Outsourced Bookkeeping in the UK: Scope and Size

Accounting and finance are huge industries in the UK. These industries have functioned typically for several years, but the global Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a startling halt. It changed the way businesses operate and gave the conventional accounting industry a reality check.

In the current scenario, it has become imperative for accountancy practices to focus on expanding their portfolio and adding value-based services for their offerings to survive the growing competition. One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of doing this is to outsource accounting and its core functions.

Bookkeeping is an essential component of accounting. It helps document a company’s financial transactions, which may come in handy during an audit or report preparation. However, it is also a cumbersome task that takes up most of accountants’ time and prevents them from focusing on additional services. Therefore, several practices now look at outsourced bookkeeping as a plausible solution to their staffing and scalability woes.

There has been a notable rise in practices outsourcing tedious compliance tasks such as bookkeeping to reliable outsourcing providers. According to a 2019 ForrestBrown survey on accounting outsourcing, nearly 64% of accountancy firms in the UK expect to outsource their core services. This number is estimated to grow in the post-pandemic world.

The Demand and Supply Gap for Skilled Bookkeepers

 

Accountancy practices need no introduction to talent shortage. Over the years, these firms have struggled to hire skilled accountants and bookkeepers with up-to-date knowledge of the industry and good technical skills.

However, staffing issues took a new shape in the aftermath of the global pandemic, eventually culminating in The Great Resignation. Research suggests that almost one-third of UK workers are considering moving to a new job in 2022. Moreover, new generation accountants prioritise their health, well-being, and career development over simply doing monotonous jobs.

With accountants moving to work with large accounting firms, small and mid-sized practices struggle to recruit and retain talented resources. Short-staffed, these firms find it difficult to broaden their scope as most of their resources are occupied with core compliance tasks such as bookkeeping.

Dealing with the staffing challenges while keeping operational costs in check is challenging. An easy and surefire way to deal with this is to outsource bookkeeping services. Top bookkeeping outsourcing companies employ highly skilled bookkeepers and train them extensively on UK accounting norms. Thus, these companies can effortlessly end the demand and supply gap for your firm.

Outsourced bookkeeping professionals are based offshore and work out of a delivery centre. These experts are trained extensively to adapt to diverse work cultures and manage complex bookkeeping functions. They can work as a seamless extension of your time and help your firm grow effectively.

Battling Scalability Issues with Outsourced Bookkeeping

 

Each year, the competition in the global business world grows severely. Accountants with small and mid-sized practices constantly struggle to beat large firms and scale their practice. To add to it, the growing staffing issues have further slowed down small practices’ efforts to attract new clients and retain the existing ones.

According to a 2020 Sage survey of accountants and bookkeepers, 87% of accountants agree that clients demand more today than five years ago. The pressure to provide more at lower prices and survive the ever-growing competition is real and exhausting. Therefore, it has become imperative for growth-focused practices to broaden their scope and add new services to their portfolio.

Adding new services, however, is a highly time and resource-intensive process. Since accounting firms struggle on both fronts, outsourced bookkeeping services can be a viable solution.

Outsourcing your bookkeeping function helps free up your in-house team and thus generates capacity. Your team can then focus on value-based services such as advisory and legal, which are in huge demand by clients.

Clients prefer working with a single provider to teaming up with multiple vendors for different services. When you offer a complete package of services, coupled with value-based additions such as advisory and legal, your chances of attracting new clients increase manifold.

Value-based services can earn good profits for an accountancy firm. Further, adding new clients guarantees a steady flow of income throughout the year. Thus, outsourced bookkeeping can help practices cut unnecessary costs, build capacity, earn profits, and scale effectively.

Must Read: An Accountant’s Guide to Outsourced Bookkeeping Services

The UK Outsourcing Scenario: Offshoring Vs. Onshoring

 

Outsourcing helps put an end to accountancy firms’ staffing and scalability issues. But if you plan to use outsourced bookkeeping services as a medium of cost savings, the offshoring versus onshoring debate is critical for you.

Hiring onshore professionals may be convenient for a practice in terms of collaboration and communication. However, if we are to focus on cost savings, offshoring is the most effective solution.

Offshore outsourcing helps accountants save big on labor costs as opposed to onshoring. This is the primary reason accountancy firms in the UK outsource bookkeeping services to India. In addition to competitive pricing, Indian accountants and bookkeepers are known for their up-to-date industry knowledge, technical expertise, and unparalleled dedication.

Dedicated Outsourced Bookkeeping Services with QXAS

QXAS is a leading outsourcing company specialising in dedicated outsourced bookkeeping for accountants and accountancy practices. We offer customised staffing solutions for growth-focused practices and help increase their capacity to scale.

Our undying passion for growth and commitment to excellence has helped us grow from a 5-member startup to a leader in accounting outsourcing. Our values and dedicated team of experts are what set us apart. Here’s how QXAS can help scale your business.

• Committed team of 1000+ accountants and bookkeepers
• India’s first GDPR and ISO 27701 compliant accounting outsourcing company
• Fully compliant with ISO 27001 for information security and ISO 9001 for quality
• Dedicated engagement models for client success
• Leader in IAOP’s 2022 Global Outsourcing 100 List for eight consecutive years
• Professionally affiliated with prestigious organisations like ICAEW and ACCA

To learn more about our services, call +44 208 146 0808, drop us an email at [email protected], or log on to Outsourced Accounting, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services | QXAS UK (qxaccounting.com).