Outsourcing May Be The Solution You’re Looking For
You’ve worked hard to build a successful company. But at the end of the day, do you ever wonder if you could be doing more? For years, the term “outsourcing” brought to mind American jobs being shipped overseas. Nowadays, the term has taken on a more positive connotation.
Today, many successful businesses are outsourcing a portion of their operations to local service providers in an effort to fuel sustainable growth. In fact, outsourcing has been linked to higher quality service, cost savings and greater convenience for your company – and all jobs are located right here in America.
Many business owners start out thinking they can handle their company’s entire operations. Before long, bookkeeping, accounting, payroll and other back office responsibilities snowball and become overwhelming. As a result, many small- to mid-sized businesses will add to their staff, while others seek out external assistance.
Outsourcing your business’s back office functions can help you focus on developing the company in your vision while generating revenue – freeing you from the responsibility of filing paper, analyzing spreadsheets and paying bills on time.
Although it’s important to have access to professional accounting, finance, HR, IT, legal or marketing personnel, depending on the size of your company, it might not make financial sense to hire people internally to fill these positions full-time. Instead of onboarding a high-priced employee to run your business finances, consider foregoing the costs of hiring (and training and retaining) a new employee and outsource the position instead.
Should You Outsource?
The first step to determining whether outsourcing is right for you is to consider the scenario from all angles.
- Determine what job functions work well internally
- Identify your immediate business needs
- Assess your team’s capabilities and risks
- Consider areas that could benefit from more proficiency
- Think about the risks associated with a lack of specialized expertise, including fraud and compliance issues
After looking at the whole picture, reach out to others who have utilized outsourced professionals to learn about their experience.
How To Hire Outside Service Providers
When hiring outside service providers, securing the lowest cost should not be your only consideration. Instead, be on the lookout for competency and dependability. You’ll need to seek out qualified individuals who can perform the task at hand. Once you’ve researched several companies, make a point to interview the top contenders before making your decision. Then, before any work is started, you’ll want to document the responsibilities of all parties and develop a budget.
Rea offers an array of outsourced services to help your business flourish. Contact me to discuss your situation to see if outsourcing is the right answer for you.
By Matt Long, CPA (Wooster office)
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