An AI CFO for the businesses too small to hire one
Most small businesses don’t have a CFO. They have a bank balance, a gut feel, and a nagging sense they’re missing something. An AI CFO gives you the read a chief financial officer would — in plain English, on your own numbers, at software prices.
What a CFO actually does — and what you’re missing without one
A CFO isn’t your bookkeeper. Bookkeeping records what happened; a CFO tells you what it means— which way the business is trending, when cash gets tight, what the numbers are quietly warning you about, and what to do about it. That’s the layer most small businesses never get, because a good one costs more than the whole business can justify.
An AI CFO does those core reads without the hire. It connects to the books you already keep, and every month (or week, or day) hands back a report: what’s working, what’s not, what’s coming, and where to look. Not a dashboard you have to interpret — a written read, the way a CFO would brief you.
Know what happened
A plain-English monthly review of your numbers — margins, trends, what moved and why — not a wall of charts you have to decode.
See what's coming
A rolling cash forecast and runway, plus a calendar of what's landing and what's due, so tight weeks stop being surprises.
Decide what to do
A CFO you can actually ask — follow-up questions answered from your own numbers, not generic advice off the internet.
AI CFO vs fractional vs full-time
These aren’t really competitors so much as rungs on a ladder. Here’s the honest version of when each one fits.
| AI CFO | Fractional CFO | Full-time CFO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | ~$99–$199/mo | ~$3k–$10k/mo | $200k+/yr |
| Best for | A clear, regular read on the numbers | Judgment on big, frequent decisions | Financing, board, complex strategy |
| Availability | Always on, every close | A few days a month | Full time |
| Right when | You have no CFO at all today | Decisions outgrow a report | You're raising or scaling fast |
Most Wauvel customers are on the first rung — they had nothing, and an AI CFO is the first real financial read their business has ever had. Plenty add a fractional CFO later; the report makes those conversations shorter.
CFO-level finance for a business too small to hire one. Your first report is free.
Get my free report →Common questions
What is an AI CFO?
An AI CFO is software that does the core reads a chief financial officer does — explaining what happened in your numbers, forecasting cash and runway, and flagging what needs attention — without hiring a person. Wauvel connects to your QuickBooks (or a manual upload) and returns a plain-English report on your business, on the schedule you choose.
Is an AI CFO a replacement for a real CFO?
For a large company with financing rounds, board reporting, and complex strategy, no — you want a human. But most small businesses aren't choosing between an AI CFO and a real one; they have no CFO at all and are flying on a bank balance and a gut feel. For them, an AI CFO replaces nothing — it fills a gap that was otherwise empty.
AI CFO vs fractional CFO — which do I need?
A fractional CFO is a part-time human, typically several thousand dollars a month, worth it once decisions are big and frequent enough to need judgment and accountability. An AI CFO is a fraction of that cost and always on, best when what you need is a clear, regular read on the numbers rather than a person in your meetings. Many businesses start with an AI CFO and add a fractional one later.
How much does an AI CFO cost?
Wauvel is $99/mo for Reporting, $149/mo for Forecasting, and $199/mo for Reasoning (an AI CFO you can ask questions), with your first report free. That's roughly what a fractional CFO charges in a single afternoon — the point of the category is CFO-level insight at software prices.
What does the AI CFO actually need from me?
Either a read-only QuickBooks connection or a file upload. From there Wauvel builds the report itself — you don't assemble spreadsheets or answer a questionnaire. If your books are messy, the report says so; it reads what's there rather than pretending.