Fractional head of finance salary · day rate, retainer, year
What a fractional head of finance earns, by the day, the week and the year
A fractional head of finance is paid a day rate or a monthly retainer, not a salary.
FD Capital’s 2026 guide puts the fractional head of finance day rate at £400–£650, or £1,600–£2,800 a month for one day a week.
Accountancy Capital’s 2026 rate card, which covers interim and fractional work, gives £500–£750 a day in London and the South East.
What a fractional head of finance salary comes to over a year depends on the days sold across clients, not the rate alone.
When you hire a fractional head of finance 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
Part-time finance leadership works when scope, access and reporting are agreed at the start. Agree those before you agree the day rate or the retainer.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional head of finance
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Fractional Head of Finance 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 head of finance jobs on the board
- FractionalSyndicatedFractional Finance Director
Signature Associates · England
est £750/dayEngland - InterimSyndicatedInterim Finance Director
Pragmatic Semiconductor · Cambridge
est £1,400/day5 d/wk - InterimSyndicatedInterim Finance Director
Juro · United Kingdom
£800–£1,000/dayUnited Kingdom - FractionalSyndicatedFractional Finance Directors
PWF Associates Limited · Manchester
est £750/dayManchester
Fractional finance roles on the board
Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a Fractional Head of Finance brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.
01/ the role
How a fractional head of finance is paid, and what sets the rate
A fractional head of finance runs the finance function for part of the week, often for more than one business: the close, the management accounts, cash and the audit.
FD Capital says the arrangement is typically one to three days a week.
The client pays a day rate, or a fixed monthly sum for an agreed number of days.
There is no salary, bonus or employer pension.
For the roles and how an engagement works, see fractional head of finance jobs.
Place and scope set the rate.
Accountancy Capital’s 2026 rate card puts a head of finance at £500–£750 a day in London and the South East and £450–£650 elsewhere, for interim and fractional work alike.
It notes that part-week arrangements price higher per day, because the professional carries the gap between engagements.
The seat sits between the financial controller and the finance director.
If the brief is board-level strategy, fundraising or an exit, price it as a finance director; see fractional finance director salary.
02/ scope
How to hire a fractional head of finance
1. Count the days the work needs
List what the head of finance must own: the month-end, the management accounts, the cash forecast, the audit, the team.
Then estimate the days a month it takes.
The days set the cost; the scope sets the rate.
2. Choose fractional or part-time
A fractional head of finance is usually self-employed and invoices by the day.
A part-time head of finance is an employee on set days, paid a salary pro rata.
The cost and the tax treatment differ.
3. Agree scope, access and rhythm
Write down which days, which meetings and which numbers the head of finance 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 or pay, availability and IR35 position set out, and every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
03/ the week
How a week divides.
Part of a week is the point of the model: the days you buy are yours, the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a fractional head of finance’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
04/ 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 head of finance
Engagement
- Fractional2
- Interim2
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated3
Day rate
- Verified rate1
- Estimated (est)3
- Rate not stated0
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote1
- Hybrid1
- On-site2
Newest posting on the board: 5 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.
05/ rates by stage
Fractional head of finance salary day rates by source
Day rates as each publisher states them, 2026. FD Capital publishes a fractional head of finance band; Accountancy Capital publishes one band for interim and fractional work. Both are recruiters, and both figures are their own reading of the market.
06/ rates by commitment
Fractional head of finance retainer by days a week, a month and a year
FD Capital’s 2026 monthly cost estimates by days a week. The annual column is the monthly figure × 12: our arithmetic, a comparison and not a salary.
07/ economics
Rate is not income: what a fractional head of finance keeps
The day rate is what the client pays, not what the head of finance takes home.
Most fractional finance leaders invoice through their own limited company and take money out as a salary 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 head of finance’s own company decides.
The rules apply contract by contract, so a fractional head of finance 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.
08/ vetting
How we vet fractional head of finances
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Fractional Head of Finance 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
09/ the year
How much a fractional head of finance makes in a year
Multiply the rate by the days sold.
At FD Capital’s £400–£650 a day, each day a week sold for 52 weeks bills £20,800–£33,800 (our arithmetic, before any weeks off).
Two clients at one day a week each is twice that.
FD Capital’s head of finance page puts two days a week at roughly £40,000–£80,000 a year.
Its fractional page’s two-day monthly figures, × 12, come to £38,400–£67,200 (our arithmetic).
The two pages differ, so ask which basis a quote uses.
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 head of finance salary is the profit of a small business, not a rate multiplied by a full year.
To model your own position, use the rate calculator.
10/ part-time
Part-time and employed: pay pro rata
A head of finance can also be employed on reduced days, paid a salary pro rata.
GOV.UK says part-time workers should get the same treatment as comparable full-time workers on pay rates, pension and holidays, with some benefits applied pro rata.
On IT Jobs Watch’s £85,000 median advertised salary for a permanent head of finance, two days a week pro rata is £34,000 and three days £51,000 (our arithmetic).
Employer’s National Insurance and pension then apply, as for any employee.
See part-time head of finance for how the role works.
11/ the comparison
Full-time salary vs fractional pay: comparing like with like
A permanent head of finance is paid a salary and package, with employer’s National Insurance and pension on top; see head of finance salary.
An interim is paid by the day for full-time cover over a fixed period; see interim head of finance salary.
A fractional head of finance is paid only for the days bought.
Compare the total cost for the days the business needs, not the headline figures.
12/ questions
Fractional head of finance salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional head of finance.
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.
