The success of any firm depends on having current financial records. However, as a startup business owner, you should prioritise other important activities and spend your time building your company rather than entering data into a spreadsheet.
Additionally, most startups lack a large enough financial services team to implement all the growth plans necessary for their expansion.
Outsourcing small business accounting, bookkeeping, and chief financial officer (CFO) services is a popular alternative among businesses that want to lower their overhead costs while also increasing productivity.
What is outsourcing, and why do it?
Delegating work, procedures, or services to outside, unbiased parties is the practice of outsourcing.
There are lots of reasons for businesses to choose outsourcing. Initially, it permits cost reduction by accessing cheaper labour markets or economies of scale provided by outside service providers.
Secondarily, as specialised experts manage non-essential services, it enables businesses to concentrate on their core capabilities and strategic initiatives.
Thirdly, outsourcing small business accounting allows access to technical information and experience that might not be easily accessible internally.
Benefits of Outsourcing for Small Business Accounting
- You’ll save money:
One of the motivations for outsourcing is the need to control costs so that your business remains to control costs so that your business may remain viable. Because outsourced workers often cost less than ordinary full-time employees, outsourcing enables you to reduce overhead costs by eliminating the need to pay for salary and perks like retirement, vacation time, and health insurance. Furthermore, you won't need to invest money in tools and software to manage accounting and financial procedures.
- You get access to experts:
Accounting errors can have severe effects on a business, such as fines, cash flow concerns, or even an authority inquiry. When you outsource tasks like accounting, bookkeeping, and CFO services, you have access to a team of experienced and highly skilled specialists who use the most recent technology and procedures to guarantee that your data is correct and secure.
- You’ll have time to scale your business:
You could probably spend an entire day working on the nitty-gritty of your job, from hiring new employees and calculating payroll taxes to managing your accounts receivables and paying invoices.
Your main responsibilities as a business owner are to take care of the systems that generate revenue and to grow your company. You can spend more time concentrating on your company's core competencies by outsourcing crucial activities. By outsourcing for small business accounting, you may concentrate on your strengths while leaving support tasks to skilled outside contractors.
- By nature, outsourcing is flexible:
Due to its inherent flexibility, outsourcing can be adjusted to suit a company's changing demands. Multiple variables contribute to this adaptability. Scalability through outsourcing enables businesses to change resources in response to changes in demand. It ensures optimal utilisation by facilitating the efficient deployment of resources. Second, outsourcing gives you the freedom to concentrate on your key capabilities while leaving non-essential tasks in the hands of knowledgeable outside contractors.
This reallocation of resources boosts production and enables companies to benefit from outside expertise. The ability to access talent pools around the world and run operations around-the-clock are further benefits of outsourcing. Finally, contractual flexibility enables modifications to outsourcing agreements to meet changing requirements. Overall, outsourcing's intrinsic flexibility gives firms the ability to adapt swiftly to market changes, streamline processes, and increase operational agility.
- You have improved internal control:
According to a 2012 report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, small businesses with fewer than 100 employees are the most prevalent targets of fraud, and the average loss is a staggering $147,000. This is so that most small firms can't reach a CFO or accountant who could look for unusual activity in the transactional and billing data. Hiring a specialised team of accounting professionals to review your books and transaction reports thoroughly can lower the likelihood of fraud. Additionally, it lessens the possibility of book manipulation.
- You get enhanced data security:
If your business is like the majority, you have access to a tonne of private data saved on your computers, including the salaries and Social Security numbers of your employees as well as your tax information. Private information about consumers is also kept on file by a number of firms, including credit card information, invoicing information, and more. Startups frequently find themselves working long hours to implement advanced security programmes to keep this information well-protected, and even then, they could fail to notice a security update that makes it public knowledge.
If you deal with an outsourcing organisation, this problem won't arise because they will use cybersecurity programmes to guarantee that your data is safeguarded, encrypted, and secure. Your papers will be accessible whenever you need them via shared servers or the cloud, but only when accessed via a secure connection that cannot be compromised.
The added benefits of outsourcing CFO services
Compared to an external accountant and bookkeeper, an external CFO does a lot more tasks.
