Most businesses start with a bookkeeper and an accountant who prepares the year-end. That works well while the main question is "what happened?". It starts to strain when the question becomes "what should we do next?" and the owner cannot say with confidence how much cash the business will have in three months' time.
A fractional CFO fills that gap. They are a senior finance lead who works with you part time, bringing the planning, reporting and judgement of a CFO for a few days a month rather than a full-time salary.
What a CFO does that others don't
Your bookkeeper keeps the records. Your accountant prepares the statutory accounts and tax returns. A CFO uses both to look forward: budgets, cash flow forecasts, pricing and margin, controls that hold and a clear view of what the numbers will support. The good ones will also tell you plainly when the numbers say no.
A fractional CFO does not replace your bookkeeper or accountant. We work with them, using the figures they produce to plan ahead while they continue with the records, the year-end and tax. The same applies to families whose affairs have grown to include several companies, property or a yacht and who need that same forward view.
Six signs it's time
- Big decisions are made without a forecast. A new hire, a second site or a loan is agreed on instinct, because nobody has modelled what it does to cash.
- Cash surprises you. Sales are good, yet the bank balance is tight at the wrong moments.
- Month-end never really closes. The numbers arrive weeks late, or not at all, so they cannot help you run the business.
- Someone is asking for better reporting. A bank, an investor or a board wants information you cannot easily produce.
- The founder is still the finance department. Approvals, payments and pricing all run through one person.
- The spreadsheets are creaking. There are several versions of the truth and nobody is sure which one is right.
Why cash matters more than profit
The second sign deserves more attention than it usually gets. Profitable businesses still fail when they run out of cash and late payment is one of the most common reasons.
Late payment does not show up in the profit and loss account. A customer who settles two months late is, in effect, borrowing from you and the strain appears first in your cash. A rolling forecast makes it visible weeks before it reaches the bank balance, which is usually enough time to act.
It is a widespread problem. Atradius's 2026 survey found that nearly four in five companies in Western Europe had been paid late. The European Commission links late payment to one in four bankruptcies in the EU and in the UK the government estimates it forces 38 businesses to close every day.
Why not hire full time?
For most owner-managed businesses, the obstacle has been cost. Robert Half's 2026 salary guides put the starting salary for a full-time finance director, the usual in-house title for the role, at around £90,000 in the UK, €125,000 in the Netherlands and $139,000 in the United States, before employer costs and bonus.
Few businesses of this size need that level of support five days a week. A fractional CFO brings the same experience for a set number of days each month, with the flexibility to add time when the business needs it. The fee is fixed and agreed upfront, so you know the cost before any work begins.
What it looks like in practice
The first month is about understanding the business: reviewing the accounts, agreeing what should be reported and building a rolling cash flow forecast. From there, the work follows a steady rhythm. Each month, once the books are closed, a short pack explains what happened and why, then sets it against budget so any drift shows early. Each quarter, we sit down with the owner to see where the numbers are heading, get ahead of costs before they hit and decide what to do next. Once a year, we build a budget the business owns, rather than one the accountant hands over, then track against it through the year so it stays a plan you steer by rather than a report you read after the fact. The thread running through all of it is clear reporting that lets you make informed decisions with time to act.
When it isn't the right fit yet
If the books are not up to date, start with a clean-up. A CFO cannot forecast from records that are not there. And if you need someone in the business every day, running a large team, you may need a full-time hire. A fractional CFO can help you recruit that person and hand over to them.
A simple test
If two or three of the six signs sound familiar, it is worth a conversation. We will look at where your numbers stand and give you a straight answer on whether you need a CFO, a clean-up or neither.
If you do get in touch, a few details shared beforehand help us make the first conversation useful:
- Your business and how it is structured. A short background on the business, including any holding company or shareholders we should know about. If it belongs to a group, tell us the companies in it and how they are owned. A structure chart helps if you have one, as does knowing which company you would like to start with. If there is more than one, we can begin with the main one and extend to the others once it is running smoothly.
- What you use now. Your accounting system and who handles the day-to-day bookkeeping and VAT.
- Scale. The most recent annual accounts for each company, or simply a turnover figure and a rough monthly transaction count. It lets us size the work properly.
- Reporting. What you receive today and what you would like to see, whether that is monthly meetings, quarterly reporting, or cash flow forecasting to help you plan.
About Soleia Private
Across our careers in practice and in group finance, we have seen many owner-managed businesses struggle. They rarely lacked good people or good ideas. What they lacked was time and someone whose role was to look ahead rather than catch up. We are qualified accountants and we founded Soleia Private to give businesses and families that support, wherever they are based.
If some of this sounds familiar, get in touch. A short conversation is usually enough to know whether we can help.