We operate your accounting function for a published fee
One staff accountant costs $105,462 a year once payroll taxes and benefits are added. Our accounting service is $60,000, and it covers that person’s work plus part of a payables clerk’s, under a senior manager who is accountable for accuracy and for the close date. The fee is lower because the process, the automation and the training already exist. Our people are not paid less.
What the entry fee replaces
57%
less than employing the staff accountant and the half-clerk that $5,000 a month replaces. The workings are below.
Sources. Salary midpoints: Robert Half 2026 Salary Guide, national midpoints. Staff accountant $73,750, accounts payable clerk $49,250, of which half a seat is $24,625. Benefit load 1.43×, covering employer payroll taxes, insurance and paid leave, derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employer Costs for Employee Compensation series. inDinero’s 2026 analysis puts the defensible fully-loaded multiplier at 1.45 – 1.5×, so 1.43× is the conservative end. $73,750 + $24,625 = $98,375. $98,375 × 1.43 = $140,676.25, printed above rounded down to $140,676. Ours is $5,000 × 12 = $60,000, a difference of $80,676 a year. We compare our lowest published fee against the smallest team it replaces, which is the comparison that flatters us least.
The same month, run differently
Most companies that call us can already describe the problem. This is the part that changes in the first ninety days.
As it runs today
- The close lands around day 22, and the date moves.
- Variances surface late and are explained from memory.
- Working papers sit in one person’s spreadsheet.
- Intercompany balances are cleared at year end.
- One person reviews their own work.
From the first month
- The close lands on a date published in advance.
- Every variance carries a cause and a named owner.
- Working papers are retained and can be reopened.
- Intercompany balances are cleared and documented monthly.
- A senior manager reviews before anything reaches you.
Four steps, in this order
We act as your accounting department rather than a reviewer of it. That means real access in week one.
- Week 1We take working accessLedger, banking, cards and invoicing, under our own named accounts.
- Month 1The first close is oursWe run it rather than watch yours. What we find is written down.
- Month 2The close calendar is publishedA named date each month, with an owner against every step.
- OngoingThe date holdsMiss it through our own fault and half that month’s fee comes back.
The full method, including the technology, the reporting rhythm and where AI is and is not used, is on how we work.
Four lines, and what each one covers
| Accounting service | Fractional controller | Advising | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payables, receivables and bank reconciliation | ✓ | no | no |
| Month-end close and the published close calendar | ✓ | no | no |
| Multi-entity consolidation and intercompany | ✓ | no | no |
| Management reporting pack | ✓ | ✓ | no |
| Attends your management meetings | no | ✓ | no |
| Owns the number in front of your board | no | ✓ | no |
| Budgets, forecasts and scenario work | no | ✓ | ✓ |
| Systems set-up, migration and automation | no | no | ✓ |
| Written process and SOPs | no | no | ✓ |
Three commitments, in writing
- One named person owns your account, and you know who they are.
- Miss a published close date through our own fault and half that month’s fee comes back.
- Thirty days’ notice, your data, and a documented handover if you leave.
The rest are on how we work, and they go into the engagement letter.
Where we are not the right fit
- You are pre-revenue with one bank account. You need a bookkeeper, and they cost less than we do.
- You want someone hourly, on call, for occasional cleanup. We do not sell hours.
- You need a signed opinion on your financial statements. We cannot give you one.
Start with the discovery call
Forty-five minutes. We ask what closes late and why, and tell you plainly whether we fit.
The call is free and there is no fee for it, ever. If we are not the right shape for you we will say so on the call.