see results?
The diagnosis lands in the first month, quick wins (usually pricing and client profitability) inside the first three, and structural change over six to twelve. That’s the honest timeline — anyone promising faster is guessing.
What if we’re not ready?
Start with the free stuff: the Australian Independent Agency Report to see how you benchmark, and the profitability guide to find your biggest leak. When the numbers make the case, book a call.
Ready to Fix the Engine?
Book a free 15-minute call. We’ll give you a straight answer on whether a fractional CFO is what your agency needs. If it is, the next step is a deeper dive into your numbers. If it isn’t, we’ll say so and point you at what to do instead. Worst case, you’ll learn something about your agency worth more than the time.