Virtual CFO Services for Startups and SMEs
CFO-level finance without a full-time CFO: a monthly view of cash, margins and runway, a forecast you can plan against, and board and investor reporting, led by a chartered accountant.
Starts at ₹14,999 per month + GST
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A virtual CFO uses your books to forecast cash, set budgets, analyse margins and report to a board or investors, without a full-time hire; an accountant records transactions and files returns. FilingBase’s virtual CFO plans are ₹14,999 a month (Essential), ₹29,999 (Growth) and ₹49,999 (Fundraise), plus GST, with a monthly MIS, a 13-week cash forecast and budget versus actual. Bookkeeping is separate, from ₹2,999 a month.
What a virtual CFO does
A virtual CFO is a senior finance professional who works with your business part-time, usually on a monthly retainer, and does the job a full-time CFO would do: turn the books into decisions. Your accountant tells you what happened and makes sure it was taxed correctly. A CFO tells you what is likely to happen next and what to do about it.
In practice that means four things every month: a management report with commentary, a cash-flow forecast that shows when money gets tight, a comparison of actual results against the budget, and a check that every tax and company-law filing is on track. As the business grows the work adds board reporting, bank limits and, when you raise money, the financial model and due diligence.
Our virtual CFO service is led by a chartered accountant at LexVerge LLP and works from your existing books, whether we keep them or your accountant does.
Why founders hire a FilingBase virtual CFO
A rolling 13-week forecast shows a shortfall weeks before it reaches the bank account.
Every MIS pack comes with a written note: what moved, why, and what we would do about it.
Profit by product, client or channel, so you know which part of the business pays for the rest.
GST, TDS, ROC and advance tax tracked on one calendar, with nothing left to chance.
A model, a data room and reporting that hold up when an investor's analyst reads them.
Three fixed monthly plans on this page, at a fraction of a full-time CFO's cost.
Documents required
To start
- Access to the books, or the last three months' trial balance
- Bank statements and current loan or credit limits
- Last year's financial statements
- Current budget or business plan, if there is one
For fundraising work
- Cap table and shareholder agreements
- Pitch deck and any previous investor updates
- Customer and revenue data by month
- Key contracts and employee option grants
Not sure which package fits?
A specialist will map your situation to the right plan in one call.
How the first 30 days run
- Diagnostic
We review the books, cash position, compliance status and the decisions you are facing, and agree the reporting you need.
- Clean-up and structure
Chart of accounts and cost centres set up so the numbers can be reported by product, client or channel.
- First forecast
A 13-week cash-flow forecast and, on Growth and Fundraise, the annual budget.
- First MIS and reviewMonthly from then on
The first management pack with commentary, walked through on a review call.
Transparent pricing
Essential
₹14,999
per month · for founders who need control
- Monthly MIS pack with a written commentary
- Budget versus actual, every month
- 13-week cash-flow forecast, updated monthly
- Compliance calendar oversight: GST, TDS, ROC, advance tax
- One 60-minute review call a month
- Investor reporting and fundraising support
Growth
₹29,999
per month · for businesses scaling up
- Everything in Essential
- Annual budget and a quarterly re-forecast
- Margin analysis by product, client or channel
- Quarterly board pack
- CMA data and bank liaison for working-capital limits
- Two review calls a month
Fundraise
₹49,999
per month · for a raise in the next 12 months
- Everything in Growth
- Three-year financial model and projections
- Data room and due-diligence support
- Monthly investor update
- Cap table and ESOP pool tracking
- Weekly call while a round is live
All prices are professional fees per month, exclusive of GST at 18%. Plans run month to month after the first three months, with one month's notice. Bookkeeping is not included: we work from books kept by your accountant or add any of our bookkeeping plans.
Bookkeeper, accountant or virtual CFO?
| Bookkeeper | Accountant | Virtual CFO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looks at | What happened | Whether it was recorded and taxed correctly | What should happen next |
| Delivers | Ledgers and reconciliations | Returns, financial statements, audit support | Forecasts, budgets, board and investor reporting |
| Cadence | Daily or weekly | Monthly and at year-end | Monthly, with a review call |
| You need it when | You have transactions | You are registered for GST or incorporated | Decisions depend on cash, margins or a raise |
Most businesses need the first two from the start. A virtual CFO becomes worth it once the cost of a wrong cash or pricing decision is larger than the fee.
