How much does it cost?

Fees are typically 0.75% to 1.5% of turnover, depending on the services you need and how many units you run. A like-for-like internal finance team costs roughly 4% to 7% of turnover, so you get the same capability for a fraction of the cost — with no recruitment, no sickness cover and no payroll admin. We confirm a fixed monthly fee after a free introductory meeting, so you know exactly what you are paying before you commit.

Do you work with single sites or only groups?

Both. We typically work with hospitality and retail businesses from one to five sites. The common thread is not size — it is that the owner is ready for proper financial reporting and wants a finance partner rather than someone who files the tax return.

How is a fractional CFO different from an accountant?

An accountant tells you what happened. A fractional CFO helps you decide what to do next. Ours sits on top of the virtual finance department for board meetings, funding rounds, lender conversations, growth decisions and financial models. A full-time CFO costs £150k+ before you start; this gives you the same experience only when you need it.

Yes, tronc schemes and payroll are handled as standard. Tronc distributes tips to staff in a National Insurance efficient way, and the rules changed in 2024: tips must be allocated fairly, with new requirements on how they are handled and taxed. Getting it wrong has a real cost.

Which software do you work with?

We are a Xero Silver Partner and a Xero Retail & Ecommerce specialist, and we work with Dext and ApprovalMax alongside it. We connect to your rota and EPOS systems so information flows automatically rather than being retyped.

Do we have to switch to Xero?

It is our recommendation and where we work fastest, but it is a conversation, not a condition. Tell us what you run now at the introductory meeting and we will be honest about whether moving is worth the disruption.

How quickly can you onboard us?

Most clients are fully live within two to three weeks of signing. Onboarding covers connecting your bank feeds, EPOS and rota systems, agreeing the reporting pack and introducing your named team.

Can you take over mid-year?

Yes. Mid-year is a perfectly normal time to switch. We handle the handover with your outgoing accountant, pick up the year to date and carry on — you do not need to wait for your year end.

What if we are behind on our bookkeeping?

That is one of the most common reasons people call us, and it is not a problem. We will scope the catch-up separately, tell you what it costs up front, and get you current before we start the monthly cycle.

Do you do payroll for hourly staff?

Yes — weekly or monthly, for hourly and salaried staff, including auto-enrolment pensions and tronc. We link to your rota system so hours flow through rather than being re-keyed.

Do you help with funding and landlords?

Yes. We have raised finance from banks and institutions many times, and we help with grant applications, insurance claims, emergency loans, landlord negotiations and HMRC Time To Pay arrangements.

Yes. A UK team, based in Hungerford, working with clients across the UK and heavily in London. You deal with the same named people every time: an Accounts Assistant, an Account Manager and a Director.

Tipping code: what's actually changing in 2026?

11 minutes ago
4 min read

TIPPING CODE: WHAT'S ACTUALLY CHANGING? The government has just published its new draft code of practice, which sets out how tronc and tips can be distributed fairly. This is the first change since it was published in 2024, and if you deal with tips at all, the planned change will definitely impact you.

Back in July, a revised draft was published, and then pulled before it went to Parliament, which was quite a shock. Now it's back, and it's largely the same document. The difference this time is that it comes with a formal consultation, so operators get to have a say on the policy before it becomes final.

WHAT'S NEW?

There are a few things to be aware of but the most notable change is that you must review your tipping policy at least every three years, and genuinely consult workers each time. What "consult" means is not laid out, but we expect it to take the form of surveys and discussions. You must keep a written record of the consultation and make an anonymised summary available to staff. Majority votes are discouraged as the default way to settle things as they may not give enough weight to the voices of smaller worker groups (and therefore land up with an "unfair" tipping policy for them).

If your policy has been in place since October 2024, the first three-year cycle lands around October 2027. Plenty of time to prepare, but it'll come round fast enough. Depending on some of the below changes, you may need to tweak your tipping policy which will bring forward consultation.

THE OTHER CHANGES

Who counts as providing service? The draft tightens the definition of which workers should be included in tip distribution. It's based on those involved in directly providing service at the place of business where tips are left: workers who interact with customers, or who physically and personally prepare, handle or serve the food, drink or experience the customer receives there. In practice, that means front of house and kitchen staff at the site count, and back-office staff don't and neither do central production teams.

Fixed and guaranteed sums. The draft discourages allocating fixed, minimum or guaranteed sums to a named individual or category of worker. We think that's right where it applies to one group only, because it pushes all the variability onto everyone else. But where a guaranteed element applies across all workers, it gives certainty and helps staff budget, and plenty of hospitality workers rely on that. We'd like the wording to allow that, provided the fixed allocation and the split of any surplus after it are both fair. There is still time for changes to this code, and we will be making this point in our response to the consultation.

The whole scheme. Tribunals will now look at your tipping arrangements as a whole, not at isolated examples. That cuts both ways. A slightly odd feature in one part of a scheme won't automatically sink it if the overall distribution is fair, but it also means you can't defend an unfair scheme by pointing to one fair element. The overall effect is what counts.

WHO HAS TO DEAL WITH ALL THIS

Under the legislation, the duty to consult and have a fair tipping policy sits with the employer, not the troncmaster.

So even where an independent troncmaster allocates the tips (and independence is exactly what protects your National Insurance position) the obligation to consult workers, publish the policy and review it every three years falls on you as the employer. Outsourcing allocation doesn't outsource the consultation duty (although we will handle the for our troncmaster clients, not all troncmasters will assist with this and if you are using a member of staff as troncmaster the burden is very much on you).

There are a few bits of competing legistlation when it comes to tips and troncs and if employers are not careful they could find themselves invalidating the NI status of their tronc schemes.

WHAT WE THINK

It is mostly sensible. A few more hoops to jump through with the consultation of staff, but it is nothing to panic about and ultimately it will help design fair schemes which motivate staff. We are going to raise two points in the consultation, on the off-site prep chef point and the fixed sums point set out above, because we think they have real consequences for hospitality operators and their teams. (As always, the above is a summary, we have omitted some points and simplified other. Please speak to us if you want to go into detail)

TIMING

The consultation closes 29 September 2026. The government has said it wants the changes in by the end of the year, but consultations normally take six to eight weeks to publish their findings, which from the end of September takes us to mid-November, so that timing is tight to get this through parliament for the Christmas break and give fair warning to hospitality business (a signifcant propotion of whom will need to consult with workers due to the chnages in the code) . Realistically we don't think the revised code will be in force until around April 2027.

HAVE YOUR SAY

If any of the changes don't work for your operation, respond to the consultation! It takes a few minutes. You can respond online at gov.uk (search 'revised tipping code of practice consultation'), email tipping@businessandtrade.gov.uk, or write to the Wage Policy Team, Employment Rights Directorate, Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, 2nd Floor, Old Admiralty Building, Admiralty Place, London SW1A 2DY.

OUR CLIENTS

If you're a Troncmaster client of ours, we'll update you as the legislation is finalised, and make sure you're meeting any new requirements. If you're not a client, or you'd like to talk through how any of this affects your operation, feel free to get in touch.

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