Every successful business requires robust and reliable accounting. Without accounting or bookkeeping, the firm would shut down. It is an essential financial service with multiple benefits. You can track the company’s wages, profits, and losses. Using these accounting parameters, the company can make critical decisions, create strategies, and appraise/audit the performance.
Looking for Accounting Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best accounting software solutions.
A competent, in-house accounting department is necessary to do bookkeeping. Alternatively, You can rely on the best-outsourced accounting services. The services integrated with the cloud are best for generating cutting-edge financial information. Such a solution improves business productivity and management.
The business will also follow statutory laws by maintaining financial records. Moreover, the firm’s taxable and non-taxable incomes can be separated. You will also be able to provide quantitative information to investors, managers, and government.
Tips for Selecting the Best Accounting Outsourcing Service Provider
Superior bookkeeping practices require time and effort. You need the expertise of accountants, financial officers, and managers. Traditional techniques also involve a lot of paperwork and expenses. This scenario is where the best outsourced accounting services come into the picture.
Your company can trust online bookkeeping software and solutions. Hire the best services based on these critical criteria –
1. Cost of service
Choose a service based on their price packaging and list of services. Keep an eye on your budget and hire low-cost accounting services, who can deliver your requirements.
2. Key features
A flexible service will handle invoices, payrolls, income, and expense reports. It also manages monthly accounts, financial reports, taxation, bank, and credit statements. Make sure that your requirements tally with the critical features of the service.
3. Convenience
Do you need complete services to take place at a remote, virtual location? Every business looks out for a few conveniences or perks over and beyond the key features. The commonly chosen perks are to be user-friendly, easier to customize, and reliable. Choose a win-win solution that is efficient, easy-to-use, affordable, and fast.
4. Scalability
It is a common belief that small or medium businesses need not worry about scalability. It is wise to choose a scalable service if you have a futuristic vision and big plans. It will help you expand the business at lower costs.
5. Integration
A professional service combines human expertise and technologies. A cloud system has to support seamless data integration. It must be accessible from desktop, iOS, or Android apps. If you are choosing a replacement for your current service, check whether the new service’s technology can integrate with the currently available architecture. Also, check whether the migration of data between the two services is not complex.
Also, Read: Which Accounting Software Is Most Used in Dubai?
Our selection of these Outsourced Accounting Service is based on thorough research and analysis. We have listed these services based on usability and satisfaction score that include features, ease of use, customer support, ratings, and number of reviews from SoftwareSuggest. Our goal is to help businesses select the right services that can help them optimize their business processes.
7 Best Outsourced Accounting Services
1. Bookkeeper.com
Small businesses would love this all-in-one bookkeeping solution. It is one of the best outsourced accounting services with certified accountants. The top-notch features of this service are.
- Gain access to a customized chart of accounts.
- Set up accurate bills, invoices, and payments.
- Connect bank/credit statements to QuickBooks.
- Monitor invoices to ensure timely payments.
- Quickly check financial overviews with categorized statements.
- Review monthly financial statements with your team.
- Print paychecks and mail them to vendors and suppliers.
Price Plans: $275/month
2. Bench
The Bench is a customized solution, which would be a great fit to assist small businesses. It is one of the best outsourced accounting services with outstanding bookkeepers.
Pros
- Monthly financial statements and access to a mobile app.
- It offers bank-grade security features and encryption.
- Dedicated assistance for tax preparation.
- Flexible plans with custom-prices for more than 15 accounts.
- Assistance in areas like business insights and monthly reports.
Cons
- Bench can’t be used for payroll, paying bills, or inventory tracking.
- You cannot file taxes directly using this monthly service.
- Your company’s accounts have to use Bench’s general ledger.
Price Plans: $139 to $399 per month
3. inDinero
InDinero service is an all-in-one solution for bookkeeping, filing taxes, bill payments, and payroll. They use an intuitive and convenient online software. Small businesses can manage their finances more effectively. It is one of the best outsourced accounting services with cloud support.
