Burn you can’t see clearly
Cash is tracked in a founder’s head or a stale sheet. A vCFO gives you a live runway number and the levers to extend it.
Investor-grade finance, before you hire a CFO.
Virtual CFO for Startups
Senior CA / ex-banker–led fractional CFO support for Indian startups — investor MIS, burn & runway, board packs, financial models and fundraise support, at a fraction of a full-time CFO’s cost. A vCFO who owns the numbers your investors and board actually read — not a consultant who hands over a slide deck and leaves. ₹4,250 Cr+ mobilised across 100+ mandates since 2011.
CA / ex-banker led Fundraise-ready Seed to Series B
A track record since 2011, in numbers
₹4,250 Cr+
Group capital facilitated since 2011₹550 Cr
Largest single facility structured100+
Deals advised end to end20–40 hrs
Structured bandwidth per monthSince 2011
CA / ex-banker, senior on every fileA Virtual CFO for a startup is a senior finance leader embedded part-time with operating accountability — built for funded and fundraising companies that need investor-grade MIS, burn discipline and a fundraise-ready model, but don’t yet justify a full-time ₹50 L–1.5 Cr CFO hire. Unlike an external advisor, the vCFO owns the numbers month on month.
Where founders get stuck
The finance gaps that slow a startup down
Most startups don’t have a revenue problem first — they have a finance-visibility problem. These are the gaps a virtual CFO closes.
Investors want an MIS you don’t have
Monthly numbers, a board pack and KPI commentary your investors expect — built once, run every month.
A fundraise with no model or data room
A defensible financial model, pitch financials and a clean diligence room — the difference between a slow raise and a closed one.
Unit economics nobody has nailed
CAC, LTV, contribution margin and payback — the metrics that decide whether growth is worth funding.
Compliance, ESOPs & FEMA piling up
GST, TDS, ROC, ESOP accounting and FEMA filings for foreign investors — tracked on one calendar, nothing slipping.
The founder is the finance team
Finance runs in the margins of building the company. A vCFO takes it off your plate without a full-time hire.
Three ways to engage
Three engagement models — fitted to your stage
From ongoing monthly bandwidth to a fundraise-linked sprint. Fees are indicative and scoped case-by-case on stage, complexity and cadence.
Model Scope Duration Fees range Best for
RetainerMost popular ScopeOngoing CFO bandwidth — investor MIS, burn & runway, board packs Duration12+ months Fees range₹50k–1.5 L / month Best forFunded startups, seed to Series B
Fundraise-Linked ScopeModel, pitch financials, data room, term-sheet support Duration3–6 months Fees rangeRetainer + success fee Best forAn active equity or debt round
Project-Based ScopeDefined deliverable — financial model, MIS setup, diligence readiness Duration2–4 months Fees range₹2 L–10 L / project Best forOne-time finance-function fix
Indicative — scoped case-by-case based on stage, complexity and cadence. Every model is led by a senior CA or ex-banker, with a support resource executing under partner oversight. For the full breakdown, see our full Virtual CFO service, or how virtual CFO pricing works.
What we own month on month
The startup finance function, owned — not advised on
From the runway model to the board pack, we run the finance function end to end so your numbers are investor-ready every month.
01
Investor MIS & board packs
A monthly MIS pack, KPI dashboard and board-ready narrative your investors actually read — built once, run every month.
02
Burn, runway & cash
Live burn-rate and runway tracking, a 13-week cash forecast and the levers to extend runway before it gets tight.
03
Financial model & unit economics
A defensible operating model, scenario planning, and unit economics — CAC, LTV, contribution margin and payback — that hold up in diligence.
04
Fundraise & diligence support
Pitch and IM financials, the data room, investor Q&A and term-sheet evaluation — through to close. Need debt instead of equity? We syndicate it via corporate finance.
05
Compliance, ESOP & FEMA
GST, TDS, ROC, ESOP accounting and FEMA/RBI filings for foreign investors — tracked on a managed calendar. We work on your stack — Tally, Zoho or our group’s GST-ready TatvaBooks.
06
Controls & finance ops
Month-end close, internal controls, finance SOPs and ERP scoping — a finance function that scales with each round.
Why a vCFO earns its keep
CFO-grade judgement, sized to a startup
Senior finance leadership, investor-grade reporting and fundraise firepower — on a structured monthly cadence, with the flexibility to scale up during a raise and step back after.
Senior CA / ex-banker lead
No junior pass-through — your mandate is partner-led, by people who read the numbers the way an investor or credit committee will.
