What each commitment actually buys
| Days a week | What it is for | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Half a day | Oversight of a function somebody junior is already running | Own anything, or change how the function works |
| One day | Holding a seat where the operating work is done by others | Build something new from nothing |
| Two days | Running a function and rebuilding how it works | Manage a large team day to day |
| Three days | A function in trouble, or one being built from scratch | Much that a full-time hire could not do better |
The honest test
Count the decisions in that function that currently wait for somebody senior. Not the tasks, the decisions. If there are two or three a week, one day covers it. If there are two or three a day, you are looking at two days or more.
Then count the people. A fractional executive with nobody to delegate to is doing the operating work themselves, which is the most expensive way to buy execution. If the function is one person and a spreadsheet, either budget for more days or accept that the first job is hiring somebody under them.
Why one day is more common than founders expect
Senior work compresses in a way that operating work does not. A decision that a founder has been circling for three weeks is often forty minutes for somebody who has made it before, and most of the value in these engagements is in decisions rather than in hours.
The pattern we see most often is two days for the first quarter while the diagnosis and the rebuild happen, then one day a week ongoing. Budgeting for that shape rather than for a flat commitment is usually the more accurate plan.
When to stop calling it fractional
At four days a week you are paying close to a full-time salary without the commitment that comes with one, and you are competing for the operator's attention with their other clients on the one day they are not with you.
If the work is genuinely four or five days and shows no sign of shrinking, the answer is a permanent hire. It is usually cheaper and it is certainly more stable. A fractional executive who tells you this is doing their job.
Fixed days or flexible
Fixed is better for anything involving other people. A known Tuesday means the team can schedule around it and the operator can hold a rhythm. Flexible suits work that is mostly solitary: analysis, modelling, documentation.
The worst arrangement is a vague monthly allowance with no pattern, which turns into the operator being asked for small favours between days and nobody tracking what has been used.
Questions
- Is one day a week enough for a fractional CFO?
- For most companies under about fifty people, yes, provided somebody is doing the bookkeeping and the monthly close. One day buys the decisions, the board pack and the oversight. It does not buy someone to rebuild the finance function from scratch, which is usually a two-day job for a quarter first.
- How many days a week do fractional executives usually work in total?
- Most work three to four days a week across two or three clients, keeping a day for their own business. That is worth knowing because it tells you how much of their attention is genuinely available and why a fourth day with one client is rarely on offer.
- Should fractional days be fixed or flexible?
- Fixed for anything involving the team, because a known day lets everyone schedule around it. Flexible suits solitary work like modelling or documentation. Avoid a vague monthly allowance with no pattern, which becomes untracked favours between days.