What a Fractional FC Achieves in the First 90 Days

Businesses engaging a fractional Financial Controller for the first time usually have a clear problem — the numbers are late, or not trusted, or nobody senior is accountable for them — and much less clarity about what should actually change and how quickly. That vagueness is the commonest reason these arrangements disappoint: without a defined expectation, three months pass, things are somewhat better, and nobody can say whether it was worth it. This guide sets out what a fractional FC should realistically achieve in the first ninety days, roughly when, what good looks like at each stage, and the warning signs that it is not going well.

The FC should be qualified — ICAEW, ACCA or CIMA, and worth verifying — and carrying professional indemnity cover. The assumption throughout is two days a week — roughly twenty-six working days over the period, which is a useful thing to hold in mind. Ninety days of elapsed time is not ninety days of work. Where the arrangement is one day a week, the same sequence applies over a longer timetable; the section on one or two days a week below sets out what changes.

If you are still deciding whether a fractional controller is the right answer at all, start with our guides to what a fractional Financial Controller is and the signs a business is ready for one. This page assumes the decision is made and the question is what happens next.

The 30/60/90-day plan at a glance

The phases overlap — close work and reporting run in parallel, and controls work starts as soon as the gaps are known — but a simple 30/60/90 view is a useful way to agree expectations at the outset and review against them.

Period	Focus	Typical outputs	What you should be able to say
Days 1–30	Diagnosis and first close	Written assessment with priorities; balance sheet reconciliation index started; close timetable drafted; first close under observation	“We know what is actually wrong, in what order it will be fixed, and who owns each account.”
Days 31–60	Reliable close and a usable pack	Reconciliation backlog cleared; accruals and prepayments documented; second close to a published date; rebuilt management pack; first 13-week cash forecast	“The numbers arrive on a date we were told in advance, and we read the pack.”
Days 61–90	Controls, team and documentation	Approval limits and segregation addressed; bank and supplier-change controls tightened; team responsibilities defined; process notes written; day-90 review	“It would keep running if the FC were away for a fortnight, and I spend less time on finance.”

Days 1–15: diagnosis

The first three or four visits are about finding out what is actually true, and a business should expect questions rather than output.

What should happen: a full review of the balance sheet and when each account was last reconciled; a walk through the last two months’ close, including what went wrong; conversations with whoever processes the transactions; a look at the systems and where the manual workarounds are; and an early read on the control environment — who approves what, and whether anyone checks.

What good looks like: by the end of week three you should receive a written assessment naming the three or four things that matter most, with a proposed order. Not a list of everything wrong — a prioritised view, which is the judgement you are paying for.

Warning sign: an FC who starts fixing things in week one without diagnosing. It looks like energy and it usually means they are addressing what is visible rather than what matters.

Days 15–45: the close

The first priority in almost every engagement, because everything else depends on numbers people trust.

What should happen: a published close timetable with named owners, including people outside finance; the balance sheet reconciliation index built and the backlog worked through; accruals and prepayments put on a documented basis; and the first close run under the new process — which will still be imperfect.

What good looks like: by the second close within the engagement, the numbers arrive on a date people were told in advance, and the FC can explain any account you ask about. Speed comes later; reliability comes first, and a business that gets a dependable day-ten close after ninety days has gained more than one promised day six and given day fourteen. Our guide to optimising the month-end close covers what the process should look like, and the month-end close speed benchmark report shows where comparable businesses land.

Warning sign: reconciliations still described as “in progress” at day forty-five. That usually means the backlog was worse than disclosed — which is common and should have been flagged in the diagnosis, not discovered in month two.

Days 30–60: reporting that means something

Overlapping with the close work, because the pack is the visible output.

What should happen: a management pack rebuilt around what the leadership actually needs to decide, with commentary explaining variances by cause rather than listing them; cash flow reporting and a forward view if none existed; and the first proper conversation with the founder or FD about what the numbers are saying.

What good looks like: you read the pack. That is the test, and it is a low bar that a surprising number of finance functions fail. Our guides to management reporting that gets read and the backward and forward split cover what belongs in it. For the cash view, our guide to building a 13-week cash flow forecast sets out the format most fractional FCs use.

Warning sign: a pack that has grown rather than improved. More pages is not more insight, and it usually means the FC is demonstrating effort rather than exercising judgement.

Days 45–90: controls and the team

The less visible work, and the part that determines whether the improvement survives.

