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FRACTIONAL CFO SERVICES FOR GROWING BUSINESSES IN PORTLAND, OR

Plug-in Financial Leadership for Scaling CEOs and Portfolio Builders

LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

Growth brings bigger financial decisions. You may be preparing to expand, evaluating a major investment, managing tighter margins, or trying to understand why revenue isn't translating into profit. Without experienced financial leadership, it's difficult to know which opportunities make sense and how to prepare for what's ahead.

Aerial Core provides part-time CFO services in Portland, Oregon, for businesses that need strategic financial expertise without hiring a full-time CFO. We help business owners and leadership teams connect financial performance with business strategy, plan for growth, and make decisions with a clearer understanding of the financial implications.

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WE OFFER COMPREHENSIVE CFO SERVICES FOR PORTLAND BUSINESSES

Strategic financial leadership should help you answer the questions that matter most to your business. Aerial provides part-time CFO support tailored to your goals, financial complexity, and stage of growth, giving you access to experienced guidance without the commitment of a full-time executive hire.

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  • Connect your business objectives with financial targets and develop a practical plan for achieving them.

    • Long-term financial strategy

    • Annual financial planning

    • Revenue and profitability targets

    • Financial goal setting

    • Growth strategy evaluation

    • Strategic initiative planning

    • Financial risk assessment

    • Executive decision support

  • Prepare for different business outcomes before committing resources or making major decisions.

    • Long-term financial forecasting

    • Revenue and expense projections

    • Best-case and worst-case scenario modeling

    • Hiring and expansion forecasts

    • Investment and capital expenditure analysis

    • Cash flow projections

    • Sensitivity analysis

    • Financial impact assessments

  • Understand which parts of your business contribute to financial performance and where improvements may be needed.

    • Profit margin analysis

    • Revenue and cost trend analysis

    • Product, service, or business-unit profitability

    • Pricing and margin evaluation

    • Operating expense analysis

    • Key performance indicator development

    • Financial performance reviews

    • Identification of opportunities to improve profitability

  • Make informed decisions about how your business uses cash, funds operations, and prepares for future financial commitments.

    • Cash flow strategy

    • Working capital planning

    • Capital allocation guidance

    • Funding requirements analysis

    • Investment planning

    • Debt and financing scenario analysis

    • Liquidity planning

    • Cash flow risk assessment

  • Give owners, executives, investors, and other stakeholders a clearer understanding of financial performance and business direction.

    • Executive financial reporting

    • Financial dashboards and KPI tracking

    • Management reporting packages

    • Board and investor reporting support

    • Financial performance presentations

    • Variance analysis

    • Strategic financial recommendations

    • Financial communication support for leadership teams

  • Evaluate the financial implications of major business changes and prepare for the next stage of growth.

    • Expansion and acquisition analysis

    • Business valuation support through financial analysis

    • Due diligence coordination

    • Financial modeling for growth opportunities

    • Capital and funding preparation

    • Integration planning support

    • Exit readiness and financial preparation

    • Coordination with external financial and legal advisors

HOW OUR PRICING WORKS FOR PORTLAND BUSINESSES

Every business is different.

Here's how we figure out what you need.

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BENEFITS OF HIRING A PART-TIME CFO FOR YOUR PORTLAND BUSINESS

You don't need a full-time CFO to benefit from executive-level financial guidance. A fractional CFO gives your business access to strategic expertise at a level that aligns with your needs, helping you navigate decisions that affect profitability, growth, and long-term stability.

  • Evaluate major business decisions using financial projections, performance data, and scenario analysis instead of relying on instinct alone.

  • Revenue growth doesn't automatically translate into stronger financial performance. CFO guidance helps you evaluate margins, operating costs, and resource allocation so growth supports your financial goals.

  • Anticipate funding needs, staffing investments, expansion costs, and other financial commitments before they become urgent.

  • Access experienced financial leadership without committing to the salary and overhead of a permanent CFO position.

  • Establish meaningful financial targets and performance indicators that help leadership understand progress and identify areas that need attention.

  • Use financial insights to guide decisions across departments, helping your team understand how operational choices affect business performance.

