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Fractional CFO London

Online support for London businesses. An owner can know last month’s profit and still need help deciding whether to open another site.

01Board reporting
02Part-time FD
03Contract finance support

How the service works

An owner can know last month’s profit and still need help deciding whether to open another site. A fractional CFO works on decisions of that kind. The engagement brings senior finance input into the business on an agreed timetable, with time focused on the choices directors face. For a London founder, that might mean deciding when to hire, how much cash to retain or how to explain performance to investors.

When a part-time finance director makes sense

Consider the decisions that are repeatedly deferred. Perhaps the sales forecast changes every week, the board receives reports too late, or a funding discussion stalls when someone asks for the assumptions. A finance director can bring these issues into a single decision calendar. If the underlying records are incomplete, the immediate priority may instead be a reliable close. We establish which problem comes first before defining the role.

Building a board pack people actually use

Start with the agenda for the next meeting. If directors must decide whether to invest in capacity, they need utilisation, pipeline quality, cash commitments and a downside view. A pack dominated by last month’s expenses leaves that question unanswered. We agree a small set of measures, define how they are calculated and explain important changes in plain English. Each pack should distinguish decisions required from matters provided for information.

Challenging a hiring decision

A salary is only one part of the commitment. Recruitment timing, equipment, employer costs and the delay before a new hire generates revenue all affect cash. A part-time CFO can compare hiring immediately with waiting for a signed contract or using temporary capacity. The useful output is a decision rule, such as the minimum contracted workload or cash headroom directors want before proceeding, alongside the cost of waiting.

Working out which customers fund growth

A growing client relationship can absorb cash if the customer pays after the delivery team and suppliers have been paid. Compare gross margin with the amount of working capital tied up in the contract. Then examine payment milestones, staffing commitments and the cost of adding capacity. A CFO can help the commercial team test a deposit, staged billing or a different delivery schedule before the next proposal is signed. This brings finance into the decision while the terms can still change, rather than explaining the cash shortfall after the work has begun.

When the board and operations use different numbers

A sales director may report bookings, operations may report delivered work and finance may report recognised revenue. All three can be accurate and still tell different stories. Start by defining each measure and the event that moves a project from one category to another. Then show the bridge between them. This can explain why the pipeline looks strong while current margin is weak, or why cash is coming in before delivery. A shared definition makes it easier to challenge assumptions without turning the meeting into a dispute over whose spreadsheet is correct.

What’s included

  • Board reporting
  • Part-time FD
  • Contract finance support
Fractional CFO & finance director
By quotation
Scope and fee agreed before work begins.
  • Agreed deliverables
  • Named contact
  • Review together
Discuss your requirements
All services

What you receive

We work with you online. Each stage produces a record you can check, share with your team and use at the next review.

01RECORDS

Business plan services

Begin with the decision the plan must support. A lender will want to understand repayment capacity. An owner opening a second location needs to know how much cash is committed before the first sale. We build the financial narrative from those questions and identify where supporting evidence is still needed.

Revenue assumptions
02REVIEW

Financial forecasting services

We reconcile opening cash, distinguish committed receipts from pipeline and schedule the payments that matter. For near-term liquidity we can use weekly dates. For annual planning we focus on monthly capacity, margins and working capital. The forecast records the owner and evidence behind each major input.

Rolling cash forecast
03DECISIONS

Business valuation services

We establish the purpose and valuation date, examine reported earnings and identify adjustments supported by evidence. Customer concentration, dependence on the owner and cash needed for reinvestment all influence the result. We explain the range and the assumptions behind it.

Earnings review

How we work together

1

Agree the brief

Identify the decisions and records that matter.

2

Prepare the work

Gather the figures and review the assumptions.

3

Review together

Discuss the findings and agree next steps.

UKBusiness finance

A second location or more capacity at the first?

Consider a London practice weighing a second location against extending hours at its existing site. Both options might generate the same headline sales. The second location adds a deposit, setup costs and fixed monthly commitments. Longer hours may require additional staff but use capacity already paid for. The CFO would identify the relevant cash outflows, test demand assumptions and compare the point at which each option covers its extra cost. A decision paper could show the minimum utilisation required, the impact of a slower launch and the next date on which the decision can be revisited. That gives directors a clear basis for discussion with operations and sales. The recommendation can change if a landlord changes the payment schedule or early bookings provide stronger evidence of demand.

Preparing for funding discussions

A lender may focus on repayment capacity while an investor may ask how additional capital accelerates growth. We organise the historic figures, cash forecast and use-of-funds assumptions around the discussion you expect to have. We also identify inconsistencies between the presentation and the model. If the pitch assumes two new sales hires, the costs, start dates and expected sales contribution should be visible in the underlying numbers.

Working alongside your existing team

Your bookkeeper and payroll team can continue managing their normal routines. The CFO uses their information, agrees a reporting calendar and raises questions when figures need clarification. Managers remain responsible for commercial assumptions such as expected orders or recruitment timing. Assigning ownership this way prevents the forecast from becoming a spreadsheet that only finance understands and makes it easier to update when circumstances change.

Defining the engagement

Bring a recent board pack, a list of upcoming decisions and a rough timetable for any funding or investment plans. We agree the meetings, analysis and deliverables needed to support them. Some businesses need a regular monthly review. Others need concentrated support around a transaction or a planning cycle. The fee depends on that scope, the availability of reliable information and the level of involvement directors require.

How to use a decision paper

A decision paper can fit on one page when the supporting analysis is sound. State the choice, the deadline, the alternatives and the information that could change the recommendation. Include the impact on cash as well as profit. Identify the owner of the next action and the point at which the decision should be revisited. For a proposed investment, the most informative question may be what happens if management waits three months. That comparison gives directors a basis for judging urgency as well as potential return.

Measuring the value of finance leadership

Review the engagement against the decisions it was designed to support. Are directors seeing cash constraints early enough to act? Can managers explain margin movements using the same definitions? Has a funding model been reconciled to the board pack? These questions are more meaningful than counting presentations. As the business develops, the balance of work may shift from improving reporting to challenging investment proposals. Agreeing that change openly helps keep the role aligned with the next stage of the business.

Can we afford the next hire?

Illustrative business question
01Board reporting
02Part-time FD
03Contract finance support

Common questions

Discuss your requirements

A controller usually concentrates on the reliability of the close, controls and reporting production. The fractional CFO uses that information to inform decisions about investment, funding and performance. In a smaller business one person may cover elements of both, but the responsibilities should still be explicit. If reporting routinely arrives too late, strategic advice alone will not fix the bottleneck. The engagement should identify who will resolve the underlying data issue and when directors can rely on the revised figures.

Bring the next two or three decisions with dates attached. A lease renewal in six weeks calls for different preparation from a possible acquisition next year. Include a recent management pack and explain where the figures conflict with your experience of the business. If the sales pipeline looks healthy but the cash forecast is falling, that discrepancy provides a useful starting point. The meeting can establish which evidence already exists and what needs to be developed before the decision.

The appropriate rhythm follows the work. A business preparing for a fundraise may need frequent input for a limited period. An established management team may need a monthly review and a deeper quarterly planning session. Decide in advance how urgent issues will be handled between meetings and which deliverables are included. It is easier to evaluate the engagement against concrete outputs such as a decision paper, a revised board pack or a tested funding forecast than against hours alone.