Fractional executive + operational support
Your next operations hire may not need to be full time.
Gain a consistent, capable partner who brings order to the work behind your business—without adding a full-time salary, benefits package, or permanent headcount.
When growth exposes the gaps
The business is moving.
The back office is trying to catch up.
You are still the person remembering the details, chasing the follow-up, organizing the client work, and holding the process together.
It is not a motivation problem. It is a capacity and structure problem. The right support creates a reliable operating rhythm before important work starts slipping—or everything lands back on you.
Too much lives in your head
Tasks, deadlines, decisions, and client details depend on what you remember.
Follow-through feels inconsistent
The work gets done, but the process changes every time and requires your attention.
Growth keeps creating friction
Each new client adds more coordination instead of creating more momentum.
A smarter layer of support
Regular support.
Right-sized commitment.
Fractional does not mean occasional. It means you gain experienced support on a recurring schedule, shaped around the level your business actually needs.
Your partner learns your preferences, protects your priorities, and becomes part of the way your team works—without the fixed cost structure of a full-time executive hire.
Fractional support is especially useful when you need dependable structure now, but do not yet need—or want—the responsibilities of a full-time role.
Not a temporary pair of hands
A steady part of the team— without adding headcount.
Back Office by Design works inside the rhythm of your business. We establish a regular cadence, learn how you make decisions, keep work visible, and bring the details forward before they become problems.
- Recurring, dependable availability
- Context that builds over time
- Clear ownership and documented workflows
- Professional communication with clients and vendors
Where we create capacity
Structure for the work
behind the work.
Engagements are shaped around the mix of administrative execution, coordination, and operational design your business needs most.
Executive administration
Keep time, communication, and priorities moving with calm, consistent follow-through.
- Calendar and inbox support
- Meeting preparation and follow-up
- Travel and scheduling coordination
- Priority tracking
Client + team coordination
Create a polished, responsive experience across the relationships that power your business.
- Client communication
- Onboarding and offboarding
- Vendor coordination
- Project follow-through
Operational structure
Turn repeat work into clearer systems your business can rely on and your team can follow.
- SOP and workflow development
- Process improvement
- File and information organization
- Ownership and handoff clarity
Business administration
Bring order and visibility to the recurring administrative details that support sound decisions.
- Invoice and expense tracking
- Records and document management
- Reporting preparation
- Administrative controls
Specialized support
Built around how your
industry actually works.
Core operational discipline, adapted to the deadlines, documents, relationships, and handoffs unique to your work.
Owners · Producers · Creative teams
Film + Production
Administrative coordination from inquiry through wrap—without getting in the way of the creative work.
CPA · Tax · Advisory firms
Accounting Firms
Tax document coordination, repeatable workflows, and billing support that keep deadline-driven work moving.
A considered approach
From reactive to reliable.
We begin with the pressure you feel today, then build the operating rhythm that makes tomorrow easier to lead.
-
01
Clarify
We identify what is consuming your attention, where work is getting stuck, and what support would create the greatest relief.
-
02
Organize
We establish priorities, ownership, tools, communication expectations, and a practical working cadence.
-
03
Operate
I step into the work consistently—managing, coordinating, documenting, and improving as the partnership develops.
Good operations should make the business feel lighter to lead.
Your operations partner
20+years across administrative operations, audit and tax environments, client service, and process improvement
Experienced support.
Thoughtfully designed.
I’m Kristie Howell, founder of Back Office by Design.
I bring the discipline of high-accountability professional services environments and the perspective of an operations partner who understands that good systems must work for real people.
My role is to bring clarity to the moving pieces, create structure you can trust, and become a dependable extension of the business you are building.
Meet with KristieThe practical details
A few questions,
answered.
How is fractional support different from hiring a virtual assistant?
The distinction is the level of ownership and operational thinking. The work can include hands-on administration, but the partnership also considers priorities, processes, handoffs, communication, and how the back office functions as a whole.
Will you actually feel like part of our team?
Yes. The partnership is recurring and integrated. I learn your business, attend agreed-upon meetings, work within your systems, maintain a consistent cadence, and take responsibility for defined areas of work.
Is fractional support only for very small businesses?
No. It works well for small and midsize organizations that need experienced operational capacity but do not need every function staffed full time. It can also strengthen an existing team by clarifying ownership and filling a specific support gap.
Does this replace a full-time executive assistant or operations leader?
Sometimes it delays or removes the need for a full-time hire; other times it creates the structure needed before making one. The discovery process helps determine whether fractional support is appropriate for your workload, complexity, and goals.
What happens after the discovery call?
If the fit is right, I recommend a focused scope, working cadence, and engagement structure based on your priorities. We then confirm access, communication, and the first areas of ownership before work begins.
The next step
Build the support your business needs— before adding the overhead it does not.
Let’s identify where structure would create the most immediate capacity, then determine whether a fractional partnership is the right fit.
Schedule your discovery call