Strategic CFO advisory · Europe
CFO expertise for decisions that shape your company.
Senior CFO support for European SaaS, AI and technology companies scaling from €2M to €30M revenue — from payment and enterprise deal economics to pricing, cash, capital allocation and board-level decisions.
20+ years in finance, CFO leadership & investment banking/SaaS · AI · marketplaces · e-commerce
Start here
Where are you right now?
Money leaking through a contract you never negotiated
Your PSP, acquirer or platform partner. Interchange is capped across the EEA; scheme fees, commercial cards and cross-border traffic are not — and that is where the spread sits.
Review payment economics → 02One deal on the table
A large or non-standard enterprise contract you are about to sign. We work out what it actually earns, what it ties up, and whether it is worth signing as drafted.
Review a deal → 03No CFO in the seat
You have finance operations, but no senior judgment on the decisions ahead. Strategic CFO support on a monthly basis, with a defined decision cadence.
Explore CFO support →The model provides the evidence. A CFO owns the recommendation.
Important decisions rarely fail because a spreadsheet was missing.
They fail because the economics were incomplete, the assumptions were weak, or the trade-offs were never made explicit.
What are we actually paying to accept payments across Europe?
The effective rate rebuilt from settlement data rather than the headline quote: interchange against the EEA caps, scheme fees, cross-border and commercial-card uplift, FX, chargebacks and the cost of routing. Then a renegotiation position, and someone to hold it.
Interchange is regulated. The acquiring markup, routing, FX and the commercial structure around the remaining cost are where merchants often have room to negotiate — and many never test it.What happens to margin and cash if we accept this enterprise contract?
Full contract economics: delivery cost, support burden, discounts, payment terms, cash timing, SLA exposure, renewal and downside. Then a position — proceed, proceed with conditions, renegotiate, or walk away.
Large contracts are usually won on revenue and lost on terms nobody priced.Are the model, metrics and story credible enough for investors?
An honest read on what diligence will find before an investor finds it: revenue quality, metric definitions, model integrity, runway logic and the gaps that stall a process.
Rounds slow down on revenue recognition and a model that does not tie out.Not sure which side you are on? That is what the first call is for — and we will say so plainly.
Fixed-Fee Projects — one decision, one fee
Start with the decision in front of you.
Fixed scope, fixed fee, delivered in weeks, no retainer required. A fixed-fee decision project is a low-commitment way to start before moving to ongoing CFO support. Fixed-fee projects are priced to scope. Selected decision reviews start from €3,450 excl. VAT; the final fee is quoted after the first call. Selected Fixed-Fee Projects are below.
How we support decisions
The evidence behind the recommendation.
Models, forecasts and reporting are how we get to a defensible position — not the product itself. You keep every working document.
Cash runway dashboard
Cash-out date, burn and buffer — refreshed monthly.
Board-ready monthly report
P&L, KPIs and commentary in the language investors expect.
Unit economics bridge
Margin by product, channel and customer — and where it leaks.
Fundraising readiness checklist
What diligence will ask, and what still needs fixing.
CFO decision memo
One recommendation, the reasoning, and what to do next.
13-week cash forecast
Week-by-week cash position with the fundraise window flagged.
Illustrative examples — every deliverable is built from your financial data, operating assumptions and the decision in front of you.
Strategic / Fractional CFO — recurring senior leadership
A CFO in the room for the decisions that matter.
Three levels of responsibility, not three bundles of hours. Typical ongoing CFO engagements start from €2,750 per month excl. VAT; the final fee is quoted against scope after the first call. Every engagement opens with a 30-day orientation: finance health check, cash visibility, metric definitions, ledger access and a 90-day decision agenda — included.
Clarity
For €2M–€5M companies with accounting in place, but no senior finance leader owning cash, reporting and forward planning.
