You are growing fast, talking to investors, or thinking about a sale. Your numbers feel important, but you do not need, or cannot justify, a full‑time CFO yet. At the same time, relying only on a bookkeeper, year‑end accountant, and your own spreadsheets feels risky.
This is where a strategic fractional CFO comes in. A fractional CFO is a part‑time, high‑level finance leader. They sit between your bookkeeper or standard accountant and a full‑time in‑house CFO. You get senior experience and clear direction, without the full salary and headcount.
For UK founders and owners, this role can unlock clearer numbers, calmer decisions, stronger investor confidence, and proper support through growth, funding rounds, and exit. Consult EFC, a London ICAEW firm, provides fractional CFO support to startups and SMEs across the UK.
If you are somewhere between roughly £1m and £20m in revenue, and aiming at £100m+, keep reading. The right fractional CFO can change how you run your business within a few months.
Fractional CFO Basics: Simple Definition, Role, and How It Works
What is a fractional CFO in plain English?
A fractional CFO is an experienced Chief Financial Officer who works with your business on a part‑time or flexible basis. You get their brain, judgement, and experience, not just their hours.
It helps to compare roles.
- Bookkeeper or standard accountant: records what has already happened. They focus on invoices, payroll, bank reconciliations, VAT returns, Companies House filings, and annual accounts. This is about compliance and history.
- Virtual CFO: often similar to a fractional CFO, but delivered mainly online, sometimes through a more standardised package. You might never meet in person.
- Full‑time in‑house CFO: a senior leader on your payroll, usually for larger or more complex businesses. They sit in your office, manage the whole finance team, and work only on your company.
The fractional CFO sits between these options. They still act as part of your leadership team, join key meetings, and help shape decisions. The difference is that you only pay for the slice of their time that you need. This keeps costs aligned with your stage, while still giving you top‑tier finance support.
What does a fractional CFO actually do day to day?
Founders often ask, “What will they actually do when they are here?” The short answer is: they turn numbers into decisions.
Common day‑to‑day activities include:
- Turn raw accounts into clear management reports
Your accounting software holds data. A fractional CFO turns that into easy‑to‑read reports and dashboards. For example, you might see monthly revenue by product, gross margin by customer type, and cash movements for the last 3 months. - Plan cash and runway
They build simple but accurate cash flow forecasts. You can see, month by month, how much cash you will have left, what happens if a big deal slips, or what a new hire will cost in real terms. - Build or improve a financial model
A good model links revenue drivers, costs, staffing, and funding into one spreadsheet or system. Your fractional CFO tests “what if” scenarios, such as a price rise, a drop in conversion, or a new market launch. - Set budgets and forecasts
They work with you and your managers to agree a realistic budget, then track performance against it. You stop guessing, and you start steering. - Support pricing and margins
Many growth companies sell hard but do not know which products or channels actually make money. A fractional CFO might spot that your paid ads acquire customers at a loss, or that one product line is loss‑making once support and overheads are included. - Prepare packs for investors and banks
They translate your numbers into a clear story. This often includes an investor deck, historic financials, KPIs, and cash forecasts. - Join board or investor meetings
Your CFO answers the hard questions on metrics, runway, and assumptions. You can focus on product, team, and vision. - Help with funding rounds and exit planning
They guide you through term sheets, data rooms, and financial due diligence, so you are not reacting at the last minute.
In short, they work on the numbers that change what you do next week, next quarter, and over the next few years.
How a Fractional CFO engagement usually works in practice
A good engagement feels structured, but not rigid. It should fit your stage and goals.
Common models include:
- Ongoing part‑time leadership: for example, 1 or 2 days per week, or a set number of days per month. They handle regular reporting, board packs, forecasting, and act as your finance head.
- Project‑based support: focused on a clear event, such as a seed round, Series A, bank debt raise, or exit process. The CFO builds the model, helps with materials, and supports you during investor meetings and diligence.
- Hybrid: a stable monthly rhythm, plus extra time in peak periods, for example during fundraising or a major deal.
