Why outsource your accounting function this Christmas

While the rest of the world is winding down or shutting-up-shop ahead of the festive break, many accountants across the UK find themselves far too  busy at this time of the year owing to the tax filing season that ends on January 31st.

Naturally, amidst the pop of prosecco corks and party poppers, the one thing that number-crunchers like yourself desperately want for Christmas is for dear ol’ Santa to sweep away those piles of client tax returns for you.

Good news: it is not too late to delegate the tiresome tax return filing chores to an outsourcing partner, your Santa in disguise! In this article, we give you six reasons why accounting outsourcing should be on your to-do Christmas list:

1. Become trusted business advisors of your clients

The start of the New Year brings you an opportunity to expand your service portfolio and increase visibility in the market.

Time-consuming, tedious functions, including bookkeeping, year-end compliance, and payroll, can be handled by professional accounts outsourcing company.

And, you can dedicate a higher proportion of your in-house staff’s time and efforts for delivering high-end services such as tax planning, budgeting, forecasting, and more.

That way, you can accommodate more client demands and build strategies for sustained growth, not just for them but also for your practice.

2. Provide predictive real-time accounting data to your clients

Catching up with the advancements in technology, accounting today aims to glean business insights from both past and present real-time data. Predictive real-time accounting gauges ongoing company performance and historical business data to predict the future of your clients’ business, also suggesting what measures can be taken to improve the same.

That vital insight enables you to make a real difference to your clients by having forward-facing conversations with them, backed with real-time data. What’s a better Christmas present than growth for any business owner?

3. Increase efficiencies with the right communication tools

As a business, setting and tracking meaningful and SMART KPIs enable you to gain an overall understanding of how your accountancy practice is performing.

When you outsource a portion of your services to an outsourcing expert, you set definitive processes in place to complete essential tasks on time.

For instance: make use of cloud collaboration tools for a transparent and smooth conversation. Even if you are on a Christmas break, you can connect with your outsourced team and keep track of the progress being made.

By taking such necessary measures, continuous improvements are made possible even when away from the office.

4. Expedite processes and service delivery time to your clients

Lack of skilled staff could lead to issues for your practice, such as missed expenses, late filing, payroll errors, and so on. The problem is even greater during the holiday season. If you are struggling with staff shortage, outsourcing your accounting function is a practical option.

You can employ highly-qualified and experienced accountants who make use of tried and tested processes to turnaround tasks quickly. Outsourcing gives you a competitive edge, and helps you maintain consistency across a range of functions, attracting and retaining clients, and scaling the support up and down your business as required, with greater efficiency.

The flexibility allows your accountancy practice to remain nimble without losing focus on core competencies or client service during the Christmas break.

5. Cut business costs without hampering the quality of the work

It may sound illogical to hire full-time accountants when you are trying to curtail costs. However, as strange as it may seem, it is almost always cheaper to outsource your core and non-core business functions.

You can easily save yourself from having to pay a full-time expert’s salary to take your step for outsourcing and hire an outsourced accountant. Salary aside, you will also save costs by not having to pay for facilities like insurance, pensions, NI contributions and other overhead expenses associated with full-time employees.

Outsourcing your accounting functions will help you keep overhead costs low while improving client experience and boosting your bottom line.

6. Be better prepared for the January 31 deadline

That’s the last date for anyone to file their taxes for the FY 2018-19. Because traditionally accounting firms remain closed for Christmas, filing taxes during the holidays becomes a challenge. It doesn’t have to be like that.

With outsourcing, you can ensure you don’t have to shut-up-shop and instead, continue preparing tax returns for your clients at a time when they need you the most, by delegating work to expert outsourced accountants.

Besides, this lessens your workload and frees up your time for more critical aspects of business, such as improving client relations. Further, you and your staff can also spend time with the family for Christmas.  A Christmas present for your whole team.

Summing up

Christmas is a time when everyone deserves a break. You and your practice staff are not exempt from this. Luckily, Stellaripe can reduce your tax season workload without burning a hole in your pocket or compromising quality.

Work with us, and we will provide the best experience for your clients; show them that they can count on you – even during the festive break. Utilise our dedicated accountants as your extended team. Contact us here.