4 Indications that your company is ready to outsource its accounting

“Progressive entrepreneurs realize the unstoppable power of outsourcing to handle aspects of their business that are essential, but simply don’t make sense for them to deal with personally,” David Walsh

For every company, the right time to outsource is different. Most decisions come from large business growth when the current employees are unable to manage the day-to-day business of the company, and build the business satisfactorily. It is a misconception that entrepreneurs must do it all, and in some circumstance can stunt the growth of their business. Business owners should be income generators and managers, and not have to deal with the accounting detail as well.

If you are finding yourself and your business in this “unable to cope” position, the time has possibly come for you to outsource some of your financial responsibilities. Essentially outsourcing your accounting functions can save the business owner the burden of paying overheads associated with salaries, health insurance and worker’s compensation, as well as the space constrictions that growing a company in-house can present.

• Your finances are becoming more complex.
  Many entrepreneurs, when starting their own business, look after their books themselves or hire a bookkeeper. It saves money and gives you a sense of control and knowledge over your finances. But once your business starts to grow, possibly adding a new location, more services or more employees, your finances can easily become out of control. The last thing you want to do is neglect them or leave them in inexperienced hands. Outsourcing part or all of the accounting functions will bring your “books” back up to date and controls in place.
• Business is booming.
  That is what all entrepreneurs would like to hear, but with it comes with some strategic planning. A large influx of clients increases the workload on your current workforce, so you begin to look for experts to fill the gap. The process to fill in those gaps is slow, because finding the best potential in house candidate takes time. This is where an outsourcing firm can help you carry that burden until your firm can stand on its own once more. You might find that some outsourcing will become permanent as financial year ends become less burdensome on your staff.
• Employees
  Bringing in new employees is one option to lighten the workload, but training takes time. Current responsibilities are often interrupted and focus is taken away from other employee’s current efforts and work load. While it does cost money to hire an accounting business process outsourcing firm, it is considerably less than the cost of a regular employee if you consider the benefits they gain other than their salary (training, health insurance, and any other service your firm offers to employees).
• Losing touch with current regulations.
  There are several regulations associated with running a business and filing taxes, many of which change regularly. An outsourced accounting service provider will be the first to know about the latest regulatory changes, and how they should be handled. This can help you avoid incurring potential tax penalties against your business.

Profitable and successful businesses across industries have one thing in common: their finances are well-managed. While many small business owners handle their finances on their own at first, they often realize that having a professional to take care of the books is a necessity as their business grows. Higher level functions like budgeting and internal audits are more strategic and can be difficult to manage in-house. Professional accountants help you get an in-depth look at how your company is progressing financially.