It’s no surprise to hear that good financial tracking will have an impact on the success of your company. Managing the way the money is flowing in and out of your business will affect cashflow and other important aspects of operations. Too often, entrepreneurs don’t have the necessary professional training, which is why they turn to outsourced accounting services for assistance.

How You Will Benefit from Outsourced Accounting Services

Is it the right choice for you to hire an outsourced accounting team? Most business owners don’t take this decision lightly. Not only will you be spending money on the services, but you are handing over sensitive financial information and responsibilities to the accounting team.

Even though it takes trust to bring in an accounting team for help, you won’t regret this decision. Here are some of the benefits you can expect when you find the right outsourced accountant to help with your financial tracking and strategy:

• Expert Advice: You didn’t spend years of your life studying accounting and bookkeeping, and it’s unlikely that you have years of hands-on experience in the industry. One of the greatest benefits of an outsourced accounting team is that they bring industry experience to the table. You can team up with the financial experts to leverage this experience in a way that helps your company grow. Outsourced accountants know the right way to set up your systems. They can implement effective processes to improve the efficiency of your financial reporting. Also, an expert outsourced accounting team will tailor their services to meet your needs, helping you create a scalable system to help with future growth.
• Compliance, Regulations, and Legal: Certain members of staff will begin to glaze over when digging into details about tax laws and financial regulations. In addition to tax filing, you also need to pay attention to local regulations for the location of where your business is located. These laws may change on a yearly basis, which can make it a challenge to stay current. The easiest and most effective way to ensure that your business remains compliant is by hiring outsourced accounting services for assistance. Your accounting team is immersed in these laws and regulations each day, and they understand the ins-and-outs of implementation for your company.
• Managing your Cashflow: One of the biggest challenges you will face is managing cashflow to ensure there is enough money in the bank to cover upcoming expenses. Even though money is coming in through sales and transactions, there can sometimes be a gap between the time when the money is received and when your expenses need to be paid. You can be experiencing strong sales growth and still feel the financial stress if you are leveraged to the point where you don’t have the cashflow available for expenses. Outsourced accounting services can be beneficial to help you with the implementation of an effective strategy to anticipate upcoming expenses and ensure that you have cash in the bank account for those needs.
• Boost Productivity: How many hours per week do you spend on bookkeeping and accounting tasks? Taking a DIY approach for your business accounting means that you are burning precious hours that could be spent on other responsibilities, including those things that only you can do. For example, if you are spending 10 hours per week on bookkeeping, then it means that you are missing out on 10 hours per week that could be dedicated to business development, customer acquisition, and more. Pass off the accounting and bookkeeping responsibilities to an experienced team so that you can focus your efforts on other important tasks.
• Reducing Business Expenses: Tracking your transactions is one of the first (and most important) steps in managing your budget. When you can see where the money is being spent, it is easier to adjust your spending habits so that you can be in control of your business finances. Every penny spent on business expenses cuts into your profit margins. An outsourced accounting team can help you with the tracking and budgeting implementation to support your long-term goals.
• Flexibility: Consider the way outsourced accounting services can be used to minimise your fixed costs. When you can see that accounting skills are needed in your company, it is easy to think that you need to bring in another employee to help. This could be a mistake. Adding another employee to payroll can be a heavy financial burden, especially for small businesses and start-ups. Instead of taking on the fully burdened cost of a salary and benefits, you can invest a smaller amount in outsourced accounting. These services give you access to the full range of skills that are needed, at a much lower cost.

As you look through this list, do you see why it is worth investing in accounting services? Now it’s time to make the switch to an accounting team that can help with your business goals.

Tips for Hiring Outsourced Accounting Services

Instead of hiring the first accounting team that you can find, be strategic in the way you choose outsourced accounting services. Here are a few things that you should be looking for when you are comparing service providers in the accounting and bookkeeping industry:

• Scope of Services: What services are needed for your company? You need to be clear about the financial services that will support your goals, to ensure that you are hiring a team that provides the skills that are needed. You might have a handle on the ongoing bookkeeping tasks, so you just need an accounting team to fill in the gaps with management reporting, budgeting and cash management. Or, you might be looking for full-service solutions that include payroll processing, bookkeeping, account reconciliations, financial strategy and more. Find a team that fits your individual needs.
• Experience and Specialties: For example, if you are an entrepreneur or a start-up company it makes sense to choose an outsourced accounting team that specialises in small business services. Experience with larger corporate entities differs from the services needed for a small business.
• Accounting Tools and Technology: Be cautious if an accounting team wants to implement a system that relies on manual calculations. We live in a modern business world with many online tools to support automation. A good accounting team will implement a proven software program that streamlines your transactions as much as possible, paired with professional services for bank account reconciliation, strategy, and more.
• Pricing: Also, consider the amount of money that you will be spending on the services. Not only do you need to look at the price tag, but it is important that you consider the value and services provided for that cost. Remember that outsourced accounting services are an investment for your business. While it is important to be careful about the amount of money spent on the services, you also need to identify the way these services will boost profitability and help you save money.

Is the Timing Right to Outsource?

How do you know when you should make the investment in an outsourced accountant service? Timing is important, so you should always consider the needs of your company.

The truth is that it is never too early to invest in accounting services. Even if you are in the earliest stages of launching your new start-up, a scalable accounting team can be invaluable to help you get started on the right foot.

One of the leading providers of this form of flexible accounting support is the EFM Network. To find out more about our services, please get in touch with EFM.

Our team of EFM Experts can help to support your business with effective financial management and growth techniques.

If you have a burning question and would like some useful financial advice please contact [email protected]