WE OFFER FRACTIONAL CFO SERVICES FOR ALL PORTLAND INDUSTRIES

Financial leadership looks different depending on how a business generates revenue, manages costs, and invests in growth. Aerial tailors its CFO support to the financial priorities and operating realities of each organization.

Manufacturing

Nonprofits

Construction

HOW WE SHOW UP FOR YOUR PORTLAND BUSINESS

We built Aerial on four principles that guide everything we do. This is what you can expect from us as your partner.

  • The check-in you look forward to.

    Building something ambitious requires partners who add energy, not drain it. Comfort means being the team whose presence brings relief. Clients actually look forward to hearing from us because we're genuine partners who bring clarity and ease to their world. It's not about just being nice or playing cheerleader. We believe this is the relationship you should have with your Back office partner: peer-to-peer realness where you can completely relax because we understand your world. You don't have to perform or explain context in every conversation. We see through the stress to what's actually bothering you and handle what needs handling without you having to ask. We exist to be the team that makes you exhale, not hold your breath.

  • Steady ground for bold leaps.

    We care deeply about how we show up. You can count on us to deliver the same high standards, no matter who's running point or what week it is. We cross-train, systematize, and share knowledge so clients never feel the bumps when life happens. The systems we build have to be stronger than any individual. Call it reliability by design. As builders ourselves, we've found the sweet spot between our FAFO energy and our obsession with quality. We test new approaches and innovate on delivery, but the core promise never wavers. The foundations hold so you can move fast.

  • See it, own it, solve it.

    Real partnership means acting like we have skin in the game because we do. We're a company built with builder energy for builder-minded people. We’re wired to see problems as opportunities to create solutions. And we don't wait around for permission to care about the outcomes. When we spot something that could help or hurt your business, we handle it and keep you in the loop. When we see a teammate struggling, we jump in. When we notice a process that's broken, we fix it. We take ownership of our piece so you can focus completely on yours.

  • Development by every hand 

    At Aerial, we believe the real engine of progress is people who know their worth and use it. This isn't feel-good HR speak. When people understand their impact on profitability and growth, they make better decisions, work more strategically, and naturally align with business goals. We live this out by bringing transparency to conversations at every level. We spotlight the magic each person adds to the mix and connect individual strengths directly to business outcomes. We have honest conversations about where people are, where they want to go, and exactly what it takes to get there. We treat contribution like the core asset it is, both for our team and our clients' teams.

The 4 C's

WHY CHOOSE AERIAL CORE FOR FRACTIONAL CFO SERVICES IN PORTLAND?

01

Customized to Your Business

Your financial strategy should reflect your business model, goals, and current challenges. We tailor our CFO support to your priorities, from planning for growth to evaluating major business decisions.

02

Connected to Your Financial Operations

Strategic guidance is most useful when it's grounded in accurate financial information. Aerial can connect fractional CFO support with your existing accounting services and bookkeeping processes.

03

A Team-Based Approach

You gain access to a team of finance professionals who can support different aspects of your financial operations. We work with your existing staff and external advisors to keep financial responsibilities coordinated.

04

Guidance That Evolves With Your Business

Your financial priorities will change as your business develops. We can adjust the scope of our support as you evaluate new opportunities, navigate challenges, or prepare for the next stage of growth.

05

Support That Fits Your Needs

Not every business needs the same level of financial leadership. We work with you to identify the right scope of CFO support based on your goals, current resources, and decision-making needs.

MEET THE AERIAL CORE TEAM

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Our team brings decades of experience from startups to scaling companies. We've been in your shoes, which is why we know what it takes to make the leap and stick the landing.

About us

SERVING PORTLAND AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

Aerial provides fractional CFO support to businesses throughout Portland and the surrounding metropolitan area. Our remote service model makes it possible to collaborate with business owners and leadership teams without requiring routine in-person meetings.

