Accounting firms offer vital services that can range from tax consulting through to audit preparation, and demand for their expertise and assistance is always high. But such high workloads are only ever good for an accounting firm if they’re able to manage all other areas of their business, too; as soon as they begin to get bogged down in internal processes, such as bookkeeping, their work tends to suffer and clients are let down with growing frequency.
But, by outsourcing some of these back office responsibilities, accounting firms can help reduce the pressure felt by their in-house team, and allow them to focus on their core workload.
If your accounting firm is struggling to keep its head above water and suffering with any (or all) of the problems listed below, outsourced bookkeeping and accounting could provide an affordable and convenient solution:
- A workload that’s overwhelming
If your in-house team are finding it difficult to manage their daily duties and meet their deadlines, it’s a sure sign that something needs to change. Mistakes and a general lack of quality, could lose you clients, and impact your firm’s bottom line.
2. No qualified bookkeepers available
Hiring a bookkeeper to work in-house alongside your team might seem like a good idea, but with a shortage of qualified professionals, once you factor in training and salary, it doesn’t seem like a smart solution when compared with outsourcing.
3. Anxiety during tax season
If your firm’s books aren’t in order due to the intensity of your workload, tax season could prove an anxious time for everyone in the office, and anxiety generally doesn’t promote productivity or wellbeing.
4. Operational costs are rising
When you factor in salaries and benefits, training and infrastructure, an in-house team of accountants can be quite the financial burden, particularly for smaller or new firms.
5. Data security is an increasing concern
You might not realise it, but outsourcing can actually help keep both your company’s and your clients data more secure, particularly when cloud-based software and systems are used, and you work with an experienced, discreet and reputable service provider.
6. Core services are suffering
If your internal team of accountants are struggling to keep on top of routine back office bookkeeping and accounting tasks, their core services may begin to suffer, as could the company’s bottom line.
7. Compliance is becoming increasingly challenging
With so many complexities and frequent changes concerning accounting and bookkeeping nowadays, remaining complaint at all times and avoiding penalties and fines, can be challenging, particularly when an in-house team is already feeling overloaded in terms of their work.
8. Quality is becoming inconsistent
An accounting firms’ reputation can easily be harmed when it starts to offer an inconsistent level of service to its clients, due to inefficiencies internally.
9. Workflow isn’t efficient
Delivering your accounting services in an accurate and timely fashion to clients is paramount if your firm is to succeed, but if your workflows are disrupted or disorderly due to procedural inefficiencies or a lack of resources, you could be putting your entire company at risk.
10. You’re not able to scale up
When your accounting firm starts to grow, your bookkeeping and back office responsibilities will grow too. If you can’t adapt quickly and efficiently to such growth, everything will start to suffer.
Any one of these problems should get your accounting firm thinking about finding an appropriate solution, and fast. Fortunately, outsourced bookkeeping and accounting is something that can help with a wide range of difficulties growing firms may be struggling with, and is often a much more affordable and convenient solution that simply taking on more in-house staff.
