Fractional CFO salary · day rate, retainer, year
What a fractional CFO earns, by the day, the week and the year
A fractional CFO is paid a day rate, not a salary.
FD Capital’s 2026 guide puts the typical fractional CFO day rate at £700–£1,400, with an average of about £1,050, and £1,200–£1,600 for PE, VC and fundraising specialists.
On a retainer it gives £2,500–£4,000 a month for one day a week.
The same guide’s summary list gives a wider £900–£2,000 a day.
What a fractional CFO salary comes to over a year depends on the days sold across clients, not the rate alone.
When you hire a fractional CFO through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
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
FM Magazine, the AICPA & CIMA title, asked practitioners what makes a fractional CFO engagement work: agreed scope, access to the numbers and a set rhythm of communication. Agree those before you agree the day rate.
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
- FractionalSyndicatedAcquisition CFO / Finance Director (Fractional)
CivSec Group · London
est £1,500/dayLondon - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
KeelCFO · England
Rate not statedEngland - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
fin-house · London
£700–£1,000/dayLondon - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
Amitours · United Kingdom
Rate not statedUnited Kingdom
Fractional CFO roles on the board
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a CFO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the cross
Where a permanent hire becomes cheaper.
Move the day rate and the days a week: the rising line is a month of part-week cost, the flat line a permanent hire’s month. Where they cross, the seat should go full-time.
At 4.7 days a week a permanent hire costs less.
Our arithmetic. Permanent a month = the salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI, plus the 30% search fee spread over 12 months — the calculator’s inputs. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each step.
Permanent = the £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary. The full calculator below adds the months, the totals and the currency tabs.
- The fractional CFO at 2 days a week never passes permanent inside 24 months.
- Interim passes permanent at month 8.
Our arithmetic, cumulative. Permanent = the salary’s 30% search fee in month 0, then salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI each month. Interim = the midpoint of the published interim band (£1,100 a day, FD Capital 2026) × 5 days × 4.33 weeks. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each month.
02/ the route
Fractional, interim or permanent?
Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.
The route · Fractional
A fractional CFO.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional CFO holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim CFO.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim CFO takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent CFO after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim CFO holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent CFO.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
03/ the role
How a fractional CFO is paid, and what sets the rate
A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader who works part of the week for several businesses at once, usually one to three days a week each.
The client pays a day rate, or a fixed monthly retainer for an agreed number of days.
There is no salary, bonus or employer pension.
Seniority sets the rate first.
FD Capital’s pricing tiers put a growth-stage CFO at £600–£750 a day, a senior CFO with private equity or listed experience at £750–£950, and an executive CFO with exit or IPO experience at £950–£1,200.
PE, VC and fundraising specialists reach £1,200–£1,600.
Place still counts, even for remote work.
FD Capital says many fractional CFOs now serve clients nationally from any location, but London-based companies still pay a 15–20% premium even for remote arrangements.
A finance chief can also be employed part-time on a salary.
A part-time employee must not be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time one, with some benefits applied pro rata (GOV.UK).
FD Capital’s summary list puts a part-time CFO at £70,000–£130,000 pro rata a year.
04/ scope
How to hire a fractional CFO
1. Count the days the work needs
List what the CFO must own: board packs, cash forecasting, a fundraise, a refinancing, the audit.
Then estimate the days a month it takes.
The days set the retainer; the work sets the seniority.
2. Match seniority to the mandate
A first finance chief for a growing business does not need an IPO record.
A fundraise or a sale does.
Pay for the experience the next year needs, not the most senior profile available.
3. Agree scope, access and rhythm
Write down which days, which meetings and which numbers the CFO will have.
A retainer works when both sides know what it buys.
What we do on a fractional brief
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent finance leaders, and non-executive directors.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, and every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
To start, hire a fractional CFO; for roles on the board, see fractional CFO jobs.
05/ the maths
What the seat costs, by the days a week
Move the day rate, the days a week and the months: the totals and the permanent comparison for the period. The curve above shows where a permanent hire becomes the cheaper seat.
The slider runs across the published band for a fractional CFO: £700–£1,400 a day (FD Capital 2026).
Cost over 12 months
£109,200
104 working days · 2 d/wk · 12 mo · before tax
Fractional costs less over 12 months£146,725
Fractional CFO, 12 months£109,200
Fractional CFO, a month at 2 d/wk£9,093
Permanent CFO, same period£255,925
Fractional CFO, 12 months$144,679
Fractional CFO, a month at 2 d/wk$12,047
Permanent CFO, same period$339,075
Converted from £ at $1.3249 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a US market rate. Source ↗
Fractional CFO, 12 months€128,266
Fractional CFO, a month at 2 d/wk€10,681
Permanent CFO, same period€300,610
Converted from £ at €1.1746 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a EU market rate. Source ↗
Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, Headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.
06/ the week
How a week divides.
The days you buy are yours; the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week in the calculator above and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a fractional CFO’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
07/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 4 roles · Fractional CFO
Engagement
- Fractional4
Days a week
- Stated in the posting0
- Not stated4
Day rate
- Verified rate1
- Estimated (est)1
- Rate not stated2
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote1
- Hybrid1
- On-site2
Newest posting on the board: 9 Oct 2026.
Postings per week on this board, last 90 days
4 postings on this board in the last 90 days, counted by the week each was published.
08/ rates by stage
Fractional CFO salary day rates by profile
Day rates as FD Capital, a recruiter, publishes them in 2026. Its pricing page gives the profile tiers; its salary guide gives the typical band, the specialist band and a wider summary-list band. Implied hourly is the day rate over a 7-hour day: arithmetic, not a published hourly rate.
09/ rates by commitment
Fractional CFO rates by days a week, a month and a year
FD Capital’s 2026 monthly retainers by days a week. The annual column is the monthly retainer × 12: our arithmetic, a comparison and not a salary.
10/ economics
Rate is not income: what a fractional CFO keeps
The day rate is what the client pays, not what the CFO takes home.
Most fractional CFOs invoice through their own limited company and take money out as a salary through PAYE and as dividends from profit, after Corporation Tax.
Out of the same income they fund their pension, holidays, insurance and the days they do not sell.
Tax status changes the number too.
Under the off-payroll working rules (IR35), a medium or large client makes the status determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the CFO’s own company decides.
The rules apply contract by contract, so a fractional CFO with three clients can have three different answers.
HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view on one engagement; our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
11/ 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
12/ the year
How much do fractional CFOs make in a year
How much do fractional CFOs make?
Multiply the rate by the days sold.
At FD Capital’s average of about £1,050, each day a week sold for 52 weeks bills £54,600 (our arithmetic, before any weeks off).
Two clients at one day a week each is twice that; a full week across several clients is five times it, if the diary fills.
In practice the diary rarely fills every week.
Holidays, the gaps between clients and the time spent finding the next one all come off the total.
A fractional CFO salary is the profit of a small business, not a rate multiplied by a full year.
To model your own position, start from the days you can realistically sell and use the rate calculator.
For the hourly view, see fractional CFO hourly rate.
13/ the comparison
Full-time salary vs fractional pay: comparing like with like
A permanent finance chief is paid a salary and package, with employer’s National Insurance, pension and often equity on top; see CFO salary for those benchmarks.
An interim is paid by the day for full-time cover over a fixed period; see interim CFO salary.
A fractional CFO is paid only for the days bought.
Compare the total cost for the days the business needs, not the headline figures; fractional CFO cost works through it from the buyer’s side.
14/ questions
Fractional CFO salary 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.
