Fractional executives · where to start
How to become a fractional executive
The short answer · updated
Start with senior permanent experience: run a function before you sell it part-time. Choose the seat you will offer, such as CFO, CMO or CTO. Set up a limited company or register as a sole trader, and check your tax status on each engagement. Then build a small portfolio of clients, starting from our jobs board.
In the press
Financial Times The executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance (paywall)
The FT on senior executives who choose to work at leadership level in several companies at once, rather than as freelancers. It describes the career this page sets out how to start.
Senior permanent experience first
A fractional executive is hired to lead from the first week, with little time to learn the job. Clients buy a track record: you have run the function before, at the level they need, and you can show what changed.
That usually means years in a permanent senior seat first, as a finance director or CFO, a marketing director, a head of engineering or CTO, or an operations director. Fractional work is not an entry route into the C-suite; it is a way to offer C-suite experience to several companies at once.
It is also what we check. Stage 01 of our five-stage vetting screens for real tenure in the seat and for sector context, and Stage 03 takes references from recent clients. Build the record, and the references, before you go fractional.
Choose a seat and the problem you solve
Pick one seat and say it plainly: fractional CFO, fractional CMO, fractional CTO. A client searching for help with a fundraise, a marketing rebuild or a platform decision looks for a title, not a generalist.
Then name the situations you are best at: a first finance function, a turnaround, preparing for a sale, building a sales team from scratch. Our page on fractional leadership services shows what clients are buying when they bring in a fractional executive.
Decide how fractional work sits beside other kinds of senior work. Interim executive roles are full-time for a fixed period and suit a gap between clients. A board seat is a different role again: our guide on how to become a non-executive director sets out that route. Keep the executive and the non-executive roles apart in the same company.
Set up: your own limited company or sole trader
You will work through your own business. The two usual structures are a limited company and a sole trader. A limited company is legally separate from its owners, who are responsible for business debts only up to what they invested; it pays Corporation Tax on its profits, and you may pay tax when you take money out. A sole trader is the simplest structure: you are self-employed, keep the profits after tax, report them through Self Assessment, and carry unlimited liability for the business’s debts.
A limited company makes you a director. Companies House says you are legally responsible for running the company and for filing the confirmation statement and annual accounts on time, and that some of your details appear on the public register. You can hire an accountant, but you stay responsible for the records.
Whichever structure you choose, check the data protection fee. The ICO says organisations that use personal information, sole traders included, need to pay it unless they are exempt. Take advice from an accountant on which structure suits your clients and your tax position.
IR35 and employment status
If you work through your own limited company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply. They apply where you would have been an employee had you provided your services to the client directly. IR35 is decided by how each engagement runs, contract by contract, so one client can be inside and another outside.
A medium or large client makes the determination and should give you a status determination statement with its reasons. If the client is a small business outside the public sector, your own company makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax tool gives HMRC’s view on a specific engagement, based on details such as who decides what work is done and how, and how you are paid. If you work as a sole trader, GOV.UK’s guide to self-employment lists the signs: you quote for work, are not under direct supervision, invoice for it and pay your own tax and National Insurance.
Insurance and contracts
You are selling judgement, and a client can claim if it goes wrong. The official business guidance from Invest NI says professional indemnity insurance covers claims for loss or damage if you make a mistake or are found negligent, and the legal costs, and that many consultants choose to carry it. Cover is usually on a claims-made basis, so a claim is covered only while the policy is live; you may need run-off cover when you stop.
The same guidance advises setting out specific responsibilities in each client contract beforehand, documenting the work and dealing with complaints promptly. Agree in writing what you will do, how many days, and who you report to.
If you sit on or act for a client’s board, ask whether its directors’ and officers’ insurance covers you. Companies House guidance says a director’s duties still apply to someone who acts as a director without being formally appointed.
Build a small portfolio of clients
A fractional portfolio is usually a few clients at once, each on set days a week or month. Start with one client who knows your work, often a former employer, investor or colleague, and add the next when the first is running well.
Protect the days you sell. Agree fixed days and response times with each client, and keep a gap in the week for the unexpected. Check for conflicts before you take a new client: a direct competitor of an existing one is usually a no.
Keep the evidence as you go: what each engagement set out to do, what changed, and who will speak for you. That is what wins the next client.
Find fractional work
Our fractional jobs board lists live part-week executive roles by function, each labelled with what we can confirm about its rate and whether it is still open. Interim roles are on our interim executive recruitment page.
When a client briefs us, we recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives. Every brief gets a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. Know your own answers to those three before you apply: your day rate, the days you can give, and how you work.
Questions people ask
Do you need a limited company to be a fractional executive?
No. You can work as a sole trader or through your own limited company. A limited company carries limited liability and director duties; a sole trader is simpler to run but carries unlimited liability.
Is a fractional executive inside or outside IR35?
It depends on each engagement. IR35 is decided by how the work runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination. A small client outside the public sector leaves the determination to your own company. See our IR35 guide.
Can you be a fractional executive while employed?
GOV.UK says you can be employed and self-employed at the same time. Check your employment contract first: it may restrict outside work or work for competitors, and your employer may need to agree.
What insurance does a fractional executive need?
Many consultants carry professional indemnity insurance, which official guidance says covers claims that your advice or work caused a loss, and the legal costs. If you act for a client’s board, ask whether its directors’ and officers’ policy covers you. Take advice from an experienced insurance broker.
What is the difference between fractional and interim work?
A fractional executive works set days a week or month for several clients at once. An interim executive works full-time for one client for a fixed period. See interim executive recruitment.
Is a fractional executive the same as a non-executive director?
No. A fractional executive runs a function for part of the week. A non-executive director oversees the executives from the board. See how to become a non-executive director.
Where do you find fractional executive roles?
Through former employers, investors and colleagues, and through job boards. Our fractional jobs board lists live part-week executive roles by function.
