8 Best Financial Modeling Consultants for Startups (2026)

Your lead investor wants the model by Friday. Or the bank needs projections before it looks at your loan. You can build the model yourself, buy a template or hire someone. This guide compares eight firms that build financial models for startups. It covers who each one suits and what each publishes about price and time. Full disclosure: we're one of the eight, and we put ourselves first. Here's the case, so you can judge.

It depends on what the model is for. For a fundraise, pick a firm that builds investor-grade models, like Waveup or Finro. On a tight budget, try Hemrock. For a model that runs your finances every month, look at Burkland or Kruze. For project finance or an audit before a lender relies on the model, Pivotal180. For a big-firm name, Grant Thornton.

Financial modeling consultants compared at a glance

They fall into four groups. Specialist firms build investor-grade models for a raise. Startup finance firms build a model and then run it with you each month. Outsourced shops build to a formal modeling standard. Big advisory firms bring a name that lenders and private equity owners know, for larger and more complex deals.

The 8 best financial modeling consultants for startups in 2026

We picked firms that build models for startups and small companies on a project basis. Then we checked each one on its own website in October 2026. The list mixes types, so you can match the firm to the job. A price appears only where a firm publishes it. In our work on 500+ financial models, fit matters more than size.

1. Waveup: investor-grade models for a raise

Full disclosure: this is our list. Waveup is a London-based fundraising and growth advisory. Since 2014 we've built 500+ financial models. We also build the decks and valuations that sit next to a model, so the numbers can match everywhere.

Models start at $3,000, as a flat fee agreed before work starts, and take two to three weeks. Complex models cost more; the table above has the range.

Best for: founders raising a round who need a model investors will test hard, plus the deck and story around it.

2. Finro: startup models tied to valuation

Finro is a Malta-based boutique for startup modeling, valuation and financial due diligence. Its founder leads every engagement. It builds driver-based models with documented assumptions and base, upside and downside cases, and can tie the model to a valuation.

It publishes one price: a fixed €1,200 review of an existing model, delivered in five business days. A new model takes a few weeks and is priced after a call.

Best for: tech startups from pre-seed to Series B that want the model and the valuation from one team.

3. Hemrock (formerly Foresight): a specialist with free templates

Hemrock, known as Foresight until 2026, is one modeler: Taylor Davidson, who has built models since 2005. He also publishes free, open-source model templates. Custom work usually starts from one of them, which keeps the cost down.

His custom page says most projects run $1K to $10K, and a one-hour working session costs $395. You own the model, and it comes with documentation and a walkthrough.

Best for: early-stage founders on a budget who want an expert to adapt a proven template.

4. Burkland: a model you keep running

Burkland is a San Francisco finance firm for startups, covering accounting, tax, payroll and fractional CFOs. It builds bottom-up models with scenarios and KPI dashboards, then helps you track actual results against the forecast.

A first model takes about one to two weeks. Burkland doesn't publish a price for a model on its own. Its fractional CFO plans, which include modeling, start at $1,600 a month.

Best for: US startups that want the model to become a monthly operating tool, not a one-off file.

5. Kruze Consulting: accounting and the model under one roof

Kruze is a San Francisco CPA firm for venture-backed startups. It builds new models, reviews existing ones and keeps them updated, alongside bookkeeping, tax and 409A work.

It works with funded Delaware companies that have raised at least $500K in venture capital. Modeling prices aren't published.

Best for: US VC-backed startups that want their accountants to own the forecast too.

6. FAB Analytics: models built to a formal standard

FAB Analytics is an outsourced modeling shop with offices in Bath, UK, and New Delhi. Its modelers build to the FAST standard, a public set of rules for clear spreadsheets. It also offers monthly model updates.

A build typically takes two to four weeks, and a review three to seven business days. Prices come after a scoping call.

Best for: UK and European companies that want a standard-built model and someone to keep it current.

7. Pivotal180: project finance models and audits

Pivotal180 works from New York and Sydney on project finance: renewables, infrastructure and mining. Besides building models, it audits them cell by cell before a lender relies on them. An audit takes roughly two to four weeks.

Prices aren't published. Audit fees depend on the size of the model.

Best for: energy and infrastructure companies raising project finance, or anyone who needs an independent audit.

8. Grant Thornton UK: the big-firm option

Grant Thornton UK has a modeling team inside its deals practice. It builds models for raising finance, buying or selling a business and restructuring. It also reviews models for lenders and investors.

Prices and timings aren't published.

Best for: larger, PE-backed or lender-facing companies that want a recognised name on the model.

Also worth a look: Toptal, eFinancialModels and Fiverr Pro

Toptal is a vetted freelance network. It says it matches you with a modeler in under 24 hours on average, with a trial of up to two weeks. Rates aren't published.

eFinancialModels sells industry templates, plus expert hours to adapt them from $200 an hour.

Fiverr Pro lists vetted freelancers, and each one sets their own price. It suits small, tightly scoped jobs where you can check samples yourself.

How much does a financial model cost?

Published prices for a startup model run from about $1,000 to $15,000, depending on who builds it and how complex it is. Hemrock quotes $1K to $10K for most projects, and Waveup starts at $3,000. Fractional CFO plans that include modeling start at $1,600 a month. Most firms, and all the big ones, quote after a call.

What moves the price is how much the model has to do. More revenue lines, more scenarios and messy historical data all add hours. A pre-revenue SaaS model is simpler than a marketplace with three revenue streams. A rush job costs more everywhere. For comparison, ZipRecruiter puts the average US salary for a financial modeling job at $103,840 a year.

What should a startup financial model include?

An investor-grade model links three statements: the profit and loss, the cash flow and the balance sheet. Behind them sit your assumptions, revenue drivers and hiring plan. On top come unit economics, base, upside and downside scenarios, your runway and the use of funds. Every number should trace back to an assumption you can explain.

The three statements are the standard core. CFI's explainer describes a linked income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, with supporting schedules. How you build them matters too. The ICAEW Financial Modelling Code asks for inputs, calculations and outputs kept apart, with error checks and no hard-coded numbers.

How do you choose a financial modeling consultant?

Start with the job: a raise, a loan, a budget or an audit. Then ask to see a model they built for a company like yours. Check that revenue comes from real drivers, and make sure you'll own an unlocked file. A good modeler walks you through the model until you can defend every number in it.

Those red flags are real. An AI adtech startup brought us its first model. Revenue was a top-down target, and the margin sat at 60% against an industry norm of about 30%. The model ignored cash flow and missed the tech costs. We rebuilt it in a week, and the company closed its $6M seed round a month after delivery. Read the case.

Template, freelancer or firm: which do you need?

Use a template if you know Excel, your business is simple and nobody outside will test the numbers hard. Hire a freelancer for a tight, well-defined job. Hire a specialist firm when the model has to survive investor or lender scrutiny. Go to a big firm when a recognised name matters to whoever reads it.

Can ChatGPT build a financial model?

It can draft one. Ask for a three-statement structure, formulas and a list of assumptions, and you'll get a fast start. What it can't do is know your real drivers or check its own logic. Models built this way can look right and still be wrong, so test every formula before anyone else sees it.

In 2026, AI makes the first draft cheap. The value moves to the assumptions and the checks, which is exactly where investors push in a meeting.