Fractional CFO and Controller Services for Real Estate Operators, Nationwide
Fractional CFO and Controller Services for Real Estate Companies
Volatile rates. Compressed margins. Multi-entity complexity. Most accountants don’t understand the financial mechanics of your business. We do. Sentinel Finance Group partners with real estate operators across the country to build the financial infrastructure your business actually needs.
Proudly serving real estate businesses in all 50 states • 100% remote • Headquartered in Kansas City, MO
What Our Clients Are Saying
The Real Problem
A Growing Real Estate Business Doesn't Mean a Clear Financial Picture
Strong GCI or a growing portfolio doesn’t mean the numbers underneath are giving you the right information. Between multi-entity structures, irregular income timing, and operating costs that move faster than budgets, most real estate businesses are making major decisions without a clear financial picture.
Without a CFO Partner
- You don’t know your true cash position across entities, or when the next gap is coming
- Property-level and agent-level profitability is invisible until something goes wrong
- You aren't aware of DSCR or covenant compliance issues until a lender flags it
- Split and recruiting decisions get made without modeling what they actually cost the brokerage
- Investor reporting falls behind as the portfolio grows, and distribution timing becomes harder to manage consistently
- CAM reconciliations run late, are done incorrectly, or get challenged by tenants
With Sentinel Finance Group
- A clear cash position across every entity, with a rolling forecast built around how your business actually gets paid
- Property-level P&Ls and per-agent profitability: the numbers behind the top-line numbers
- DSCR monitoring and debt covenant compliance built into your regular monthly reporting
- Financial models for split decisions, recruiting, overhead, and capital allocation before you commit
- Investor reporting packages that go out accurately and on time, with distribution calculations managed as part of the same close process
- CAM reconciliations, trust accounting, and lease-level reporting done accurately and on schedule
Real Estate Industry Expertise
The Financial Challenges We Were Built to Solve
Your Cash Position Is Harder to Track Than It Looks
Multi-entity LLC structures, irregular commission cycles, and the gap between signed contracts and cash in the bank make it easy to be profitable on paper and cash-poor in practice.
You Don’t Know Which Properties or Agents Are Actually Profitable
The business-level P&L hides one underperforming asset or one agent driving most of the margin. Without property-level or agent-level visibility, you’re making decisions based on incomplete information.
Operating Costs Are Outpacing Your Models
Insurance premiums, maintenance, and labor don’t move the way last year’s budget predicted. Fixed overhead doesn’t shrink when transaction volume drops. Your revenue does.
Your Capital Stack No Longer Matches the Asset
Deals underwritten in a different rate environment stop working the way the model said they would. Refinancing risk, debt maturity, and leverage decisions need to be actively managed, not discovered at the last minute.
Financial Models Built on the Best Case
Most pro formas assume cap rates hold, rents grow on schedule, and construction comes in on budget. That's not a financial plan. Every major decision needs a downside case, rate sensitivity, and debt maturity scenario before you commit.
Investor Reporting and Infrastructure Falling Behind
As the portfolio grows, the financial infrastructure underneath it often doesn’t keep up. Manual reporting, delayed month-end close, and inconsistent cost allocation create problems that compound, especially when a capital event hits.
Not ready for a call?
Download our free guide.
The Top Financial Mistakes Real Estate Companies Make (and How to Fix Them) — a practical guide to protecting deal margins, improving cash flow, and making better financial decisions in a complex, market-driven industry.
REQUEST Your Free Review.
We sit in on one of your financial meetings. If you don’t have one, we do a 1:1 instead. You run it like normal. We listen. Afterward, you get direct feedback on what we see: blind spots, risks, and opportunities most teams walk right past.
Our Services
Financial Services Built for Real Estate Businesses
We work with real estate businesses across the full spectrum: brokerages, property management companies, residential and commercial investors, developers, and LIHTC and affordable housing operators. Whether your focus is brokerage operations, portfolio management, development, or property management, we help real estate businesses build the financial systems and capital strategies needed to manage complexity and scale.
Cash Flow Management
- Rolling 13-week cash flow forecast
- Receivables, payables, and collections management
- Operating reserve, capex reserve, and contingency reserve strategy
- Line of credit management and working capital planning
- Owner distribution planning and trust accounting
Financial Reporting & KPIs
- Monthly financial reporting and strategy meetings
- Property-level and portfolio-level P&Ls
- KPI dashboards by asset type
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Investor-ready financial statements and LP reporting packages
Growth Advisory
- Acquisition financial modeling and due diligence support
- New market and asset class feasibility analysis
- Exit readiness and business valuation preparation
- Mergers and acquisitions support
- Lender and investor readiness
- Capital raise support
Scenario & Risk
Modeling
- Interest rate and debt maturity scenario modeling
- Cap rate expansion and vacancy stress-testing
- Commission compression modeling for brokerages
- Construction cost overrun and delay modeling
- Refinancing and capital event planning
- Investor-ready financial models
Profitability & Cost Strategy
- Property-level NOI and operating cost analysis
- Per-agent and per-transaction profitability for brokerages
- CAM reconciliation and lease-level cost recovery analysis
- DSCR monitoring and debt covenant compliance
- Operating expense benchmarking and renegotiation support
Accounting & Controller Services
- Monthly close and multi-entity general ledger reconciliation
- LIHTC financial reporting, Section 42 compliance, and qualified basis tracking
- Accounting system implementation and optimization (AppFolio, Yardi, Buildium, QuickBooks)
- Financial controls and process audit
- Finance team oversight and accounting staff management
What we do
We Don't Just Report Numbers. We Move Them.
