Internal bookkeeper
Provides the day-to-day transaction and record-keeping base.
Fractional finance leadership
Senior finance leadership for decisions that carry more weight.
Fractional Finance Director support gives a growing business access to senior financial judgement without immediately employing a full-time FD. Scalehouse connects reporting, forecasts and commercial evidence to the decisions shaping the next stage.
Finance leadershipLive view
PerformanceClearerActual · Plan · Outlook
Margin Cash Outlook
Leadership at the right scale
“More than reporting. Senior financial judgement applied to the choices ahead.”
What is a fractional Finance Director?
Finance leadership without forcing an early full-time hire.
A fractional FD works as part of the leadership team for an agreed level of time and responsibility. The role is not simply an accountant hired by the day. It brings a senior finance perspective to performance, cash, planning, risk and commercial decisions.
The right engagement starts with the questions the business needs to answer. That may mean strengthening the board pack, building an active forecast, understanding margin, preparing for funding or developing the people and systems already in finance.
Collaborative by design
A senior layer that works with the finance support already in place.
Fractional finance leadership does not require the business to replace capable people or advisers. Scope and accountability are defined so each party can do its best work.
Senior finance layer
Fractional Finance Director
Leadership · challenge · planning · commercial decisions
Internal finance team
Owns agreed operational finance and reporting activity.
Scalehouse delivery
Can provide bookkeeping, management reporting and forecasting beneath the FD layer.
External accountant
Continues to support year-end, compliance, tax or other agreed specialist work.
What fractional FD support can cover
Five areas where senior finance leadership adds value.
The precise mix should reflect the stage of the business, the capability already in place and the decisions on the agenda.
01Financial leadership
Bring finance into the leadership conversation.
- Board-level finance support
- Management reporting oversight
- Financial controls
- Finance-team development
- Clear decision support
02Planning
Turn direction into a financial plan.
- Budgets and forecasts
- Scenario planning
- Cash planning
- Longer-range outlook
- Assumption review
03Commercial finance
Understand the economics behind the result.
- Margin analysis
- Pricing and profitability
- Investment decisions
- Performance drivers
- Commercial trade-offs
04Cash & funding
Make working capital and funding needs visible.
- Working-capital visibility
- Funding readiness
- Lender or funder information
- Cash scenarios
- Specialist introductions where relevant
05Growth & change
Prepare the finance function for greater scale.
- Systems and process improvement
- Finance-function design
- Major project support
- Acquisition support where appropriate
- Capability planning
Commercial decision support
The questions become more valuable as the decisions get bigger.
A fractional FD helps management connect financial evidence with the commercial context—not make decisions in isolation.
Can we afford the plan?
Connect growth, hiring and investment choices to profit, working capital and cash headroom.
Where is margin moving?
Identify the customers, services, teams or cost drivers strengthening or diluting performance.
What should change now?
Translate reporting and forecasts into priorities, owners and a clear management response.
How should we fund growth?
Define the requirement, timing and supporting information before approaching appropriate providers.
What does the board need to see?
Create a focused financial narrative around performance, outlook, risk and the decisions required.
Is finance ready to scale?
Assess the people, controls, systems and reporting the next stage of the business will demand.
When does a business need an FD?
When financial complexity begins to outrun the existing support.
Turnover alone is not the deciding factor. The need usually appears in the pace, risk and interconnectedness of management decisions.
- Leadership has reports, but lacks senior interpretation, challenge and clear action
- Growth is increasing working-capital pressure, headcount or operational complexity
- Budgets and forecasts need to become active management tools
- Pricing, investment, funding or strategic choices need stronger financial evidence
- The existing finance team needs senior direction, development or clearer priorities
- Boards, lenders or other stakeholders need a more coherent financial view
Fractional or full time?
Match the leadership model to the work the business actually needs.
Fractional support is a proportionate answer while the senior finance agenda is important but not yet a complete permanent role.
Senior input is needed at defined points.
- The key requirement is a regular board, planning or decision rhythm
- Capable internal or outsourced resource handles day-to-day finance
- The scope needs to flex around growth, funding or change
- The business wants to build capability before making a permanent hire
The leadership agenda fills a complete role.
- Daily senior finance direction is consistently required
- The team, stakeholder environment or transaction volume is materially complex
- Strategic and operational finance work demands continuous ownership
- A permanent executive presence is now central to the operating model
A typical engagement
A clear mandate, not an arbitrary number of days.
The work is structured around the finance agenda and can expand, contract or transition as the requirement changes.
- 01
Set the finance agenda
Agree the decisions, stakeholders and financial priorities that justify senior input.
- 02
Create the operating rhythm
Establish the right reporting, forecasting and leadership cadence around the existing team and advisers.
- 03
Focus on the highest-value work
Direct time towards the commercial questions, risks and changes that need senior financial judgement.
- 04
Evolve the scope
Increase, reduce or reshape support as the finance team develops and the needs of the business change.
Buyer questions
Fractional Finance Director: frequently asked questions.
Useful distinctions when deciding whether the business is ready for senior finance leadership.
What is a fractional Finance Director?
A fractional Finance Director is a senior finance leader engaged for a defined portion of time or scope rather than employed full time. The role sits above routine transaction processing and reporting, helping management use financial information in planning, commercial decisions, board discussions and the development of the finance function.
What does a fractional FD actually do?
The work depends on the business. It may include oversight of management reporting, budgets and forecasts, cash and funding planning, margin or pricing analysis, board support, financial controls, finance-team development and input into major decisions. The scope should be tied to a clear finance agenda rather than a generic allocation of days.
How is fractional FD support different from bookkeeping or an external accountant?
Bookkeeping keeps transactions and records under control. Management accounts explain current performance. An external accountant commonly supports annual accounts, tax and compliance. Fractional FD support uses those foundations to help leadership look forward, challenge assumptions, weigh commercial choices and build financial capability. The roles are complementary and can work together.
Can Scalehouse work with our existing accountant or finance team?
Yes. A fractional FD can sit above an internal bookkeeper or finance team, work with Scalehouse reporting and forecasting support, and collaborate with the existing external accountant. Responsibilities, information flows and decision rights are made clear at the outset.
What might a typical fractional FD engagement involve?
An engagement might combine a regular leadership or board rhythm with monthly reporting oversight, forecast and cash review, focused commercial analysis and support for priority decisions. Some periods may require more input—for example around a plan, funding process or major change—while others require a steadier oversight cadence.
When should a business hire a full-time Finance Director instead?
A full-time appointment may be more appropriate when senior finance leadership is needed continuously, the internal team is large or complex enough to require daily direction, stakeholder demands are intensive, or the volume of strategic and operational work consistently fills a complete role. Fractional support can help clarify that requirement and prepare the function for the transition.
Finance review
Bring senior finance leadership into the next decision.
Start with a finance review to define the leadership, planning and commercial support the business needs now.
Book a finance review