Looking for more time to work on your business? Ask your accountant

It isn’t easy stepping away from an area you’ve held responsibility for but outsourcing is often the most cost-effective option to free up your time and gain value in the short-term. It’s often a great opportunity to hand off the areas in which you aren’t a trained expert, like HR for example. You may have used the services of an HR advisor to get the basics right as you recruited your first employee, but as the team grows that responsibility becomes more complicated and time consuming. At this point it becomes an ideal opportunity to outsource your HR management.

Historically you may have engaged your accountant for tax returns and annual accounts. There’s a lot more that your accountant could take off your hands which would give you hours to re-invest back into your business.

Bookkeeping
Accurate record keeping takes time and effort. It often falls lower down in priorities when days become busy with other responsibilities. This is often one of the first areas growing clients will outsource to their accountant as the return on investment, given the value of their time, is high.

Payroll
If you have employees, you can save time and the regulatory burden of paying your team accurately and on time. This is usually an area that a company director will manage themselves when there are one or two employees but there becomes a tipping point when it’s no longer best use of their time.

Management reports
If you are holding monthly management meetings, producing the reports yourself can take time even if the reports are automated or built on templates. When your accountant produces these reports, not only will the figures be presented but you’ll also have their narrative and insights to support the discussion in your meeting. As well as looking back at how the company has performed, your accountant can also create a cash flow forecast. This will help you to actively manage the flow of cash in and out of the business over the short to medium term, giving you foresight on any potential issues that may be on the horizon (and the opportunity to avoid them).

Investment planning
If your business is growing, there will come a point where financial investment is needed to get the business to the next stage. Securing investment from the bank or other external parties can be a daunting experience. Use the skills and experience of your accountant to approach potential investors the right way and position your business as an opportunity to take forward.

As soon as you reframe outsourcing as a saving of your time and not a cost to your business, it can propel your business forward in many ways.