Fractional CFO · Meaning · Cost · Fractional vs interim
Fractional CFO · what one does, what one costs, when you need one
A fractional CFO is a chief financial officer who holds the role for part of the week, often one to three days, on an ongoing basis. They own the finance function, sit in the leadership team and answer to the board for the numbers, for fewer days than a full-time CFO. Many work for more than one company.
FD Capital puts a fractional CFO at £700 to £1,400 a day, averaging around £1,050. This page covers what the role is, what it costs and when it fits. To hire a fractional CFO, or to see fractional CFO jobs, go to the hub. We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent finance leaders.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
In the press
FM Magazine (AICPA & CIMA) How to make the fractional CFO-client relationship effective · 20 May 2026
Practitioners on what makes a fractional CFO work in practice: a clear scope, access to people and data, and regular communication with the CEO. Those three things decide whether the days are well spent.
Financial Times The executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance (paywall)
Why senior executives are choosing to work fractionally rather than freelance, and what that means for the companies that engage them.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional CFO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with CFO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Fractional CFO jobs on the board
Current fractional CFO and finance leadership roles
Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a CFO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.
01/ the role
What is a fractional CFO? a fraction of the week, not of the job
“Fractional” means a fraction of the week, not a fraction of the job. A fractional CFO holds the chief financial officer role in full: they sit in the leadership team, own the finance function and answer to the board for it. They simply do it for an agreed number of days rather than five. That is the fractional CFO meaning in one line, and it is what separates the role from a consultant who writes a report and leaves.
The job is the one ICAEW describes as the most senior role in the finance function: leading the finance team, overseeing budgeting, forecasting and planning, managing financial risk, reporting to the board and leading on investment and acquisitions. Our page on what a CFO does sets out the full role.
Ongoing, not a project
The arrangement is usually ongoing. A company keeps its fractional CFO while the work needs a senior finance leader for part of the week, and reviews the days as the business changes. For the wider idea, see what fractional work is.
Outsourced and virtual titles
A fractional CFO is a named person holding the role. An outsourced CFO is usually a service bought from a firm, often alongside bookkeeping and accounts, where the person doing the work can change. “Virtual CFO” is used for both. If a firm’s service is what you want, our fractional CFO services page sets out what it covers.
02/ scope
Fractional CFO: what one does week to week
With limited days, a fractional CFO spends them where a CFO adds most. ICAEW notes that a CFO cannot do everything and has to focus where they add most value. In practice the weeks go on five things.
Planning and cash
The budget, the forecast and a clear view of cash and runway. The British Business Bank’s guide to small business finance management is a fair floor: a current plan and forecast, someone chasing late payers, and a budget compared with actual performance.
Reporting the board trusts
Management accounts by a set working day, a board pack that tells the story behind the numbers, and the KPIs the leadership team runs the business on.
Funding and investors
Fundraising, lender relationships, investor reporting and due diligence. This is often the reason the role exists in the first place.
Controls, systems and the team
Fixing processes and systems, and building or leading the finance team so that the month-end runs without the CFO in the room.
Strategy and big decisions
Pricing, business cases, acquisitions and the financial side of every major decision the CEO brings to the board.
What stays with the team
A fractional CFO is not a bookkeeper. Day-to-day transactions, payroll and month-end reconciliations are done by the finance team, an in-house accountant or an outsourced provider; the CFO sets how that work is done and reviews it. They are not the auditor or the tax adviser either, though they manage both relationships. Where there is no finance team at all, the first job is often to put basic processes in place so the CFO’s days go on decisions, not data entry.
03/ comparison
Fractional CFO vs interim CFO vs part-time vs full-time
The titles overlap. The differences are in the days, the length and the contract.
04/ timing
When to hire a fractional CFO
Most companies bring in a fractional CFO when the finance work has outgrown a founder, a bookkeeper or a financial controller, but does not yet fill a full-time CFO’s week. These are the common triggers.
Scenario 01
A fundraise or a lender is coming
Investors or a bank want a model, a data room and reporting they can rely on, and someone senior to answer their questions.
Scenario 02
Growth has outrun the numbers
The business is growing fast, the management accounts arrive late or not at all, and the board is deciding without them.
Scenario 03
Cash is tight
A thirteen-week cash forecast, a conversation with the bank and a plan for the next quarter, owned by someone accountable for it.
Scenario 04
A sale, an acquisition or a new system
A specific change needs a senior finance view, from someone who stays accountable for the result rather than handing over a report.
05/ vetting
How we vet fractional CFOs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify CFO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
06/ fractional vs interim
Fractional or interim: part of the week, or all of it for a while
Fractional CFO vs interim CFO comes down to the days and the end date. A fractional CFO works part of the week on an ongoing basis. An interim CFO works full-time for a fixed period, then leaves: covering a departure, running a transaction or leading a turnaround. If the work fills the week for six months and then stops, that is interim. If it needs a senior finance leader every week but not every day, that is fractional.
For a sense of interim scale, the Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey reports an average assignment of 10.0 months and an average interim day rate of £907 (£1,004 in the private sector). Those are averages across every discipline its members work in, not a CFO rate. For CFO roles held for a fixed period, see interim CFO jobs.
A part-time CFO is usually an employee on reduced hours for one company. The seniority can match a fractional role; the contract does not. A part-time employee should get the same treatment on pay rates, pension and holidays as a comparable full-time one, with some benefits pro rata, as GOV.UK sets out. See part-time CFO jobs. When the work grows to fill the week, many companies move to a full-time CFO, sometimes the same person. We recruit that permanent hire too.
07/ cost
What a fractional CFO costs by the day and by the month
The cost is the day rate times the days worked, or a monthly retainer for an agreed number of days. FD Capital puts a fractional CFO at £700 to £1,400 a day, averaging around £1,050, with PE and VC specialists, or those with a fundraising track record, at £1,200 to £1,600. On a retainer it gives £2,500 to £4,000 a month for one day a week, £5,000 to £8,000 for two days, and £10,000 to £15,000 for three or more.
Connectd’s 2026 day-rate guide gives a wider band for a fractional CFO, £600 to £1,500 a day, with £800 to £1,100 in the mid-market. For comparison, Robert Half’s 2026 guide puts the median full-time CFO salary at £176,500, within a range of £132,500 to £220,500, before employer National Insurance, pension and benefits.
Our fractional CFO cost page sets out the pricing in depth, and fractional CFO salary covers what CFOs earn. Every shortlist we send states each candidate’s day rate or pay.
08/ contract and ir35
How the engagement works: contract, pay and IR35
Most fractional CFOs work under a contract for services, as a sole trader or through their own limited company. They invoice the client and pay their own tax and National Insurance, as GOV.UK’s guidance on self-employment describes. Some are employed part-time instead.
Where the CFO works through their own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply. Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, not on the title. In most cases the client decides; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
09/ hiring
Hiring one: the short version
Start with what finance must deliver over the next year: a fundraise, reliable monthly reporting, a new system, a sale. That sets the days, the scope and the experience you need. Then decide who the CFO reports to, what they own and how their days fall across the month. Write it down; it becomes the brief.
Check the qualification with the body that awards it: the ICAEW’s ACA, the ACCA qualification or CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification. Take references from the CEOs and boards they reported to.
The hub takes it from there: hire a fractional CFO sets out the process, and we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate or pay, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting. If the seat is a board-level finance director in an owner-managed business, see fractional finance director; if the gap is controls and the close, hire a fractional financial controller.
10/ questions
Fractional CFO FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional CFO.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
