A Fractional Controller runs your monthly close, reporting and financial controls part time, for a fraction of a full-time hire. Rates, scope, and how to start, in one place.
A Fractional Controller costs $75 to $250 per hour, or $2,500 to $5,000 per month for a standard monthly close with reconciliations, accruals and management reporting. Light oversight starts near $1,500 per month. A full-time Controller runs $143,000 to $260,000 a year once benefits and hiring costs are counted, so most companies use a Fractional Controller until transaction volume justifies the seat.
Reconciliations, accruals and a close calendar that lands on the same date every month.
P&L, balance sheet and cash-flow reporting your board and lenders can read without translation.
AR, AP and cash forecasting, so you see your runway before it turns urgent.
Approval limits, segregation of duties and audit-ready documentation.
Chart of accounts, ERP and bookkeeping tools set up to scale past spreadsheets.
Bookkeepers and AP clerks managed and reviewed, so the founder stops being the reviewer.
A Fractional Controller does not arrive and rebuild everything. The first quarter is about making the close land on a date and making the numbers trustworthy enough to decide on.
Books land 30 or 45 days late, so every decision runs on stale numbers.
Your bookkeeper is being asked to do Controller work, or your CFO is stuck in reconciliations.
You raised, you are acquiring, or revenue doubled, and the controls have not caught up.
Most Controller engagements run one to three days a week on a fixed monthly retainer, so finance stops being a surprise line item.
Review-level support, a clean close and monthly reporting for a simple single-entity business.
Full close ownership, reconciliations, accruals, management reporting and bookkeeper oversight.
Multiple entities, inventory or revenue recognition, audit prep and system migrations.
Hourly engagements run $75 to $250 per hour depending on credentials, location and complexity. Ranges reflect published 2026 US market data, not a Hey CMO rate card.
| Fractional Controller | Fractional CFO | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Accuracy and control of the numbers | Strategy and the story behind the numbers |
| Owns | Close, reporting, controls, compliance | Forecast, fundraising, board, capital structure |
| Time horizon | Last month, closed correctly | Next 12 to 36 months |
| Typical cost | $2,500 to $5,000 per month | Higher, and scoped to strategy and fundraising work |
| Hire when | Books are late or unreliable | You are raising, planning or scaling |
Many companies need both, sequenced. Start with a Fractional Controller so the numbers are right, then add a Fractional CFO when the questions turn strategic.
Turn close ownership into a fixed monthly scope with a start date, a close calendar and a reporting deliverable.
Anchor on a monthly retainer, not hours. The market pays $2,500 to $5,000 for a standard close.
Accountants, bankers and Fractional CFOs refer Controller work constantly. Be the name they remember.
Got Fractional pulls Fractional, interim and advisory finance roles from company career pages, job boards and professional communities into one searchable feed. New Controller and CFO listings are added regularly. Access is included for active Hey CMO Fractional Network members.
A Fractional Controller owns the accuracy of your financials on a part-time basis. That means the monthly close, reconciliations and accruals, management reporting, cash and working capital tracking, internal controls, and oversight of your bookkeeping team. They make sure last month is right so leadership can act on it.
Expect $2,500 to $5,000 per month for a standard close, $1,500 to $2,500 for light review-level oversight, and $5,000 to $8,000 or more for multi-entity or high-complexity work. Hourly arrangements run $75 to $250 per hour. A full-time Controller costs $143,000 to $260,000 a year once benefits and hiring costs are included.
A Controller makes the numbers correct. A CFO decides what to do with them. The Controller owns the close, controls and reporting. The Fractional CFO owns forecasting, fundraising, board reporting and capital decisions. Companies often hire the Controller first, then add a CFO when the questions become strategic.
Most engagements run one to three days a week, sized to transaction volume and close complexity. Light oversight can be a few days a month. What matters more than hours is the deliverable: a close that lands on a fixed date with reporting attached.
Switch when the fractional engagement approaches full-time cost, or when volume demands daily presence. Common triggers are multiple entities, heavy inventory, revenue recognition complexity, or an audit that needs a permanent owner. Until then the fractional model keeps senior expertise at a fraction of the loaded salary.
Hey CMO connects business builders with vetted Fractional leaders, and gives Fractionals the systems to run the practice behind the role.
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