Pricing

How engagements are scoped, and how fees are set.

Each engagement is priced against a defined scope agreed in advance. This page sets out the structures we work under, the factors that determine a fee, and what is confirmed in writing before work begins.

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Our approach to fees

Fees are determined by scope, not by a standard rate.

Financial leadership is not delivered to a fixed specification. What an engagement requires depends on the condition of the finance function, the decisions the business is preparing to make, and how much of the responsibility we are asked to hold.

Two businesses buying the same service are rarely buying the same work. A company whose records are current and which reports in one jurisdiction is not asking for what a group reporting across two, with a backlog behind it, is asking for. A single published rate would understate one and overstate the other.

Each engagement is therefore scoped before it is quoted. Following an initial consultation we issue a written proposal setting out the scope, the deliverables, the timeline and the fee.

How we engage

Three stages. One standard.

Our six services are delivered within three stages of engagement.

Stage is a starting point, not a restriction. Every business needs reporting, cash control, a forecast and filed accounts, and every engagement covers them. What the stage sets is the depth of the work, and the depth sets the fee.

Early stage

Foundation

Making the numbers dependable, and the reporting behind them sound.

Reporting
Management accounts prepared monthly, to a standard the business can act on.
Cash
Cash position and runway tracked, with the movement explained.
Planning
A first budget and a forward forecast.
Funding
Books brought to the standard an investor expects before diligence begins.
Controls and accounts
Chart of accounts, month-end close, and annual financial statements prepared and filed.
Priced asFixed fee per engagement, quoted in advance.
Scaling up

Growth

Financial leadership while the business outpaces its finance function.

Reporting
Board-standard management reporting and a KPI dashboard.
Cash
Rolling thirteen-week cash flow forecast, maintained monthly.
Planning
Budget versus actual variance analysis, with commentary on what moved.
Funding
Financial model, data room and unit economics built for a round.
Controls and accounts
Approval workflows, documented policies, and annual financial statements.
Priced asMonthly retainer set against scope, three-month minimum.
Across borders

Institution

One set of numbers, wherever the business is registered.

Reporting
Consolidated reporting across entities and currencies.
Cash
Group cash oversight across jurisdictions and banking relationships.
Planning
Scenario planning across the group, not one company at a time.
Funding
Investor and stakeholder reporting held to institutional standard.
Controls and accounts
Group controls framework, and statutory reporting in each filing jurisdiction.
Priced asMonthly retainer set against group scope, three-month minimum.
Fee proposal

Scoped first, then quoted in writing.

Tell us where the business stands on a complimentary consultation. You will receive a written proposal setting out the scope, the deliverables, the timeline and the fee.

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Fee determinants

What determines the fee.

Condition of the accounting records

Current, reconciled records require less preparatory work than records that have not been maintained. Where remedial work is required, it is identified and priced separately rather than absorbed into a retainer.

Entities, currencies and filing obligations

Intercompany balances, more than one reporting currency and separate filing obligations each add work that a single-entity engagement does not carry.

The decisions ahead of the business

A capital raise, a market entry or a diligence process requires more senior time, and to a timetable set by someone outside the business.

Division of responsibility

Reviewing management accounts prepared by your team is a different undertaking from preparing them. Both are available, and they are priced differently.

Timetable

Work compressed to meet an external deadline is priced accordingly, as it displaces other commitments.

Common questions

Questions we are asked about fees.

How much does a fractional CFO cost?

A fractional CFO engagement costs a proportion of a full-time appointment, because the business acquires a defined allocation of senior financial leadership rather than a salary, a bonus, a pension and the associated cost of employment. Where a particular business falls within that range is determined by scope: the responsibility carried, the number of entities and currencies involved, and the decisions ahead. We provide a specific figure in writing following an initial consultation.

Why are fees not published?

A published rate would apply the same figure to businesses whose requirements differ materially, and would misrepresent both the simpler engagement and the more demanding one. We scope first and quote against that scope.

Is the initial consultation chargeable?

No. The initial consultation is complimentary and carries no obligation.

Is there a minimum term?

The monthly retainer carries a three-month minimum term, as financial leadership cannot be meaningfully demonstrated within a single reporting cycle. Diagnostics and defined projects conclude on delivery.

What is included within a fee?

The proposal specifies the scope and the deliverables in full. Work falling outside that scope is quoted separately and does not commence without written agreement.

Do fees change as the business grows?

Scope is reviewed as the business changes, and a business that adds an entity, a currency or a funding round is asking more of the engagement. Any revision is agreed in advance of taking effect.

How does this compare with a full-time appointment?

A full-time CFO carries a permanent senior salary and the associated costs of employment. Most growing businesses require CFO judgement well before they require it daily. A fractional arrangement provides the same standard of financial leadership for the proportion of time the business requires, and extends as that changes.

Get Started

Scope, deliverables and fee, agreed in writing.

Every engagement begins with a complimentary consultation. Tell us where the business stands today, and we will set out what the work involves and what it would cost.

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