Responsibility: cash position and reporting integrity
- Someone names the cash constraint every monthRolling 13-week cash view, refreshed monthly, with the constraint named
- Reporting arrives with a recommendation attachedMonthly read on what changed, what is at risk and what to act on — with a recommendation attached
- Metrics that survive an investor conversationDefinitions set once, held honest, consistent between board decks
- A CFO to think it through withMonthly decision session with the CFO on your account
Control
For €5M–€15M companies making commercial and hiring commitments every month.
Responsibility: the operating plan and commercial economics
- Everything in Clarity, plus:
- Someone owns the plan and defends its assumptionsAnnual plan and rolling 12-month forecast, with a CFO accountable for the assumptions
- You hear why plan and reality diverged, earlyMonthly variance read: what is driving it and what to change
- The outcome of a commitment, before you make itScenario work on hiring, pricing, market entry and downside
- Someone says which customers and products are worth keepingQuarterly deep dive on contribution and customer economics
- Access between cyclesCash refresh every two weeks · two decision sessions a month
Command
For €15M–€30M companies with investors, multiple entities or operations in several European markets.
Responsibility: board position, capital structure and group economics
- Everything in Control, plus:
- You walk into the board meeting with a position, not a packBoard material built around the decisions on the agenda and the questions investors will actually press
- Revenue recognition prepared before diligence finds itRevenue-recognition treatment under the company's applicable reporting framework, coordinated with your accountant — IFRS 15 or the applicable local GAAP. ASC 606 is addressed where US investors or US reporting requirements make it relevant.
- A CFO reachable between scheduled sessionsWeekly cash view and touchpoint, plus access when something consequential lands
- Capital decisions with an ownerDebt, equity, timing and allocation — analysed, recommended and defended to the board
- A name on the recommendationThe analysis, assumptions and recommendation are reviewed and owned by the CFO on your account
One-off work — a fundraise, a pricing rebuild, a major contract — is scoped separately as a fixed-fee project, so the monthly scope stays predictable. Fees are quoted against scope after the first call. See the full comparison →
What each level takes responsibility for.
If it is not here, it is scoped separately.
| Who owns what | Clarity | Control | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for (annual revenue) | €2M–€5M | €5M–€15M | €15M–€30M |
| The decision the CFO owns | Cash & reporting integrity | Plan, pricing & commercial | Board, capital & group |
| Someone names the cash constraint and states it monthly | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Someone stands behind the numbers your board reads | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Decision sessions with the CFO on your account | 1 / month | 2 / month | Weekly + on call |
| Someone owns the operating plan and defends its assumptions | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Someone tells you the outcome of a commitment before you make it | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Someone says which customers and products are worth keeping | — | Quarterly | Monthly |
| Someone holds the position in front of investors and the board | — | — | ✓ |
| Someone owns revenue recognition before diligence questions it | — | — | ✓ |
| Analytical support under CFO direction | As required | Included | Included |
| Commitment | 3-month initial term, then month to month, 30 days’ notice — all levels | ||
Sectors where we have a repeatable economic model.
Different business models fail in different places. These are the ones where we can be specific from the first call.
Software scaling past the founder’s spreadsheet
- ARR looks healthy, cash does not, and nobody owns the model
- Enterprise contracts signed before anyone priced the delivery burden
- The board asks for metrics you cannot produce on demand
ARR quality · NRR · LTV/CAC · CAC payback · sales efficiency · runway
Typical first decision: whether this contract, this price change or this hiring plan is worth committing to.
Explore SaaS →Companies whose cost of goods is compute
- Inference and training costs buried inside COGS
- Gross margin nothing like classic SaaS — and investors know it
- Pricing built before anyone modelled usage at scale
cost per query · gross margin trajectory · compute % of COGS · capital intensity
Typical first decision: what to charge, and which customers are worth serving at that price.
