Successfully managing the finances of your business is crucial to the overall success of your business. It’s also challenging, given the complexity of the legal obligations and emotive, as the topic of money is often hugely personal. When a business is starting, you usually manage your own finances, and you find a way to make do. That’s understandable but, when the business grows, you’ll have the option to pay someone else to manage it for you. There can be great benefits to opting to outsource your bookkeeping and payroll rather than employ someone in-house.

What does outsourcing involve?

Outsourcing is where you use an external individual or organisation to support, or completely manage, an element of your business. Generally speaking, companies tend to use this for the non-core aspects of their business. This is why you often hear of people outsourcing things like IT, admin, payroll, bookkeeping, or HR. Unless, of course, you’re a business that offers one of these services.

Specifically, bookkeeping involves managing the daily financial tasks e.g., bank reconciliations, chasing payment for invoices, and processing sales or supplier payments. It also involves tasks such as your quarterly VAT returns and annual accounts.

Someone managing payroll – crucial to employee engagement and fulfilling legal obligations – can reduce your involvement down to confirming the gross pay of employees at the start and making the monthly payments.

Both services are business-critical so finding the right organisation to manage this carefully for you is essential.

What to look for when outsourcing bookkeeping and payroll

Finding the right provider for your bookkeeping and/or payroll is hugely important.
There are several factors we suggest you consider when looking for your outsourced provider.

Bookkeeping and/or payroll

Before considering your options, be clear in your mind about your requirements.
Is it payroll, bookkeeping, or both? Some organisations will only offer the two services as a
package whereas others, such as T&M, allow the flexibility to choose either payroll or bookkeeping.

Using a company vs. an individual

Some great sole traders offer these services. The drawback to working with an individual is exactly that – you’re reliant on one person. If they fall ill or take some holiday, you’ll be left without support. Whereas a company, with a larger team, offers greater security as there will always be someone you can reach, and support will always be available.

Experience

Given the importance of managing your business’ finances, you need to find someone with
the necessary experience. Experience can mean different things:

• The number of years.
• Working with businesses in the same sector as you.
• Clients who are a similar size as you.

Finding someone who can offer all three of these would be helpful as it will maximise the benefit to your business.

Working together

You’ll need to develop a close working relationship with your bookkeeping and payroll provider. There also needs to be a lot of trust; you’re letting them into the business after all. In the same way that you’d make sure that an employee is a good fit within the team, you need to do the same when outsourcing.

Familiarity with the right software

Finally, check out what software the provider uses for their bookkeeping and payroll to ensure
that it’s a safe, effective option. For example, Xero is one of the industry leaders, which is why
we’re a Gold Champion Partner with them.

If you’re interested in finding out about how we work with companies who outsource to us, it’d be great to hear from you.