Fractional CFO · New York & remote

Senior finance leadership, a day a week.

I join growing companies as a part-time CFO. I fix the numbers, build the board pack and get you ready to raise, for about a fifth of the cost of a full-time hire.

Mara Quill at a desk by a tall window, reviewing printed financial statements with a pen.

$4.2m

raised by clients in 2025 with board packs we built together

How it starts

30-minute call → proposal in 3 days

Engagements

2–8 days a month, rolling or termed

Currently

2 of 3 retainers filled · next opening November

Finance partner to founders at

  • Brindle Robotics

  • Fenwright

  • WRENFOLD STUDIO

  • tidewell

  • Penhallow PT

  • Ostler & Dace

  • Brindle Robotics

  • Fenwright

  • WRENFOLD STUDIO

  • tidewell

  • Penhallow PT

  • Ostler & Dace

  • Brindle Robotics

  • Fenwright

  • WRENFOLD STUDIO

  • tidewell

  • Penhallow PT

  • Ostler & Dace

Is this you?

Sound familiar?

  • Your books say what happened, not what to do next.
  • A raise is coming and nobody owns the model.
  • The board asks questions you answer a week later.
  • Cash feels fine, but you can't say for how long.
  • You've outgrown your bookkeeper, not your budget.

Two or more? That’s the job.

Book an intro

How fractional works

Every Tuesday is yours.

One fixed day a week, alongside two other companies. Tap a day to see what I do and what you get.

October 2026

Mara's days

Tuesday 6 October

Close review

What I do

  • Books closed by day 5
  • Variance notes on the P&L
  • Mis-coded spend fixed before it compounds

What you get

Monthly close pack

Sent the same evening

Same day every week. Change it with a month's notice.

Every month

What lands on your desk.

Four things land in your inbox every month, built from your own numbers.

13-week cash forecast

Runway 14 months

$3.4m

Cash today, Brindle Robotics

Week 1

Week 13

Payroll dip in week 9, already covered.

Board pack · Q3 2026

Board pack · Q3

Brindle Robotics

Cover and agenda

p.1

CEO letter

p.2

Dashboard

p.3

P&L vs plan

p.4

Margin bridge

p.5

Cash and runway

p.6

margin bridge on p.5 ↗

In the CEO’s inbox four days before every board meeting.

Monthly close

Day 5

Books closed.

Was day 14.

Investor update · September

Revenue

$412k ↑ 8%

Gross margin

61%

Burn

$198k ↓ 6%

Drafted by me, sent by you.

Between meetings

4 hours

The longest you wait for an answer to a finance question, by email or Slack.

Included in every retainer

Engagements

Three ways to work together.

Each one is priced by the day. You choose the seat and the number of days, and I’ll tell you if you need fewer.

Fractional CFO retainer

Your senior finance lead, 2–8 days a month. Cash, board, investors and the plan, for about a fifth of a full-time salary.

  • 13-week cash forecast, updated weekly

  • Close review by working day 5

  • Monthly board pack and meeting

  • Budget and 18-month model

  • Investor and lender updates

From $1,450/day

Fractional CFO retainer

Your senior finance lead, 2–8 days a month. Cash, board, investors and the plan, for about a fifth of a full-time salary.

  • 13-week cash forecast, updated weekly

  • Close review by working day 5

  • Monthly board pack and meeting

  • Budget and 18-month model

  • Investor and lender updates

From $1,450/day

Fundraise readiness sprint

Six weeks to a model, a data room and an answer for every diligence question, before your first investor meeting.

  • Metric audit: revenue, retention, margin, burn

  • Three-scenario financial model

  • Data room, structured and indexed

  • Investor Q&A tracker

  • Two mock diligence sessions

From $1,650/day

Fundraise readiness sprint

Six weeks to a model, a data room and an answer for every diligence question, before your first investor meeting.

  • Metric audit: revenue, retention, margin, burn

  • Three-scenario financial model

  • Data room, structured and indexed

  • Investor Q&A tracker

  • Two mock diligence sessions

From $1,650/day

Finance foundations

Clean books, a 5-day close and a chart of accounts that answers real questions. A fixed 10-week project.

  • Chart of accounts redesign

  • Close checklist and calendar

  • Costing by product, job or site

  • Review of accounting, billing and payroll tools

  • Management accounts template

From $1,100/day

Finance foundations

Clean books, a 5-day close and a chart of accounts that answers real questions. A fixed 10-week project.

