How much does outsource accounting cost? It’s a natural question to ask when you start researching options for your company’s current and future finance and accounting needs, but it does not have an easy answer. We’ll explain what goes into the cost of outsourcing accounting services and the factors that should be weighed as you consider the total cost to your company.

In-House Accounting Vs. Outsourcing

The cost of outsourcing accounting services is sometimes, but not always, the driving reason to look into in-house accounting vs. outsourcing. The initial cost you may be quoted will depend on the complexity of the services involved, the level of expertise you need, and the extent of the work you need covered. Very often, these needs will evolve over time.

In the short run, significant cost efficiencies are likely to be realized when bringing in outsourcing accounting services rather than going through the process of recruiting and making the commitment to full-time hires for your finance organization. At this stage, it may not be in the budget to take on several employees’ payroll and associated benefit costs, and you may not have enough hours worth of work to keep them occupied. By outsourcing multiple accounting functions or roles, you can make it so that your day-to-day accounting needs are covered by experts who require no ramp-up time and very minimal training on the ways your company operates.

There’s another way that cost efficiencies can be realized, but it may not be obvious at first. If you decide to work with a finance and accounting consulting firm that connects you with a breadth of experience and knowledge across its consultant base and partner ecosystem, you would be provided the level of services and expertise you need only when necessary. You would not have to pay for more than you need.

At the same time, these experts could introduce vast improvements to the way your finance function operates, by introducing and streamlining your financial operations in transformative ways that would lead to greater efficiencies over time. A firm like ZRG does not introduce changes just to introduce changes, but rather we tailor our advice to what your company needs at this time and what you are open to handling at this moment.

Under this outsourced accounting services model, you could start out with coverage of your day-to-day accounting and bring in a higher level expertise as your needs expand, including, on a part-time basis, controller and CFO level expertise.

Improved efficiency

Many fast-growing startups are in the following scenario: They struggle to grasp what the future may hold because their financial information cannot be relied upon. By updating their financial systems to more closely align with the company’s current, more complex operations and providing insights that can help leadership better understand the possibilities that lie ahead, an outsourced accounting and finance team will make the overall finance function more efficient—and more useful.

Generally speaking, this is one of several reasons that the cost of outsourcing finance and accounting services tends to be lower than the cost of hiring in-house staff to perform these functions.

Greater flexibility

All of the above can be done without the commitment of full-time employees and all that entails. Companies that use outsourced accounting can dial up or dial up their reliance on outsourced finance and accounting experts as their needs change.

Growth potential

As an outsourced accounting team can be a key enabler of growth, they may be relied upon for longer than initially anticipated. Their day-to-day involvement may evolve as your company does discover a need to bring in more full-time employees. With an outsourced accounting team that knows your business, they will continuously look out for growth opportunities and ideas for your company to be successful.

The Full Picture: Understanding Outsourced Accounting Services Cost

By outsourcing finance and accounting services, businesses can focus on their core competencies and improve their bottom line. This is a factor that should be included when considering the savings and cost of outsourcing accounting services. If you are interested in learning more about outsourcing finance and accounting services and the many benefits of doing so, reach out to the experts at ZRG.

‍