Finance and Accounting Outsourcing services have been consistently growing from the time when it first began in the early 1990s. In the initial days the companies that outsourced this type of work were mainly from the USA.

When more companies around the globe began to realize the service advantages of outsourcing, work started flowing even from other parts of the world.

With both technology and communication becoming cheaper, a number of mid-sized companies now find it fairly easy to have the advantages of lower costs and better services by outsourcing accounting operations.

With enforcement of strict financial laws globally, it has become critical to manage your spending carefully to meet financial goals of your company throughout the year.

A knowledgeable outsourced accountant can help you to attain these goals in a smooth way as well as in lesser time. He can help you to take life changing decisions for your business success.   

Explore professionals online or take a reference from your network for choosing a quality service Provider. Once you have the complete list of service providers in your hands, you should assess each one based on the advantages they are offering through their services and ask them questions in each of the following categories:

​Immediate response

​The bookkeeper should respond you timely. He should be able to understand the key aspects of accounting in the verbal communication as well as on the mail too. A slow response rate can create crisis in many situations.

​A good communicator

​Communication is the key to successful accounting. His communication skills will create a huge impact for you and your company.

​Many companies are not flexible enough when they manage an outsourced provider and deal with them more strictly than their in-house resources are managed.

​Being Professional

​Many companies are not flexible enough when they manage an outsourced provider and deal with them more strictly than their in-house resources are managed.

So the accountant should be highly professional. He must be open to his past projects and references which can give insights about his professional qualities.

​Being Competitive

​The service provider should become a competitor in his market. He should be aware of the news trends, technology or news related to finance connected to your industry. At the end of the day, he is going to play a vital role in the financial success of your company.

• ​Being Certified Bookkeeper
  

​He should have a certificate from the relevant institute. He should have complete information and field knowledge; ultimately he will not only provide you his services but also give you expert consultation in your business.

​Regular updates

​The service provider should immediately inform and update you about micro and macro expenses about the firm. This will help you to put forward your financial plans while taking any big decision for your firm.

​Multi tasked

​The service provider should be committed to do multi-tasking if required. There is no use of outsourcing if he can’t spend extra time in multitasking of your accounting projects. He should be ready to put extra efforts for your company account when needed.

​Excellence in work

​It is one of the most important aspects while hiring an outsourced services provider. He should be able to deliver work on time and should be hard working to offer the best work.

​Culture compatibility

​It is quite an important aspect while outsourcing a service provider that he or she should be able to understand you and your employees well. He should be able to manage everything smoothly without disturbing your in-house work set-up.

​Good technology and latest software’s

​The accountant should use best accounting software solutions like Quickbooks to offer you the finest and secure work outputs. 

He should provide you complete tracking, invoicing, expense monitoring and online billing solutions.

They should not be using outdated software tools; if they are using them it is not safe for you and your firm when he will be sharing financial information on the e-mail attachments. He should offer you a paperless reporting experience.

• Steady Track Record

Does the outsourced service provider have a good and proven industry track record?

Checking the number of years of business operation and number of clients the service provider is serving are important. You are much safer when you are dealing with an experienced service provider. If the service provider has lesser experience you need to check its work quality and management of its current clients.

• Service Qualities

Importance of delivering consistent service qualities

The consistency in delivering quality work is more significant than type of work or pricing offered to the service provider. The service provider should be clear that his main objective is your business success and not just dealing out with transactions on a lesser cost.

The service provider should have proficiency in setting-up and managing work processes in order to create better work value that can offer you a competitive advantage on others. There should be no post engagement problems. There should be steadfastness and reliance in his working style. The work commitment should be long term for both the parties.

• Domain Knowledge and Expertise

Checking what type of expertise does your outsourced service provider have is important?

Advanced knowledge and expertise of accounting should be a necessity. A service provider that does not have a related background in the industry may be short of the abilities to fully be on familiar terms with the problem surrounding the client company work. Asking for references is suggested for checking these capabilities. Hearing from current clients in this subject will offer additional insights to this checking process.

​Overall Costing

What are the hourly rates? or What is the cost of outsourcing accounting services?

Costing is one of the key factors in selecting a professional accounting service provider. A service provider with a lower cost does not essentially translate into the finest option. A safer way would be to have additional checks on the quality parameters like a paid pilot project or a sample service output can be a better option. Cost is a key factor to think about in an outsourcing association. However, as we discussed above it alone cannot be viable to continued success of an outsourcing relation in the long run.

• Keep up to SLAs

Why keeping up with Service Level Agreements is a necessity?

While there are many service firms, only some really understand the complete requirements of the clients they are dealing with and offering effective services accordingly. Sometimes the disagreements between the provider firm and the client arise for the reason that there is a misunderstanding in the necessities of the signed business contract. So, it is highly advisable for clients to pick a service firm who will work well with them, be aware of the functioning of the client company, and offer the precise services to keep up with the Service Level Agreement (SLA).

• Work Scalability

Why checking service level scalability is important in the early stages of contract?

 If the primary outsourcing contract goes efficiently, then many organizations consider outsourcing additional work to the same service provider. In such scenarios, the potential levels of the service provider should be measured in early service stages, so that when the organization plans to outsource additional work, the provider would be able to grip and manage it consistently in the long run.

• ​Operations that need close interface with your clients
• Operations that need close interface with higher management
• Operations that need presence in site

Finding the right outsourced accounting partner is extremely important. Attention to the above points will make sure that your partner relationship accomplishes the business goals that are expected. As at the end of the day, he is a partner, who can support you on a long term basis and can be a part of your successful business venture.