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Interactive tool
Fractional retainer calculator
A fractional retainer is days per month times a day rate you can defend. This calculator does that arithmetic in public, with UK, US, and EU currency, and a salary-floor check so the number is not a disguised job.
Role tabs change the placeholder copy. They do not invent a market rate.
Result
The formula
monthly retainer = days per month × day rate. Implied annual = monthly × 12. Salary-equivalent day rate = annual salary × (1 + on-cost percent / 100) ÷ working days in that year.
How do I set a fractional CFO retainer?
Protect days you will actually show up. Price a day you can defend. Multiply. Role tabs on this page only change the in-scope placeholder. They do not load a secret CFO band.
Worked example
The placeholders start at 4 days and 1,200 in the selected currency. That is 4,800 a month and 57,600 a year. Overwrite both numbers. If you switch on the salary floor and enter 120,000 with 25 percent on-cost over 220 days, the employed equivalent is about 682 a day. A quoted 1,200 is above that floor. A quoted 400 is not.
The Nynch bridge
The calculator prices the work. Nynch tells you who is ready to buy it this week.
Questions
FAQ
How do I set a fractional CFO retainer?
Choose days per month you will actually protect, and a day rate you can defend. Monthly retainer is days times rate. Use the salary-floor check if you are converting from an employed number.
Should I publish a market rate?
No. Published bands go stale and are often someone else's sold story. Link a public write-up if you want a conversation starter, then overwrite the inputs with your number.
What is a salary disguise?
A day rate below the fully loaded employed equivalent for the working-year you assumed. The page warns. It does not block you.
Do I need an account to see the result?
No. The result updates on this page from the numbers you type.
Where do the numbers come from?
You. Placeholder values are labelled as overwrite-me. There are no hidden market-rate tables.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is arithmetic plus a way to say the number in a proposal. You still decide what to charge.
When you want it run for you
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