Accounts administration
The Accounts Administrator manages supplier bills, payment runs, customer invoicing and collections, routine reconciliations, expense records, and supporting documentation.
Fractional accounting services
Fractional accounting services for growing startups
Build a complete finance function without hiring an entire internal department.
For approximately the loaded cost of one Senior Accountant, Startup Partners provides access to a coordinated fractional finance team.
Each role contributes at the level your company actually requires. Routine accounting work is completed by appropriately priced resources, while complex reporting, planning, controls, and strategic decisions are handled by experienced finance professionals.
The result is a broader and more capable finance function than one internal hire can ordinarily provide.
Discuss your finance requirementsOne integrated finance function
Six capabilities. One coordinated team.
Each specialist contributes in the proportion the company needs, so the work is matched to the right level of experience.
What is fractional accounting?
Use each finance capability in the proportion you need.
Fractional accounting gives a company access to an outsourced team of accounting and finance professionals without requiring each position to be hired internally.
Instead of asking one employee to handle accounts administration, payroll, accounting, reporting, forecasting, controls, and financial strategy, the work is distributed across specialists.
A growing startup may need substantial transaction administration and accounting support each month, regular financial analysis, periodic Controller oversight, and targeted CFO involvement. It rarely needs all of those people on a full-time basis at the same time.
The fractional accounting model allows the company to use each capability in the proportion it needs.
One senior hire does not create a finance department
A broader finance function for a comparable investment.
Estimated annual loaded cost$152,400
$120,000 salary + 27% employment oncosts
A capable Senior Accountant can be an important addition to a growing company. The role does not ordinarily replace the need for accounts administration, payroll administration, financial planning and analysis, Controller oversight, or CFO leadership.
A Senior Accountant earning $120,000 can cost approximately $152,400 per year after applying a 27% allowance for payroll taxes, benefits, insurance, equipment, recruiting, and other employment costs.
For a comparable investment, Startup Partners can provide access to an integrated fractional finance team.
| Internal Senior Accountant | Startup Partners fractional finance team |
|---|---|
| One employee with one primary area of expertise | Multiple specialists across accounting, payroll, reporting, analysis, control, and strategy |
| Approximately $152,400 in estimated annual loaded cost | A right-sized team structured around the company’s actual requirements |
| Capacity depends on one individual | Shared expertise and broader team coverage |
| Senior financial matters may require outside advisers | Controller and CFO capabilities are available within the team |
| The company recruits, trains, manages, and retains the employee | Startup Partners manages the team and its delivery |
| Work is limited by one person’s experience and availability | Work is assigned to the appropriate level of expertise |
This is not six full-time employees for the price of one. It is access to six distinct capabilities, with each resource used only where that level of experience is justified.
How the fractional finance team works
Every responsibility has an appropriate owner.
Work moves across the team without asking one person to stretch beyond their experience or use senior time for routine tasks.
Payroll management
The Payroll Manager coordinates payroll administration, employee changes, payroll schedules, deductions, and related provider processes.
Senior accounting
The Senior Accountant manages reconciliations, month-end close activities, accounting schedules, journal entries, and the accuracy of the general ledger.
Explore startup accounting services →Financial planning and analysis
The Senior Financial Analyst develops management reporting, forecasts, budgets, scenario analyses, performance metrics, and decision-support materials.
Explore financial forecasting and analysis →Financial control
The Controller establishes close procedures, reporting standards, accounting policies, internal controls, and financial discipline across the organization.
Fractional CFO leadership
The fractional CFO provides financial strategy, capital planning, board and investor support, risk management, financing guidance, and executive-level decision support.
Explore fractional CFO leadership →Pay the right rate for the right work
Match every responsibility with the right resource.
A well-designed fractional accounting model does not use senior finance professionals to complete routine accounting work.
Accounts administration is handled by appropriately priced transactional finance resources. Accounting work is performed by accounting professionals. Forecasting and analysis are assigned to FP&A resources. Controller and CFO involvement is reserved for issues requiring that experience.
This allocation matters because companies often encounter one of two problems when they rely on a single internal hire:
- 01The company pays a senior salary for work that could be completed more efficiently by a junior resource.
- 02The employee is asked to make technical or strategic decisions beyond the normal scope of the role.
A fractional finance team addresses both problems by matching each responsibility with the appropriate resource.
Fractional accounting that scales with your company
Change the mix of support as the business changes.
The composition of the team can change as the company grows.
During a period of rapid transaction growth, the company may need additional accounts administration and accounting capacity. During annual planning, management may require more financial analysis. A financing round, acquisition, restructuring, or major strategic decision may require increased CFO involvement.