Investor-ready, always
A clean monthly pack and a current model mean you’re never scrambling when an investor or a term sheet asks for numbers.
Fundraise firepower
Model, data room and diligence support from people who have closed debt and equity — so your raise starts warm, not cold.
Flexible by stage
Scale up during a raise, step back after — month-to-month with 30-day notice after the minimum term. No long lock-ins.
Runway you control
Live burn and runway visibility with the levers to extend it — so cash decisions are made early, not in a crunch.
Confidentiality first
NDA at kick-off; cap table, model and board papers stay ring-fenced to the named engagement team — nothing leaves the room.
Process
How an engagement runs — from scoping to monthly cadence
A clear path from first scoping call to a steady monthly cadence, with the named partner on the file at every stage.
-
Scoping call
1 dayStage, fundraise plans and pain points — we map where the finance function stands and what investors will expect next.
-
Diligence
3–5 daysBooks, model, cap table and systems review, with a baseline of finance-function and fundraise readiness.
-
Engagement design
2 daysScope, cadence, deliverables, fees and the lead partner confirmed — locked into a signed engagement letter.
-
Kickoff & SOPs
week 1NDA, SOPs, the MIS template and first-month deliverables scoped out — the engine starts turning.
-
Monthly cadence
ongoingMonthly investor MIS, board support and ongoing finance ops — the vCFO owns the numbers month on month.
Who we work with & what we need to start
Built for funded and fundraising startups
We work with startups from pre-Series A to Series B across sectors — and we know exactly what we need to get your finance function investor-ready.
Who we work with
CA / ex-banker–led, Mumbai & Pune-based, serving startups across Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and pan-India.
What we need to start — onboarding checklist
- Latest financials & current trial balance
- Existing financial model / projections (if any)
- Cap table & prior round documents
- Bank statements — last 12 months
- Accounting software access & any finance SOPs
- KYC of company, founders and directors
Indicative — varies by stage and scope. A mutual NDA is executed before diligence begins.
Why Finnova
Why founders choose Finnova as their Virtual CFO
Four reasons startups hand us the numbers — and keep us on file through each round.
01
Senior, partner-led
No junior pass-through. Your mandate is led by a senior CA or ex-banker you deal with directly — execution sits under partner oversight, never instead of it.
02
Investor-grade, not back-office
A clean monthly MIS, a current model and a board-ready narrative — finance that wins investor confidence, not just records the past.
03
Debt and equity firepower
₹4,250 Cr+ mobilised across debt and equity — so whether you raise a round or syndicate debt, the fundraise starts warm.
04
Track record
100+ deals since 2011 across sectors — a finance partner with real market reach, not a first-timer learning on your cap table.
Consultation
Tell us where your finance function stands
One conversation tells you the right engagement model, the cadence that fits your stage and how fast we can stand up an investor-ready MIS and model. No pitch — just a straight read from senior people who own numbers for a living.
Thank you — your enquiry has been submitted
We’ve received your details. A senior member of our team will review them and get back to you within one business day. Everything you’ve shared stays strictly confidential.
FAQ
Virtual CFO for startups, answered
For a startup, a virtual CFO owns the investor-grade MIS, burn-rate and runway tracking, the financial model and projections, board-pack preparation, fundraise and due-diligence support, unit-economics analysis, and the compliance calendar (GST, TDS, ROC, and FEMA/ESOP where relevant) — the finance leadership a funded company needs before it can justify a full-time CFO.
Most startups bring one in around a fundraise, when investors start asking for a model, a data room and clean monthly numbers nobody maintains — or when burn needs active management and the founder is doing finance in the margins. A virtual CFO gives you that capability from pre-Series A onwards, without a ₹50 lakh+ full-time hire.
Startup engagements typically run from around ₹50,000 to ₹1.5 lakh per month depending on stage, cadence and whether a fundraise is live, against ₹50 lakh to ₹1.5 crore a year for a full-time CFO. Fundraise-linked mandates can be structured as a retainer plus a success fee.
Yes — it is one of the most common reasons startups engage us. We build the financial model and projections, prepare the pitch and information-memorandum financials, set up and run the diligence data room, and support term-sheet evaluation through to close. The work scales up during the raise and down once it closes.
Every mandate is led by a senior CA or ex-banker — you deal with the named partner directly, not a rotating bench of junior staff. A second support resource handles execution under partner oversight.
Further reading
The virtual CFO question, explained in our Resources
What a virtual CFO is, what it costs, and when to bring one in. For the complete service, see our full Virtual CFO service.