A VFO or Virtual Finance Office / Officer, is a service offered by an acountant where they bring the experience and expertise of a high-level Chief Finance Officer and finance suoort to your business – without the cost of hiring a full-time, in-house employee.

It is a specialty provided to small and medium businesses and because the accountant has financial management skills are so well-developed, it’s common to bring one on board to help navigate a challenge.

Read on to learn more about what a Virtual Finance Office does.

Navigating Challenges

Small businesses and startups typically have a streamlined staff, which keeps costs down and allows the business owner to focus on healthy growth.

But sometimes, a financial challenge comes up that is beyond the skill or experience level of those on the team. This is where a the VFO can be of great benefit. Some of the issues they assist with include:

• Cash flow problems
• Low gross margins
• Business Planning
• High expenses
• Existing systems that are no longer working
• Cost cutting analysis
• Pricing

Hopefully, these situations don’t come up often, but when they do it’s beneficial to have an expert on your side to guide you through.

Achieving goals

Most businesses start with a similar formula–invest your time and money, create a product or service that customers want, and earn money by providing that product or service. Maybe you envision your business expanding somehow, or scaling up. Perhaps an exciting opportunity comes up but you aren’t sure how to take advantage of it.

A VFO can help you make your dreams a reality by deciphering the numbers. They will look at where you are now and help you plan where to go next. This includes:

• Ensuring the books are in order
• Performing financial forecasts
• Attending board meetings to get a sense of the company
• Helping with strategic relationships
• Overseeing due diligence

There are plenty of ways a VFO improves your operations. The specific skills and experience they provide will clarify your situation and help you achieve what you want.

Managing growth

Taking your business to the next level can seem daunting. You want to grow, but you don’t want to risk your success by taking on too much or making a damaging misstep.

Taking up a VFO service will help you navigate the steps ahead. If you’re already growing at a rate that makes you feel like you’re losing control, they will help you retake the reins.

A VFO will help by:

• Breaking down large amounts of financial information into helpful data
• Making a plan to develop existing employees and their skills
• Identifying the need to hire new employees to manage growth
• Implementing systems that will work going forward
• Exploring causes of revenue loss and cost overruns and developing solutions to address them

Ultimately, a VFO is helpful to guide you through the growth process so that you can feel confident as your business expands.

Final Thoughts

Many small- and medium-sized businesses could benefit from the services of a fully fledged finance officer of finance direcor, especially during a growth stage, but the cost of hiring one in-house might be out of reach as it would likely to be in the region of £80,000pa.

By hiring a VFO, you can enjoy the benefits of their expertise ata fraction of the cost and without breaking the bank.