FAQs

Our core fractional CFO service includes monthly management accounts, monthly CFO and catch-up calls to review performance and strategy, cash flow forecasting, budgeting and reforecasting, and KPI reporting, all supported by our bespoke AI financial management tools. We also manage relationships with your external accountants and tax advisors, coordinate payroll and financial systems, and provide strategic input on hiring, pricing, investment decisions and growth planning. You get an experienced CFO and a full fractional finance team, not just a spreadsheet.

We think about value in terms of outcomes, not hours. Our job is to improve the financial performance of your business, whether that's better cash visibility, improved margins, smarter hiring decisions, or avoiding a costly mistake. The clients who get the most from working with us are those who engage actively in the monthly CFO calls and treat their finance function as a strategic tool rather than an administrative one. We can point to the specific decisions, changes and interventions we've mad,and what they've meant for your business financially.

We work with founder-led businesses typically from around £2M to £20M in revenue. At that scale, the financial decisions you're making, around hiring, cash, pricing and growth, are material enough that having experienced CFO input genuinely changes outcomes. Below that level, the economics often don't stack up for a full fractional CFO engagement. Above £20M+ you may reach the point where a full-time in-house CFO makes more sense, though we continue to support businesses at that level too.

We offer a Finance Health Check as a lower-commitment starting point. It gives you a clear picture of your current financial position, identifies the areas that need attention, and gives you a prioritised set of recommendations. For some businesses, that's enough to get on track. For others, it's the start of an ongoing relationship. We also support businesses through specific projects, for example, preparing financial forecasts for funding applications, implementing a new accounting system, or supporting a particular growth phase.

A financial health assessment is like a check-up for your business finances. It gives you a clear understanding of your cash flow, debt, profitability, and financial stability. If you’re unsure about your current financial position or planning for growth, a health assessment can highlight areas for improvement and help you make informed decisions for a stronger financial future.

The sweet spot is typically businesses generating between £2M-£20M in revenue. At that scale, decisions around hiring, pricing, cash flow and new clients can easily create six-figure outcomes, good or bad. You're complex enough that financial mistakes are expensive, but not yet large enough to justify a full-time CFO. One good decision from a Fractional CFO, on pricing, on a hire, on when to take on debt, can pay for years of fees.

Your accountant focuses on compliance, making sure your records are accurate and your tax returns are filed. That's essential, but it doesn't tell you whether you're hiring too fast, whether your pricing is eroding your margins, or whether you'd survive a major client paying 60 days late. ACC fills that gap. We work alongside your accountant and focus entirely on the forward-looking, financial planning and analysis. The decision-making side of your finances.

A Fractional CFO provides strategic financial leadership. The kind of thinking that shapes decisions about cash, growth, pricing, hiring and exit. An accountant or bookkeeper records and reports what has already happened. A Fractional CFO looks forward: they build financial models, stress-test your plans, and help you avoid expensive mistakes before they happen. At ACC, we work alongside your existing accountant, they handle the historical compliance side, we handle forward-looking strategy.

No, that's not what we do. ACC acts as your fractional finance department: management accounts, cash flow forecasting, financial projections, budgeting, KPIs and strategic CFO support. For statutory accounts and tax returns, we work with trusted external accountants, either ones you already use, or we can recommend partners. We manage those relationships on your behalf so nothing falls through the gaps.

We recommend a quarterly reforecast cycle for most businesses, meaning you update your full-year view at the end of Q1, Q2 and Q3. This gives you a stable benchmark (the original budget) to compare actuals against, while keeping your forward-looking view realistic. If you're updating your forecast every week, you lose the ability to measure variance meaningfully. That said, we use rolling forecast tools to keep everything connected so actuals flow in automatically.

A budget is your plan for the year, typically set at the start and held fixed so you have a benchmark to measure against. A forecast is your live, updated view of where you're actually heading. Both are valuable and they serve different purposes. The budget tells you how you're tracking against your original intentions; the forecast tells you what's really going to happen. We typically set an annual budget with clients and then reforecast quarterly, or more frequently if something material changes.

Improving cash flow starts with understanding where your money comes in and where it goes out. We help you track expenses, plan for future costs, and manage payment terms to keep your cash flow steady. From monitoring seasonal trends to negotiating supplier terms, small changes can lead to big improvements, ensuring you have funds available to keep your business running smoothly and growing sustainably.

Growth always brings risk. The CFO mindset is not to avoid risk, but to make sure the risks you're taking are survivable. That means modelling your break-even point before you hire, understanding what happens to your cash if a new client doesn't land on time, and making sure your growth strategy is funded, not just projected. We stress-test growth plans against realistic downside scenarios so that if things don't go exactly to plan, you're not in crisis. Growth should be intentional and measured, not just hoped for.

It depends on your business model, but margins below 60% for a service business typically leave very little room to cover fixed costs and generate meaningful bottom-line profit. The most important question is: do you know what gross margin you need to break even, and are you tracking it monthly?

