The demand for outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services in India has been growing at a rapid rate among global CPA and mid-level accounting firms. There are a number of factors behind this like increase in profitability, scalability, time zone benefit etc. By outsourcing the routine bookkeeping services, they are able to focus on more professional services which carry high bill amount.
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. 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, while outsourcing their work, the CPAs and accounting firms have some apprehensions as well.
Here are some tips which will help you decide about outsourcing bookkeeping services in India:
1. Identify your requirements: As every business is unique so are its requirements. While one may require a dedicated bookkeeper to handle all the work as per business priorities, another may only require external support. 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.
Help yourself with these questions:
- Do I need a full time bookkeeper or part- time?
- How many hours of bookkeeping support do I need on daily or monthly basis?
- Do I need only accounting services or complete bookkeeping services are required?
Answering questions like these will help you decide on tasks you want to outsource along with the volume of work to be outsourced.
2. Define the processes and responsibilities: For outsourcing to be successful it becomes pertinent to define in advance the processes to be followed and the responsibilities at both the ends. It is advisable to define the processes in detail right from the mode of receiving the data to query resolution.
Some of the questions which can help you in this are:
- How the data will be transferred via Googledrive, email, Dropbox, or dedicated link?
- Once the data is entered, what will be the review mechanism?
- What will be the timeline of the review?
- How the queries will be resolved?
- What will be the review mechanism?
- Who will be responsible for what?
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: Since you are already outsourcing your work to India and will make a good cost savings, don’t go in for low cost low quality bookkeepers.
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. Check 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. It would also be a right step at this stage to discuss in detail the legalities of data security breach.
5. Select the right communication channels: As outsourcing involves a lot of collaboration with the outsourced company, it is very important to decide the channels to be used for communication. Along with the traditional tools of communication like phone calls and emails, a lot of modern tools like WhatsApp, Teams, Zoom and Google Meet have also become available. 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.
The above write-up aims at highlighting some of the very important considerations 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.
Keeping in mind the above-mentioned tips will certainly help you in deciding for an outsourcing partner that will handle bookkeeping for some of your clients and help your business grow.
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