Thinking about your first finance hire?
Before you advertise for a financial controller, finance manager or bookkeeper, look at the real cost and the alternative. We run the finance function as a service, now, with no recruitment cost and no hiring risk. The work a finance hire would do, without the hire.
A finance hire costs more than the salary
A £70,000 financial controller does not cost £70,000. Add employer National Insurance, pension, software, holiday cover and the months it takes to get someone productive, and the loaded cost runs at 1.25 to 1.4 times base salary, so £87,500 to £98,000. The recruitment fee sits on top. With a 20% recruitment fee, year one lands near £95,850. Then you carry the risk: the wrong hire, an early hire, or a role that turns out to be half a job.
The work itself, month-end, management accounts, cash flow, payroll, credit control and controls, is finance operations work. You can have it running now, run by a team, for less than the loaded cost of one hire.
This sounds like you if
- You are about to advertise for a financial controller, finance manager or bookkeeper.
- Finance has outgrown the founder or an ops person, but a senior hire feels like a big, risky step.
- You are not sure a full role is justified yet, but the current setup is creaking.
- You took on a board or an investor who wants proper reporting.
- You want the finance function running well now, not in three months once someone is hired.
The honest comparison
| A finance hire | AI Accounts | |
|---|---|---|
| Year-one cost | £87,500 to £98,000 loaded for a £70,000 controller, before the recruitment fee | from £1,500 + VAT / month |
| Recruitment | Fees, time, risk of the wrong hire | None |
| Time to value | Months to recruit and onboard | Weeks |
| Cover | One person, holidays and sickness | A team, always covered |
| Range | One skill set | Bookkeeping to CFO, as you need it |
| Flexibility | Fixed salary, notice period | Scoped monthly, scales up and down |
What is a finance hire really costing you?
Drag the slider to a salary. We will show the true year-one cost once you add employer NI, pension and recruitment, next to the equivalent from AI Accounts.
A full-time hire, year one
The same work, from AI Accounts
The full finance function
The full finance function
Bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, payment runs, credit control and month-end, run to a clear monthly timetable.
Management accounts and KPIs
Monthly reporting you can actually use, with the metrics that matter for your business.
Cash flow visibility
A clear view of cash in and out, and early warning of pressure points.
Controls and process
The routines, reconciliations and systems that keep the numbers reliable as you grow.
Senior input when you need it
If a decision needs CFO-level thinking, it is there, without a CFO salary.
No hiring risk
No recruitment, no notice period, no single point of failure. Scaled to what you need, when you need it.
When an in-house hire does make sense
We will tell you straight. Once the business is large or complex enough to need finance in the building five days a week, an in-house hire is the right call, and we will help you make it and hand over cleanly. Until then, an outsourced function gives you the same work without the cost and risk of hiring early.
“Working with AI Accounts is like having your very own financial controller within your business.”Director, 20i
We run finance operations end to end for Capio Recruitment and 20i, so the founders get controller-level work without the hire.
Read the case studiesLess than the loaded cost of one hire
Finance Operations starts from £1,500 + VAT a month, scoped to the size and complexity of your finance function, on a fixed monthly fee with no long contract.
View full pricingCommon questions
The salary is only part of it. A £70,000 controller runs at 1.25 to 1.4 times base salary once you add employer National Insurance, pension, software and onboarding time, so £87,500 to £98,000 before the recruitment fee. With a 20% recruitment fee, year one lands near £95,850, which is what the calculator on this page shows. An outsourced finance function delivers the same work from £1,500 + VAT a month.
For most growing businesses, yes. We run the finance function as a service, with a team rather than one person, so you get broader cover and no single point of failure.
That is normal, and we plan for it. When an in-house hire is the right call, we help you make it and hand over cleanly, with clean books and clear processes.
Usually within a few weeks, far faster than recruiting and onboarding a permanent hire.
Yes. Many clients keep a junior or part-time person in-house and use us for the structure, reporting and senior oversight around them.
No. Fixed monthly fees, rolling, scoped to what you need.
The finance function, without the hire.
In 15 minutes you will know if outsourcing the finance function is the right move and roughly what it would cost. No pitch, no pressure.