If you’re feeling overwhelmed in a finance team of one, you’re not alone.

Most finance professionals in start-ups or scale-ups, especially those in first-time Finance Manager, Financial Controller or Head of Finance roles are juggling everything from payroll to board reporting, with maybe a part-time outsourced bookkeeper to lean on.

It’s exhausting.

And if you don't figure out how to delegate effectively, burnout isn’t a potential risk.  It’s almost a guarantee.

The good news? You don’t need a big team to start delegating like a leader. You just need a smarter way to break up your workload and get the right support in place.

Here’s how.

Recognise What Only You Can Do

First, take a step back. What genuinely needs your expertise and what doesn’t?

Only you should be:

• Presenting to the board or investors

• Signing off management accounts and forecasts

• Partnering with the CEO and leadership team on commercial decisions

You don’t need to be:

• Reconciling bank transactions

• Filing VAT returns

• Chasing unpaid invoices

Start by writing down everything you’re doing in a week. Highlight the strategic, value-adding work. Then ruthlessly flag the rest for delegation or automation.

Build Trust With Your Bookkeeper

If you’re overwhelmed in a finance team of one and relying on an outsourced bookkeeper, the relationship you build here is everything.

You might think, “It’s quicker to do it myself.” But if you want to grow in your role and avoid burning out, you need to invest time in setting expectations, upskilling your bookkeeper where needed, and trusting them to deliver.

What to delegate:

• AP/AR processing

• Payroll setup and journals

• Bank reconciliations

• VAT returns

What to never assume:

• That they’ll chase for missing info

• That they’ll know when something doesn’t look right

• That they’ve got capacity for new tasks unless you check

Make sure you have a weekly or fortnightly check-in. Keep your systems organised (we recommend setting up a shared inbox and clear folder structure). And remember: bookkeepers are not miracle workers, they’ll do a great job, but only if you give them good inputs and systems.

Set Up Clear Processes and Templates

One of the biggest causes of feeling overwhelmed in a finance team of one is decision fatigue. You’re making 100 micro-decisions every day.  Should I journal this or accrue it? Do I chase that PO now or next week?

Templates and repeatable processes are essential here to help you.

Start with:

• Month-end checklist

• Cashflow template (with automated actuals pull-in)

• Budget pack layout (with locked formulas)

• Weekly task tracker

Every time you write an email or answer a Slack question about “where to code this” or “how to raise a PO”, save it. Turn it into a one-pager or short Loom. Next time, delegate it with a link.

Communicate Boundaries (You’re Not the Office Therapist)

When you’re the only finance person, everyone comes to you for help: HR, ops, product, the founder. You want to be helpful but without guardrails, you’ll drown.  I know, I've been there.  I was even called the company therapist when every leader in the business trusted me (because I knew a lot of confidential information) and wanted to talk through all the office politics.  It was exhausting and time-consuming.  

Set expectations:

• “Please use the finance@ email for requests so I can track them.”

• “We update the cashflow every Monday, send all invoice queries by Friday.”

• “Happy to jump on a call, but I need all documents uploaded to the shared drive first.”

You don’t need to apologise for protecting your time. That’s how you make space for real leadership work.

Know When to Ask for More Resource

Feeling overwhelmed in a finance team of one for a few weeks during a raise or audit is normal. But if it’s been 6+ months of working nights and weekends, it’s time to speak up.

Come with data:

• Time logs showing how much of your week is low-value admin

• Tasks you can’t get to that are hurting decision-making or compliance

• A costed proposal for a part-time assistant or upgrading bookkeeping support

Start-ups move fast, but if you’re constantly firefighting, you’re not helping the business scale. Hiring even 1–2 days a week of junior support can be a game-changer.

Delegate, But Don’t Abdicate

Delegating effectively doesn’t mean disappearing.

You still need to review, spot-check, and take ultimate responsibility for outputs. Set up a monthly review of:

• Key journals and reconciliations

• Aged payables and receivables

• Any new processes your bookkeeper or team are now owning

Think of delegation like a framework, you’re building support around you so you can climb higher, not building a wall to hide behind.

You Don’t Need to Do It Alone

If you’re overwhelmed in a finance team of one, this is your reminder that it’s not a sign of failure.  Instead it’s a symptom of growth. But staying in that state too long? That is a problem.

You’re not just there to survive. You’re there to lead. To free yourself up for strategy, not spreadsheets. To become a finance leader that founders trust and investors respect.

At FLF, this is exactly what we help our students do, shift from being the overworked number cruncher to the finance leader who gets heard.

So if you’re ready to stop drowning in tasks and start leading, check out our training, templates and support. You can do this, but you don’t have to do it alone.

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Want to be a confident and skilled Finance leader in 12 months?  Then follow these steps:

• Sign up to our next free workshop.

• Access the FLF Book that gives you an overview of the FLF Framework. 

• Work with me in the Financial Leadership Foundations course  for indepth training to become a confident & skilled finance professional in 12 months.  Includes regular Q&A sessions, networking with other finance professionals & the Advanced Management Accounts course.