How Much Does a Controller Cost? Fractional vs. Full Time

01What does a controller actually do for the money?

A bookkeeper records what happened. A controller makes sure it is right, on time, and understood. That means owning the month-end close, reviewing every reconciliation, preparing financial statements you would show a lender, comparing actuals to the budget, and tracking the handful of numbers that describe the business.

It also means process. Who approves what, how bills move from receipt to payment, and where the controls sit that stop errors and leakage. Our controller services page sets out what is included month to month.

02Why is fractional usually the first step?

Because the work in a growing business is real but not yet full-time. A business between roughly half a million and five million in revenue needs a proper close and someone accountable for it, but not forty hours a week of it. A fractional controller gives you the oversight without the salary, the benefits, and the recruiting.

Full-time makes sense later, when the volume and the number of people in finance justify a seat in the office every day. Many businesses run fractional for years and never reach that point.

03What sets the fee?

Transaction volume and the number of accounts, as with bookkeeping. Then the things that are specific to a controller engagement: how many entities need consolidating, whether there is inventory or job costing, how many reports and KPIs you want, and how often you want to meet. A monthly review call is part of the Growth package. Weekly calls belong to the CFO level.

The state of the books when we start matters too. A controller cannot close a month on top of a year of unreconciled accounts, so any catch-up is scoped and priced on its own first.

04How is the fee presented?

As a fixed figure in writing, after a free 30-minute call and a look at your current setup. We do not publish a rate card because the scope is the price, and we do not bill hourly because that puts the surprise on your invoice instead of in our planning. Bookkeeper, controller, or CFO explains where the levels divide if you are not sure which one you are pricing.

05Is it worth it?

Ask what a late or wrong set of statements has cost you already: a decision made on the bank balance, a lender conversation that stalled, a tax surprise that a mid-year look would have caught. Then ask what your own hours on the close are worth. If those add up to more than a fractional fee, the answer is yes. If they do not, we will say so on the call. Book a consultation or phone (847) 644-2288.

Common questions

This article is general information, not individualized tax, legal, or financial advice. Every situation is different. Reach out and we'll look at yours directly.