Are you new to outsourced accounting? Like any learning process, it’s important to begin with the right expectations.
Since launching Enkel, I am often faced with customers that have had limited experience with outsourcing business operations. As much as small business owners and entrepreneurs like the idea of outsourcing certain non-core functions, they often don’t understand how and why it should be different than having an employee complete similar work.
I’ll highlight some of the common misconceptions that I see in regards to outsourcing services such as bookkeeping and accounting, and then provide details around what to expect when outsourcing your bookkeeping functions.
Alignment of Expectations
When you outsource a function of your business, being aligned on expectations with your service provider is essential. Alignment allows both the service provider and the client to ensure that they can easily identify successes and failures. This is actually one of the biggest benefits of outsourcing - once your parameters are defined, you can simply focus on results.
At Enkel, we like to spend a lot of time discussing processes with our clients. We map out the details of what we need you to do in order for us to deliver your month end reporting on time. Then, we’ll clearly outline what our role is, so that our clients are clear on exactly what services they can expect.
Value-Based Pricing
Cost is always a key influencer when businesses decide to try outsourcing functions. Outsourcing allows an organization to lower costs, improve balance sheets, reduce business risk and expand on their capabilities.
Value-based pricing refers to when providers set the price of a service based on the benefits it provides to their clients, rather than the actual cost of the service. Instead of charging clients an hourly rate, many outsourced services will offer flat rate packages. Forget worrying about driving up your bill every time you need your service providers—simply select a package that works for your business.
Collaborative Workflow
Cloud-based software such as QuickBooks Online and Xero allow you to work from anywhere—whether you’re at your office computer, home computer or mobile device, you can access your data. This makes collaborating with an outsourced team easier than ever.
Ultimately, outsourcing your non-core functions allows you to free up time to focus on what you do best. However, in order to maximize your outsourced services, you’ll need to know what your involvement in the process will be. For example, at Enkel we require our clients to send us their invoices in order for us to process payments. We’re able to help you automate your invoices, making life far easier! But if we don’t receive the invoice, we can’t complete your reconciliation.
Process Buy-In
Process development takes considerable time on the part of the service provider, and as the client, you will benefit from having in-depth discussions around processes. It will bring clarity to the whole picture.
Our processes for providing quality monthly financial reporting have been developed with our clients’ best interests in mind. We’re happy to explain the logic behind our processes, because your buy-in is essential to our providing a strong service.
Outsourcing your non-core functions is a powerful way to begin improving and growing your business. Your time is valuable—learn how you can focus more of it on what you do best! We’re happy to talk with you about your unique business goals, and how outsourced financial services can empower you to grow.
How We Select and Evaluate Our Recommended Software
We thoroughly research and test the apps we include in our regular workflow for Client bookkeeping services. After deciding on criteria for evaluating the software and then researching the app itself, we tested the app, noting its strengths and weaknesses. We then work with the app for at least a few weeks before deciding whether to recommend it to our readers. We use the software as it was designed for its intended tasks. For a detailed walk-through of how we select and evaluate software, please see the details of our process.