What should happen: approval limits and segregation of duties addressed where they were absent; the obvious control gaps closed — bank access, supplier bank-detail changes, credit notes — along the lines the ICAEW sets out for smaller entities; the transactional team given a defined process and someone reviewing their work; and the whole thing documented well enough that somebody else could run it.

What good looks like: by day ninety, the process exists outside the FC’s head. This matters more in a fractional arrangement than a permanent one, precisely because they are not there on Thursday. Our guide to internal controls for growing businesses covers the basics that should be in place.

Warning sign: everything still depends on them. A fractional FC who has made themselves indispensable in ninety days has built a dependency rather than a function — which feels like value and is the opposite.

What should be true at day 90

A reasonable set of expectations to agree at the outset and review against:

Area	Expected position at day 90
Close	Runs to a published timetable; date is met
Balance sheet	Fully reconciled, index in place, reviewed monthly
Reporting	A pack the leadership reads, with useful commentary
Cash	A forward view exists and is updated
Controls	Approval limits, segregation and access addressed
Team	Defined responsibilities, work reviewed
Documentation	Process written down, not held in one head
You	Spending materially less time on finance than before

That last row is the one that matters commercially. The purpose of the engagement is usually to take finance off the founder or FD; if it has not, something is wrong regardless of how good the numbers look.

Typical deliverables in the first 90 days

The table above describes the position; these are the documents and outputs that evidence it. A business should be able to ask for each by name at the day-90 review.

• Diagnostic note. Two or three pages, delivered by around week three: the state of the balance sheet, the close, systems and controls, with three or four priorities in order.
• Close timetable. A working-day calendar with named owners for each task, including people outside finance who supply information — sales for accrued income, operations for stock, HR for payroll changes.
• Balance sheet reconciliation index. Every balance sheet account listed with its owner, frequency, last reconciled date and reviewer sign-off. This is usually the single most useful document a fractional FC leaves behind.
• Management reporting pack. A rebuilt monthly pack — typically profit and loss against budget and prior year, balance sheet, cash, key operating measures and a page of commentary — with a fixed issue date.
• Cash forecast. A rolling 13-week forecast updated weekly or fortnightly, reconciled back to actual bank balances so it can be trusted.
• Controls register. A short list of the key controls — payment approvals, supplier changes, bank access, credit notes, journals — with who performs and who reviews each, and the gaps closed.
• Process notes. Plain-English documentation of the close and recurring tasks, kept in the business’s own systems so it survives any change of personnel.
• Day-90 review. A short written review against the expectations agreed at the start, with the priorities for the next quarter — often audit preparation, budgeting or a systems project.

If the business has a year-end approaching within the first six months, audit readiness becomes a deliverable in its own right; our guide to Financial Controller audit preparation covers what that involves.

What should not be expected in 90 days

Being realistic protects the arrangement. A systems implementation — that is a separate project, separately scoped and priced. A transformed close time: fourteen days to six is a six-to-twelve month journey, not a quarter. Deep commercial insight, which requires understanding a business properly — expect it in months four to six. And a fully developed team; twenty-six days is not long enough to change how people work.

If your requirement genuinely is a systems change or a rapid transformation, that is a project alongside the fractional arrangement, or an interim FC full-time for a defined period — our comparison of interim versus fractional covers the choice.

One day or two days a week: what to expect

The plan above assumes two days a week. Plenty of engagements start at one, and some start at two and step down once the close is stable. The difference is not simply that everything takes twice as long.

	One day a week	Two days a week
Working days in 90 days	About 13	About 26
Diagnosis	Four to five weeks	Two to three weeks
Reliable close	By around the third close, if the backlog is modest	By the second close
Management pack	Rebuilt by around day 75	Rebuilt by around day 45
Controls and documentation	Usually starts in month four	Substantially done by day 90
Best suited to	Clean records, a capable bookkeeper or management accountant, a stable business	A backlog to clear, no one reviewing transactional work, growth or investor pressure

At one day a week the FC is essentially reviewing and directing: someone else in the business must be doing the processing, and the FC’s day is spent on reconciliation review, the close, the pack and decisions. That works well where there is a competent bookkeeper or management accountant — the model in our guide to a fractional FC alongside an in-house management accountant. It works badly where the backlog is large, because one day a week is consumed by catching up and the forward-looking work never starts.

A common and sensible pattern is two days a week for the first three to six months to clear the backlog and build the process, then one day a week to run it. Agree that possibility at the outset, with the trigger written down — for example, three consecutive closes on time with no unreconciled accounts. Our guide to fractional FC engagement models covers retained-day, project and blended structures.

