Many UK SMEs reach a size where the bookkeeper and the year-end accountant are no longer enough, but a full-time finance director is not justified. A fractional FD fills that gap.
What a fractional FD does
- Owns the monthly management accounts and explains them to the directors.
- Builds budgets, forecasts and a 13-week cash flow.
- Manages relationships with the bank, investors and the external accountant.
- Plans corporation tax and VAT cash flows ahead of payment dates.
- Supports big decisions: pricing, hiring, investment, funding.
Signs you need one
- Directors make decisions without up-to-date numbers.
- Cash is tight even though the business is profitable.
- A lender or investor wants forecasts and covenant reporting.
- The business has grown past one or two people in finance.
- You are planning a sale, a raise or an acquisition.
Getting value from a part-time FD
- Agree deliverables: management accounts by a set working day, a monthly board meeting, a refreshed forecast.
- Give read access to accounting, banking and payroll systems.
- Keep a good bookkeeper in place; the FD's time should go on analysis, not data entry.
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Frequently asked questions
In UK SMEs the titles are used interchangeably for a senior, part-time finance lead.
Usually a few days a month, increasing around year-end, budgets or funding.
