Burnout is a very real concern for many professions, with employees and leaders struggling to find that sweet spot between not being overwhelmed at work, and having enough down time in which to enjoy life outside of the office.

Within the accounting industry, striking the perfect balance between work and life is just as tricky, with burnout responsible for many sick days and empty offices. Fortunately, there is a new way to relieve some of the burden felt by accounting professionals (and a whole host of other professionals), and that’s known as outsourcing.

Although not an entirely new concept, services such as outsourced bookkeeping for CPAs have gained momentum in recent decades, and are helping accountants not just lighten their loads, but redefine them altogether.

What is outsourced bookkeeping?

Many bookkeeping tasks – despite being essential – are time consuming and repetitive. By delegating these tasks to specialists employed by outsourcing agencies, accountants can focus their time and energy on other areas of their business that typically generate more revenue, such as advisory and strategic planning services.

Outsourcing enables you to pay for the work you ask to be carried out and nothing more, affording you the convenience of additional staff, without the need to hire them, which can be a costly and time consuming process.

How can outsourced bookkeeping help accountants restore their work/life balance?

  • By relieving them of time-consuming tasks

Often bogging down in-house accounting teams, the repetitive and time-consuming tasks typically associated with bookkeeping, can easily be managed by an outsourced bookkeeping service. This then gives in-house teams the opportunity to reclaim lost hours spent entering data, for example, and spend them on higher value tasks, or on some much-needed down time outside of the office.

  • By enabling them to focus on high-value tasks

Outsourced bookkeeping gives accountants the bandwidth to deploy their skills and knowledge in other areas of the business, such as offering advisory services, which are not only more fulfilling and engaging, but which add more value to their roles.

  • By giving them the flexibility to scale up and down as needed

Scaling your CPA firms operations couldn’t be easier with outsourcing, something that can be especially useful during busy periods, such as tax season and year-end. By helping accountants manage their workload without having to take on permanent staff, the ease of scalability offered by outsourcing, can help prevent teams from becoming over-burdened.

  • By reducing burnout and increasing job satisfaction

Burnout is a huge problem for accountants, in a profession associated with high stress levels and long hours. When outsourcing alleviates some of the burden of their workload, however, accountants can be more productive in the office, enjoy more of their free time, and feel more satisfied in their roles overall.

  • By promoting a work culture of support

When outsourcing is integrated into a CPA firms operational strategy, this sends a clear signal to employees that you are committed to their wellbeing, and that you value their services enough to help them achieve a balance between their work and their personal life.

So much more than an operational decision, outsourced bookkeeping services can play a significant role in creating a work environment for accountants that’s healthier, and in forming employees who are motivated and productive thanks to a better work/life balance.