An outsourced CFO is a finance specialist by training who provides high-level, strategic services on a project-by-project or part-time basis, such as working on systems design and analysis as well as operational optimisation.
Advantages of hiring a CFO that can help you improve your company's financial situation.
- Cash flow management:
A CFO is essential in analysing profit and loss statements and creating plans to get around financial challenges faced by a company. The CFO can spot areas where profitability might be improved and fix inefficiencies by carefully studying financial data. To identify chances for improvement, they can analyse revenue sources.
- Strategy and planning:
A capable CFO greatly influences the direction of your organisation's strategy, and a capable CFO greatly influences the planning of your organisation's goals and objectives. They concentrate on the demands for immediate performance and offer advice on long-term strategic planning and solutions that are specifically designed to improve your business.
The CFO makes sure your company is on course for success in the constantly changing business environment by creating financial projections and offering customised recommendations.
- Growth and exit strategies:
An external CFO may assist with the creation of all necessary paperwork, such as business plans and forecasts, to help your company develop or get ready to sell. Using this knowledge, your company may be able to secure favourable investment or lending terms or a sizable premium on a sale.
- Financial planning:
Choose to go public or combine with another company. To ensure a smooth transition, the outsourced CFO can create and implement plans to handle challenging financial times and unexpected growth. Setting firm goals, doing market research and analysis, creating a sales and marketing plan, establishing an accounting and financial management system, looking for ways to secure startup finance, and other financial planning tasks are all things that an outsourced CFO can assist with.
- Accurate and timely financial information:
The outsourced CFO makes certain that the company they are managing receives accurate and timely financial information. You can be sure that the information supplied is correct since an expert has reviewed the financial statements and other crucial financial papers.
- Review customer contracts:
An outside CFO offers crucial advice to business owners on closing profitable deals and examining client agreements. They advise on contract clauses that are in line with the interests of the business and point out any risks that could result in losses. The external CFO's advice guarantees that contracts are rigorously evaluated, safeguarding the business's financial stability.
- Process improvement:
The month-end reporting timeframes, the credit and collections procedures, the client onboarding procedures, the lead time to revenue, and the lead creation are just a few of the business processes that CFOs may enhance. You can maximise the return on your marketing expenditures by outsourcing your CFO's services and using the results to review and adjust your marketing plans. You could use the time you would have spent on financial matters if you hired an external CFO to drive innovation and product development instead.
- Specialised restructuring advice:
Specialised CFO tasks become essential during big adjustments like course redirection or restructuring that is growth-oriented. Generic financial knowledge might not be sufficient, needing the participation of an external CFO who can concentrate on the particular responsibilities at hand. They evaluate the financial ramifications, create specialised plans of action, and maximise resources throughout the transformation. Their specialised understanding enables your business to handle change and efficiently exploit expansion possibilities.
The Future belongs to outsourcing Small Business Accounting
Many business owners have had to review their core operational procedures, including spending and remote working arrangements, as a result of COVID-19.
It's time for many entrepreneurs to outsource because they've realised how important it is to keep a laser-sharp focus on lean operations.
As businesses try to reduce their full-time workforces and find ways to save money while still fostering growth, the pandemic has made outsourcing of a number of functions more crucial than ever.
Although it can be difficult to imagine a world without COVID-19, the pandemic will eventually pass, and your business will resume achieving its objectives.
Your needs in accounting, tax compliance, accounts payable, and finance will probably increase as a result.
With no lag time, the outsourcing company will be able to add more people or hours to meet the needs of your expanding business.
Conclusion
Instead of negotiating with staff members and placing recruiting ads, it is possible to get four hours' worth of accounting assistance on Monday but realise you'll need nine hours by Wednesday.
Additionally, you won't have to invest in hiring accounting and finance staff as your company grows.
Instead, you should simply inform the outsourcing company of your new needs, and they will scale up your operations to meet them.
Think about working with Especia if you need dependable and effective outsourced accounting services.
Especia can assist with streamlining your accounting procedures, ensuring tax compliance, and offering insightful financial information thanks to their knowledge and adaptability.
By contracting with Especia for your accounting needs, you can grow your company and concentrate on what you do best.
