Playbook · For operators

Pricing a fractional practice in Singapore

Retainer, sprint fee or day rate: how senior operators can price, scope and protect a portfolio of two or three clients.

The Fraconomy Note · 28 September 2026

Most senior operators who go fractional price the way they were paid as employees: by time. Clients buy outcomes. The practices that hold up price for the outcome, and use time only to set limits.

Start from your full-time cost

Start from what you would cost as a full-time hire. Take your full-time package, add 13th month and employer CPF, divide by 230 working days, then add 20 to 50 percent for fractional terms: you carry your own benefits, the gaps between clients and a month-to-month contract. On the Fraconomy Rate Benchmark that puts one day a week at SGD 4,000 to 8,500 a month depending on the seat. Price in days a week, not hours, so clients can compare you fairly.

Three ways to charge

Monthly retainer

A fixed fee for a set number of days a week or month, with a clear list of what you own. Predictable for both sides. Best once you know the company.

Sprint fee

A fixed price for a fixed scope over a few weeks, for example a financial model and data room, or a go-to-market plan. The easiest first yes for a company that has never hired fractionally, and it tells both of you whether a retainer makes sense.

Day rate

Useful for overflow and one-off workshops. Avoid it as your default: it rewards hours, not results, and makes every week a negotiation.

Do the portfolio arithmetic

Work backwards from the week you want. As an illustration only: two clients at two days a week and one day a week leave you one day for selling, admin and learning. If those retainers were SGD 12K and SGD 8K, that is SGD 20K a month before costs, tax and gaps between clients. Price so that one client leaving does not force you to take the wrong next one.

Scope in outcomes

• List the deliverables for the first sprint, each one a thing the client can hold.
• State the days and how quickly you reply between them.
• Write down what is out of scope, especially hands-on work a junior hire should do.
• Agree how you will review progress, for example a short monthly check-in against the list.

Contract basics to get right

• Scope and time: days, deliverables and how changes are priced.
• Fees and invoicing: when you invoice, payment terms, and late payment.
• Intellectual property: client work product passes to the client on payment; your own templates and methods stay yours.
• Confidentiality and conflicts: disclose other clients in the same sector up front.
• Notice: a notice period both sides can live with.
• Liability: a cap, usually linked to fees paid.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Have a lawyer check your template, and an accountant check your setup, including when GST registration applies to you.

Where Fraconomy fits

We introduce you to companies that have already written down the problem, the days they can fund and the outcome they need, so you can price against something real. Contracts start from clear scope, IP and confidentiality terms.