Explore AI →Two-sided businesses moving other people’s money
- GMV mistaken for revenue, payouts for expenses
- PSP reporting that reconciles with nothing
- Take-rate pressure invisible until it is already a problem
take rate · net revenue · contribution per transaction · float · working capital
Typical first decision: where the take rate can move, and what it costs on each side of the market.
Explore Marketplaces →Brands growing faster than their cash
- Cash trapped in inventory while revenue climbs
- Profitable on paper, tight in the bank account
- Blended acquisition cost hiding which channel actually pays
contribution margin · channel CAC · MER/ROAS · inventory turns · cash conversion
Typical first decision: which channels, markets and SKUs to fund next quarter, and which to stop funding.
Explore E-commerce →Delivery businesses hiring ahead of demand
- Headcount committed before contracted demand is visible
- Delivery margin swings by client and service line, and nobody can say why
- Utilisation is tracked operationally but never reaches the financial plan
utilisation · delivery margin · backlog cover · client concentration · collection risk
Typical first decision: whether the next hiring wave is covered by backlog, or funded by hope.
Explore Tech-enabled services →From first conversation to a decision you can defend.
Decision call
Thirty minutes on the decision in front of you. You leave with three things: how we would frame it, what the economics turn on, and whether this is one fixed-fee project or an ongoing CFO relationship. We will say if it is neither.
Scope and evidence
Read-only access to your systems, a finance health check, the economics rebuilt on your own ledger, and the assumptions written down where you can argue with them.
Decision cadence
A recurring rhythm on cash, performance, pricing, commercial commitments, capital allocation and board preparation — with a CFO who answers when something changes.
Why Ad/CFO.
What a founder in Europe is actually buying when they bring us into a decision.
Someone sits opposite the counterparty
A PSP, an enterprise buyer, a lead investor, a lender. The value is not the analysis — it is a senior finance person in the room whose job is your side of the table, and who stays in the negotiation after the model is finished.
Built for cross-border European operations
Multiple entities, several VAT registrations, different reporting frameworks, local payment rails and an imperfect finance stack. We have worked inside setups like this before and bring order to them instead of referring the hard parts out.
Named CFO ownership, analytical support
A senior CFO owns the client relationship, assumptions and recommendation, and puts their name on it. Financial analysts support modelling, research and data preparation under CFO direction.
Independent, and easy to leave
No software to sell you, no placement fee, no authority over your money. We are not your accountant, your PSP or your investor — nobody upstream of us benefits from the advice. Scope is defined before work starts, and the engagement runs month to month after the initial term.
About Ad/CFO.
Ad/CFO exists for a specific moment in a company’s life: the decisions have become consequential — a first enterprise contract, a repricing, a market entry, a round — but there is no senior CFO in the seat to own them. We bring that judgment in, for one decision or on a standing basis.
The background is 20+ years in finance, including senior CFO leadership, investment banking and international operating experience across technology companies. For a European company scaling into a second or third market, that experience matters because the decisions ahead involve cross-border operations, several tax and reporting regimes, investors and commercial trade-offs made under time pressure.
We work inside your systems and alongside your existing advisers. Local bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and statutory reporting remain with your own accountant or another appropriately qualified local specialist. We use reliable accounting outputs as the foundation for forecasts, commercial analysis and forward-looking decisions.
- Leadership20+ years in finance, including senior CFO leadership, investment banking and international operating experience across SaaS, AI, marketplaces, e-commerce and technology companies
- TeamSenior CFO ownership on every engagement, with analytical support for modelling, research and data preparation under CFO direction
- Operating modelRemote-first, working Central European hours. In-person meetings in Amsterdam, Berlin, Warsaw or another EU city by arrangement.
- ContractingEU-established counterparty · engagements priced and invoiced in EUR · VAT reverse-charged for B2B clients with a valid EU VAT number
- SystemsExact Online · NetSuite · QuickBooks · Xero · Power BI · Excel / Google Sheets — we work inside whatever you already run
- ProtectionRead-only access wherever possible · no payment authority, we never move client money · separate client credentials · 2FA on all supported systems under our control · work primarily in client-controlled systems and files · GDPR-compliant handling, processing within the EU · NDA available before confidential information is shared
Fair questions.
