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Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourced Accounting Services

Would your business benefit by using outsourced accounting services instead of an internal accounting department or a CPA firm? Good accounting provides your business with the information it needs to make better decisions, stay in compliance with regulations, and maintain your company's image with employees, potential investors, and the public. It also helps you manage cash flow, make certain employees get paid on time, and keep up with accounts receivable. Very often, the difference between thriving and struggling companies lies in their accounting practices.

At the same time, most executives and business owners need to balance these benefits against their budgets. Outsourced accounting services have grown much more popular lately with companies off all sizes because they can provide an affordable, scalable, and effective way to enjoy the benefits of good accounting practices. Take just a moment to explore the pros and cons of outsourced accounting services to see if they can benefit you.

Benefits of Outsourced Accounting Services

Accounting needs change over time. For many companies, they can even vary wildly by the season. This underscores many of the benefits of outsourced accounting for many businesses.

For instance:

  • With an internal accounting department, you will need to spend time and money on hiring and overhead. Declining needs might require layoffs and of course, the associated unpleasantness and potential damage to your brand.
  • If you call upon a CPA firm, they may focus upon taxes, compliance, and financial statements but offer limited resources for such important tasks as bookkeeping and managerial accounting. During certain seasons, such as tax time, you may struggle to access any resources at all.
  • If plan to keep the books for your own small business, the effort of filing taxes and doing payroll can distract you from your core business. That will limit your ability to either do a good job or attend other vital tasks.

With outsourced accounting companies, you can always choose from a flexible menu of services. These could range from accounting specialists to controllers. Your services company will work with you as a partner to supply you with advice and resources when you require them.

If you need CPAs, a high-quality outsourced accounting company will partner with them. If you're not experienced with business accounting, an outsourced accounting services company can do everything from setting up your accounting system, providing security, providing you with financial statements and analytics, to keeping your routine books and more. Better yet, you will have a team of professionals to call upon when you need them and release when you don't.

Potential Pitfalls of Outsourced Accounting Services

Your company has its own business processes, and while a good outsourced service will try to conform, they will come with their own methods and processes. You'll also lose the ability to visit an office down the hall for instant reports. In that way, you may feel like you lose some control and sense of having your finger on the button at all times.

Of course, your high-quality accounting partner should have an account manager you can contact, plus routine reports that you can rely upon. Make certain that you set expectations and find the communication policies acceptable before you choose your outsourced service.

Also, scope creep can impact various types of accounting projects. As one task ends up leading to others, your charges may increase along with the expansion of the projects. When that happens, some business owners and executives have a hard time understanding and predicting their bills. To avoid this, you'll need to ensure the service has transparent and predictable billing practices.

Is Outsourced Accounting the Best Choice for Your Business?

For a scalable, cost-effective, and reliable way to get vital accounting tasks done, you should consider outsourced accounting for your business. While in-house accounting departments and CPA firms have their place, an outsourced accounting company will give you a flexible, budget-friendly way to get exactly the services that you need. Some small business owners may not even know exactly what kind of services they need, and a good accounting services company can provide direction with this as well.

Request a demo today to see how AccountingDepartment.com can assist you with your accounting needs!

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