Q: How would a business know if they are outgrowing solutions like spreadsheets or QuickBooks? A: Take note of howmuch time your accounting team is spending buried in those systems. Are they spending hours on manual data entry and re-entry? Spreadsheets are just fine when you’re small, but growing businesses will not be able to maintain productivity with them. Manually researching, re-entering, and verifying data that’s already captured elsewhere is a time suck. And they invite errors. Also consider if your reliance on spreadsheets is heavy. Are you exporting data to and from them? Are you setting up dummy accounts and creating additional journal entries each month? These workarounds are inefficient and can even lead to a lack of control and compliance. Q: What other warning signs might there be for a business that should consider outsourcing? A: A major warning sign is if you lack realtime visibility into your metrics. That visibility is essential for making timely decisions that directly impact your performance. Another is if you are struggling to analyze the volume of data you capture. Manipulating high volumes of data at strategic levels can strain your traditional systems. Doing so ismost effectivewith an expert partner. Q: What kinds of cost ramifications are there for businesses that want to keep accounting inhouse versus going outsourced? A: The costs associated with traditional recruiting, hiring, and training a new single employee versus hiring the right outsourced team can save tens of thousands of dollars. An outsourced partner should identify inefficiencies, SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies inaccuracies, and risks that help you focus on your important financial rocks. The partner can fully support you with customized systems and processes that align with your growth goals. There is major ROI in all of that. Q: What are some of the benefits a business should expect from outsourcing accounting services? A: First, the right partner should be leveraging the industry’s top-line technologies. Solutions like Sage Intacct are ones to look for. If your outsourced accounting consultant is a Sage Intacct partner, you’ll soon be well on your way to demonstrably improving efficiencies and cost savings. You can expect your partner to introduce automation that will increase your accounting accuracy and start saving your team immense amounts of time. You’ll also benefit from being able to consult with the partner as an extension of your team—except one that is solely devoted to underscoring your growth goals through payroll, bookkeeping, tax preparation, and other services. You’ll get things like real-time financial data, ongoing professional and leadership support, immediate implementationof solutions for better visibility, and a think tank of knowledgeable, experienced accounting professionals.
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