What is Outsourced Accounting and How Could It Help You? Bench Accounting

Almost all companies must pay taxes on their income, regardless of where they are headquartered. But preparing taxes and complying with regulations can be tricky, especially if your business has a complex corporate structure. When you outsource, you’re tapping into decades of experience and expertise across multiple facets of accounting. This ensures you’re getting the best support and advice on a range of financial matters, from tax planning to financial forecasting and budgeting. When you find a suitable bookkeeping solution, ensure you interview the person before hiring them.

LIFO: The Last In First Out Inventory Method

One important area where this is especially true is in accounting operations, and almost 71% of businesses choose to outsource their bookkeeping and accounting tasks. Accounting services are the second most commonly outsourced service, right after IT services. Outsourcing accounting services helps save costs and gives access to specialized knowledge and advanced technology. Additionally, outsourcing aids in gaining a clearer understanding of a business’s financial status.

But Merritt Bookkeeping’s most stand-out feature might be its in-depth financial reports. Most other virtual bookkeeping services give you basic financial reports only, like income statements and balance sheets. In contrast, Merritt gives you more detailed reports like forecasting and quarterly comparisons.

Businesses in temporary need:

The Philippines is among the world’s leading outsourcing destinations and not just because clients can save up to 70% on labor costs. The labor pool in the Philippines is known for its tech competency, attention to detail and operates in a fiscal and financial system almost identical to conditions in the West. In fact, the Philippines is one of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia region3, with sound economic fundamentals and a globally recognized competitive workforce. Outsourced accounting providers can spot the warning signs indicating fraud and find out which financial pressures need to be worked on.

Step 1 – Prepare the Business for Outsourcing

1. First, analyze your accounting operations and determine which functions you’d like to outsource.
2. FreshBooks offers support from highly knowledgeable help centre staff, along with dedicated account management, advisory services, and connections to expert accountants near you.
3. However, a virtual bookkeeper or virtual accountant can sometimes refer to accountants or CPAs who work out of their homes and contract out their services individually.
4. The main benefits of such an approach include meeting with the bookkeeper face to face, using physical records, and relying less on online payment and banking systems.
5. Accounting is a very demanding task for small to medium-sized businesses.

Want to learn more about bookkeeping before you sign up for a virtual provider? Our article on business bookkeeping basics gives you more information on how to do bookkeeping and why. With Bench’s Catch Up Bookkeeping services, a Bench bookkeeper will work through past months of disorganized bookkeeping to bring your accounts up to date. Outsourcing is an excellent way to reduce costs and increase efficiencies but it is essential to partner with a provider that is right for your business and that starts by ticking a few key boxes.

No one knows the challenges of managing your company’s finances better than you. Making sense of your numbers can be time-consuming and frustrating, to say the least. It’s no wonder so many small business owners have turned to outsourced accounting services for relief. Virtual, outsourced, and online are often used interchangeably when referring to bookkeeping and accounting.

The Essential plan ($249 a month if billed annually or $299 billed monthly) focuses on bookkeeping only, giving you access to a dedicated team that performs monthly bookkeeping services. The Premium plan ($399 a month if billed annually or $499 billed monthly) adds tax advising services, end-of-year tax filing, and financial strategy planning. Looking for a scalable outsourced bookkeeping service with flexible payment options?

Here’s a more detailed overview of the 2 main ways outsourced bookkeeping works. Staying up to date with the latest software and accounting function tools available in the market will ensure you keep up with the times so your company can thrive. That being said, the oversight and advanced reporting might make it worth the cost (and outsourcing definitely costs less than hiring a salaried controller). It will depend on your specific needs, but outsourcing could run in the ballpark of $2000–$3500 per month. Outsourcing your accounts receivable and accounts payable means never having to pay or chase down bills again—the stuff every small business owner dreams of. Get free guides, articles, tools and calculators to cashing old checks help you navigate the financial side of your business with ease.

They adhere to most standard procedures to remain high-quality service providers. Outsourcing accounting tasks can lead to less direct control over day-to-day operations. While businesses receive regular reports, the level of communication and monitoring may decrease. This can pose challenges in ensuring the work is carried out accurately and according to expectations. Having somebody outside of your company who is managing bookkeeping and financial records can take a huge chunk of time off your plate. They can deal with legal compliance, employee wages, paying suppliers, managing expenses, and everything else, so you can focus on other aspects of running a company.