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Learn which outsourced accounting support tasks can be integrated in your business, how to integrate these, and the benefits you’ll reap from outsourcing.
How to integrate outsourced accounting support into your business
03 September 2024
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6 minute read
Outsourcing is a big step for many firms, and for those that are only just starting out on their journeys, it can be difficult to know where or how to start, or how things work.
One common outsourcing service line is called business services – but the name doesn’t give too many hints at what this actually is.
Outsourced business services take on the main scope of tax & year-end compliance work. Whether it’s business or individual entities, outsourced teams can handle anything from preparing financial reports & tax returns to processing purchase and sell transactions of investments.
When should businesses look into outsourced accounting support?
Employees are the biggest asset of any business, especially in times like these where there’s already a scarcity of talent due to the ongoing skills shortages in Australia.
It’s essential to ensure that the skills of your employees are being utilised smartly – but for many businesses, high-level employees are now being bogged down with menial work.
And when high-level employees lose focus, this has knock-on effects across the whole business:
- The quality and output of work suffers as work piles up for teams that can’t handle the volume
- Firms start overspending on attracting and training employees that will most likely leave within a year
- Profit margins begin shrinking, putting unnecessary financial pressure on the business
The truth is that there aren’t enough accountants in Australia right now. So more business owners and leaders are tapping into a highly-qualified and experienced pool of tax accountants offshore to reduce the routine workload of their onshore employees.
So – what outsourced accounting services can be integrated into your business?
Outsourcing providers differ, but some of the most common business services that can be integrated into your business include:
- Business compliance – preparing financial reports & tax returns for companies, trusts, partnerships, sole practitioner, etc; preparation of various statements and reconciliations; and preparation of detailed compliance workpaper files
- Individual tax returns – including rental property schedule, capital gain schedule, small business schedule, etc
- BAS/IAS – reviewing and updating all transactions processed, preparation of bank reconciliation statements & GST reconciliation statements; and preparation of detail workpaper files
- Portfolio administration for investment entities – processing purchase and sell transactions of investments; processing all the transactions of WRAP accounts on regular basis or on yearly basis; processing year end tax statements for the distribution income received from investments made in trust and managed funds
A competent service provider is good enough to deal with even the complex web of scores of interlinked group entities & their tax returns including investment transaction processing.
Most providers will work with you in two ways:
- Job-based commitment model: you’ll pay a fixed fee per job you send to the outsourced provider
- Resourced-based commitment model: your business will have a full-time dedicated resource working 35-40 hours per week
At SuperRecords, we’re seeing clients move over to a job-based commitment model because it’s more flexible (you can scale up or down as needed, which is beneficial with seasonal work), you don’t need to pay extra for complex work, and fees are fixed so profit margins stay the same.
Your provider can also be much more than just a vendor. Depending on experience and expertise level, providers can integrate to become a partner that streamlines workflow processes, advises on software and technology upgrades, and grows with your business.
What’s the best way to integrate outsourced accounting support?
With 17 years of experience, it’s safe to say that SuperRecords has seen it all. And our teams are well versed in helping clients onboard quickly and effectively.
Our Business Services Partner Harsh Shah and Director Prashant Chauhan recommend three steps to ensure a successful integration:
1. Clarify expectations at the start
Many clients come to an outsourcing provider with preconceived expectations about what can be delivered. This often happens because providers aren’t clear on deliverables from the get go, or clients don’t give themselves enough time to acclimatise to a new way of working.
The best way to tackle this is to have a clear discussion with your chosen provider on what you want from them and how you can work together, as well as allow enough time for optimisation. It’s important to have clear goals for outsourcing so that your provider can work with you on meeting them.
2. Engage your employees during the process
Include your employees during the process and help them get to know the offshore team they’ll be working with. You can discuss your goals for outsourcing with them, emphasising that they’ll actually have more time to do higher level work and bring more value to the business.
3. Find the right provider for your business
Unfortunately, not all outsourcing providers are the same. Many firms find that their provider isn’t as responsive as they’d hoped, their offshore staff aren’t as qualified as promised, or that their work isn’t up to standard.
Here’s what Harsh & Prashant recommend looking for in an outsourcing provider:
- Dedicated account managers – how responsive will they be and how often will they check-in with you? Do managers review all work before it gets turned in?
- Qualified and trained staff that can hit the ground running – are offshore teams provided with ongoing training? Does the provider hire experienced and seasoned staff?
- High security levels and easy communication – does the provider ensure the safety of the data you share with them? How do they manage projects and communications – via email or via a portal?
Outsourcing accounting support can help grow your business
Outsourcing helps firms to survive, sustain, and grow their business in this competitive environment. Our Business Services team has worked with thousands of Australian businesses and we’ve seen many of them boost capacity, reduce admin time, and increase their profit margins by an estimated 50%.
We’ve worked with a sole practitioner CPA that was struggling to manage their business due to constant client calls. The practitioner engaged SuperRecords to help manage inhouse workflow and take care of admin and processing. The practitioner now only needs to review the work our team sends back, so they can spend more time with their clients. We’ve seen this client double in size thanks to outsourcing.
Another firm we’ve supported was struggling to manage IT access as they were using desktop-only applications – remote server applications were costing the business too much. Our team advised on the software upgrades and best practices that the firm could implement. And thanks to these upgrades, the firm now saves on costs and reduces admin time spent on IT issues.
Start your accounting outsourcing journey today
SuperRecords’s Business Services team has been a partner to thousands of Australian financial service firms and has supported them with a multitude of accounting support work.
With a flexible & cost-effective job model, fully qualified offshore teams, and a secure workflow portal that makes it easy to manage jobs, you can get your time back and focus on more critical matters.
If you’d like to learn more, you can book a chat with our specialists today.
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