What does a fractional controller do?
A fractional controller oversees a company's books and reporting part-time: reviewing the monthly close, building forecasts, and turning the numbers into decisions the owner can act on. The bookkeeper records what happened. The controller checks it, explains it, and looks ahead.
In practice that means a close someone senior has signed off each month, a cash forecast you update rather than guess at, and a review meeting where margins by job, product, or location are on the table.
What does Langley Bookkeeping include in a fractional controller engagement?
- Review and sign-off of each monthly close
- A rolling 13-week cash flow forecast
- Margin reporting by job, product line, or location
- Budget against actual, with the variances explained in plain words
- Lender support: covenant reporting and the figures a bank asks for at renewal
- A monthly or quarterly review meeting with the owner
What software do you use for fractional controller work?
The ledger stays in QuickBooks Online or Xero. Forecasts and job reports are built in spreadsheets tied to it, or in a reporting add-on when your volume calls for one. Inventory and job data come from the systems you already use, such as an estimating program or an inventory app.
How is a fractional controller different from a bookkeeper or a CFO?
A bookkeeper keeps the records, a controller makes sure they are right and useful, and a CFO sets financial strategy and raises money. Most growing owner-operators need the first two well before the third.
| Role | Focus | Time horizon | Usual arrangement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Recording and reconciling | Last month | Monthly retainer |
| Fractional controller | Review, reporting, and forecasting | This quarter and next | Part-time retainer |
| CFO | Strategy, financing, and investors | The next few years | Full-time or part-time executive |
What is not included in fractional controller engagements?
We do not act as your CFO, raise capital, value the business, or give tax or legal advice. Audit and assurance belong with a CPA firm. When you need those, we work alongside the people providing them and supply the figures.
What does a fractional controller cost in Langley?
Fractional controller work sits in the Bespoke tier, at $1,250 to $2,000 per month CAD, and includes the monthly bookkeeping underneath it. Where you land in that range depends on how many entities, locations, or active jobs we report on and how often we meet. Fees are plus applicable taxes.
When does a growing Langley manufacturer or builder need a controller?
Usually when the owner can no longer answer three questions from memory: which jobs or products made money last quarter, how much cash will be in the bank eight weeks from now, and whether the line of credit is still inside its limits.
In Langley that point tends to arrive with growth rather than trouble:
- A fabricator or distributor in the Gloucester Industrial Estates or Northwest Langley adds a second shift, carries more inventory, and starts financing equipment. Work-in-progress and inventory become the numbers that decide the year.
- A builder moves from one or two houses a year to several townhome projects at once, each with its own draws, holdbacks, and subtrades. Profit on one project can hide a loss on another until year-end.
- A family business with a holding company buys the land it operates on, and intercompany loans start moving every month.
The bookkeeping still balances in each case, but nobody is looking at the business from above. That is the gap a controller fills, and it is cheaper to fill part-time first.
Further reading
For the monthly routine a controller builds on, read the Langley owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping.
On narrower questions:
- Job costing for Langley contractors: the job-level numbers a controller reports on.
- Winery and brewery bookkeeping in BC: production inventory and margins for makers.
- How much does bookkeeping cost in Langley in 2026?: where controller work sits against monthly bookkeeping.
A good fit if
- You run several jobs, product lines, or locations and want margins on each
- You borrow against inventory, receivables, or equipment and report to a lender
- You want senior review of the books without a full-time salary
Probably not the right fit if
- You are a single-person business with simple books; monthly bookkeeping is enough
- You need a CFO to raise money or prepare the business for sale
- You need audited financial statements; that is a CPA firm's work