A fractional CFO runs your finance function part-time. For companies turning over £500,000 or more with five or more staff, we take on the whole accounts department function, from as little as two days a month, for a fraction of the cost of a full-time finance director.
Engage on a fixed monthly retainer or a day rate. Either way you get a named, experienced accountant at your fingertips, without a full-time salary, employer costs or holiday cover to find.
Book a Free CallIt is built for companies with turnover of around £500,000 or more and five or more employees. At that size the finance work outgrows the owner and a bookkeeper, but a full-time finance director is more than the business needs. Typical signs:
A bookkeeper records transactions. A financial controller makes sure the records are right, closed on time and reconciled. A CFO uses them to plan: where the cash will be in 13 weeks, whether a hire pays for itself, what a price rise does to margin, and how much a lender will be asked to fund. We do all three, in the proportion your business needs, and take on the whole bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and corporation tax function where you want that.
This is a typical pattern for a business of around £1m turnover and ten staff. Your own plan is set after the free call.
A full-time finance director means a salary, employer National Insurance, pension, holiday and sickness cover, recruitment, and a person who must be busy enough to justify the role. A fractional CFO gives you the same seniority for only the days the business actually needs, with the rest of the accounts practice behind them. When the business grows to need someone in the building every day, we help you scope and recruit that role.
James Fitzpatrick leads Accounting Solution and has 31 years' experience in accountancy. He is AAT licensed. The practice is supervised by HMRC for anti-money-laundering purposes. It is not a chartered firm (not ICAEW or ACCA) and does not carry out audits, so if you need a statutory audit you would need an audit firm alongside us. Our aim is to go on the journey with you: the people you call before you make a decision, not after.
We work with businesses across the UK remotely, and in person within about 75 miles of Brighton, covering Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire and London. See also our bookkeeping, business restructuring, management accounts, company secretarial and pricing pages, or get in touch for a free call.
A fractional CFO is an experienced finance professional who runs your finance function part-time, for a set number of days or a fixed monthly fee, instead of you hiring a full-time finance director. You get the control, reporting and forward planning of a senior finance hire without the full-time cost.
Our fractional CFO service starts from £500 a month on a fixed monthly retainer, or you can book days at a day rate. The right level depends on your turnover, headcount and how much of the accounts function you want us to take over, and we quote a fixed figure after a free call.
Most businesses start at two days a month, which covers the month-end close, management accounts, a cash flow review and a decision meeting with the owners. Businesses with more staff, several sites or a funding round in progress often need more, and we move the days up or down as the business changes.
Not exactly, but our service covers both. A financial controller runs the accounting: the books, the month-end, payroll and compliance. A CFO looks forward: budgets, forecasts, funding and strategy. We do the controller work and the forward-looking work in one engagement, in whatever proportion your business needs.
It suits companies with turnover of around £500,000 or more and five or more employees, where the owner is still doing the finance work or relying on a bookkeeper with nobody senior checking it. We work mainly with hospitality, tech, construction, property development and service businesses.
No. James Fitzpatrick has 31 years' experience and is AAT licensed, and Accounting Solution is not a chartered firm (not ICAEW or ACCA). We do not carry out statutory audits. If your business needs an audit, we will tell you and you would need an audit firm alongside us.
A monthly retainer suits businesses that want continuous cover: a fixed fee, set days each month and quick answers between visits. A day rate suits a defined piece of work such as building a budget, preparing for a funding application or tidying up a messy set of books. Many clients start on days and move to a retainer later.
Yes. We can run bookkeeping, supplier payments, payroll, VAT, management accounts, the year-end accounts and tax returns, while your own team keeps only what has to stay in-house, such as raising invoices. You have one named lead, James, and the work is shared across our practice.
Yes. We work with businesses across the UK remotely, and in person within about 75 miles of Brighton, which covers Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire and London. Meetings, reviews and close are done by video and shared software, with site visits where they add value.
Same day is our standard response time, by phone, email or WhatsApp. Clients on a retainer can ask about a pricing decision, a hire, a supplier terms change or a lender request between scheduled days, rather than waiting for the next month-end.
We work in Xero and QuickBooks, and will use the system you already have if it is working. If your software is the bottleneck, for example no stock, job costing or multi-site reporting, we will say so and help you move to a better setup.