Fractional CFO for cloud services companies
Cloud services straddles two reporting regimes. The managed book behaves like SaaS - recurring revenue, gross and net retention; the migration and implementation side behaves like IT consulting, with WIP, milestones and utilisation. Resold hyperscaler spend can double reported revenue gross and halve gross margin if not segregated. AWS, Azure or GCP partner-tier status sits behind a real share of pipeline and is itself an asset.
We split the business into its component economies: managed services with proper recurring metrics, professional services with utilisation and realised rate reporting, and resold cloud spend reported as a separate gross-versus-net line with margin on the consumption layer. The forecast separates contracted ARR, professional services backlog and probabilistic resale revenue.
Flow provides financial modelling, FP&A and fractional CFO advisory to cloud services firms across MSPs, MSSPs, cloud consultancies, hyperscaler partners and DevOps and platform engineering shops. Our startup CFO team separates managed ARR from professional services and resold cloud spend so valuation maths holds up.
KPIs to track for "cloud services" startups
We're very 'KPI-driven' fractional CFOs, and we make sure to monitor the right metrics for your startup.
MRR / ARR (managed services)
Recurring revenue share
Gross retention
Net revenue retention
Utilisation (services)
Realised bill rate
Managed services gross margin
EBITDA margin
Hyperscaler partner-tier status
Customer concentration
Revenue per FTE
Pipeline coverage
Financial modelling for "cloud services" 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.
Managed, professional and resale split
Managed services modelled with ARR, gross and net retention; professional services with utilisation and milestone revenue; resold hyperscaler spend as a separate gross-versus-net line. Stops resale gross revenue from being valued on a managed services multiple.
Hyperscaler resale margin
AWS, Azure and GCP resold consumption modelled with partner discount, customer markup and committed-use rebates by tier, against the operating cost of running the billing wrapper. Reveals the thin margin and float economics underneath the resale book.
Managed services ARR and retention
MRR, ARR, gross retention and net revenue retention modelled on the managed book with attach rate of additional workloads tracked per account. Anchors valuation against the recurring metrics investors actually pay a multiple on.
Professional services utilisation
Consultant utilisation, realised bill rate and project margin modelled separately from the managed book, with WIP and milestone billing tracked per engagement. Stops a busy implementation book from masking thin margin in managed services.
Partner-tier pipeline contribution
AWS Premier, Azure Solutions Partner and GCP tier status mapped to sourced pipeline, co-sell credits and MDF revenue. Quantifies how much of the forecast depends on maintaining a single hyperscaler tier and where the renewal risk lives.
Three-stream revenue forecast
Contracted managed ARR, professional services backlog and probabilistic resale consumption modelled on separate axes against committed pipeline. Replaces a blended forecast with one a buyer can attribute back to source.
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across cloud services and beyond.
Voereir
We acted as fractional CFO to Voereir, a Stockholm-based telco cloud and DevOps software provider, professionalising the finance function and supporting commercial planning across product, delivery and go-to-market.
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Moburst
As a fractional CFO we performed a confidential valuation of Moburst, a Tel Aviv-based global mobile marketing services company, supporting Elevator Fund's portfolio management.
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BetterQA
We acted as fractional CFO and transaction advisor to BetterQA, an independent software testing house based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, setting up FP&A and preparing the business for an upcoming M&A process.
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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.
See moreRecent fractional CFO track record
See our fractional CFO and financial modelling experience across cloud services and beyond.
Simple pricing
No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for cloud services 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 IT services companies.
Our fractional CFO experience spans across all IT services 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 cloud services 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 cloud services 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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