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Resources overviewFractional CFO services for owners who carry real financial risk.
Last reviewed: by Anna Stafford, Founder. Prepared with our qualified accountants.
Senior finance leadership without a full-time hire. A fractional CFO helps you plan cash, model the big decisions on hiring, pricing and growth, and report with numbers you can stand behind.
Senior finance leadership, part-time
A fractional CFO is an experienced finance leader who works with your business part-time, for a fixed monthly fee, instead of as a full-time hire. You get the strategic input a CFO brings to the big decisions, scaled to what your business actually needs and can afford.
Most owners reach a point where the numbers underneath the business start carrying real weight. You are deciding when to hire, how to price, whether the cash stretches far enough, what the next quarter looks like if a big client leaves. Those are CFO questions. The problem is that a full-time CFO in the UK costs well over £100,000 a year once salary, pension and on-costs are counted, and most growing businesses are not ready for that.
A fractional CFO closes that gap. You get senior judgement on the decisions that matter, the forecasting and reporting to support them, and a finance partner who knows your numbers, without committing to a full-time salary before the workload justifies it.
You can’t scale on gut feel. At some point the decisions get bigger than the numbers you have to hand.
What it is not
A fractional CFO is not a bookkeeper and not a year-end accountant. Bookkeeping records what happened. Year-end accounts tell HMRC and Companies House what happened. A CFO is forward-looking: what is coming, what you can afford, and what to do about it. If the bookkeeping and reporting underneath are messy, that gets fixed first, because a forecast built on bad data is just a guess in a spreadsheet.
Most CFO decisions have nothing to do with raising money
Most articles assume a fractional CFO is for venture-backed startups preparing to raise. Most of the businesses that need one are profitable, owner-managed and growing on their own cash.
If you are growing on your own cash
There is no investor cushion, which means there is less room for error, not more. The biggest financial decisions are yours to make, without outside money to absorb a mistake.
- Manage cash when every pound is your own
- Model a hire before you commit to the salary
- Price for margin, not only to win the work
- Decide where cash goes for growth, with evidence
- Know your numbers before a bank or buyer asks
If you have investors, lenders or a sale in view
You have a board, a lender or a buyer to answer to. The numbers need to stand up to scrutiny, and the story needs to hold together under questions.
- Board, lender and investor reporting you can defend
- A model that holds up in due diligence
- Scenario planning for the big calls
- Support through a refinance, raise or sale
- A CFO in the room for those conversations
We work with both, but most of our CFO clients are profitable, owner-managed businesses growing on their own cash, including 20i. Senior finance input is not reserved for the venture-backed.
When owners bring in a fractional CFO
It is rarely one dramatic moment. It is usually the slow realisation that the decisions are getting bigger and the numbers are not keeping up.
If you are making seven-figure decisions on a spreadsheet you do not fully trust, that is the signal. A fractional CFO turns that uncertainty into something you can plan around.
You do not need all of these to be true. Two or three is usually enough to make the conversation worth having.
Signs it is time
Tick the ones that sound like your business.
The work a fractional CFO actually does
Senior finance support across the decisions that carry the most weight.
Forecasting & modelling
Forecasts and models that are realistic and useful, with a clear view of future cash needs.
- Short and long-term forecasting
- Scenario and sensitivity planning
- Clear assumptions behind growth plans
Cash flow planning
A firm grip on how long the cash lasts and where the pressure points are.
- A cash position you can see and plan around
- Earlier warning of cash pressure
- Working capital under control
Board & management reporting
Reporting that supports decisions rather than just filling a deadline.
- Clear, focused board packs
- Reporting on performance and risk
- Numbers that are easy to explain
Profit extraction & tax planning
Get more of what the business earns into your hands, planned properly.
- Salary, dividend and pension mix
- Tax planned before the year end, not after
- Detail handled with our qualified accountants
Strategic decision support
Clear financial input into the calls that shape the business.
- Hiring decisions backed by the model
- Pricing and unit economics
- Where to put cash for growth
EMI & share options
Reward and keep the people who help you grow, set up properly.
- EMI option scheme setup
- Valuations and HMRC notifications
- The right structure for your stage
How much does a fractional CFO cost in the UK?
Our fractional CFO support starts from £3,000 + VAT per month. Fees are fixed and monthly with no long contracts, scoped to the level of input your business needs.
See the full cost guide, or compare a fractional CFO with an in-house FD.
The value is easiest to see against the alternative. A full-time finance director or CFO in the UK typically costs well over £100,000 a year by the time you add salary, employer National Insurance, pension and the rest of the on-costs. For most owner-managed businesses that is a stretch the workload does not yet justify.
A fractional model gives you the senior input for a fraction of that. You pay for the judgement and the output, not for a full-time seat. As the business grows and the finance workload deepens, the level of support can grow with it, up to the point where a full-time hire genuinely makes sense.
A new hire isn’t just a salary on a spreadsheet. It’s National Insurance, pension, recruitment fees and the months before they’re productive. A CFO hire is no different, just bigger.