Anyone can tell you what happened last month. We tell you what’s going to happen next quarter and what to do about it before it’s too late.
You'll Know Your Real Numbers Within 30 Days
In your first 30 days, we build your financial foundation: clean books, property-level P&Ls with costs properly allocated, and a reporting package that reflects how each asset, entity, or agent is actually performing.
Cash Surprises Become a Thing of the Past
Our rolling cash flow forecast accounts for commission timing, lease-up periods, vacancy cycles, and capital expenditure planning. You’ll stop reacting to cash gaps and start planning for them.
Your Margins Improve Measurably
We surface the issues total numbers hide: an underperforming property, an agent costing more than they produce, a CAM reconciliation leaving money on the table. We fix them with a real dollar outcome attached.
You're Ready for What the Market Throws at You
Rate increases. Debt maturities. Commission compression. A slow transaction quarter. We build your financial systems to handle cycles.
Banks and Investors Start Taking You Seriously
We build the financial documentation lenders and investors require: DSCR analysis, debt schedules, investor reporting packages, and capital event readiness. Then we show up in the capital conversation with you.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO is an experienced chief financial officer who works with a business on a part-time or ongoing basis, providing strategic financial leadership without the cost of a full-time executive hire. Real estate businesses often bring in a fractional CFO when the portfolio is growing, financial complexity is outpacing internal capacity, capital decisions are becoming more consequential, or investor and lender reporting needs have increased.
Do I really need a CFO? I already have a bookkeeper and a CPA.
Bookkeepers record transactions. A CPA typically focuses on tax compliance, accounting, and historical reporting. A CFO tells you what’s going to happen next quarter and what to do about it. A fractional CFO goes beyond financial reporting to help with cash flow forecasting, budgeting, KPI development, lender and investor communication, forecasting, strategic planning, and major financial decisions. We work with your existing financial team to create alignment around financial decisions.
How does a fully remote CFO relationship work?
We use shared financial dashboards, cloud-based accounting tools, and regular video calls to stay embedded in your business from anywhere. We work in the platforms your team already uses: AppFolio, Yardi, Buildium, QuickBooks, and others. We’re proactive. You’ll hear from us regularly, not just at month-end.
We also provide in-person support in the Kansas City area.
What size businesses do you work with?
We typically work with real estate businesses generating between $1M and $50M in annual revenue, though the decision to hire a fractional CFO depends more on complexity than revenue alone. A fractional CFO typically delivers the highest ROI when you’re past the startup phase but not yet at the scale where a full-time CFO makes sense.
How quickly will I see results?
Our clients say they see immediate improvements in visibility, decision-making, and accountability. During onboarding, we identify financial blind spots, strengthen reporting, and uncover opportunities that often offset our fees early. Stronger margins, healthier cash flow, and better forecasting typically build over the first few months.
What does it cost?
Our engagements are customized based on scope and complexity. Fractional CFO services cost significantly less than hiring a full-time CFO while still providing executive-level financial leadership. The best way to understand what’s right for you is a free strategy session, where we’ll map out what you actually need and give you a clear picture of investment and expected return.
Do you work with brokerages, investors, developers, and property management companies?
Yes. We work with brokerages, property management companies, investors, developers, and LIHTC operators. The financial challenges are different enough by segment that we always start with a clear picture of your specific business before we talk about how we can help.
Can you handle LIHTC properties and affordable housing?
Yes. LIHTC properties require a compliance and financial reporting layer that most fractional CFO firms cannot provide: Section 42 compliance, qualified basis documentation, tax credit equity reporting, and annual financial statements in the format syndicators and state housing finance agencies require. We work directly with LIHTC developers and syndicators on these needs.
About Sentinel Finance Group
Kansas City Roots. Nationwide Reach.
We believe real estate businesses deserve financial leadership that actually understands their world. We work with real estate brokerages, property management companies, residential and commercial investors, real estate developers, and affordable housing operators.
The combination of fractional CFO and controller services under one roof means you get both strategic financial leadership and the day-to-day infrastructure to support it.
The best CFO for your business isn’t the one closest to you — it’s the one who knows your industry best. We’re based in Kansas City and serve clients from coast to coast, fully remote. You’ll work directly with a senior CFO partner who is embedded in your business, available when you need them, and accountable to your results.
When we first sat down they said they truly wanted to become partners and not another vendor. They proved this within the first month. They provide valuable insights into both our financial history and future planning. Sentinel Finance Group is a rare find and the kind of long-term partner every business hopes for."