Outsourced accounting is a way of approaching accounting tasks for small and mid-sized businesses through a more cost-effective structure than hiring full-time employees or leaning on a CPA. By outsourcing repetitive and automatable tasks, companies can benefit from consistent accounting work and shift the internal team’s focus towards more strategic projects.

There are many cost advantages to outsourcing accounting work; however, the reasons to choose an outsourced accounting approach don’t limit themselves to a beneficial cost structure. Companies will choose to outsource accounting to have their full-time employees focus on more strategic work and gain the expertise of accountants that understand the nuances of their industry and the ever-changing landscape of accounting rules. A company might also look to outsource accounting tasks to improve the operational processes that provide the needed financial visibility to make more informed business decisions. 

The services provided by outsourced accounting firms will vary depending on the needs of the business pursuing the partnership. At Decimal, we take an operation-first mentality to accounting challenges to build the right approach for your business. Some of those services include daily reconciliation, monthly close of books, bill pay support, payroll coordination, and more. All the operations that make up your accounting department are activities that Decimal can help with. The goal at the end of the day is to see the state of the business in real-time with consistent and accurate financial information while spending less time and resources to accomplish the task. How we accomplish it depends on the makeup of the business! 

Instead of hiring a full-time employee to handle accounting and bookkeeping tasks, a company can outsource accounting work to firms that provide various accounting services. Once a business decides to outsource, they then can choose what accounting functions they would like to get help with. Some companies prefer only to have help with daily reconciliation, while others want to have the bulk of the accounting work taken care of. Once the scope is agreed upon, the business can begin implementing the new processes and offloading the accounting tasks to their new accounting partners.

The cost of outsourcing accounting will vary depending on the services provided. The variables that typically impact the price of an outsourced accounting solution are the monthly volume of expenses, cash vs. accrual, size of the business, and complexity of the operations. Generally speaking, the cost of outsourced accounting is seen as much lower than a full-time hire, as discussed in our blog, In-House Vs. Outsourced Accounting. 

When looking at outsourced accounting solutions, the first aspect to consider is the scope of service being offered. One person’s definition of bookkeeping can be drastically different from another. Beyond the scope of work, it’s important to consider whether this solution will act responsively and proactively address concerns before they get out of control. With all this in mind, pay attention to the pricing structure and whether the cost is a reflection of hours worked or if it will be fixed each month. At Decimal, we pride ourselves in having the best accountants that feel as if they are a part of your team while also finding the best ways to surface new financial insights into your business, all for a fixed monthly price. Pay careful attention to the contract agreements to make sure you won’t get surprises in the next invoice.  

Outsourced accounting can supplement an existing financial team by handling repetitive and often automatable tasks. With the required busy work no longer taking up the team’s time, finance professionals can spend more time diving into the financials to provide strategic guidance, find areas to improve margins, and better share information with the broader team. When a team doesn’t have to focus on the day-to-day tasks, they can focus on projects that will bring about a long-term, lasting impact. Our current customer, Bob Brown with Majestic Stone Imports, most likely said it best in our case study, “The less time we have to spend on the past, the more time we have to spend on the future. We're doing a lot more forward-thinking now in terms of projecting where we're going. We're spending time working on next week, next month, and next year as opposed to last week, last month, and last year.”

Outsourced accounting firms can often handle tax compliance and planning. At Decimal, we leverage an extensive partner network to find the best tax solutions for our customers based on the uniqueness of their industry, the business model in place, and any regulatory requirements that are in place. This makes it easy for you to handle all accounting needs from a single resource that can build the ecosystem.

At Decimal, we’ll help you with your books the month you sign on. However, the full benefits of revised processes, new technology, and historical cleanup can take a bit longer. While the process might be something that you want to get done and off your plate as quickly as possible, we want to fully understand the way your business operates as well as your goals in order to build the right approach for your financial operations. This way, your business can continue to improve processes that work alongside the goals of other departments and not just for the benefit of the accounting department.

Outsourced accounting is one of the best ways to help a business scale because it provides the right resources and support from a team rather than one full-time employee at each stage of the business’s growth. It’s often much less expensive than hiring a full-time employee to handle the same tasks. Decimal's approach is to document processes and identify the best practices to work with your operations as you grow. Instead of relying on an in-house accountant to document processes, recruit another accountant, train them and still get their day-to-day tasks completed, it’s much easier to work with an approach designed to scale that prevents any single point of failure.