Back-office functions such as payroll, data entry and hiring new employees are present some unique challenges for professional tax return preparers. Preparers who deliver excellent services do not necessarily have the ability during to manage back-office administration during tax season, but they can secure affordable help for back-office functions.

Every small business has to handle payroll, HR and other administrative areas, but practice owners can feel overwhelmed managing these tasks themselves or delegating them to staffers who are already busy. As your practice grows, the burden of back-office functions only increase, which can mean having to hire new staff or burning out current employees.

Advantages to outsourcing

Smart small business owners can respond by looking outside their own organizations for expertise and quality assistance. Partnering with the right outsourcing providers for back-office functions can free your time to focus on your core business. Expertise can be affordable, and when outsourced back-office tasks are managed well, practices can acquire the talent they need.

“Outsourcing” can encompass many business processes, from becoming a reseller of online payroll technology to handle a majority of the administrative work, to hiring a designer to create a new logo or contracting data entry work with an outside service provider. No matter the form it takes, outsourcing can pay off when managed right. Outsourcing providers are focused on back-office functions and can afford to invest in best-in- class technology and staff, which can lead to unprecedented economies of scale for small business owners.

Outsourcing seasonally provides flexibility for cyclical demands so you do not have to pay for expertise you do not use on a regular basis. It can also help streamline many back-office processes that overlap. For example, you might work with a provider who manages insurance with payroll, or 401(k) with insurance and hiring. When your practice works closely with outsourced experts, you may find your own skill set improve as you build knowledge in an area the expert excels in.

You do not need to go “all-in” when outsourcing. You can selectively outsource only some functions to a third-party provider. No matter the approach, small business owners can tap into highly specialized expertise at a fraction of the cost of bringing it in-house.

Signs that outsourcing may be right for your business

Knowing when the time is right to outsource boils down to recognizing the signs that help is needed to maintain or grow your practice. It may be time to explore back-office outsourcing when you find yourself facing any of these situations:

  1. Revenues begin to decline because you lack time for sales, marketing or bill collections.
  2. Your practice is penalized with fines and unexpected expenses that could have been avoided by filing paperwork properly and on time.
  3. Purchases of hardware and equipment are inadequate or turn out to be a poor investment.
  4. Employees report exhaustion or a lack of motivation because of the unending back-office functions they support.
  5. Employees repeatedly quit, or your business spends too much time hiring new staff.
  6. Your practice needs to make capital investments but lacks time or internal expertise to research the best choices.
  7. Your practice faces sudden legal problems.

Is payroll part of your business that you are looking to outsource? Maintain control of revenues and outsource the tedious tax pay and file by becoming a SurePayroll reseller.

Find out how today! Learn more at www.surepayroll.com/accountants or call us at (855) 354-6941.