Becoming a fractional COO
A fractional COO in the UK charges £700 to £1,300 a day and holds two clients at once. What follows is the arithmetic on that, the honest ceiling, and the cases where this seat does not work part-time at all.
What you would earn
Across 46 billable weeks rather than 52, because you will take holidays and because a year of unbroken client work is not a thing that happens.
| Day rate | 1 day a week | 2 days a week | 3 days a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting out£700 a day | £32,200a year | £64,400a year | £96,600a year |
| Established£1,000 a day | £46,000a year | £92,000a year | £138,000a year |
| Top of the band£1,300 a day | £59,800a year | £119,600a year | £179,400a year |
Before tax, before your own costs, and assuming the days are actually sold. Most people starting out spend a good part of the first year at fewer days than they planned.
What moves you up the band
Higher end for turnarounds, scale-ups past 50 people and multi-site operations.
How many clients the seat holds
Two, three at a stretch. Operations is the least schedulable seat on the list, because the work is people and process, and both generate problems on their own timetable rather than yours.
Where the first client comes from
A founder who has realised they are the bottleneck in every decision. They rarely search for a COO; they describe the symptom, which is that nothing moves without them.
What the work actually is
Designing how the company runs rather than running it. The distinction has to be made explicitly at the start or the role silently becomes an operations manager's job at three times the price.
When this seat does not work fractionally
- The founder will not actually let go. Nothing you design will survive contact with that.
- There is a team of twenty needing day-to-day management.
- What they want is somebody to do the operations, not to design them.
What people get wrong
- Not agreeing decision rights in writing. This seat fails on authority more than any other.
- Being brought in to fix one broken process and staying to run it.
- Taking the role when the real problem is a different seat entirely.
The mechanics, briefly
Most UK fractional executives work through their own limited company and invoice per day or on a monthly retainer. Professional indemnity cover is worth having before the first engagement rather than after. Check what your last employment contract says about notice and restrictions before you start approaching anybody, particularly if a first client might be somebody you met there.
Employment status is the question that worries people most, and it is worth understanding properly rather than assuming: IR35 and fractional executives covers who decides, what gets tested, and the directorship point that catches people out.
Common questions
What should I charge as a fractional COO in the UK?
£700 to £1,300 a day is the band on the bench, with a typical rate around £1,000. Higher end for turnarounds, scale-ups past 50 people and multi-site operations. At £1,000 a day, two days a week is about £92,000 a year across 46 billable weeks.
How many clients can a fractional COO hold at once?
Two, three at a stretch. Operations is the least schedulable seat on the list, because the work is people and process, and both generate problems on their own timetable rather than yours.
Where does the first client actually come from?
A founder who has realised they are the bottleneck in every decision. They rarely search for a COO; they describe the symptom, which is that nothing moves without them.
When does a fractional COO arrangement not work?
The founder will not actually let go. Nothing you design will survive contact with that. There is a team of twenty needing day-to-day management. What they want is somebody to do the operations, not to design them.
Other seats
Hiring one rather than becoming one? What a fractional COO covers and what one costs are the other side of the same numbers.
Listing is free and always will be
No subscription, no commission, and nothing taken from your rate. What listing costs, here and elsewhere, or put yourself on the bench.