Reasons to Outsource Your Accounting

What is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is as simple as hiring another company, like TGG, to perform certain tasks or serve as a specific department within a company. There are many factors that go into determining which tasks or departments to keep in-house and which to outsource. If you aren’t sure where to begin, outsourcing your accounting could be a great place to start.

What does outsourced accounting mean to TGG? Outsourced accounting is more than providing a service. TGG’s mission is to make business owners’ lives better through excellent financial management.

Cost and Flexibility

Outsourcing your accounting department can be more cost effective than having the same service in-house. We’ll go over the cost savings that can result from outsourcing your accounting.

Outsourcing your accounting gives you the flexibility to increase or decrease the hours the outsourced team works depending on your monthly budget. If the slow season is around the corner, communicate that to your team and they can adjust hours. The opposite is true as well, if you are in the middle of the busy season, your team will ensure all the work gets done.

When hiring internally, you must consider the additional costs, such as taxes, insurance, and any other benefits your company offers. If you outsource your accounting, those costs can become savings.

Those likely aren’t the only cost savings your business will enjoy if you outsource your accounting. TGG accountants proactively look for savings that can be implemented throughout the company. You may be overspending and not even know it, so our accountants can take a deep dive and find those cost savings for you.

Experts in Finance and Accounting

TGG has over fifty accountants with a wide and diverse range of experience. While you will have a team of four, that does not mean you only have access to their expertise. All of TGG’s accountants communicate with each other and if there is something they do not know, they will reach out to their colleagues to find the best solution for your company. TGG’s accountants stay on top of current trends and any new laws that impact accounting. There are also daily and monthly trainings held at TGG to make sure each accountant has the necessary knowledge for their position.

Support with Business Decisions

Do you have a goal for your business, but you aren’t sure how to achieve it? Accurate accounting helps guide business decisions and outsourcing your accounting can provide that and more. TGG’s accountants will not only provide accurate accounting, but also the guidance you need to make smart business decisions. If you are curious about what gets done at each level to make that happen, keep reading.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) helps you reach your goals. The CFO does this by undertaking the administrative, financial, and risk management operations as well as developing financial and operational strategies to maintain or improve your business.

The Controller produces accurate financial statements and budgets designed to mitigate risk.

The Accounting Manager handles transaction processing according to proper financial accounting standards. The Accounting Manager teaches and mentors both TGG’s staff and the client’s staff on proper controls, specific systems, and anything else needed.

The Staff Accountant handles the day-to-day accounting tasks that serve as the foundation for producing accurate financial statements.

Free Up Internal Employees

If you only have one accountant or bookkeeper responsible for your entire accounting department, they are likely overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done. Outsourcing your accounting could free up your internal accountant or bookkeeper and allow them to focus their efforts on a specific task and complete it more accurately and efficiently. The same goes for companies who have employees who do not have experience in accounting, but have found themselves responsible for some day-to-day accounting tasks. They can go back to focusing on what they were hired to do.

If you already have an internal accountant or bookkeeper, you do not need to terminate their employment. TGG works with you and your current team to make sure you achieve your financial goals.

Availability

If you have one or two accountants and one (or both) takes time off, you will likely be left with important tasks getting done late or not getting done at all. Neither of those options is ideal. If your accounting is outsourced, this issue can be avoided. Since there are four to a team, there will always be someone to cover tasks if an employee is out sick or taking time off. Also, if a team member is out and another accountant is urgently needed on the team, another accountant can easily step in and help.

Employee Turnover

For small businesses, if an employee leaves the company, that could leave an entire department unattended for an unknown amount of time. The consequences of tasks not getting done could be serious for any business. While outsourcing your accounting can’t get rid of all employee turnover in a company, it can alleviate some of the stress that comes along with employee departures. If a member of your outsourced accounting team leaves TGG, that will have little impact on your company because the other team members will be able to pick up the work until another accountant can step in.

If an internal accountant leaves your company, recruiting and hiring a replacement can be stressful and time consuming. There is so much to consider when looking to hire an employee, such as placing an ad, sorting through resumés, scheduling interviews, and determining if candidates would be a good fit with the company. Outsourcing your accounting needs eliminates that lengthy process. If you are concerned about employee turnover or have already experienced it within your accounting department, give TGG a call and see if outsourced accounting would be a good fit for your business.

Protection Against Fraud

Fraud is something that can happen to any business, no matter the size. However, businesses with fewer than 100 employees are at higher risk. According to the 2020 Report to the Nations, the median loss for companies with less than 100 employees was $150,000, with asset misappropriation making up 86% of the cases. Proper internal controls can help prevent asset misappropriation and other fraud by having a layer of checks and balances at every level. Small businesses often don’t have the resources for a full accounting team, which can lead to a lack of internal control. Having four accountants to a team and reviews at each level significantly decreases the opportunities for fraud to occur.

