What is a fractional CFO?

A fractional CFO is a chief financial officer who holds the seat at a company for one to three days a week, on an ongoing basis, owning cash, forecasting, pricing, board reporting and fundraise readiness, and usually holding the same seat at two or three other companies. In the UK the day rate is £800 to £1,500 in 2026, and two days a week is the most common shape.

Also called

Part-time CFO, Part-time finance director, the older British term, Portfolio CFO, Outsourced or virtual CFO, when a firm is selling it and Fractional CFO consulting, in US job titles, though the seat is a role rather than a project. The job is the same under each name; the words differ by market and by who is selling it. What a fractional executive is covers the pattern across every seat.

What the title means in practice

They own the number, not the bookkeepingThe month-end close, payroll and VAT belong to a bookkeeper or an accountant. The fractional CFO reads what those produce and decides what to do: where cash goes, what to price, when to raise, what the company can afford.

Two days a week is the usual shapeEarly-stage companies start at a day a week or a few days a month; a company past a few million in revenue, or one with a raise live, runs two or three. The days are fixed and the same each week, so the finance rhythm holds.

They sit with the board and the investorsThe board pack, the investor update and the diligence questions are theirs. In a raise that is most of the job: the model, the data room, and answers that survive a sceptical analyst.

They hold the seat somewhere else tooMost hold two or three CFO seats at once, through their own limited company. That is why they are not employees, why availability is worth checking, and where the pattern recognition comes from.

What a fractional CFO is not

Not an accountant. Compliance and reporting on what already happened, rather than deciding what happens next. Fractional CFO or an accountant.
Not an interim CFO. Full-time cover for a fixed stretch, usually for a departure or a transaction. Fractional CFO or an interim CFO.
Not a financial controller. Runs the production side of the finance function and reports to a CFO rather than being one. Fractional CFO or a financial controller.

Fractional CFO job description

The scope a brief for this seat usually lists. Each item is a thing the person owns, not a task they perform; at one to three days a week the owning is the job.

Rolling cash forecast, reforecast monthly, with the runway stated in months
Management accounts reviewed and turned into decisions, not just produced
Pricing, margin and unit economics, usually rebuilt in the first quarter
Board pack and investor reporting, written to survive a hard question
Fundraise preparation: the financial model, the data room, the diligence answers
Managing the bookkeeper, accountant, auditor and bank, so the function underneath is sound

Reports to the chief executive, attends the board, and line-manages whoever runs the finance function day to day.

What it costs

A fractional CFO charges £800 to £1,500 a day in the UK in 2026. Higher end for fundraise or exit work, and for regulated sectors. At two days a week that is £6,133 to £11,500 a month, before VAT and with no employer costs on top, because the executive is not an employee. The full arithmetic, at every day count and against a full-time hire, is on the fractional CFO cost page.

Where the word comes from

The word began with finance. A growing company could see that it needed the judgement two days a week and the bookkeeping five, and that those were different people. Fractional CFO was the first of the fractional titles and is still the most searched of them.

Common questions

What does fractional CFO mean?

It means a chief financial officer who holds the seat for a fraction of the working week, usually one to three days, on an ongoing basis rather than for a fixed project. The company gets a real CFO without a full-time salary, and the executive usually holds the same seat at two or three companies.

Is a fractional CFO the same as a part-time CFO?

Usually, yes. Part-time finance director is the older British name for the same seat. Where there is a difference it is paperwork: a part-time FD is often employed on the payroll, while a fractional CFO contracts through their own company and serves several clients.

What does a fractional CFO do day to day?

Cash forecasting, management accounts review, pricing and margin, the board pack, fundraise preparation, and managing the bookkeeper, accountant and auditor. They do not do the bookkeeping itself.

How much does a fractional CFO cost?

£800 to £1,500 a day in the UK in 2026, most often at one to three days a week. The higher end is for fundraise and exit work and for regulated sectors. The monthly and annual arithmetic is on the cost page for the seat.

From the word to the person

Verified fractional CFOs, rate on the profile

What the seat covers and who is on the bench, how to interview for it, or brief Operator Search and the shortlist comes to you.

Fractional CFO Services: The Four Ways to Get OneA firm, a recruiter, a marketplace or your own network. What each route costs, how long each takes, and which one suits the problem you actually have.