Fractional CFO for public sector & non-profit software companies
Public sector and non-profit software sells under procurement vehicles that don't behave like commercial contracts - multi-year terms with annual appropriation risk, milestone payments tied to fiscal cycles, audit obligations on top. Backlog needs a definition respecting appropriation reality, not headline contract value.
Bookings distinguish funded years from unfunded option years, and the model recognises that government fiscal cycles drive billing more than the sales calendar. Milestone contracts can leave revenue earned long before cash arrives, and that gap has to be modelled.
Flow provides financial modelling, FP&A and fractional CFO advisory to public sector and non-profit software companies across federal and state agency platforms, GovTech for municipalities and counties, justice and public safety, education and workforce administration, and non-profit and grants management. We work as the outsourced startup CFO through growth, fundraising and sale processes.
KPIs to track for "public sector & non-profit software" startups
We're very 'KPI-driven' fractional CFOs, and we make sure to monitor the right metrics for your startup.
ARR
Contracted backlog
Agency / customer count
Renewal rate
Net retention
Implementation backlog
Procurement vehicle reach
Pipeline coverage
Gross margin
Services share
Financial modelling for "public sector & non-profit 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.
Funded vs unfunded year bookings
Bookings split between funded base years and unfunded option years so backlog respects appropriation reality rather than headline contract value. The two convert at very different rates and conflating them overstates the contracted book.
Appropriation-aware backlog
Contracted backlog defined with explicit appropriation and option-renewal assumptions, with confidence levels per agency. Headline ten-year contract values mean nothing without the appropriation overlay.
Fiscal-cycle billing model
Billing schedule modelled on federal, state and local fiscal cycles rather than the sales calendar, with milestone payments tied to defined deliverables. Revenue earned often runs ahead of cash arrival by several quarters and that gap needs explicit treatment.
Procurement vehicle pipeline
Pipeline coverage modelled by procurement vehicle - GSA, SEWP, state contracts, cooperative purchasing - because vehicle reach determines addressable spend. A pipeline number without vehicle context is not a pipeline number.
Long-cycle CAC by agency type
Fully-loaded CAC and payback measured by federal, state, local and non-profit segments, with cycle lengths and protest risk priced in. SaaS payback targets are inapplicable to twelve-to-thirty-six month government cycles.
Cap table & SAFE stack
Pre/post-money cap table with SAFE conversions, option pool top-ups and waterfall scenarios under typical GovTech investment terms. Strategic and impact investors in this category often carry mission-alignment clauses that affect exit pathways.
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across public sector & non-profit 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 public sector & non-profit software and beyond.
Simple pricing
No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for public sector & non-profit 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.
More services
We help you scale by providing fractional CFO advice, through fundraising and a successful M&A exit.
VC fundraising for public sector & non-profit 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 public sector & non-profit 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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