When a virtual CFO is worth it
Signs you need one
- You find out about a cash shortfall when a payment bounces
- Revenue is growing but the bank balance is not
- You cannot say which clients or products are profitable
- A bank or investor has asked for projections and you do not have them
- The founder spends evenings on spreadsheets instead of selling
What the monthly MIS pack contains
A profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the month and the year to date, compared with the budget and the same month last year; cash flow; receivables and payables ageing; key ratios for your business, such as gross margin, burn rate and runway for a startup, or working-capital days for a trading business; and a one-page commentary on what changed and what to do.
Working-capital limits and CMA data
Banks assess working-capital limits on Credit Monitoring Arrangement (CMA) data: past financials, projections and the assessed working-capital gap. On the Growth plan we prepare the CMA data, answer the bank's queries and track the limits and covenants after sanction.
Fundraising support
On the Fundraise plan we build a three-year financial model tied to your actual numbers, prepare the financial sections of the data room, answer the investor's diligence questions and, after the round, send the monthly investor update. Legal documentation for the round, such as the share subscription and shareholders' agreements, is handled by LexVerge LLP as a separate engagement.
Related services
- Accounting and bookkeeping: the monthly books the CFO work is built on
- Annual compliance for a private limited company
- Startup India (DPIIT) recognition
How the engagement grows with you
Most clients start on Essential to get control of cash and reporting, move to Growth when they take on bank limits or a board, and to Fundraise for the twelve months around a round. You can move between plans at the start of any month.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a virtual CFO cost in India?
On FilingBase, ₹14,999 a month for Essential, ₹29,999 for Growth and ₹49,999 for Fundraise, plus GST at 18%. Published rates in the market range from about ₹10,000 to over ₹75,000 a month depending on scope.
What is the difference between a virtual CFO and an accountant?
An accountant records transactions, files returns and prepares financial statements. A virtual CFO uses those numbers to forecast cash, set budgets, analyse margins and report to a board, a bank or investors.
Is bookkeeping included?
No. The CFO work sits on top of the books. We can work from books kept by your accountant, or you can add one of our bookkeeping plans from ₹2,999 a month.
Who will be my virtual CFO?
The engagement is led by a chartered accountant at LexVerge LLP, the firm behind FilingBase, with an analyst preparing the monthly pack.
Can a virtual CFO help us raise funds?
Yes, on the Fundraise plan: the financial model, the data room, diligence questions and investor reporting. Legal documents for the round are a separate engagement with LexVerge LLP.
Is there a minimum term?
Three months, because the first month is mostly set-up. After that the plan runs month to month with one month's notice.
Founders also file these.
Read before you file.
Annual Compliance for a Private Limited Company: The Complete 2026 Checklist of ROC, Income-Tax and Meeting Requirements
Every ROC form, meeting, register and tax filing a private limited company owes each year, with due dates, small-company relief and what lateness costs.
Read guide→GuideAdvance Tax in India: Who Pays, the Four Due Dates, How to Compute Each Instalment, and the Interest Under 234B and 234C
Who must pay, 15 June to 15 March in four steps, the single instalment for presumptive taxpayers, how to pay online, and what a shortfall costs.
Read guide→GuideTax audit limit
Who needs a tax audit, the cash test, the presumptive-tax trap, the new section 63 and Form 26, and the penalty.
Read guide→Official references
The statutory sources behind this page. We keep our guidance aligned to them: verify anything time-sensitive directly.
- Ministry of Corporate AffairsCompanies Act filings, forms and fee schedules
- Income Tax DepartmentReturns, forms, rates and e-filing utilities
Facts on this page are checked against these sources; the date of the last check is shown at the top of the page. It is general guidance, not advice on your specific facts. How we write and check our guides.