Fractional CFO · Retail & Distribution

Financial Leadership for Every Stage of Your Retail & Distribution Business

From regional distributors to multi-location retailers — without hiring a full-time CFO.

Retail, restaurant, and distribution businesses between $10M and $80M have real financial complexity — inventory turns, vendor terms, labor costs, shrink, logistics, and margin pressure that never lets up. I help you get your numbers right, your cash under control, and your business ready for what's next.

Start a Conversation Call: 704-497-3455

25+ Years Operational Finance

$10M–$80M Business Revenue Range

CFO-Level Without the Full-Time Cost

Does This Sound Familiar?

You're Not Alone

Retail, restaurant, and distribution businesses have unique financial complexity — thin margins, fast-moving inventory, volatile freight and vendor costs, and labor that's both your biggest expense and hardest to control. You need a trusted adviser who's been inside these businesses.

Margins are tight and getting tighter

Freight costs, vendor pricing, shrink, and labor all move at once — and in restaurants, labor alone can swing your margins by several points. You don't always have the visibility to pinpoint exactly where the money is leaking.

You can't trust your books

Systems that don't talk to each other, inconsistent inventory data, legacy processes. You need clean, connected numbers before you can make real decisions.

Growth is creating chaos

New locations, new accounts, new SKUs. What worked at $15M doesn't work at $50M. You're drowning in operational noise and the financial infrastructure hasn't kept pace.

No process for timely, accurate reporting

You're making decisions on outdated or incomplete information. When lenders or investors ask for numbers, you're scrambling instead of ready.

Too much time and money going to accounting

Systems set up wrong from the start, redundant manual steps, workflows that should have been automated. There's a better path forward.

No one senior truly "gets" your industry

You need a CFO who understands retail, restaurants, and distribution — not just spreadsheets. Someone who knows that labor scheduling, inventory shrink, and vendor terms aren't just operational details, they're where your margin lives or dies.

What I Do

Strategic Financial Leadership

I bring 25+ years of operational finance experience to help you see what's actually happening in your retail, restaurant, or distribution business — and what to do about it.

Executive Financial Leadership

Strategic direction for your company's financial future: budgeting, forecasting, risk mitigation, and capital strategy. CFO-level thinking without the full-time cost.

Clean Up & Stabilize Financial Records

If your numbers are inconsistent, incomplete, or unclear, I'll get them right — whether that means fixing the data, the systems producing it, or both — and build processes to keep them clean.

Cash Flow Management

Build 13-week cash forecasts, identify working capital levers, optimize vendor terms and receivables. Avoid shortfalls and stop flying blind on cash.

Profitability & Operational Efficiency

I look at the full picture — unit-level margins, labor efficiency, inventory performance, and the data flowing between your systems — to find where you're losing money and where better processes drive results.

Financial Strategy & Planning

Plan for growth, build multi-year forecasts, and make decisions based on data rather than gut instinct. I help you see the path forward with confidence.

Reporting & Board/Investor Support

Custom dashboards, KPI tracking, and stakeholder presentations. Whether it's lenders, PE partners, or your board — you'll be ready.

Capital Access & Funding Readiness

Prepare financial models, pitch decks, and forecasts that speak to banks or investors. Position your business to secure the capital it needs to grow.

Start Here

30–45 Day Cash & Margin Stabilization Sprint

A low-risk way to get clarity fast — without committing to a full-time hire. Most engagements start here. In 30–45 days, I come in, clean up the noise, stabilize cash, and help you see what's actually happening. I'll also establish processes that leverage technology and AI-driven automation to bring lasting efficiency — not just a one-time fix.

13-Week Cash Flow

See exactly where cash is going and when you'll need it — so you're never caught off guard.

Unit-Level Margin Clarity

Understand profitability by location, channel, SKU, or customer — wherever the detail matters most.

Working Capital Levers

Identify opportunities to free up cash through better inventory management, vendor terms, and receivables.

Weekly Operating Cadence

Establish rhythm and accountability in your financial operations from day one.

Lender-Ready Narrative

Tell your story with confidence backed by real numbers — not scrambled-together reports.

Let's Talk About Your Sprint

About Jeff Fearn

25 Years as an Operational Finance Leader

I'm an operational CFO. I dig into how your business actually runs — not just what the reports say. When cash is tight and nobody can explain why, when the P&L doesn't reflect reality, when growth is outpacing your financial infrastructure — that's where I do my best work.

My focus today is retail, restaurant, and distribution businesses doing $10M to $80M in revenue. These companies have real complexity: inventory that has to turn, labor costs that have to be managed tightly, vendor relationships that drive margin, and logistics costs that can't be ignored. I know where the problems hide because I've worked inside enough of these businesses to recognize the patterns.

My background spans the full supply chain — distribution, group purchasing, grocery retail, restaurants, and operations — giving me a ground-level understanding of what drives financial performance in product-based businesses. That operational lens is what separates me from a traditional CFO who only reads the reports.

I also know that the systems running your business are inseparable from your financial performance. I've evaluated platforms, led buy-vs-build decisions, overseen implementations, and modeled unit economics — all from the CFO seat. When your systems work harder, margins improve and costs come down.

I'm based in Charlotte, NC. If the financial side of your retail or distribution business hasn't kept up with the growth, we should talk.