We at Consult EFC, start with a short discovery phase or health check. This often covers:
- review of current accounts and systems
- quick assessment of cash, margins, and reporting gaps
- mapping of near‑term priorities
From there, we agree a plan with clear deliverables and a set meeting schedule. For instance, monthly management accounts review, a board pack each quarter, and ad hoc support for investor calls. We will map out the first 90 days and the key deliverables.
Key Benefits of using Consult EFC as a Fractional CFO for Startups and Growing SMEs
Turn messy numbers into clear insight for faster decisions
Many founders describe their numbers as “a mess”. Different systems do not match, and reports arrive late or not at all. You end up managing from the bank balance.
Our fractional CFO fixes the basics, then builds reporting that people actually use. That might include:
- simple revenue and margin trends
- customer and product profitability
- monthly cash movement
- unit economics such as CAC, LTV, and payback
- 3 to 6 key KPIs for your board
The aim is to let you answer questions like:
- Are we making money on each sale?
- Which channels actually pay back?
- How much can we invest in marketing next month?
For many UK companies, this investor‑ready reporting transforms board meetings. People spend less time arguing about “what the numbers say” and more time deciding what to do.
Protect cash, runway, and headroom so growth does not stall
Cash is usually the hardest pressure. You want to hire, buy stock, and invest in marketing, but you are nervous about running out.
Our fractional CFO builds forward‑looking cash forecasts and keeps them updated. They:
- map out inflows from customers and outflows to suppliers, payroll, and debt
- add key UK tax dates, such as VAT quarters, PAYE deadlines, and corporation tax
- run simple stress tests, such as a 20% drop in sales or a big client paying late
This helps you see problems months in advance. You can talk to the bank, adjust hiring plans, or move a stock order, before you are in a crunch.
For example, a retailer with strong sales growth might be heading for a VAT bill and stock payment in the same month. Without planning, that is a cash squeeze. With a fractional CFO, you see it early and spread orders or arrange extra headroom.
Make your business more attractive to investors and lenders
Investors and lenders care about three things: clean history, a credible plan, and a coherent story that links them.
Consult EFC helps you provide:
- tidy historic numbers that match filed accounts and internal reports
- a robust financial model that ties to your KPIs and strategy
- a structured data room, so investors find what they need quickly
For UK startups, this can include support with SEIS/EIS structures, VC funds, growth equity, private equity, and bank lenders. Good preparation can improve valuation, but also terms, covenants, and deal confidence.
Consult EFC brings Big Four and investment banking habits to this work, but tailored to smaller, growing businesses. You get market‑standard quality without hiring a full corporate finance team.
Support value growth and exit planning, not just survival
Some founders think of finance as “keeping the lights on”. Consult EFC does much more.
They help you shape the business for value:
- increase recurring or contracted revenue
- clean up contracts and key customer terms
- track cohort performance for SaaS and subscription models
- fix one‑off issues before buyers see them
- prepare for financial due diligence, so there are no nasty surprises
Good preparation can lift exit value and shorten deal timelines. Buyers pay more for companies with stable margins, clear data, and low risk. Consult EFC helps you build that profile over time, not in a last‑minute scramble when an offer appears.
When Your Business Should Hire a Fractional CFO (and When Not To)
Common warning signs you need fractional CFO support
You might not wake up thinking, “I need a fractional CFO”. You will feel symptoms first.
Common warning signs include:
- constant worry about cash, even when sales look strong
- surprise tax bills or late payment penalties
- big revenue growth with no clear profit pattern
- investor or bank conversations that stall when numbers get detailed
- founders spending evenings in spreadsheets, fixing formulas, and chasing data
- management accounts that are late, wrong, or not produced at all
- several systems that do not match, for example Shopify, Xero, and your CRM
Picture a £5m revenue business where the founder cannot answer a board member who asks, “What is your gross margin by product line?” If that sounds familiar, it is a strong sign that you need senior finance help.
Typical business stages where a fractional CFO adds the most value
There are certain trigger points where fractional support can have the biggest effect:
- £1m–£3m revenue, moving from founder‑led to a small leadership team
You are hiring managers and want more structure. The CFO helps you set up basic reporting, budgets, and cash forecasting so growth does not break the business. - Preparing for seed, Series A, or first institutional funding
Investors expect a clear model, KPI history, and a sharp story. The CFO builds this with you and sits in investor meetings to handle the finance side. - Scaling from roughly £5m to £20m+ when complexity jumps
You might add new products, markets, and entities. The CFO designs scalable finance processes, refines pricing, and keeps control as headcount rises. - Planning a sale, MBO, or partial exit
The CFO leads financial preparation, from grooming margins to building a robust data room. This can increase value and cut deal friction.