Cash Flow is Low

If your business is struggling with cash flow, a team of TGG accountants can evaluate the options available for your business and provide support on executing the best option. If you are apprehensive about hiring a company when cash is tight, ask yourself the following two questions:

1. Can you sustain your business long term if operations remain as they currently are?
2. How long can your business be sustained for if operations remain as they are now?

If you answered yes to the first question and calculated the answer to the second question, you must already know your fair share of accounting and can probably handle your company’s finances on your own. However, even if you are managing your company’s finances well, as the owner of the business, your time would be better spent elsewhere.

If you are still doubting that outsourcing your accounting could help cash flow, consider that outsourcing is typically more cost effective than having a full-time accountant. Your accounting team could identify strategies to increase cash and even out fluctuations. Cash flow issues can be stressful and complicated but having a team of accounting experts can alleviate that stress and help you understand what is happening.

Lastly, if you need a loan from a bank or if you have a meeting with investors, you will need clear, accurate financial statements. If you have poorly executed financial statements (or none at all), TGG can jump in and get them ready. TGG can also provide Cash Flow Forecasting. Cash Flow Forecasting can give you insight into when cash is coming in, leaving the business, and it can predict if cash will run out. Knowing when cash is likely to run out is valuable information because it will give you time to get a loan or find an investor.

Accounting Can Be Confusing

You likely know your business better than anyone, and you should since you built it from the ground up. You may also be able to sell your product or service easily because you can explain exactly why someone would benefit from it. However, that doesn’t mean you understand the large amounts of data that result from operating. If you struggle with understanding the data or aren’t sure what to do with it, you are not alone! Financial Statements are created from the data your business creates just from daily operations. Financial statements can be confusing and as a business owner you want to understand what they are telling you and how it applies to your business. TGG can help, as our accountants are skilled at understanding what is happening. The CFO on the team will tell the story of your financials in a detailed yet simple way so you can understand and build your accounting knowledge at the same time.

Anywhere Can Be the Ideal Location

Outsourced accounting can be done anywhere since TGG is a fully 100% remote company. Our employees live and work from coast to coast. That means we can service your business wherever it is. If you have multiple locations, whether they are in the same state or across different states, TGG will be able to service all of them. Having multiple locations can make it difficult to coordinate accounting efforts for each location, which could result in tasks being done incorrectly or taking longer to complete. TGG has experience working with companies that have multiple locations and can ensure efficient and accurate accounting with much less hassle.

If your company recently went remote and your business has been suffering as a result, outsourcing your accounting could help. Not only would you have a department that is now experienced with working in a remote environment, but you would also get the business support from your team of accountants.

Protect Your Information

If the thought of a fully remote accounting department worries you, we can assure you that your information is safe with us. Outsourcing through TGG is just as safe, if not safer than, having a team of accountants in the same building as you. We use a secure cloud-based system on every laptop to ensure information is safe. TGG has client safety in mind when it comes to sensitive information and we ensure each team member is up to date on best practices.

Any Phase of Business

Whether your business has been around for 10 years or 10 months, it can benefit from outsourced accounting. Even if your business is doing well, it may not be reaching its full potential. TGG has worked with over 450 entrepreneurs achieve their goals for their business, so you can trust TGG to help you achieve yours.

You shouldn’t wait until a finance or accounting issue arises to hire help. Mistakes that have been made in the past may not have been caught yet. Even one mistake could have a ripple effect on other transactions and eventually become a huge problem When the mistake is caught, it is much more complicated to fix and you may need external help. While outsourcing your accounting won’t prevent mistakes altogether, it will significantly decrease the number of mistakes that happen. When mistakes do occur, they will be found sooner rather than later because there are processes in place to catch mistakes.

That is a lot of information to process but take just another minute to read the recap of what was discussed. Everything can be summed up in five general categories of how outsourcing your accounting could benefit your business. The categories are, Cash, Expert Accountants, Relief from Common Staffing Complications, Phases of Business, and Protection.

Cash

If your business’s cash flow is low or frequently fluctuates, implementing a Cash Flow Forecaster is a must. Cash Flow Forecasting is not extremely difficult and TGG offers an easy-to-use template you can purchase, but that would not give you access to the valuable commentary and support that an experienced accountant could provide. Outsourced accounting is also cost effective and gives you flexibility to adjust hours if needed.

Expert Accountants

Whether your goal is to grow or sell your business, TGG accountants have experience with it and will help you reach that goal and make sure you understand what is going on during the process.

Relief from Common Staffing Complications

If you have experienced employee turnover or have had complications arise from the availability of your employees, outsourcing with TGG can help since each client team has four accountants.

Phases of Business

Your business can be in any phase of its life and benefit from outsourcing. It also does not matter where the business is located or if there are 5 different locations, remote working makes this possible.

Protection

Having four accountants to a team and having strict processes help protect your company from becoming a victim of fraud. All information is safeguarded with TGG.

If you are still overwhelmed or just want more information, contact us today!

There are several ways to generate profitability for your business in the current economic environment that has presented challenges for small businesses. For more profitability tips check out our latest Bonfire Chat below and contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about how TGG can partner with you to increase your profitability!