Fractional CFO vs the alternatives
Where a fractional CFO fits against the other ways owners try to cover the finance gap.
| Option | Best for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional CFO | Strategic finance: forecasting, cash planning, board reporting, big decisions | Part-time by design, so not the right fit if you genuinely need someone full-time and in-house |
| Full-time finance director / CFO | Large or complex businesses with enough finance workload to fill the role | Well over £100,000 a year all-in, hard to justify before the workload is there |
| Bookkeeper | Recording transactions and keeping the books accurate | Backward-looking, no forecasting, cash planning or strategic input |
| Year-end accountant | Statutory accounts and tax compliance | Tells you what already happened, once a year, too late to act on |
| Doing it yourself | The very early days, when the model fits on one screen | Owner time and growing risk as the decisions get bigger |
Getting started is straightforward
Clear, calm and organised from the first call. You should always feel things are under control.
Intro call
A short, no-pressure call to understand the business, where the pressure is, and whether a fractional CFO is even the right answer. Sometimes the honest answer is that you need stronger foundations or operations first, and we will say so.
Scope and proposal
We agree the level of input you need and put it in a fixed monthly proposal. No long contract, no surprises about what is included.
Get the numbers right
If the reporting underneath needs work, we sort that first. A forecast is only as good as the data feeding it.
Ongoing CFO support
Regular cycles around your board meetings and your monthly decisions: forecasting, reporting and senior input, on tap, scaled to what you need.
Senior judgement, with a team behind it
Anna Stafford acts as your CFO and main point of contact. Anna founded AI Accounts in 2020 after nearly 20 years in finance, and works directly with owners on the decisions that matter.
Behind that sits a delivery team under UK oversight handling the detailed work, and qualified accountants for your year-end accounts and tax. You get senior input on the decisions, with the groundwork handled properly behind it. We are straightforward about how the team is structured, because you should know exactly who is doing what.
We work with UK limited companies only, typically profitable, owner-managed businesses with £1m to £15m turnover in recruitment, professional services, agencies, ecommerce, software and healthcare. We do not take on sole traders.
“Anna and AI Accounts are very competent, receptive and solution-focused, and I trust their advice.”
Mattia, Anonymised
Start with the numbers
A few free tools to get a first read before we even speak.
Support for every stage of growth
Fractional CFO is our most senior service. Here is what sits beneath it.
Finance Operations
If you mainly need stronger reporting, tighter month-end and clearer cash flow visibility as you grow.
Explore Finance OperationsFinance Foundations
If you mainly need the basics done properly: bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and year-end accounts.
Explore Finance Foundations
“In our very first year with AI Accounts, they have saved us over £120,000. That is cash back into our business! … Working with AI Accounts is like having your very own financial controller within your business.”
Fractional CFO questions
Can’t see your question? Ask it on a 15-minute call.
Book an intro callA fractional CFO gives you senior finance leadership on a part-time basis: forecasting and financial modelling, cash flow planning, board and management reporting, profit extraction and tax planning, and input on the big decisions like hiring, pricing and growth. You get CFO-level judgement on the decisions that matter, without a full-time CFO salary.
Our fractional CFO support starts from £3,000 + VAT per month. A full-time finance director or CFO in the UK typically costs well over £100,000 a year once salary, pension and on-costs are included. A fractional model gives you the senior input for a fraction of that, scoped to what your business actually needs.
Yes, often. Most of our CFO clients are not raising. If you are growing on your own cash, a fractional CFO helps you plan cash, model hires and pricing, and decide where to invest for growth. Owners who are not raising still face the biggest financial decisions, and arguably have less room for error because there is no investor cushion.
The role is similar, the commitment is not. A finance director is usually a full-time, permanent hire. A fractional CFO does the same strategic work, forecasting, board reporting, scenario planning and the big decisions, on a part-time basis for a fixed monthly fee. For most owner-managed businesses the fractional model fits the workload and the budget better until a full-time role is justified.
When the financial decisions are getting bigger than the numbers you have to hand. Common triggers are a big hire or investment, tightening cash, scaling headcount, or needing board reporting you can stand behind. If you are making seven-figure decisions on a spreadsheet you do not fully trust, it is time.
Finance Operations strengthens how the finance function runs day to day: management reporting, month-end, cash flow visibility and KPIs. A fractional CFO sits above that and adds senior strategic input such as forecasting, board reporting, profit extraction and the big financial decisions. Many businesses build the operations layer first, then add CFO support as the decisions get bigger.
Yes. We get your reporting, forecasts and financial story into shape so they stand up to investor scrutiny, build the investor model and data room, and support you through due diligence and term sheet conversations. You go into the raise with numbers you can defend.
Anna Stafford acts as your CFO and main point of contact, supported by a delivery team under UK oversight. Your year-end accounts and tax are handled by qualified accountants. You get senior judgement on the decisions, with the detailed work handled behind it.
Yes. We work with UK limited companies only, typically profitable, owner-managed businesses with £1m to £15m turnover. We do not take on sole traders or self-employed clients.
Senior finance support, without the full-time cost
If the decisions are getting bigger than the numbers you have to hand, let’s talk.