As a business owner, it can be difficult keeping up with a seemingly endless to-do list, especially if you have a limited staff and resources. In any growth period, you may find yourself considering whether to hire additional in-house staff or outsource certain business processes. This is a common question that befalls many business owners.
Is Outsourcing Right For You?
To start figuring out if you're ready to hire additional staff or would be a better candidate for outsourced services, consider the following indicators:
- You need additional help but do not have the budget for the training, managing, payroll and indirect HR costs of hiring new in-house staff. Don't forget to take into account the cost of onboarding a new employee, developing company culture, sick and personal days, company benefits and ongoing training and resources to support productivity.
- You need help in specialized areas, such as accounting or graphic design. You may also be considering more generalized support, such as expanding ranks to a virtual assistant or virtual call center or customer service agent.
Either one of these points may be a clear indicator that outsourcing would be serve your needs. But simply having a need doesn't mean outsourcing is right for you. Before deciding whether or not to outsource, make sure you understand all the pros and cons.
The Pros of Outsourcing:
- Your overall costs may be lower depending on the services needed. Outsourcing your tasks on an as-needed basis will reduce your overhead. Just don't make price sensitivity your only factor--remember you get what you pay for and certain outsourced services may be just as costly as in house, but deliver far more.
- You will be able to get work done by an experienced professional in the field, who may get the job done faster. Don't forget--you don't need to train or manage your virtual services. They're responsible for all of that--so you just start to get work done.
- You will not incur any training fees or costs associated with hiring an employee. Nada. Zilch.
- You will not be tied to any one company and can use multiple contractors to get specific jobs done. This is important--if one doesn't work out, or if you need scalabity, adding or changing outsourced services may be much easier than changing your internal structure.
The Cons of Outsourcing:
- You are completely dependent on resources outside of your walls. This can be a scary proposition to many business owners used to wearing all the hats. To get more comfortable, understand the security in place, what happens if you quit (make sure you own your data!), and who is responsible for what in case of mistake or emergency.
- You may have to use a number of firms/contractors before you find the one that works for your needs. Taking the first step into hiring outsourced vendors is not dissimilar from any outside vendor or agency you might hire--but it might feel scary to try to decide in a virtual environment. Ask for recommendations, references and past work to make sure you're hiring a pro.
- You communicate best face-to-face and/or aren't very good with email or other digital communication methods. This is OK--with newer technology providing free or cheap video conferencing, you can hold virtual meetings face-to-face. Plus, while email may seem a little overwhelming, having everything written down and documented will actually be a benefit when you're trying to remember what you were responsible for.
In every scenario, there will be pros and cons, but you may be surprised how often the benefits of an outsourced service, such as one for accounting and bookkeeping services, outweigh the negatives.
Weigh your options and determine whether virtual may work for you. If your company’s day-to-day work requires consistent supervision, this may not be an ideal situation. Doing thorough research on the company or contractor you may outsource some tasks to, and making sure they are reputable, will be advantageous and can save you from the headaches and problems of onboarding a new employee. For quite a few companies, outsourcing is a viable way to stay productive and keep non-core competencies out of the way of their main business focus.
Interested in finding out how we can help you outsource your accounting and bookkeeping needs? Schedule a consultation today!
