Start from the operator's rate
A fractional CFO in the UK charges £800 to £1,500 a day. The top of that band is for fundraise and exit work and for regulated sectors, where the consequence of getting it wrong is largest.
One day a week is roughly forty-six working days a year once holiday is taken out. So the operator's own cost for one day a week sits somewhere between thirty-seven thousand and sixty-nine thousand pounds, and two days a week is double that.
Every route starts from this number. What each one adds is what the rest of this page is about.
Route one: direct from a bench
You pay the operator their rate and nothing else. No commission, no placement fee, no percentage of the engagement. On this site that is structural rather than promotional: the operator is never charged either, and the money never passes through the platform at all.
What you are accepting in exchange is that you run the process. You read the profiles, you interview, you decide. For a company that knows what it needs, that is the cheapest route by a clear margin.
Route two: a fractional CFO practice
You pay the firm a monthly fee and the firm pays the CFO. The fee is higher than the operator's own rate for the same days, because the firm is carrying overhead, sales cost, cover and a margin.
That margin buys something real. If your CFO leaves, the firm replaces them. If the relationship fails, there is somebody to escalate to. Whether that is worth the difference depends on how much continuity risk you are actually carrying.
Watch for the minimum term. A twelve-month commitment on a seat you may only need for two quarters is a larger decision than the monthly number makes it look.
Route three: a search
A search is a one-off fee on top of the operator's rate. This company charges £999 to run a search and £2,500 only if you hire, so £3,499 in total, or £2,500 to run and £2,500 on a hire for the deeper tier. Traditional executive search is usually priced as a percentage of first-year value instead, which on a part-time seat can work out higher.
The fee buys reach into people who are not listed anywhere and a shortlist chosen against your brief. On a straightforward brief in a deep market it is money spent on something you could have done yourself. On a hard brief it is the only route that works.
The comparison that actually matters
Not route against route. The seat filled fractionally against the seat filled full-time, because that is the decision most companies are really making.
| Fractional, one day a week | Full-time CFO | |
|---|---|---|
| Direct cost | About £37k to £69k | £120k to £180k salary |
| Employer National Insurance | None, they invoice you | Roughly 15 percent on top |
| Pension, benefits, equipment | None | Several thousand a year |
| Recruitment fee | None on a direct hire from a bench | Often 20 to 30 percent of salary |
| Notice and exit risk | Short notice both ways | Contractual, plus replacement cost |
What people forget to count
- Holiday and sickness. A day rate is only charged when the day is worked, which quietly narrows the gap against a salary.
- Ramp. A fractional CFO who has done this at four companies is useful in week two. A first-time CFO hire is not.
- The cost of the wrong hire. A permanent CFO who does not work out costs the salary, the fee and roughly two quarters.
- The floor. Below one day a week nobody can hold a finance function, and paying for half a day to save money usually buys advice rather than ownership.
Questions
- Is a fractional CFO cheaper than a full-time one?
- At one or two days a week, yes, usually by a wide margin once employer National Insurance, pension and a recruitment fee are counted against the full-time figure. At four or five days a week the arithmetic reverses and a permanent hire is normally both cheaper and better, which is worth knowing before anyone quotes you for it.
- Why do fractional CFOs not charge by the hour?
- Because the work is judgement rather than time, and hourly billing changes the behaviour on both sides. A company that is billed hourly stops asking questions, which is the opposite of what you are paying for. Day rates and monthly retainers are the two normal shapes.
- Should I expect to pay a deposit or a minimum term?
- Direct from a bench, usually neither: most engagements run on a short notice period on both sides. A practice will often ask for a minimum term, and that is the single biggest thing to check before signing, because it converts a flexible seat into a fixed commitment.