Why hire an outsourced finance team?

Perhaps as the founder or co-founders, you have been handling all the company finance activity yourself, but now it’s becoming too much or too complicated for you to manage effectively. In this blog post you’ll learn

1. When to hire an outsourced finance team
2. What roles should you hire?
3. Benefits of hiring an outsourced finance resource
4. Considerations of using outsourced finance services
5. Getting support

When to hire an outsourced finance team

The finances of a startup company are usually managed by the founder or co-founders in the early months. When start-ups receive investment from venture capitalists or angel investors, the financial records can become more complicated. At this point, it may make sense to hire in outsourced finance resources to help with accounting, control, strategic planning and reporting. 

What roles should you hire?

CFO – Chief Finance Officer

Responsible for strategic financial planning, managing financial risk and business finance operations. FD/FC reports into the CFO.

Finance Director/Controller

Responsible for all the accounting activities and ensures that financial records are fully compliant to current rules and regulations.

Finance Manager

Responsible for management and financial reporting to aid business decision making.

Bookkeeper

Responsible to accurate and timely record keeping and cash/credit control.

Benefits of hiring an outsourced finance resource

Flexibility

Hiring permanent resources is a big commitment that startups may not be quite ready for when they need expert finance resources. After all, Finance Directors and CFOs aren’t cheap. Using outsourced finance resource can give you the flexibility to adjust the resources you use as your business grows until it is the right time to hire a permanent employee.

Expert support

An outsourced finance team can give you the expert support you need because they have helped other startups before and understand exactly what you need to do to grow your business, increase profits and secure new funding.

Time Saving

Getting support from people who deal with finances and accountancy for a living can save you lots of time. Time that may be better spent nurturing new client relationships, perfecting your product or working on other business development tasks. As a founder, you don’t need to be dealing with finance transactions – there are more productive ways to spend your time.

Compliance

When it comes to managing the finance tasks that must get done to a deadline – VAT and company tax returns for example, it pays to outsource this activity as soon as possible. You’ll get peace of mind from knowing that the right figures are being submitted on time, so you won’t face any fines or interest penalties. Let your outsourced finance team keep you compliant with HMRC and Companies House whilst you get on with growing your business.

Considerations of using outsourced finance services



Cost

The cost of hiring outsourced resources may initially be more than the base cost of a permanent resource. However, don’t forget to add on all the additional costs associated with hiring an employee such as pension and other benefits. When you hire in your outsourced finance team, you may decide to start with a few hours a month or a day a week to keep costs under control whilst you grow. Bringing in part-time, outsourced resource means you can avoid the high costs of an employee until you need a full-time resource.

Lack of control

Using outsourced resources may mean that you aren’t fully in control of how the services are delivered.

Getting support

At On The Go Accountants, we’ve provided many start-ups with finance support to meet the changing and growing  needs of their business. Get in touch with David Masih, our client relationship partner. David can explain how we can work with you to supply a full-time or part-time outsourced finance team during a no-obligation chat today. Call 03330 067 123 or email info@onthegoaccountants.co.uk.