We serve businesses in communities including:

  • Portland

  • Beaverton

  • Hillsboro

  • Tigard

  • Lake Oswego

  • Tualatin

  • Wilsonville

  • Milwaukie

  • Oregon City

  • Gresham

  • Happy Valley

  • West Linn

  • Vancouver, WA

If your business is located in the Portland metro area, contact us to discuss your part-time CFO needs.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT OUR OUTSOURCED PART-TIME SERVICES

  • “[Aerial’s] level of support has made us feel like they are genuinely invested in our success, not just there to complete tasks.”

    Justine Arnold, Controller, special projects, Alpha Inc.

  • “We've worked with Aerial Core since 2023, and their team has become an important part of our business. When we first considered a remote accounting team, we weren't sure how it would work for us. It didn't take long for them to put those doubts to rest.

    They handle our bookkeeping as integrated members of our team, and what I appreciate most is that they go well beyond simply completing the work. They're responsive, knowledgeable, and invested in our success. I always feel like we have a team that understands our business and is there to help us think through questions and make sound financial decisions.

    I'd recommend Aerial Core to any business owner looking for a dependable bookkeeping partner.”

    — Jenne Whittington, Director of Operations, Cobalt Builders Inc.

  • “They bring a professional controller level of skill. It’s not what I normally see with bookkeepers or bookkeeper companies. They do things, quite frankly, better than I've seen big not-for-profits that have nice professional staff on board do themselves. We know that if we grow and the work grows, [Aerial] can apply more hours or people … it’s adaptable.”

    — Walter Hammon, Interim CFO, Bradley Angle (Portland-based Non-profit)

  • “[They have] a level of skill that’s sort of an exhale. The Aerial team is great at catching unusual transactions and asking the right questions when something doesn’t make sense. And, perhaps most importantly, Aerial helps preserve finance continuity within the organization even during transition periods. Aerial founder, Nicole Rose Yen, was a huge support during the shift from one CFO to the next. She was a huge, comforting support, drawing on her experience to help the Bradley Angle team understand what to expect and how to transition smoothly.”

     — Karley Smith, Finance Manager, Bradley Angle (Portland-based Non-profit)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT FRACTIONAL CFO SERVICES IN PORTLAND

  • A fractional CFO provides strategic financial leadership on a part-time or outsourced basis. Responsibilities may include financial forecasting, profitability analysis, cash flow strategy, growth planning, performance measurement, and executive decision support.

  • The terms are often used interchangeably. Both describe financial leadership provided on a less-than-full-time basis. The specific arrangement may vary depending on your business's needs, the scope of work, and the level of involvement required.

  • An accountant generally focuses on financial records, reporting, and accounting processes. A fractional CFO uses financial information to guide strategy, evaluate business opportunities, manage financial risks, and plan for future performance. Aerial can connect these functions through its broader finance services.

  • Consider fractional CFO support when financial decisions become more complex, growth creates new funding or cash flow demands, profitability is difficult to evaluate, or leadership needs more forward-looking financial guidance.

  • Yes. A fractional CFO can analyze margins, expenses, pricing, and performance trends to identify potential improvement opportunities. Recommendations depend on your business model, available financial data, and operating goals.

  • Yes. Fractional CFO support can complement your existing bookkeeper, accountant, controller, and external CPA. The specific responsibilities and reporting relationships can be established around your current team and processes.

  • Yes. Financial modeling and scenario planning can help you evaluate the expected costs, cash requirements, potential returns, and risks associated with expansion before committing resources.

  • Yes. Aerial provides outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services, which can provide the financial foundation needed for effective CFO guidance.

  • Pricing depends on the complexity of your business, the scope of responsibilities, and the amount of financial leadership required. Aerial develops customized proposals based on your needs.

  • Contact Aerial Core to discuss your business goals, financial challenges, and need for executive-level financial support. We'll help you explore an arrangement that fits your organization.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES WE OFFER IN PORTLAND, OR

Portland Accounting Services

Portland Bookkeeping Services

Portland HR Outsourcing Services

Portland Controller Services

CONNECT WITH AERIAL CORE

Looking for CFO support for your Portland-area business? Connect with Aerial Core to learn more about our part-time CFO services.

We're here when you're ready.

Tell us what you need. Let’s see if we’re a fit.

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