Invoices, receipts, bank and credit card statements, payroll records, and any contracts related to income or expenses.

There's no single right answer, it depends on your business model, revenue cycles, and risk profile. A software business with recurring monthly revenue needs less cash buffer than a business with 90-day payment terms and high upfront costs. As a starting point, we look at how many months of payroll and fixed costs you could cover if revenue stopped. We then stress-test your plan against realistic shocks, e.g. a big client paying late, a bad debt, a hire that comes before a new contract lands.

Profitability and cash are not the same thing. A business can show healthy profits on paper and still run out of cash, if clients pay late, if you hire ahead of revenue landing, or if a large customer delays a payment. A cash flow forecast maps your inflows and outflows over time (weekly, monthly or annually) so you can see your cash position in advance, not after the fact. Even profitable businesses benefit from forecasting, it tells you how much cash you can safely invest, distribute or hold.

Revenue growth without margin improvement is one of the most common patterns we see. It usually comes down to costs growing as fast as (or faster than) revenue, whether that's delivery costs, headcount, or overheads that aren't being managed tightly enough. The key is to look at gross profit margin first: are you actually making money on the work you're delivering, before fixed costs? If gross margin is improving but EBITDA isn't, the problem is in your fixed cost base. We work through this client by client and cost line by cost line.

No. The original budget stays fixed. That's what gives you a true read on how the year has gone relative to your intentions. What changes is your forecast, you update that to reflect the new reality. This way you have two useful data points, the budget variance (how are we tracking against the original plan?) and forecast variance (how are we tracking against where we now think we'll land?). Changing the budget mid-year removes that discipline.

It depends on your situation. For most growing businesses, monthly forecasting linked to your P&L is a solid foundation. If your business has lumpy or unpredictable cash timing, large invoices, variable payment terms, or clients moving to quarterly/annual billing structures, a 13-week (rolling weekly) cash flow forecast gives you much tighter visibility. We typically start with monthly and add weekly granularity when the situation demands it.

This is one of the most common challenges we see as businesses move upmarket and start working with larger, more blue-chip clients. When you shift from being paid instantly (GoCardless, credit card) to waiting 30, 60 or 90 days, your cash position changes dramatically even if your revenue looks strong. We help you build aged debtor tracking, model the cash impact of payment terms across your client base, and manage credit limits. This is the kind of discipline that most entrepreneurs haven't needed before, but becomes critical at this stage of growth.

Cash Basis records income when cash is received and expenses when cash is paid. While accrual basis records income when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred, regardless of when cash actually moves.

It is necessary to separate accounts for business and personal expenses to maintain accurate records, ensure compliance, and avoid confusion.

Pricing isn’t just about covering costs; it’s about finding the balance between value and profitability. We look at your costs, market trends, competitor pricing, and customer expectations to help you find a price that supports your goals and satisfies your customers. The right price should cover expenses, reflect the value you bring, and contribute to healthy margins, all without underselling or overpricing.

Most growing businesses have a sense of which clients are their biggest revenue generators, but far fewer know which are actually their most profitable. We build client-level P&Ls that show revenue, cost of delivery, gross profit and contribution to fixed costs for each client. Often the results are surprising: the largest client by revenue isn't always the most profitable. This analysis drives better decisions about pricing, capacity, which clients to grow, and which to exit.

A business budget doesn’t have to be complicated! Start by listing your expected income and regular expenses. We help you identify key categories, set spending limits, and plan for unexpected costs. A budget acts as your financial guide, showing you where to allocate resources and helping you make confident choices without overspending.

Yes, in an ideal setup, your P&L, balance sheet and cash flow forecast are all linked. Your P&L drives the starting point; then you layer in the timing differences (when clients actually pay, when you actually pay suppliers, tax payments, dividends, payroll) to get to your real cash position. This is how we build models for clients. A P&L forecast on its own can give you a false sense of security. It tells you about profit, not about whether you'll have cash in the bank when you need it.

Our team follows a structured calendar for monthly closes, monthly/quarterly reviews, and annual filings to ensure nothing is missed.

We follow standardized processes, reconcile accounts regularly, and conduct internal reviews to catch errors.

Bookkeeping is more than just keeping records; it’s the foundation of your financial health. Accurate bookkeeping ensures you have a clear picture of your cash flow, expenses, and profits at all times. It helps you stay organised for tax season, spot potential cost savings, and make informed business decisions based on real numbers. Plus, when your books are in order, you can avoid costly mistakes and make adjustments as you grow.

If your current system struggles to keep up with your business needs, leads to delays, or lacks important features, it might be time for an upgrade. We guide you in selecting systems that match your business size and goals, streamline your workflows, and improve accuracy. A well-suited financial system saves you time, reduces errors, and supports future growth.

Bookkeeping is about recording day-to-day financial transactions, while management accounting focuses on analysing those numbers to provide insights that guide your business decisions. With management accounting, you get reports that show how your business is performing, help you track progress toward goals, and identify areas for improvement. It’s the next step up from bookkeeping, offering you a roadmap for growth and stability.