The advent of internet has revolutionized to great extent the way people work and do business nowadays. Your business ideas can now be flipped into reality because in this era of internet, you do not need fortune to investment and to set-up a business. Also, any specialized field of work such as accounting functions can now be outsourced at reasonable cost.
No matter how strong your entrepreneur instinct is, you will still require an accounting system to run your business. It is your company's lifeblood as it gauges the business financial and operational status. It tells whether your business is thriving or losing revenues. Unfortunately, not every business owners has the skill or the time to carry out this important and necessary role. Thus, outsourcing your accounting functions can be helpful to you and your business operation.
Of course, it is not that easy to entrust this role to any third parties. However, with these five easy steps, you can start right in outsourcing your accounting needs.
Choosing the Right Service Provider
As you are reading this article, perhaps you have been mulling over the possibility of outsourcing your accounting functions and Google will definitely provide you with extensive list of options for this.
Your initial step is to streamline this extensive list to a maximum of five service providers. Then browse their respective websites. What services do they provide? Do they offer comprehensive details about the company and its services? How long is the company in the industry? Who are their clients?
Although their website will provide you with pertinent information, it is still difficult to evaluate at this stage their credibility and work performance. Thus, the next step is to ask for reference.
Reference Check and Clients' Testimonies
You definitely want to work with an outsourcing accounting company that is reliable and delivers quality work on time. The best way to check their credibility and work performance is to contact their previous and existing clients.
When making a reference check, it is important to ask the clients about the challenges they face with the chosen service provider. Are they prompt in delivering the work? How they handle troubleshooting? Are they quick to respond if any clarification or problem arises?
These feedbacks from the clients are very important in your decision making process. These testimonies will help you evaluate the company's work performance, and their future support and involvement in your business accounting needs.
Look for One Stop Solution
As you know, there are many functions involved in accounting process like payroll, taxation, bookkeeping, financial reports and more. With such extensive work, it is therefore best to deal with one service provider which can cover a broader scope of works. If you wish to outsource additional accounting roles in the future, you do not have to look for another company. A one stop solution is more convenient for you than going through another process of research and short listing again.
Pricing and Cost
The price for outsourcing your accounting needs will depend on the outsourced functions, and the amount and regularity of work assigned to them. The price can be on hourly or per transaction basis however for various outsourced roles with consistent workloads, a package deal is recommended.
An ideal professional outsourcing accounting solution providers must be transparent in their rate structure. Be cautious for any hidden fees and always consider the probable additional cost such as the charge for courier services or the purchase of scanners to deliver the required documents, the fee involved in bank transfers and so on. These extra costs can escalate your expenses. If not calculated wisely, you may end up spending more instead of saving overheads.
Transition Period
This stage is very essential because it is the initial phase of handing over the documents, tasks, delivery of the finished work, the communication process involved in between, and so on.
Generally this is the most challenging part however an ideal accounting service provider always aims for a smooth transition period by providing a proper and effective handover system.
So with these five easy steps, you can make sure that you are starting in a right footing to outsource your accounting needs.