Most SME manufacturers reach a point where the numbers need more than a bookkeeper and an annual visit from the accountant, but not a full-time Finance Director. A part-time FD, also called a fractional FD, fills that gap for a few days a month.
The difficulty is knowing when you've reached that point. The signs are usually operational before they are financial: decisions made on gut feel, cash surprises, and margins that slip without anyone being able to say exactly why.
Seven signs you need a part-time FD
- Management accounts arrive late, or not at all. If you see last month's numbers three or four weeks later, they describe history rather than help you act.
- You can't say which products or customers make money. Turnover is growing but profit isn't, and no one can show where the margin is going.
- Cash is tighter than the profit figure suggests. Stock, debtors and capital spending absorb cash that the P&L says you've earned.
- Prices haven't kept pace with costs. Material, energy and labour costs have moved, and price lists or quotes still rest on old cost assumptions.
- The bank or investors want a forecast you can't easily produce. A credible 12-month forecast and cash flow takes skills a bookkeeper isn't expected to have.
- The MD is doing the finance job at weekends. Time spent wrestling with spreadsheets is time not spent on customers, people and operations.
- A big decision is coming. New equipment, a new site, a large contract or a change of ownership all need someone senior to test the numbers first.
If three or more of these sound familiar, it is usually worth a conversation.
What a part-time FD does
A part-time FD owns the forward-looking side of finance. Your bookkeeper and external accountant keep doing transactions, year-end and tax.
| Role | Typically covers |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Transactions, invoicing, payroll processing, bank reconciliations |
| External accountant | Year-end accounts, tax, compliance |
| Part-time FD | Management reporting, cash flow forecasting, budgets, pricing, margin analysis, bank and board relationships, investment decisions |
In a manufacturer, the most valuable part of the role is often cost and margin: understanding what each product really costs to make, and why that cost moves. (We explain one way to do this in how to identify hidden cost drivers.)
How many days do you need?
Most SME manufacturers need between 2 and 6 days a month:
- Around 2 days: a monthly review of the management accounts, a cash flow forecast and a KPI pack.
- Around 4 days: adds a rolling forecast, product and customer margin reporting, pricing support and the annual budget.
- Around 6 days: adds bank and funder relationships, investment appraisal and support with finance systems or hires.
The level usually starts higher while reporting and forecasting are put on a firm footing, then settles into a monthly routine.
What does a part-time FD cost?
A part-time FD typically costs £2,000 to £5,000 a month, depending on the days agreed. A full-time FD costs considerably more once salary, bonus, pension, National Insurance and recruitment fees are included, and a business of 20–150 people rarely has a full-time FD workload.
The better test is return rather than cost. For a manufacturer with a £10m cost base, a 1% improvement in margin is worth £100,000 a year, well above the annual cost of a part-time FD.
Part-time, fractional or interim?
Part-time and fractional FD mean the same thing: an experienced FD working with you for a set number of days each month, on an ongoing basis. An interim FD is usually full-time for a fixed period, to cover a gap or lead a specific change.
What to look for
- Experience in manufacturing, so they understand standard costs, bills of materials, yield and variances
- A professional accountancy qualification and membership of a professional body
- Clear monthly fees and options, with a short notice period
- Someone who works alongside your existing bookkeeper and accountant, not instead of them
Wondering whether a part-time FD is right for you?
A short, confidential conversation is usually enough to see what level of support would help, and whether it would pay for itself.
See our Part-time FD options →