  • Chart of accounts redesign

  • Close checklist and calendar

  • Costing by product, job or site

  • Review of accounting, billing and payroll tools

  • Management accounts template

From $1,100/day

Pricing · build your retainer

Shape the engagement.

Change any underlined word in the letter. The price updates as you go.

Engagement letter · draftNo. 0412

Mara Quill will act as your for a month, on a term.

Monthly retainerMonthly retainer: $5,510 a monthIncludes 5% off for the 6-month term

you keep $21k a month →

Full-time CFO*$26,700This retainer$5,510

Day rates are fixed. Days can change month to month; tell me by the 20th. Full terms

Fractional vs full-time

The same seat, for a fifth of the cost.

A fully loaded full-time CFO in New York costs about $26,700 a month. Here is what each option gives you.

Full-time CFO in New York

$26,700/mo

Fully loaded*, plus equity. Four to six months to hire.

Mara, 4 days a month

$5,510/mo

Six-month term. Starts within two weeks of a signed letter.

You keep $21,190 a month.

*$240,000 salary, a 15% bonus and $44,400 of benefits and payroll tax, divided by 12. New York, 2026. Excludes equity and search fees.

When full-time wins: past about $25m in revenue or 150 people, or on an IPO track. I’ll help you hire them.

Who I work with

What I do at your stage.

Pick your stage. Each one comes with a client who was there.

A robotics workshop with engineers at their benches

Raising your first real round

  • Unit costs worked out, product by product
  • A plan investors can follow
  • A data room ready before the first call
Brindle Robotics: a $2.6m seed extension in nine weeks

About

I spent four years auditing startups and seven running their finance. Now I’m the CFO for three companies at a time.

CPA

Licensed in New York State since 2014

CPA

Licensed in New York State since 2014

Former CFO

Two Series B companies, 2019–2023

Former CFO

Two Series B companies, 2019–2023

14 years

Audit, controller, CFO

14 years

Audit, controller, CFO

$49m raised

Equity and debt, as CFO and advisor

$49m raised

Equity and debt, as CFO and advisor

Mara Quill in glasses and a cream cardigan, reading a printed report at her desk.

Clients

In their own words.

Idris Calloway in the Brindle Robotics workshop

$2.6m

Seed extension in nine weeks

Board meetings used to be about whether the numbers were right. Now they’re about what to do with them.

Idris Calloway

CEO and co-founder

Brindle Robotics

Idris Calloway in the Brindle Robotics workshop

$2.6m

Seed extension in nine weeks

Board meetings used to be about whether the numbers were right. Now they’re about what to do with them.

Idris Calloway

CEO and co-founder

Brindle Robotics

Asha Pemberton in the Tidewell office

$11m

Series A, terms unchanged

Four days a month, and she knows our numbers better than anyone here full-time.

Asha Pemberton

Co-founder and CEO

Tidewell

Asha Pemberton in the Tidewell office

$11m

Series A, terms unchanged

Four days a month, and she knows our numbers better than anyone here full-time.

Asha Pemberton

Co-founder and CEO

Tidewell

Marisol Ferrante in a Penhallow treatment room

$680k

Collected from old claims

She explains finance the way a good clinician explains a diagnosis: plainly, with the evidence.

Marisol Ferrante

Founder and clinical director

Penhallow Physical Therapy

Marisol Ferrante in a Penhallow treatment room

$680k

Collected from old claims

She explains finance the way a good clinician explains a diagnosis: plainly, with the evidence.

Marisol Ferrante

Founder and clinical director

Penhallow Physical Therapy

FAQ

Questions founders ask first.

The six I hear most. For anything else, email hello@maraquill.com.

Capacity

Three clients at a time. One seat left.

Seat 1 · Mondays

Brindle Robotics

Retainer since April 2025

Seat 2 · Thursdays

Tidewell

Retainer since November 2025

Seat 3 · Tuesdays

Open from November

Your Tuesday, every week, from 3 November.

Next step

Book a 30-minute intro.

Tell me where the numbers hurt. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll say so on the call and suggest someone who is.

2 of 3 retainers filled · next opening November

Or email hello@maraquill.com · call +1 212 555-0147 · New York, ET

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