Fractional CFO for cannabis companies
Cannabis is the most complex regulatory environment in consumer products. In the US, Section 280E disallows ordinary deductions for plant-touching businesses, so COGS absorption is the biggest determinant of taxable income and is fought line by line with the IRS. State-by-state licensing, seed-to-sale tracking and the inability to use interstate commerce shape every part of operations.
Most work begins by separating plant-touching and ancillary entities cleanly, because 280E exposure and investor framing depend on the structure. From there: COGS absorption that defends the IRS position, inventory valuation across cultivation, processing and retail, state and provincial excise, and the working capital tied up in licences, vaults and compliant cash handling.
Flow provides financial modelling, FP&A and fractional CFO advisory to cannabis companies across cultivation, processing and extraction, branded products, retail and dispensary operators, and ancillary technology and services. Our startup CFO work centres on 280E framing and COGS-absorption defence.
KPIs to track for "cannabis" startups
We're very 'KPI-driven' fractional CFOs, and we make sure to monitor the right metrics for your startup.
Net revenue
Gross margin (post-280E)
COGS absorption rate
Yield per square foot
Revenue per dispensary
Excise duty by state
Inventory days
Licence count by jurisdiction
Wholesale vs retail mix
Cash on hand
Financial modelling for "cannabis" 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.
280E COGS-absorption model
Cultivation, processing and retail costs walked into COGS under the absorption position that defends taxable income against IRS challenge. The single biggest determinant of cash tax for any plant-touching cannabis operator.
Plant-touching vs ancillary entity split
Revenue, costs and capital flows separated cleanly between 280E-exposed plant-touching entities and ancillary IP, brand or services entities. Sets the structure investors and acquirers need to underwrite the business.
State-by-state excise and compliance P&L
Cannabis excise, cultivation tax, sales tax and licence fees modelled by state with seed-to-sale METRC reconciliation. Translates a state-fragmented operating footprint into a single defensible group P&L.
Cultivation yield and unit economics
Grams per square foot, harvest cycles, potency yield and processing recovery rates costed into unit COGS by SKU. Surfaces whether wholesale flower margin is real or subsidised by branded products.
Dispensary basket and revenue per door
Same-store revenue, basket size, flower share versus concentrates and edibles, and trade-down behaviour by dispensary. Shows where store-level economics are healthy and where the licence is the only asset still working.
Working capital and compliant-cash model
Vault cash, licence-renewal reserves, bonded inventory and 280E-driven tax payable modelled into the cash flow. Surfaces the working-capital trough that the rest of consumer products never has to think about.
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across cannabis and beyond.
Cannadorf
As a fractional CFO we helped Cannadorf, an Israel-based pharma-grade medical cannabis leader applying tissue culture technologies, build out its financial plan ahead of scaling production.
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Cannabis Innovation Center
We acted as fractional CFO to Cannabis Innovation Center, a Tel Aviv-based medical cannabis group developing multiple cannabis-based therapies, providing internal valuation guidance.
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TBô
We acted as fractional CFO to TBô, a Zurich-based tech-enabled DTC male underwear brand, building a bottom-up financial / operating model with cohort-level KPIs and positioning the company for its next venture round.
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Onlogist
We acted as fractional CFO to Onlogist, a Hamburg-based online marketplace for last-mile vehicle transfer, providing confidential valuation guidance and operating model support.
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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.
See moreRecent fractional CFO track record
See our fractional CFO and financial modelling experience across cannabis and beyond.
Simple pricing
No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for cannabis 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 consumer products companies.
Our fractional CFO experience spans across all consumer products verticals.
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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 cannabis companies
We help you prepare materials, reach out to investors in our extensive network, negotiate fair term sheets and structure the VC round.
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Schedule a call to get a health check on your business and see how we could help.
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