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Manchester based · UK-wide service · Board-level finance

Fractional CFO services for growing Manchester businesses

There’s a point where bookkeeping and year-end accounts stop being enough — when you need forecasts before decisions, numbers that explain themselves, and someone financially senior in the room. A fractional CFO gives you exactly that, for the days you need, at a fixed fee — not a £100k salary. We’re based in Manchester and work with clients right across the UK.

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Yoni Finke FCCA, founder of YF Accounting
Yoni Finke FCCA
Your CFO — on your terms

Free, no-obligation call

Tell us where the business is heading; we’ll shape the finance support around it.

  • ✓ Monthly management accounts & commentary
  • ✓ Cash-flow forecasting & budgets
  • ✓ Board / investor reporting
  • ✓ Fixed monthly fee, scaled to your needs
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Tailored fixed fee — quoted up front. See pricing
The essentials

Key facts

Fractional CFO — key facts for 2026/27

  • What it is. Senior, qualified finance leadership (FCCA) on a part-time, fixed-fee basis — not a £100k+ full-time hire.
  • Typical fit. Owner-managed businesses from roughly £250k–£5m turnover making growth, hiring or pricing decisions.
  • Cadence. Monthly or quarterly management accounts, plus rolling cash-flow forecasts and board / investor packs.
  • No tie-ins. Engage permanently at part-time depth, or for a fixed project — a raise, an acquisition, a turnaround.
  • Built on compliance. Sits on top of bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and year-end — one joined-up team, not three suppliers.
What’s included

Senior finance, on demand

  • Management accounts that mean something. Monthly or quarterly numbers with plain-English commentary — margin trends, cash position, what changed and why.
  • Forecasting & budgets. Rolling cash-flow forecasts, annual budgets and scenario planning — so hiring, pricing and investment decisions are made with the numbers, not after them.
  • Board & investor reporting. Clean packs for directors, lenders or investors — KPIs, variances and the story behind them, delivered on time every cycle.
  • Pricing & margin work. Which customers, products and services actually make you money — and what to do about the ones that don’t.
  • Funding & growth support. Lender conversations, raising preparation, due-diligence readiness and the financial model to back it all up.
  • The compliance layer, included. It all sits on top of our core work — bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and year-end accounts — one joined-up team instead of three suppliers.
Who it’s for

Is this you?

  • Businesses past the £250k–£1m turnover mark where gut feel stops scaling.
  • Owners making hiring, pricing or premises decisions without a forecast.
  • Companies reporting to investors, lenders or a board for the first time.
  • Anyone whose accountant only shows up once a year, after the fact.

Not sure if it’s right for you?

Book a free, no-pressure call. We’ll look at where the business is and tell you honestly what level of finance support it actually needs.

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How it works

Senior finance, without the recruitment

  1. Free discovery call. We talk through where the business is heading and the decisions on your plate.
  2. We agree scope & a fixed fee. Cadence, reporting depth and deliverables — quoted in writing, no surprises.
  3. We get your numbers clean. We take on, or sit on top of, your bookkeeping so the data behind every report is reliable.
  4. You get accounts & forecasts. Monthly or quarterly management packs with plain-English commentary and a forward view.
  5. We’re in the room for decisions. Pricing, hiring, funding and board meetings — backed by a model, not guesswork.
Questions

Fractional CFO — FAQs

What does a fractional CFO cost?+
A fraction of a full-time hire. Engagements are a tailored fixed monthly fee based on the cadence and depth you need — typically built on top of our Growing Business plans (from £200/month). You’ll get an exact written quote on a free call.
How is this different from just getting management accounts?+
Management accounts tell you what happened. A fractional CFO adds the forward view — forecasts, scenarios and recommendations — and sits in the meetings where decisions get made.
Do we need to be a certain size?+
There’s no fixed threshold, but the value usually kicks in once you have staff, meaningful stock or projects, or outside money — roughly the £250k+ turnover mark. Below that, our bookkeeping and management accounts service is usually the right fit.
Can you work alongside our existing bookkeeper?+
Yes. We can sit on top of your in-house bookkeeping or take the whole finance function — whichever produces cleaner numbers with less duplication.
Is this a long-term commitment?+
No tie-ins. Some clients want a CFO permanently at part-time depth; others need six months around a raise, an acquisition or a growth push. Both work.

Board-level finance, fixed-fee simplicity. Book a free CFO call today.

Book your free call

Or call 0161 531 0959 — Manchester based, serving the whole UK.

Explore more

Other ways we can help

Accounts & Corporation Tax ↗

Statutory year-end accounts and CT600 filing, fixed fee, deadlines handled.

VAT ↗

VAT registration, scheme selection and Making Tax Digital returns, done right.

Personal Tax & Self Assessment ↗

Self assessment for directors, the self-employed, landlords and higher earners.

Company Formation ↗

Set up your limited company properly — structure, registrations and a clean start.

Payroll Services ↗

End-to-end RTI-compliant payroll and auto-enrolment, on time every period.

Bookkeeping & Management Reporting ↗

Day-to-day books, VAT and management accounts so you always know where you stand.

Manchester & Greater Manchester

Fractional CFO services in Manchester

Most Manchester businesses hit the same wall at roughly the same point. The bookkeeping is fine, the year-end accounts arrive on time, but nobody is telling you what the numbers mean before you have to make the decision. Fixing that with a full-time finance director is a six-figure commitment once salary, pension and employer’s NI are counted — which is why most owner-managed businesses simply go without. A fractional CFO gives you the same seniority for a day or two a month, on a fixed fee you agree up front. We are based in Whitefield, a short drive from the city centre, and act for businesses across Manchester, Salford, Bury, Trafford and Stockport, as well as UK-wide.