Startup Partners adjusts the mix of support without requiring the company to recruit a new employee every time its finance requirements change.
This gives growing companies access to greater capacity during demanding periods without permanently increasing internal headcount.
When should a finance role be brought in-house?
Use sustained demand as the decision point.
Our rule of thumbWhen a company consistently requires approximately 100 hours per month from a particular role, it should evaluate whether that role belongs internally.
At approximately 100 hours per month, a dedicated employee may provide better economics, availability, institutional knowledge, and integration with the wider organization.
The threshold is a decision point, not an automatic recommendation. The right answer also depends on:
- Whether the workload is consistent or temporary
- Whether the work requires daily operational availability
- Whether the company can attract and retain the necessary expertise
- Whether the role needs support or supervision from more senior finance professionals
- Whether hiring internally would create additional management responsibilities
- Whether the company has enough work at that particular level of seniority
Internal and fractional resources can work together.
Bringing one role internally does not require the company to replace the entire fractional team. A company may hire an internal Senior Accountant while continuing to use Startup Partners for fractional Controller oversight, financial planning and analysis, payroll support, or CFO leadership.
A deliberate path toward an internal finance team
Build the finance function that makes sense at each stage.
Fractional accounting should not be treated as a permanent outsourcing arrangement regardless of scale.
The objective is to build the finance function that makes the most operational and economic sense at each stage of growth.
Startup Partners helps companies determine:
- Which responsibilities should remain fractional
- Which roles are approaching full-time demand
- When an internal hire becomes economically justified
- What level of experience the company needs
- How fractional and internal resources should work together
- How responsibilities should be transferred without disrupting reporting or controls
We can begin as the company’s complete outsourced finance department and evolve into a hybrid model as internal finance capacity develops.
Who benefits from fractional accounting services?
Growing companies that need more than bookkeeping.
The fractional model is particularly well suited to startups and growing companies that:
- Need reliable monthly financial reporting
- Have outgrown founder-led bookkeeping
- Need more than a traditional bookkeeping service
- Require financial forecasts and management analysis
- Are preparing to raise capital
- Need investor-ready financial information
- Want stronger controls and financial processes
- Cannot yet justify a full internal finance department
- Need experienced financial leadership without hiring a full-time CFO
More than outsourced bookkeeping
Connect the records to the decisions.
Fractional accounting is not simply a lower-cost way to maintain the general ledger.
A complete fractional finance function connects accounting records with management reporting, cash planning, operating forecasts, controls, strategic decisions, and investor requirements.
For approximately the loaded cost of one Senior Accountant, a growing company can gain access to accounting, payroll, FP&A, Controller, and CFO capabilities through one coordinated team.
Build the finance team your company needs now, without hiring the finance department it may need several years from now.Build the right finance function
Start with the capability your company needs now.
Tell us where the finance workload is growing and which decisions need stronger support. We’ll help you define the right fractional, internal, or hybrid model.
Talk with Startup PartnersFrequently asked questions
Questions about fractional accounting services.
What are fractional accounting services?
Fractional accounting services provide part-time access to accounting and finance professionals who operate as an extension of a company’s team. The company receives the capabilities it needs without hiring every position as a full-time employee.
How is fractional accounting different from bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping focuses primarily on recording and organizing financial transactions. Fractional accounting can also include month-end close, financial reporting, forecasting, payroll management, internal controls, Controller oversight, and CFO-level financial leadership.
How much does an internal Senior Accountant cost?
A Senior Accountant earning $120,000 may have an estimated loaded employment cost of approximately $152,400 after applying a 27% allowance for employment-related costs. Actual costs vary based on benefits, payroll taxes, recruiting expenses, equipment, insurance, and location.
Can a fractional team replace an internal accounting department?
For many early-stage and growing companies, a fractional team can initially operate as the complete accounting and finance department. As the company grows, individual roles can move internally while specialist or senior capabilities remain fractional.
When should a company hire an internal accountant?
A useful rule of thumb is to evaluate an internal hire when the company consistently requires approximately 100 hours per month from a particular role. Workload consistency, seniority, management requirements, and the need for daily availability should also be considered.
Can Startup Partners work with an existing internal accountant?
Yes. Startup Partners can supplement an existing accounting team with Controller oversight, financial analysis, CFO leadership, payroll support, or additional accounting capacity.
Is fractional accounting only for venture-backed startups?
No. Fractional accounting can work for bootstrapped, privately owned, venture-backed, and rapidly growing businesses. The model is most useful when the company needs multiple finance capabilities but does not yet require each one on a full-time basis.