Too big for a bookkeeper. Too small for a finance director.
The work has outgrown whoever's doing it, but the salary to fix it properly is money you don't have, or can't justify yet.
Echo Flex is a finance function sized to the business you have. Half a day a week or five. Month end only, or a fractional FD. Change it as the business changes.
The gap nobody budgets for.
Most growing businesses hit the same wall.
The bookkeeping is done, more or less. But nobody produces a management pack or forecasts cash, and nobody can answer "can we afford to hire?"
The obvious fix is to hire. But the right person is expensive, takes months to find and may be half idle within a year.
So most businesses do nothing and run on numbers they don't trust. That costs more than it looks.
Pick a rung. Move any time.
Echo Flex is a ladder, not one product. Some businesses start with a single service and climb over three years. Some start halfway up, or at the top.
Moving between rungs doesn't mean starting again. We already know your numbers, so scaling up is a conversation, not a recruitment process. Find the line that sounds like you.
"I need someone in the boardroom."Strategic FD
A fractional finance director. Strategic planning and board-level input, including fundraising and exit planning, without a full-time hire.
"I need a finance function now, not a hire."Full-time placement
A dedicated finance resource embedded in your business five days a week, without committing to a permanent hire.
"My bookkeeper can't keep up."Part-time support
Half a day to three days a week, once you have outgrown your bookkeeper but are not ready for a full-time head of finance.
"I want to see the numbers every month."Month-end only
A monthly management accounts pack: profit and loss, balance sheet and commentary. Visibility without ongoing support. Clean and contained.
"The bank wants a forecast."Project-based FP&A and cash flow
Forecasting, modelling and cash flow work, scoped to the project. The bank wants a forecast, the investor wants a model or cash is tight.
"My finance person just left."Temporary cover
Fast-turnaround cover for maternity, sick leave or recruitment gaps. Call us rather than filling in a form.
"Just run the payroll."Payroll only
Payroll processing and compliance, without a wider engagement. A genuinely standalone service.
"Just do the VAT."VAT submission only
Quarterly VAT returns, prepared and filed. Often the first step into a wider relationship, and complete on its own if that is all you need.
Tiers can be combined, and there's a natural path from any starting point up into a full outsourced finance function as you grow. Flexible support is priced per day or per project and confirmed with you up front. No prices are published.
The version that works.
Outsourced finance often goes wrong because it's transactional. You buy hours, they get used and next time you start again with someone new.
Ours isn't. The same firm holds your numbers whether you buy one day a month or five a week, so scaling up starts from what we already know. When you hire someone permanent, which we'd expect if things go well, we hand over cleanly and go back to being your accountants.
That's the whole idea. We're a bridge, not a dependency.
Finance person just left? We can start Monday.
Resignation, maternity leave, long-term sick: the finance function doesn't pause because the person running it did. Payroll still runs, VAT is still due and month end still arrives.
Temporary Cover exists for exactly this. Tell us what's outstanding and when it's due, and we'll pick it up.
Hire or outsource? Do the maths.
The real cost of a finance hire, with National Insurance, pension, recruitment and a wrong hire. What each level delivers. When you've outgrown your bookkeeper, and when to hire.
When to Hire, When to Outsource
The finance function decision, in eight to twelve pages. Free, straight to your inbox.
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Straight answers.
The questions people ask about flexible finance support, answered honestly.
How is this different from just hiring someone?
Speed, commitment and range. You get someone in within days rather than months, you're not carrying a permanent salary and you get access to a whole firm's expertise rather than one person's. The trade-off is honest: an employee is in your building every day and belongs only to you. If that's what you need and you can afford it, hire. Flex exists for when you can't, or shouldn't yet.
Am I locking myself into something?
No. You can move up or down the tiers as the business changes, and if you eventually hire someone permanent, we hand over cleanly and go back to being your accountants. We'd rather be the bridge that got you there than a dependency you resent.
Can I start with just one thing?
Yes, and plenty do. VAT returns only, or payroll only, is a perfectly sensible place to start. There's no obligation to take anything else, and no penalty for staying exactly where you are.
My finance manager just resigned. How quickly can you start?
Quickly. That's precisely what Temporary Cover is for. Tell us what's outstanding and when it's due, and we'll pick it up. Call us on 020 8087 3107 rather than filling in a form; it'll be faster.
Do I need to be an existing Echo client?
No. Flex works as a standalone engagement. That said, it's considerably more effective if we're already in your numbers. We know what normal looks like, so we spot when it isn't.
Hire the hours, not the person.
Fifteen minutes on a call and we build your proposal with you, rung by rung, and you take it away in writing whether or not you go ahead.
Advice while there is still time to act.