Businesses used to outsource accounting services primarily for cost savings, but nowadays, boosting corporate performance is a major motivator. One or more factors may motivate an accounting or bookkeeping firm’s owner to outsource their finance operations.
Following steps can help you in getting started with outsourcing your accounting and financial management.
- Identify the factors that influence your decision to outsource
It is critical yet very important to identify and document the factors in order to determine whether outsourcing your financial system is a good fit for your business strategy.
Hitting the capacity bar and if you need more staff, that can be one of the factors. Outsourcing allows you to instantly access a pool of suitable applicants and cut the time it takes to recruit, screen, interview, and hire a new employee in half.
Secondly the strategy behind the decision to outsource your accounting process should be clear. Outsourcing allows you to delegate specific work to an overseas team, which helps your company processes. This allows your employees to focus on their core responsibilities while your global team takes care of the rest. As a result, the production process has been streamlined.
Outsourcing also helps you access skills and expertise your firm doesn’t have.
- Choosing the best outsourcing partner for your company
It’s essential to find a solid fit with a service provider because you’ll be creating a strategic alliance with them. You want your provider to be a good fit for your business, just like you want to make sure potential employees are a good fit for your company.
A few factors should be considered while choosing an outsourcing partner for your company. These factors are as following:
- Consider the provider’s immediate and long-term business objectives to see if they’re a good fit for your company. Are they aligned with your objectives? Then communicate your needs to the service and establish your expectations early on.
- In order to determine if a potential service provider can oversee the successful execution of a project, inquire about the systems and tools they have in place. Also, don’t forget to inquire about data security for your balance sheets, financial statement, customer information, and other sensitive information.
- Look into potential suppliers’ credentials to see how they’ve performed in the past. Is it possible to acquire client testimonials? Don’t be afraid to ask a supplier for information directly.
- Take into account the expenses
In most cases, outsourcing is more affordable than hiring a full-time employee. When working with outsourcers, you can pay for the time that is used rather than supporting an employee’s entire paycheck and benefits.
You can budget for outsourcing on a regular basis so you know how much these services will affect your overhead expenditures. Then consider the future financial gains that might be available. Having a team of accounting specialists on your side can help you optimize your company’s cash flow and prevent frequent challenges that small business owners face.
- Make your local team a part of process.
You could be hesitant to inform your local team members that you’ll be outsourcing tasks for fear of them fleeing in fear of losing their jobs. Being transparent and communicative with your local team, as well as involving them in the accounting outsourcing process, is the best way to handle this.
Tell your team how you envision the industry in ten years. Then describe where your company is now and what you’ll need to do to get to where you want to be in 10 years (for example, outsourcing everyday administrative and compliance activities).
Explain where your team members may go for assistance and answers. Respond to inquiries quickly to make people feel safe.
Comfort your employees that their jobs are safe, but be prepared to lose one or two, no matter how much you reassure them or explain that this is an opportunity for them to advance to more strategic positions with higher responsibility.
- Creating a plan for outsourcing execution
Your outsourcing execution plan will ensure that your work is successfully transferred to your provider. This entails identifying project specifications, as well as what you intend to achieve and the technology, tools, and services you employ. However, instead of focusing on certain instruments, consider value generation. Organize the assets in your project and make them easy to find and use.
Consider guidelines next. Decide how you’ll handle testing, deployments, feedback collection and implementation, and communication cadences.
Maintaining a positive relationship with your accounting outsourcing provider is essential to the success. To guarantee that your goals and requirements are satisfied, you may engage with a dedicated account manager or client experience manager.