At each of these stages, you need more than a bookkeeper but do not yet need a very expensive full‑time CFO. Fractional support fills that gap.
When a full‑time CFO or basic accountant may be a better fit
A fractional CFO is not right for every business.
Very early micro‑businesses, pre‑revenue startups, or solo consultants often only need:
- basic bookkeeping
- simple cash tracking
- annual accounts and tax returns
In these cases, a good accountant and some discipline are enough.
At the other end of the scale, large or complex groups may need a full‑time CFO. This is common when:
- revenue is well above £50m
- you operate in regulated sectors such as financial services
- you run multiple entities and complex international structures
- you have a large finance team that needs day‑to‑day leadership
A good fractional CFO will be honest about this. In some cases they will help you define and hire the first full‑time CFO when the time is right, and hand over smoothly.
What a Fractional CFO Can Do for Your UK Business with Consult EFC
Strategic finance for growth, from models to management reporting
For UK startups and SMEs, strategic finance comes down to two questions: what is happening now, and where are we going.
We design a single version of the truth. That usually includes:
- an investor‑ready financial model that links revenue, costs, cash, and funding
- monthly management reporting that feeds from the same logic
- board packs with clear commentary, not just raw tables
Terms like “scenario analysis” simply mean testing different futures. You might ask:
- What if we double our paid media spend?
- What if our biggest customer leaves?
- What if we add a new warehouse?
We will run these scenarios in the model, so you can see the impact on cash, hiring, and covenants before you commit.
Consult EFC works this way with high‑growth UK companies that want to move from reactive choices to deliberate plans.
Fundraising support, valuations, and due diligence help
Raising equity or debt is hard when your numbers are fuzzy. A fractional CFO makes the process more controlled and less stressful.
We help you:
- clarify how much funding you need and why
- build a clear financial forecast that matches your story
- prepare an investor deck and supporting schedules
- respond quickly and calmly to follow‑up questions
On the deal side, we can support valuations and financial due diligence, both for your own planning and in live transactions. This gives investors and founders more confidence that the numbers stack up.
As an ICAEW London‑based team with Big Four and investment banking backgrounds, we bring market knowledge on deal terms, benchmarks, and common investor questions. Smaller companies get access to that standard without hiring that skill set in‑house.
Ongoing advisory to prepare for exit and improve business value
The best exits start years before any sale process. Our Fractional CFO works with you over time to shape the numbers buyers will care about.
Areas often covered include:
- margin improvement and cost optimisation
- building reliable recurring revenue and reducing churn
- claiming R&D tax credits where valid
- tracking KPIs that support higher valuations, such as net revenue retention
This is steady, methodical work, not quick fixes. Over time, finance feels less like fire‑fighting and more like a tool for building value.
Choosing Consult EFC for Your Business
Not all CFOs are the same. We have the following:
- ICAEW Chartered Accountant with a background in Corporate Finance
- hands‑on leadership experience
- fundraising and exit track record:
- balance of detail and strategy:
- clear communication:
We have a blended mix of accounting, corporate finance, and commercial experience which is suited to companies planning for funding or exit.
Conclusion
A fractional CFO is a part‑time, senior finance partner who sits between a bookkeeper and a full‑time CFO. For UK startups and SMEs that want to grow, raise money, or prepare for exit, this role can bring clarity to your numbers, protect cash, support funding, and build long‑term value.
Your next step can be simple. Review your latest numbers, write down your three biggest finance worries, and ask yourself whether trying to fix them alone is the best use of your time. In many cases, a Fractional CFO can solve them faster and more cleanly.
If you want structured help with growth, funding, or a future sale, we would be happy to arrange a 15-minute consultation. With the right partner, you can move from fire‑fighting to planned growth, and build a stronger, more valuable business over the coming years.
Email us at info@consultEFC.com or contact us on +44 7767 629008.
