Fractional CFO for productivity software companies
Productivity software is heavily PLG-led, with self-serve sign-up, free tiers and team-to-enterprise expansion at the centre of the GTM. The accounting isn't difficult, but the metrics question is - paid conversion, team expansion, edition mix and active-user definitions all need consistent treatment.
The model respects how PLG actually behaves rather than retrofitting a sales-led shape onto it. Self-serve and sales-assisted economics report separately with their own payback profiles, and the cost of supporting the free funnel - infrastructure, AI compute, support - is made explicit.
Flow provides financial modelling, FP&A and fractional CFO advisory to productivity software companies across notes, docs and wikis, task and project management, calendaring and scheduling, no-code and workflow automation, and AI-native productivity tools. We work as the outsourced startup CFO through growth, fundraising and sale processes.
KPIs to track for "productivity software" startups
We're very 'KPI-driven' fractional CFOs, and we make sure to monitor the right metrics for your startup.
Paid seats
ARR
Free-to-paid conversion
Net retention
WAU / DAU
Team expansion
ARPU per seat
CAC payback
Gross margin
Edition mix
Financial modelling for "productivity software" startups
As fractional CFOs, we build KPI-driven financial models that are insightful and easy to maintain.
Financial modelling is both art and science - models must be robust, but also understandable, and useful for both internal planning and VC fundraising purposes. Hire a fractional CFO who knows how to handle both sides of the equation.
PLG funnel model
Self-serve sign-up to active team to paid conversion to enterprise contract tracked as a cohorted funnel over twelve to twenty-four months. The model respects how PLG actually behaves rather than retrofitting a sales-led shape onto it.
Free-tier infrastructure cost
Infrastructure, AI inference and support cost of the free funnel made explicit in gross margin reporting rather than buried in a blended COGS. The cost of supporting unpaid users is treated as a customer-acquisition investment with its own ROI.
Team-to-enterprise expansion
Expansion tracked at team-within-account level with conversion rates from team plan to enterprise contract by cohort. Logo-level NDR collapses the team expansion engine that creates most of the lifetime value in PLG businesses.
Active-user & DAU/WAU model
Active-user definitions held consistent across paid and free tiers, with DAU, WAU and engagement-cohort trajectories modelled by acquisition source. Engagement is the leading indicator of paid conversion and the metric most easily distorted by sloppy definitions.
Seat ARR & edition mix
Paid seat ARR walked by edition mix, with ARPU-per-seat movement decomposed from raw seat growth. Edition uplift is a distinct expansion lever from net new paid seats and the model treats them as such.
Self-serve vs sales-assisted P&L
Self-serve and sales-assisted cohorts reported with their own CAC, payback and gross margin profile. Most PLG businesses develop a sales-assisted enterprise layer over time, and the two motions need to read separately well before a process starts.
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across productivity software and beyond.
Marcura
We acted as fractional CFO to Dubai-based Marcura, owner of maritime payroll and B2B payments platform MarTrust, advising on the strategic e-Wallet vendor selection and supporting product/finance integration.
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Hector
We acted as fractional CFO to Hector Aurumi, a Dubai-based specialist software house with AI/ML, IoT and data science expertise, providing confidential valuation guidance to the management team.
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Testim
As a fractional CFO we performed a confidential valuation of Testim, a Tel Aviv-based AI-based software testing automation platform, supporting Elevator Fund's portfolio management.
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Panorays
As a fractional CFO we performed a confidential valuation of Panorays, a Tel Aviv-based software platform for third-party security management, supporting Elevator Fund's portfolio management.
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Percepto
As a fractional CFO we performed a confidential valuation of Percepto, a Tel Aviv-based autonomous drone monitoring platform for critical infrastructure and industrial sites, supporting Elevator Fund's portfolio management.
See moreRecent fractional CFO track record
See our fractional CFO and financial modelling experience across productivity software and beyond.
Simple pricing
No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for productivity software startups.
Per month
- Accounting / FP&A tech stack implementation
- Monthly financial statements and reporting pack
- Quarterly board pack with detailed financial analysis (with variance analysis vs. budget, relevant KPI observations etc.)
- Investor-friendly output
Per month
- Everything in Core, plus
- Operating model (via an online platform like Runway or Excel-based)
- Ongoing model maintenance, refining projections, burn/runway management
- Customer cohorts modelling, churn and retention analysis
- LTV / CAC, unit economics analysis
- Cap table management
Per month
- Everything in Grow, plus
- M&A / fundraising support; review of business plan
- Pitch deck preparation
- Investor approach strategy / list building
- Due diligence support and deal negotiation
- Valuation as required and free access to Multiples Pro
Packages shown are illustrative, final pricing is tailored to client requirements.
Explore our fractional CFO offering for similar verticals
We're a specialized fractional CFO to software companies.
Our fractional CFO experience spans across all software verticals.
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We know tech inside & out.
We provide fractional CFO services to companies operating across the entire tech.
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We help you scale by providing fractional CFO advice, through fundraising and a successful M&A exit.
VC fundraising for productivity software companies
We help you prepare materials, reach out to investors in our extensive network, negotiate fair term sheets and structure the VC round.
Learn moreM&A for productivity software companies
We advise winning tech companies on M&A exits, and over the years successfully executed numerous transactions with both financial and strategic buyers.
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