Making it work from your side

Four things the client controls, and they determine the outcome as much as the FC does. Give real authority on day one — system access, sign-off limits, and the ability to direct the transactional team. Introduce them properly, so people outside finance know who they are and why. Be honest in the briefing about what is broken; they will find it in week two anyway, and the good ones find it interesting. And protect the days: an FC whose Tuesdays keep getting rearranged cannot build a rhythm. Our guide to managing an interim or fractional FC covers the relationship.

What a fractional FC costs over the first 90 days

In London a fractional Financial Controller typically costs £29,000–£39,000 a year at one day a week and £52,000–£68,000 a year at two days a week. Over a 90-day first quarter that is roughly £7,000–£10,000 at one day a week, or £13,000–£17,000 at two. Rates outside London are usually lower, and businesses with regulated, PE-backed or multi-entity complexity sit towards the top of the range. Our fractional Financial Controller rates guide covers the regional picture.

For comparison, a permanent London FC for a £5m–£15m owner-managed business typically earns £65,000–£82,000. Once employer National Insurance at 15% on earnings above £5,000 (see HMRC’s rates and thresholds for employers) and a minimum workplace pension contribution are added, the employment cost is roughly £75,000–£95,000 before benefits, recruitment fees, holiday cover and management time. A two-day fractional arrangement therefore costs roughly 70% of the permanent equivalent, and a one-day arrangement around 40%, with no recruitment fee, notice period or holiday cover to fund.

Two points worth checking before the engagement starts. First, how the FC is engaged: most work through their own limited company, and for medium and large clients the off-payroll working rules (IR35) put the status determination on the client. Our guide to umbrella, PSC and fixed-term structures covers the options. Second, what is included: travel, out-of-hours availability for month-end and any extra days for year-end or audit should be agreed in writing rather than discovered on the first invoice. For the wider picture of what a finance team costs at each stage of growth, see finance team costs in the UK.

When to move to a permanent Financial Controller

A fractional FC is often the right answer for a year or two, not forever. The signs that it is time to recruit a permanent controller usually appear together:

• The days keep creeping up. If two days has become three most weeks, and the FC is regularly working outside their agreed days, the business needs someone full-time.
• Availability matters more than ownership. Daily cash management, frequent lender or investor queries, or a team that needs someone present every day are not problems a part-week appointment can solve.
• The team has grown. Once the FC is managing three or four people, leadership and development become a role in themselves.
• Complexity has arrived. A second entity, an acquisition, a group consolidation, overseas subsidiaries or a regulated permission add work that does not compress into fixed days.
• The economics have crossed over. At around three days a week, a fractional arrangement costs about as much as the employment cost of a permanent FC, and the permanent hire gives more availability for the money.

The best transitions are planned. A good fractional FC will tell you when the business is outgrowing the arrangement, help write the job description and stay on through the handover. Our guide to permanent versus interim Financial Controllers covers the decision, and our Financial Controller recruitment team handles the permanent search — shortlists typically within one to two weeks. Salary benchmarks are in the Financial Controller salary guide. Where the business actually needs a Finance Director rather than a controller, our sister firm FD Capital handles fractional and permanent FD and CFO appointments.

Frequently asked questions

What should a fractional Financial Controller deliver in the first 30 days?

A written diagnostic with three or four priorities, a reconciliation index started, a draft close timetable and an observed first close. Expect questions rather than finished output in the first fortnight.

Is one day a week enough for a fractional FC?

It can be, where the records are reasonably clean and someone in-house does the processing. Where there is a backlog or no one reviews transactional work, two days a week for the first three to six months is usually needed, stepping down once the close is stable.

How much does a fractional Financial Controller cost in London?

Typically £29,000–£39,000 a year at one day a week and £52,000–£68,000 at two days a week — roughly £7,000–£10,000 or £13,000–£17,000 over a 90-day first quarter.

How quickly will the month-end close improve?

Reliability should improve within the first two closes. A substantially faster close — fourteen working days down to six, for example — is usually a six-to-twelve month journey.

When should we replace a fractional FC with a permanent hire?

When the days keep creeping towards three a week, when the business needs daily availability, when the team or the group structure has grown, or when the cost has crossed over with a permanent salary plus employer costs.

How quickly can you find a fractional Financial Controller?

We respond on the same working day, and fractional shortlists typically follow within days. Permanent FC shortlists typically take one to two weeks.