In the last decade, the demand for outsourced bookkeeping services in India has grown a lot among global CPAs and mid-level accounting firms. That’s because every CPA firm now wants to leverage on CAS (Client Accounting Service) to increase their profitability and scale their practice. By outsourcing the routine Bookkeeping Service, the owners and partners of CPA firms are able to focus on high billable services rather than spending their time on regular bookkeeping.
Outsourced bookkeeping services in India are helping small and medium-sized CPAs and accounting firms deliver quality service to their clients and meet their deadlines without burning out. Also, many of them have the flexibility to use extra resources during the tax season without overhiring and taking a fixed cost on their P & L. However, a lot of CPAs and accounting firms are still hesitant about outsourcing bookkeeping services and aren’t sure how to go about hiring offshore accounting or bookkeeping talent.
In this blog, Finsmart Solutions, USA (with back-office operations in India) will share tips to engage the best bookkeeping outsourcing company in India and also list the benefits of outsourcing bookkeeping services in India.
Let’s get straight to the tips for outsourcing bookkeeping services in India!
5 Tips to Outsource Bookkeeping Services in India
While outsourcing bookkeeping is becoming popular among CPAs and mid-sized accounting firms across the globe, a lot of them still haven’t invested in the practice. That’s majorly because outsourcing bookkeeping requires some groundwork.
CPAs and accounting firms need to take the right steps for starting a fruitful outsourced bookkeeping engagement. Here are some useful tips that can help global accounting firms and CPAs outsource the best bookkeeping service in India:
#1 Identify your requirements
Every business has unique bookkeeping needs. While one may require a dedicated bookkeeper to handle all the work as per business priorities and reporting rhythm, another may only require external support to minimize the chances of burnout of internal bookkeepers. The best thing to do here is to identify your requirements before moving ahead with offshore bookkeeping. That way, you won’t end up overspending on outsourced bookkeeping services.
Ask yourself questions like these:
Do you require a full-time bookkeeper or part-time?
How many hours of bookkeeping support is required in a month?
Which bookkeeping model makes the most sense for your needs?
Addressing questions like these will help you review priorities and let you decide on bookkeeping tasks you want to outsource.
#2 Define the process of bookkeeping
Successful outsourcing is the function of a well-defined process. Define the entire process of bookkeeping right from how the data will be received via Gdrive, email, Dropbox, or dedicated link. Here are some other questions worth answering:
Once the transactions are processed, what will be the review mechanism?
What will be the timeline of review?
How would the escalation happen and how queries will be resolved?
What will be the review mechanism?
All these processes will help align internally and externally the entire process of bookkeeping which will pave the way toward a successful bookkeeping outsourcing model.
A detailed understanding of the offshore bookkeeping process will greatly help in trust-building as well!
#3 Expertise over rock-bottom pricing
Gerald Brom once said, “Everything comes with a price. Everything. Some things just cost more than others.” Since you are already hiring bookkeepers from India and will make good cost savings, don’t pull the strings too tight.
Keep in mind that quality comes at a price. So, prioritize expertise over rock-bottom pricing. Look for qualified bookkeeping professionals and established firms as a long-term investment with calculated profit. Check out their portfolio. Ask about their experience and existing clients.
Note that each bookkeeping outsourcing firm in India has its own strengths and shortcomings. So, do thorough research and find the perfect partner for your accounting firm.
#4 Ask about security
Data safety is not something that leading CPAs and accounting firms can compromise on. Discuss what data security measures are put in place by the outsourced bookkeeping company and clear all your doubts before making a decision. Ask them what network security they have in place and which technologies they put their faith in.
Even if your outsourced bookkeeping experts in India are going to maintain and update your client’s financial records in your accounting software, you still have to make sure that data access is granted on a need-to-know basis.
Learn everything about Accounts Receivable and Payable Services in India
#5 Select the right communication channels
You have covered the most important steps of hiring the best bookkeeping services in India. Now, determine how you want to keep in touch and collaborate with the outsourced company. Ask the vendor about channels used to promote collaboration and manage conversations.
New age tools have taken over the traditional communication mediums like phone calls and emails. Nowadays, a lot of firms are comfortable using tools like:
Slack and Whatsapp for quick communication
Zoho, Asana, and other new-age CRMs for project management
Monday.com, Basecamp, and Trello for collaboration
Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet for detailed discussions
These modern tools help CPAs and accounting firms to be in constant touch with the operating team and can also get real-time project information for partners.
Selecting a partner that uses such modern tools will help improve engagement, delivery, and support.
Now that we are familiar with the most important offshore bookkeeping vendor hiring tips, let’s look at its benefits for global CPAs and accounting firms.
Benefits of Outsourced Bookkeeping Services in India
Outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services have been consistently gaining popularity in the global market. And there are a lot of reasons that make it a good option for CPAs and accounting firms across the globe.
Here are those reasons:
#1 Effective use of human resources
Opting in for bookkeeping outsourcing services in India lets CPAs and accounting firms deploy their human resources efficiently. This helps them focus on the most high-priority clients and take their company’s growth to the next level. Outsourced bookkeeping in India will also help your CPA firm attract more clients.
#2 Better work efficiency
Simplicity is the soul of efficiency. If your business operations are not simplified well, you won’t be able to scale your business. You might even fail to support existing clients.
Outsourced bookkeeping services in India help CPAs and accounting firms increase productivity by taking off the additional workload. By outsourcing complex and time-consuming tasks, you can focus on providing a superior customer experience.
#3 Cost saving method
This is one of the biggest reasons for choosing outsourced bookkeeping services in India. Unlike other countries, outsourcing bookkeeping companies in India are known for providing services at competitive pricing. The average hourly rate taken by a bookkeeper in the US is $22 per hour.
The hourly bookkeeping seat fee charged by leading bookkeeping outsourcing companies like Finsmart is $15. A dedicated bookkeeping seat and US-tax seat will cost you somewhere $1500-$2000 a month only. This helps CPAs make massive cost savings in the short run.
Long story short, the charges taken by outsourced bookkeeping companies in India are way lower than that of countries like the USA, Australia, and Canada.
9 benefits of outsourcing accounting and bookkeeping services
#4 High scalability
Retaining a big in-house team of accountants often brings cost and hiring challenges for CPAs and mid-sized accounting firms. Outsourced bookkeeping services in India will help you dodge problems related to the hiring process and also save money on rental space, infrastructure, and office supplies.
This helps CPAs and mid-sized accounting firms scale in an easy and economized manner. This means that you can expand your accounting and bookkeeping business without a snag.
There you go!
We have told you everything important about outsourced bookkeeping services in India. Partnering with an outsourced bookkeeping firm that can improve bookkeeping operations for your clients while cutting down overhead costs is the right step forward for CPAs and mid-sized accounting firms.
Yes, getting started with outsourced bookkeeping will take a little time but if you keep the aforementioned tips in mind, we are certain you will come across a firm that will handle bookkeeping for some of your clients and help your business grow.
Got any queries to ask? Send them to info@finsmartaccounting.com and have them answered by our bookkeeping experts.
Also read:
Month-end closing checklist for better accounting
Outsourced payroll services in India
India entry service for global MNCs
Director Growth Strategy & Alliance
Maanoj Shah is a finance and outsourcing expert with strong Business Strategy and Scaling-up experience. Over the last 20 years, he has incubated multiple businesses and helped build global enterprises in verticals as diversified as hospitality, technology, and healthcare.
