Rate card · 2026
Day-rate, retainer, FTC.
Paul Yeates · enquiries@savastute.com · 07305 864880
Indicative UK rates, 2026. Exclusive of VAT. Confirmed in a letter of engagement after the call — not on this page. Travel and disbursements extra unless the retainer says otherwise.
How the days are bought
Retainer
Two to eight days a month, typically three months then rolling. The finance seat without a full-time hire.
Day-rate consultancy
Call-off days against a letter. A costing rebuild, a bank pack, a month-end rescue, a board paper. Minimum half day.
FTC / interim
Fixed-term cover: parental leave, a vacant FD, a PE 100-day plan, an ERP cutover, a deal window. Three to five days a week, three to twelve months. Contracted as a limited-company supplier; IR35 status is for your advisors.
Project
A defined pack at a fixed fee or a capped day-rate. Costing, entities, systems, automation. Handover is part of the scope.
The card
| Item | Unit | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| OpenFinance score | Self-serve | No fee |
| Discovery call | 30–45 minutes | No fee |
| DiagnosticDiagnostic pack | 2–3 weeks | From £4,800 |
| Day-rateConsultancy — FC height | Day | From £550 |
| Consultancy — FD height | Day | From £750 |
| Consultancy — CFO / group / PE | Day | From £950 |
| Half day | 4 hours | 60% of the day rate |
| RetainerFC retainer | From 2 days / month | From £1,100 / month |
| FD retainer | From 2 days / month | From £1,500 / month |
| CFO retainer | From 2 days / month | From £1,900 / month |
| FTC / interimFixed-term FC | 3–5 days / week, 3–12 months | From £550 / day |
| Fixed-term FD | 3–5 days / week, 3–12 months | From £750 / day |
| Fixed-term CFO | 3–5 days / week, 3–12 months | From £950 / day |
| ProjectRebuild / transformation | Fixed or day rate | Quoted in the letter |
A day is eight hours. Half days at 60%. Retainers assume the day rate × days; the monthly figures are the two-day floor. FTC is the day rate × contracted days, invoiced as the letter.
Height of the work
£550 / day
FC
The operating close, on purpose.
Close, reconciliations, WIP, costing files, procedures, first-line pack.
£750 / day
FD
The function, and the board.
Pack, cash, bank, team design, costing rebuild, systems, month-end calendar.
£950 / day
CFO
Strategy, capital, investors.
Group reporting, PE packs, facilities, entity design, transactions, the story the numbers will stand behind.
When a retainer is the wrong shape
Cover, a deal, a cutover, or a vacant seat sometimes needs the principal three to five days a week for a defined term.
- Parental, sickness or vacancy cover in the finance seat
- A bridge while you recruit a permanent FC, FD or CFO
- PE 100-day plan after completion
- ERP or systems cutover that needs a full-time finance lead for a window
- Transaction support: data room, quality of earnings, working-capital SPA, Day-1 close
- Lender or investor information pack under a facility review
A day includes
- Eight hours. Preparation and write-up sit inside the day, not as extras.
- On-site or remote, as the letter says. Mixed months are normal.
- Direct access to the principal. No junior bench, no account manager.
- Working papers, models and packs left in your environment.
Not on the card
- Bookkeeping, payroll, statutory accounts production as a bureau.
- Software licences, implementation partner fees, or vendor commissions.
- Acting as appointed auditor, money-laundering reporting officer, or nominated advisor.
- Guarantee of a lending decision, a valuation, or a tax outcome.
- Inside-IR35 employment. Savastute supplies as a limited company; status is yours and your advisors’ to determine.