Part-time MD and Finance Director for small businesses
Most small businesses outgrow the owner's head long before they can justify a full-time finance director. The bank balance becomes the only number anyone watches, prices get set by gut, and the big decisions (hire, borrow, expand, sell) get made on a feeling.
We give you the experience of a fractional finance director and managing director, for a few days a month rather than a full-time salary. We've run the numbers for much bigger businesses. Now we do it for owner-run companies in Manchester, the North West and across the UK, in plain English and at a fixed price.
Sound familiar?
None of these mean the business is in trouble. They mean it has got bigger than the way it's managed. That's normal, and it's fixable.
- You don't know your real margins, product by product or job by job.
- Cash surprises you every month, usually in the wrong direction.
- You're pricing by gut, or by what the competitor down the road charges.
- You're thinking about investment, selling or growing, and don't know where to start.
- Your accountant does the year-end, but nobody helps you run the year.
What we actually do
Specific, useful pieces of work, not a report that sits in a drawer. Some take a fortnight. Some become part of how you run the business every month.
Cash flow forecasting
A rolling 13-week cash flow forecast built from your real bank, sales and supplier data. You'll see the VAT bill, the payroll dip and the quiet month coming, weeks before they arrive. We show you how to keep it up to date in under an hour a week.
Pricing reviews
We work out what each product, service or job actually costs you to deliver, including the hidden time, then look at what you charge. Most owners find at least one thing they're quietly losing money on. We help you change prices without losing the customers you want to keep.
Management accounts you can read in five minutes
One page, the same every month: sales, gross margin, overheads, cash and the three numbers that matter most to your business. No jargon, no forty-tab spreadsheet. If you can't read it over a coffee, we've built it wrong.
Board-style monthly reviews
An hour a month where someone who isn't in the day-to-day asks the awkward questions. What's working, what isn't, what should stop. It's what a good non-executive board does for a large company, sized for a small one.
Investment and sale readiness
If you're raising money, taking on debt or thinking about selling in the next few years, buyers and lenders will ask for clean numbers, a credible forecast and a business that doesn't depend entirely on you. We get you there before anyone starts due diligence.
KPI dashboards
A small set of numbers, pulled straight from your accounting and sales systems, that tell you how the business is doing this week rather than last quarter. We pick them with you, and we keep the list short on purpose.
Fractional finance director or accountant?
You probably need both, and they do different jobs. Your accountant looks backwards: they make sure the year-end accounts, tax returns and VAT are right, and they keep you on the right side of HMRC. That matters, and we don't replace it.
A part-time FD looks forwards. What will cash look like in March? Can we afford the new hire? Which customers are worth keeping? Should we take the loan? We work alongside your accountant, use the same figures, and turn them into decisions.
How it works
A free 30-minute chat
You tell us what's keeping you up at night. We tell you honestly whether we can help, and if we can't, who might.
A look at the numbers
With your permission, read-only access to your accounting software and bank feeds. We come back with what we found, in plain English, within [PLACEHOLDER: N] days.
A short written plan and a fixed price
One or two pages: what we'll do, what you'll get, how long it takes and what it costs. No open-ended bills.
The work, then the rhythm
We do the fix. If it's useful, we stay on as your part-time FD or MD for a set number of days a month, for as long as it's worth it to you.
Why a part-time MD as well
Numbers on their own don't change much. Somebody has to decide what to stop doing, have the difficult conversation with the big customer who pays late, and hold the plan steady when the month gets busy. That's the managing director bit.
We've done that job in large organisations, with far bigger budgets and far more people. The principles don't change with size: know your numbers, focus on a few things, and follow through. We bring that discipline, without the overheads.
Related
Other ways we help
Money and strategy: questions
What does a part-time finance director cost?
It depends on how many days a month you need, which for most small businesses is between one and four. We agree a fixed monthly fee up front, from £[PLACEHOLDER] [founders to confirm], so there are no surprise bills.
Will you replace our accountant?
No. Your accountant handles compliance: year-end accounts, tax and VAT returns. We handle the forward-looking side and work with your accountant, not around them.
Which accounting software do you work with?
We'll work with whatever you use. [PLACEHOLDER: founders to list the packages they've worked with, for example Xero, QuickBooks or Sage.] If your setup is making the numbers harder to trust, we'll say so.
We're not planning to sell. Is sale readiness still useful?
Yes. A business that a buyer would pay well for is also one that's easier and less stressful to own: clean numbers, steady cash and an owner who can take a holiday. Even if you never sell, it's a good target.