- A highly dedicated team of experts to manage the accounts.
- Easy-to-use dashboard with a rich set of powerful features.
- An onboarding team that helps you set up an account.
- Prices based on the number of connected accounts and transactions.
- Flexible, custom plans to fit your specific business needs.
- They also help with bank and credit statements.
Price Plans: $310/month(Annual payment by default)
4. Bookkeeper360
Small and medium businesses receive bookkeeping help by opting for this service. They also assist start-ups and their clients with business advice. It is one of the best outsourced accounting services with a data-driven approach. They facilitate tax compliance, real-time accounting, payroll, and back-office processes. They use both QuickBooks and Xero accounting software to deliver the services.
- They set up the books and transfer to Xero without any data loss.
- Manage bills, payroll, invoices, and financial statements.
- Dedicated certified public accountant(CPA) and CFO.
- They deliver reliable cash and accrual-based reports.
- Virtual plans for tech-powered business advice and HR services.
- Deliver custom and key performance indicator (KPI) reporting.
Price Plans: starting $199/month
5. Pilot
They focus on tech start-ups with an unlimited number of connected accounts. The monthly services include financial statements and transaction categorization. They reconcile the accounts and rely on accrual-based bookkeeping. But Pilot does not cover payroll administration and paying bills.
It is one of the best outsourced accounting services that use QuickBooks online. It automates judiciously and integrates well with human bookkeepers. They assign a dedicated account manager as the primary point of contact.
While a small team works in the background to offer trustworthy services, they have a dynamic pricing model based on monthly expenses. The advanced features are inventory accounting, special revenue recognition, and support for multiple locations and entities.
Price Plans: $195 – $795 per month (Pilot Core); $1000 per month ( Pilot Plus)
6. FreeAgent
FreeAgent is an easy-to-use, powerful online accounting software. It is Cloud-based, like all the best-outsourced accounting services in the market. It helps the accountants of a small business or a start-up firm. It is easier to access the software and the data from the web browser of any operating system.
- Convenient even for accounting freelancers.
- You have to use the software and do bookkeeping – no professional assistance available.
- Manage invoices, payroll, tax returns, and expenses.
- Send reminders to clients to pay for recurring invoices.
- Track estimates, project status, and employee work hours.
- Dedicated, FreeAgent mobile app for Smartphones.
- Supports multi-currency invoices and business metrics
- Add as many clients, users, and projects as you want.
- Updates and reminders on tax dues and deadlines.
- Secures the user data using a 256-bit SSL connection.
Price Plans: $10 for the first 6 months, $20/month after that.
7. Merritt Bookkeeping
An effective and simple-to-use bookkeeping service. Remote professionals offer the best outsourced accounting services. Non-profit organizations and charities can also benefit from their expertise. But, payroll, taxes, and invoices are not inclusive of this low-cost service.
They use QuickBooks software to keep the books of small businesses. The service also integrates bank and credit card accounts. You will receive up-to-date statements without any inaccuracies. Their flat fee structure is also enticing for start-up companies.
They do not charge extra even if the number of transactions goes up. However, you have to use third-party apps with QuickBooks accounts and pay the bills. They offer an easy user interface and automatically retrieve the bank statements. They also issue federal tax forms 1099s.
Price Plans: Flat monthly fee of $150(with a 90-day money-back guarantee)
Conclusion
Keep an open mind and check out the various competitive services. Narrow down your choices based on business requirements and budget. Choose the best outsourced accounting services that suit your company’s size and scope. Find the right balance between an expansive list of features and expensive price plans.
Amaey Anand is a certified accountant with over 10 years of experience in the finance industry. He has worked with various organizations to streamline their petty cash management processes and reduce inefficiencies. He has also written several articles on financial management for leading publications such as Zensuggest and The Wall Street Journal.
