The Challenge of Managing Finances Without Support
Picture this. You run a small business with a team of 6. There’s a massive deadline fast approaching, and potential investors are requiring financial records to secure an investment deal. It’s two weeks before everything needs to be in order, and Deb, your on-staff accounting professional, has just gone into labor. While you’re happy for her and her family, the investors won’t delay this deal because your only accountant is out for the next few months on paid maternity leave. And it’s not like Deb will be gone forever, but you can’t afford to bring on another full-time employee. You can handle payroll on your own, but what about everything else? There’s the bookkeeping, the end-of-month reports, the tax filing… What on earth are you going to do? You begin to research solutions late into the night, and that’s when you learn about outsourced accounting.
A Smarter Approach to Handling Business Finances
Outsourced accounting is simply hiring an external entity to do some or all of your accounting functions. Things such as payroll, bookkeeping, and tax filing can be delegated to an outsourced accounting professional in their entirety or part, allowing a company to focus more on its core business activities and remove an additional stressor from the equation. When done properly, outsourced accounting can have many benefits such as boosted company productivity and a reduction in costs generated by in-house accounting.
Why More Businesses Are Turning to Outsourced Accounting Help
Outsourced accounting services are hired for a plethora of reasons. The most common reason? Businesses can save the time and money generated by in-house accounting costs, which, in turn, streamlines and boosts company productivity and efficiency. It allows for flexibility, scaling the amount of required services up or down based on company need, and improves accuracy through the use of accounting professionals’ expertise. A second set of eyes never hurts when it comes to your finances. Outsourced accountants support bookkeepers and offer that finishing touch needed for improved accuracy. By sharing this operational risk with an outsourced accounting firm, financial discrepancies are more easily alleviated.
Who Benefits Most from This Flexible Accounting Solution?
Anyone! Non-profits, growing companies, accounting teams, and companies with temporary needs are all eligible and able to use outsourced accounting services. There may not be a need for a full-time accounting professional within a company year-round or the required funds to keep an in-house account on staff, but through outsourcing, the time, effort, and services required become more flexible. Maybe your bookkeeper has an occasional question, or maybe they require some additional help. Outsourcing this aid is a beneficial option because it can assist your company for as long or as short of a time as you need.
Choosing the Right Financial Support for Your Business
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ model when it comes to picking an outsourced accounting service. Some companies feel more comfortable utilizing automated accounting software to handle their needs, while smaller businesses may look to hire a freelance accountant. Accounting firms and virtual accounting services are a happy middle ground between the two. The use of accounting firms offers a company more comprehensive services, with in-depth and broader expertise while remaining competitive in pricing. Virtual services may benefit a company whose accounting team has a basic understanding of accounting services and requires additional aid for one or several tasks. By being on-demand, these services are accessible when needed and may save a business on the costs of outsourcing a department in its entirety.
How to Get Started With Outsourced Accounting
First things first, identify the goals you have and determine what accounting services need to be outsourced. Do you need a bookkeeper? Who does the payroll? Can your team handle the nuances of financial reporting? Questions like these will help you determine what services are needed and to what extent you need them to be done. Once you have a clear list of your company’s needs, you can begin looking for the outsourced accounting service right for your teams.
Research your options. What type of accounting fits your business best? Should you utilize software or hand the workload to trusted financial experts? Do you need something immediate or something more consistent and long-term? Knowing what your company’s needs and financial goals are will be vital in figuring out which of the many types of outsourced accounting are required. Stakeholder buy-in is also crucial at this point. Talk with your team, your customers, and the board to be sure that the implementation of outsourced accounting is the best option for the business.
Finally, when all has been decided, it’s time to focus on the implementation plan. Do you want to hand over everything to your outsourced accountant all at once, bit by bit, or only when a service is required? Most companies will implement the plan in stages, allowing for transitional and adjustment periods between the least crucial to the most crucial tasks. Some will jump in with both feet. However you choose to go about implementing outsourced accountants, detailed action plans are essential for the business’s success.
Do you have a need for outsourced accounting? Schedule a call with us for a free 30-minute consultation to see if outsourcing some of your tasks is right for you!
