Now that you’ve made the decision to outsource your finance and accounting (F&A) processes, you need to prepare your business for the changes coming your way. Here are the next four steps your small business needs to take to outsource your finance and accounting successfully.
Before fully committing your business to F&A outsourcing, it is important to look deeper on why you came to the decision of outsourcing in the first place. A strategic needs assessment allows you to discover the processes that you need to outsource and the criteria by which you will choose your outsourcing partner.
After your strategic needs assessment, it is now time for you to find the outsourcing partner that suits the need of your small business. There are a lot of providers that offer F&A outsourcing services but it is important to find the one that can adapt to your business processes with minimal interference.
Once you’ve found the right F&A outsourcing partner for you, you must discuss your needs with them and come up with a service level agreement (SLA). The SLA will put into writing the deliverables and obligations of both parties, and help you set your expectations in your outsourcing partnership.
Like any new relationships, the first few days of your engagement entails a period of adjustment and improvement. Ber open with your outsourcing partner and let them know the areas where they can improve their service delivery. You can also use your SLA to remind the deliverables and realign expectations.
Finance and accounting outsourcing presents a lot of benefits for small businesses. However, it is important to remember that like everything else, you need to take the right steps before you can maximize the opportunities that outsourcing provides for your business.