Bookkeeping is bookkeeping, irrespective of whether your firm gets bookkeeping tasks done from in-house resources or offshore bookkeepers who work remotely for your firm. Bookkeeping outsourcing is the process of sending traditional bookkeeping tasks such as maintaining financial records to an outsourced bookkeeping staff. This is a more convenient, cost-effective, and time-saving option wherein you can quickly scale your bookkeeping staff without worrying about talent shortages or not being able to attract the right talent.
It is a good idea for businesses irrespective of their size. Small accounting firms do not have the resources to scale and therefore cannot get more work done, which impacts their profitability. They can outsource bookkeeping services to offshore bookkeepers, who offer them a substantial cost advantage over in-house bookkeepers and also the opportunity to benefit from flexible scalability. They can scale up when they foresee bookkeeping tasks coming their way and scale down in lean season. From the mid and large firms’ perspective, these firms must transition to being advisors to clients rather than just vanilla accounting firms. For this to happen, they must move their compliance tasks like bookkeeping to bookkeeping outsourcing services providers. This will free up valuable time that can be spent exploring newer and more high-profile growth avenues.
The first step towards your outsourced bookkeeper is knowing why you are looking for a remote staffing solution to your bookkeeping needs and the efficiencies you want to achieve. This will enable you to zero in on the right bookkeepers. Most outsourced bookkeeping services providers will be sending your regular emails about their services. Keep an eye out for them and prepare a list of providers. Also, search for outsourcing providers on the internet and add to this list. Browse their sites and check their case studies, customer testimonials, accreditations, cybersecurity posture, and more. Prune your list based on your findings and set up a meeting with them or ask for a quote. This will allow you to speak to the executives who will offer more clarity on their bookkeeping services, the qualifications of the bookkeepers, and more. You are also offered a choice of engagement models, and you then pick the outsourced bookkeeping provider who suits your needs best.
The cost of these services differs from one provider to another. It would help if you worked out why you want to hire the services of a bookkeeper for a specific number of hours or the amount of bookkeeping work demands you sign up for a Full-Time Equivalent model. The choice is yours, and this choice drives the costs.
Yes, if the firm is as concerned about the security of your financial data as you are. Work with a bookkeeping outsourcing services provider who is SOC 2, GDPR certified and further strengthens its cybersecurity posture with other certifications that prove that your data is safe.