What you receive with FP&A as a Service
A dedicated FP&A team, delivered as a subscription.
From your files to a board-ready model in 90 days
What happens, who does it, how much of your finance team's time it takes.
Discovery
Data intake. Chart-of-accounts mapping. Driver interviews with your finance team.
Your team: ~6 hours across three weeks.Build
Your advisor builds the model, the workforce plan, and the reporting layer. Weekly review calls.
Your team: ~4 hours a week.UAT and handoff
Your finance team validates the model. Board-pack dry run. Ownership transfers. Go-live is day 90.
Your team: validation sessions.Roughly 20% of the cost of a senior in-house hire
Illustrative annual cost for a $50M revenue single-entity company that needs one FP&A operator.
Hiring a senior FP&A analyst
| Base salary | $110,000 |
| Benefits and payroll tax | $25,000 |
| Recruiter and onboarding | $10,000 |
| Subtotal, cash Year 1 | $145,000 |
| Ramp productivity loss | $20,000 |
| Total Year 1 economic cost | ~$165,000 |
| Steady-state Year 2+ | ~$135,000/yr |
| Time to a working budget | 5 to 9 months |
Baseline pay uses US Robert Half FP&A ranges; verify against your region.
Centage FP&A as a Service
| Monthly rate (flat) | From $2,500/mo |
| Annual cost | From $30,000/yr |
| Advisor coverage | Every month, named |
| Quarterly reforecast | Included |
| Time to a working budget | 90 days |
Same working budget. Live in 90 days instead of 9 months.
*This is a rough example only. Pleasse contact us for tailored pricing for your business.
Roughly 20% of the fully-loaded cost of a senior hire. Live in 90 days instead of 9 months. Comparison holds at $50M revenue and single-entity complexity; larger models can price higher on the FP&A as a Service side.
Standard implementation, or FP&A as a Service
For the reader choosing between the two implementation paths.
| FP&A as a Service | Standard (included) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds the budget | Centage's advisors build it end to end. | Your finance team, weekly working sessions from a Centage lead. |
| Reporting package | Delivered at go-live. | Your team builds as it goes. |
| Advisor time after go-live | Every month, a named advisor. | Standard customer success. |
| Fee | From $2,500 per month, flat. | Included with your Centage subscription. |
Three real objections we hear on the scoping call.
#1
“Our workforce planning is too site-specific for a template.”
Your advisor uses driver interviews and a chart-of-accounts mapping pass to build the model around how you actually operate. Nothing about the 90-day build starts from a template. The Personnel Module carries positions, wage bands, benefits, and payroll tax by your operating structure.
#2
“We consolidate across a foundation or holding entity. This will break.”
Centage handles multi-entity consolidation and intercompany eliminations natively. Your advisor sets up the consolidation logic during the build phase and validates it in UAT before handoff. Operating entities, 501(c)(3) foundations, and holding-entity rollups all sit on one chart of accounts.
#3
“We do not have IT resources to bring this in.”
FP&A as a Service is finance-owned. Your advisor works with your controller and your ERP admin, not your IT team. Plan for roughly 4 hours a week of finance-team time during the 22-to-60-day build. The advisor handles ERP mapping and reporting-layer setup during that window.
Frequently asked questions
How much does FP&A as a Service cost?
Tailored to your business. Larger models can price higher depending on entity count, chart-of-accounts depth, headcount modeling requirements, and reporting-layer scope. Your advisor sizes the engagement on the scoping call.
How long does implementation take?
90 days from kickoff to a live board-ready model. Discovery runs 3 weeks, build runs 6 weeks, UAT and handoff run the last 3 weeks. Your finance team invests roughly 6 hours during discovery and about 4 hours a week during build.
What if my FP&A advisor leaves Centage?
Continuity terms are documented in your service agreement, including replacement timing and a model walkthrough for the incoming advisor.
Do I keep the model if I leave Centage?
The Centage instance is yours during your contract, and your team can edit any driver, formula, or report at any time. Export rights and post-contract access are documented in your agreement.
What is in the monthly board pack?
Executive summary with variance commentary, budget vs actual by department, rolling 12-month P&L forecast, 13-week cash forecast, headcount plan by role, KPI scorecard, and one scenario snapshot. Refreshed by month-end close plus five business days when close data arrives on time. Quarterly reforecast included.
Can FP&A as a Service handle multi-entity consolidation?
Yes. Centage supports unlimited entity consolidation with automated intercompany eliminations, multi-currency conversion, and holding-entity rollups. Your advisor configures the consolidation logic during the build.
How is this different from a fractional-CFO firm?
Retainers with a fractional-CFO firm commonly run $3K to $15K per month against ongoing strategic finance work. FP&A as a Service is a flat monthly rate against a modeled FP&A stack: budget in Centage, board pack every month, quarterly reforecast, and named-advisor time. If your need is broader strategic finance oversight rather than a specific FP&A stack, a fractional CFO is often the better fit.
What happens during busy season?
FP&A as a Service runs continuously. Budget builds, reforecasts, and board-deck updates continue during month-end close, quarter-end, and year-end. Your advisor plans around your close calendar so the FP&A work does not compete with accounting deadlines.
Ready to see it on your entity map?
Send your budget file and your last board deck on the scoping call. A fixed scope, timeline, and quote follow within a week.
4 to 6 week implementation • Finance-owned • Onshore support