  • Professional services & consultancies. Utilisation, recovery rates and which clients genuinely pay for themselves once partner time is costed in.
  • Agencies, media & production. Retainer versus project margin, freelance cost control, and cash timing when clients pay on 60 days but payroll does not wait.
  • Construction & trades. Contract-level profitability, retentions, CIS and the working-capital gap that shows up between valuation and payment.
  • Ecommerce & product businesses. True unit economics after carriage, returns and platform fees — and how much stock you can actually afford to hold.
  • Tech & SaaS. Recurring revenue reporting, runway, cohort retention and the numbers an investor or lender expects to see.
  • Businesses preparing to raise or sell. Clean historic figures, a defensible forecast and due-diligence readiness, well before anyone asks for them.
How much does a fractional CFO cost in Manchester?+
Far less than the alternative. A full-time finance director is a six-figure commitment once salary, pension and employer’s National Insurance are added up, before you have paid a recruiter. Fractional CFO work here is a tailored fixed monthly fee based on how often you need reporting and how deep it goes, typically built on top of our Growing Business plans from £200 a month. You get an exact written quote on a free call — no hourly billing and nothing added later. See our pricing for how the underlying plans work.
What is the difference between a fractional CFO and a part-time finance director?
In practice, very little — the terms are used interchangeably, along with “outsourced FD” and “interim CFO”. What actually matters is seniority and scope. You want someone qualified who owns the forward view: forecasting, scenario modelling, pricing and margin work, and board or lender reporting. That is different from a bookkeeper or a management accountant, who tell you accurately what already happened.
When should a Manchester business bring in a fractional CFO?
The usual triggers are a decision you cannot model, or a reporting obligation you cannot meet. Taking on premises or a salaried hire, changing your pricing, approaching a lender or investor, losing or winning a client big enough to change the shape of the year, or simply reaching the point where the bank balance stops being a reliable guide to how the business is doing. Roughly speaking that starts around the £250k–£500k turnover mark, but the trigger is the decision, not the number.
Do you work with businesses across Greater Manchester?
Yes. We act for businesses in Manchester city centre, Salford and MediaCityUK, Bury, Prestwich, Whitefield, Trafford and Stockport, and UK-wide beyond that. Everything runs digitally through Xero or QuickBooks, so we can be in the room when a decision needs one and on a call when it does not.
Can you work alongside our existing accountant or bookkeeper?
Yes. We can sit on top of an in-house bookkeeper, or take on the whole finance function including bookkeeping and management accounts, VAT and payroll. Whichever produces cleaner numbers with less duplication is the right answer, and we will tell you honestly which one that is.
Who will I actually be dealing with?
Yoni Finke FCCA — one point of contact, every time. You are not passed between a junior for the bookkeeping, an account manager for the questions and a partner for the meetings. That is the whole point of how the firm is set up.
Salford Quays & MediaCityUK

Cash flow, forecasting and management reporting for Salford Quays businesses

If you run a business around Salford Quays or MediaCityUK and you have reached the point where you need proper cash flow management, financial forecasting and monthly management reporting, but nowhere near enough work to justify a full time finance director, that gap is exactly what a fractional CFO fills. We already look after agencies, production companies, consultancies and tech businesses across the Quays, and the work below is what most of them ask for first.

Cash flow management ↗

A rolling 13 week cash view so you know what is landing, what is leaving and where the pinch points are before they arrive. Useful when your clients pay on 60 days and your payroll does not wait.

Financial forecasting ↗

Budgets and scenario models that answer real questions. Can we afford this hire, what happens if the retainer ends, how much runway does the new studio actually cost us.

Management reporting ↗

Monthly or quarterly management accounts with plain English commentary. Margins by client or project, what moved this month and what it means for next quarter.

Project and client profitability ↗

Which retainers, productions and clients genuinely make money once time and overheads are in. Essential for agency and production work around MediaCity.

Funding and lender packs ↗

Forecasts, historic accounts and the numbers behind them, packaged the way a lender, grant body or investor expects to receive them.

Local, and on your terms ↗

We are ten minutes up the road in Whitefield and fully digital, so you get a named accountant who can be in the room when it matters and on a call when it does not.
How does cash flow management work in practice?+
We build a rolling forecast from your actual bank, sales and purchase data, usually 13 weeks out, and refresh it every month. You see expected receipts, payroll, VAT and tax payments on one timeline, so a squeeze shows up weeks before it becomes a problem rather than on the day. Where a gap appears, we work through the options with you, whether that is chasing debtors earlier, changing payment terms or arranging finance in advance.
What does financial forecasting actually involve?+
A base budget for the year, then scenarios around it. We model the decisions you are weighing up, such as adding a salaried role, moving premises, winning or losing a major retainer, or changing your pricing, and show the effect on profit, cash and tax. The point is not a spreadsheet for its own sake. It is being able to make a call with the numbers in front of you.
What is included in monthly management reporting?+
Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash position, comparatives against budget and prior period, and a short written commentary explaining what changed and why. Most clients also want a handful of KPIs that matter to them, for example utilisation, gross margin by project, average debtor days or recurring revenue. You can read more on our bookkeeping and management reporting page.
Do you work with businesses based in Salford Quays and MediaCity?+
Yes. We act for businesses right across Salford, Salford Quays, MediaCityUK, Eccles and Swinton, as well as UK wide. Our office is in Whitefield, which is a short drive from the Quays, and everything runs digitally through Xero or QuickBooks so location never slows the work down. See our Salford accountant page for the full local picture.

Need a forecast before the next decision? Book a free CFO call.

Book your free call

Or call 0161 531 0959. Fixed fees from £200 a month for growing businesses.

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