Real-data stack · Snapshot v0.7 · checked 2026-10-23

CRM + billing stack for a fractional CFO

Short answer: Referral pipeline + capped-fee ACH billing costs $28/mo on annual billing ($336/yr), or $35/mo month-to-month. The alternative (HoneyBook path) comes to $29/mo. Every dollar below is computed from our Pricing Snapshot, not typed by hand.

Who this is for: A solo fractional CFO with a handful of monthly retainer clients won mostly by referral. (1 person · few clients · high invoice values · little list marketing)

Recommended: Referral pipeline + capped-fee ACH billing

Layer	Pick	Units	Annual $/mo	Monthly $/mo	Status	Admin hrs/wk (est.)
CRM	HubSpot CRM Free — referral and renewal pipeline	1	$0	$0	Vendor-verified	1
Client ops	Dubsado Starter — engagement letter, retainer invoice, ACH capped at $5	1	$28	$35	Vendor-verified	1.5
Total			$28	$35		2.50

Why this recipe fits this practice

Your pipeline is a short list of referrers and renewals, not hundreds of leads, so a free CRM (HubSpot Free, up to 2 users) is enough.
Your real admin work is engagement letters and the monthly retainer invoice. Dubsado Starter covers proposals, contracts, invoices and payments.
At CFO invoice sizes the payment fee matters more than the plan. Dubsado's ACH fee is 0.8% capped at $5, so a $6,000 retainer costs $5 to collect. HoneyBook charges $90 and Bonsai $60.
We changed this recipe on 2026-10-23 (Snapshot v0.7) after reading Dubsado’s and Bonsai’s fee pages. The Pass 12 pick was HoneyBook Starter. We earn no affiliate commission on Dubsado here.

The fee math

What	Result	How we got it
Software bill (annual billing)	$336/yr	HubSpot Free $0 + Dubsado Starter $28/mo × 12
ACH fee on one $6,000 invoice (example size)	$5 Dubsado · $60 Bonsai · $90 HoneyBook	0.8% max $5 · 1% min $1 · 1.5% (vendor help center / pricing pages)
Yearly ACH fees for one client, Dubsado vs HoneyBook	$60 vs $1,080	12 monthly invoices of $6,000
Yearly saving per client on Dubsado ACH vs HoneyBook ACH	$1,020	(HoneyBook ACH − Dubsado ACH) × 12
That saving vs the whole software bill	3.0×	saving ÷ software bill per year
Card instead of ACH on Dubsado, per year	+$2,031.60	2.9% + $0.30 vs $5 cap, × 12

“Example size” invoices are worked examples, not market data. Put in your own number.

Alternative: HoneyBook path

Layer	Pick	Units	Annual $/mo	Monthly $/mo	Status
CRM	HubSpot CRM Free	1	$0	$0	Vendor-verified
Client ops	HoneyBook Starter — our Pass 12 pick; simpler, but ACH is 1.5% with no cap	1	$29	$36	Vendor-verified
Total			$29	$36

Watch-outs

Dubsado ACH works only for US merchants and clients with US bank accounts, takes about 4 business days to settle, starts at a $20,000/week limit, and charges $4 per failed payment.
HubSpot Free shows HubSpot branding on forms and meeting links.
Bonsai adds a 1% platform fee if you route payments through Stripe or PayPal instead of Bonsai Payments.
Any tool lets you take a bank wire outside the processor and mark the invoice paid by hand. You lose autopay and payment tracking.

FAQ

What is the cheapest real stack for a fractional CFO?

About $28/mo on annual billing: HubSpot CRM Free plus Dubsado Starter. Month-to-month it is $35/mo.

Does payment processing matter more than the software?

Yes at CFO invoice sizes. A $6,000 monthly retainer paid by ACH costs $5 on Dubsado and $90 on HoneyBook. Over a year that gap ($1,020) is larger than the software bill ($336).