Which countries do you work with?
Companies established in the European Economic Area. Work is delivered remotely in English, in Central European hours, with in-person meetings by arrangement.
What reporting framework do you work in?
IFRS 15 or your applicable local GAAP, coordinated with your accountant. ASC 606 is addressed where US investors, a US entity or US reporting requirements make it relevant. We do not replace your statutory reporting — we make sure the numbers a board or an investor sees are consistent with it.
How do you work with our bookkeeper or local accountant?
Different roles. Your bookkeeper maintains the financial records and your local accountant handles statutory accounting, compliance and filings. Ad/CFO provides the forward-looking CFO layer: cash, pricing, commercial economics, capital allocation and board-level decisions. We work alongside your existing advisers, using reliable accounting outputs as the foundation for forecasts, analysis and decisions.
Who actually does the work on our account?
Every engagement is led by a senior CFO who owns the analysis, the recommendation and the client relationship. Financial analysts may support data preparation, modelling and research, but the CFO on your account reviews the work, challenges the assumptions and stands behind the final position.
Do you handle statutory accounts, VAT returns or audit?
No — and that is deliberate. Ad/CFO provides strategic CFO advisory: decision support, economics, capital and commercial judgment. Bookkeeping, payroll, VAT returns, statutory accounts and audit work remain with your own accountant or another appropriately qualified local specialist, and we coordinate with them where the CFO work depends on those outputs. If a local specialist is required, we will identify the requirement early so it can be addressed before the relevant work begins.
When does a scale-up need a fractional CFO rather than a full-time one?
A fractional CFO fits when the questions are consequential but not yet daily. In practice that is roughly €2M to €30M in revenue: enterprise contracts are getting bigger, payment and pricing economics are under pressure, a round is on the horizon, and the model has outgrown the founder. A full-time CFO makes sense once finance becomes a daily, full-team function — typically past €30–50M, or with complex M&A ahead. If you are past that point we will say so, and help you hire the right person.
How do you handle our financial data?
We minimise access by design: read-only permissions wherever possible, no authority to move client funds, separate client credentials and two-factor authentication on all supported systems under our control. We work primarily in client-controlled systems and files, processing takes place within the EU, and we can sign an NDA before receiving confidential information.
What if we’re about to fundraise?
Fundraising Readiness — model, metrics, runway logic, data room and diligence preparation — is scoped as a dedicated project, separate from any monthly scope, so an intensive raise period does not distort your ongoing costs. Starting before the round opens gives us time to fix model, metrics and diligence gaps before investors see them.
What happens if we outgrow you, or want to hire a full-time CFO?
Then we have done our job. When you are ready for a full-time CFO we help you hire one — writing the spec, screening candidates, and handing over a working model and documented processes so your new hire starts on day one rather than month three. No lock-in. We would rather you graduate well than stay because leaving is painful.
Is there a long-term contract?
An initial 3-month term, then month to month with 30 days’ notice. If we’re not earning the retainer, you shouldn’t be paying it.
Contact.
Remote-first, working Central European hours, Monday to Friday. In-person meetings in Amsterdam, Berlin, Warsaw or another EU city by arrangement.
- No deck, no documents required
- How we would frame the decision and what it turns on
- An honest read on whether we are the right fit
Replies within one business day. If documents would help, we will agree the appropriate way to share them.
30 minutes · No deck · No documents required
Bring us the decision, not the paperwork.
Tell us what you are about to commit to — a contract, a payment renegotiation, a price, a hire, a market, a round. We will tell you how we would frame it, what the economics turn on, and whether we are the right people to help. If it is a decision you should make yourself, we will say that too.
Discuss a decisionOr write to hello@adcfo.eu