Outsourcing Accounting/Bookkeeping duties
Yorba Linda, CA · Member since 2015 · 2 posts · 0 votes
Outsourcing Accounting/Bookkeeping duties
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CPA · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
11ySince I provide CFO Outsourcing services to my clients (which includes book keeping) I wanted to weigh in here with my advice. Since you are just trying to get off the ground, it may not make sense to hire a CPA quite yet. But you may not enjoy book keeping or think your time is more valuable spent elsewhere, hence the desire to outsource services to low cost service providers in India.
But I'd caution you with this practice as you will most likely not receive the holistic and competent advice you should be receiving, which can be critical to a new start-up's success. Is the India service provider going to know all of the US laws/regulations? Will they also provide you with comprehensive tax planning? Maybe, but most likely not.
While hiring a US CPA may be more costly, the benefits that you and your business realize will far outpace the costs. You have to remember that book keeping is relatively easy, so it's not just the book keeping your are paying for; you are paying for a business advisor who will help you systematize financial processes, make strategic financial decisions, and take your business to the next level.
16 Replies
- CPA · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes11y
Since I provide CFO Outsourcing services to my clients (which includes book keeping) I wanted to weigh in here with my advice. Since you are just trying to get off the ground, it may not make sense to hire a CPA quite yet. But you may not enjoy book keeping or think your time is more valuable spent elsewhere, hence the desire to outsource services to low cost service providers in India.
But I'd caution you with this practice as you will most likely not receive the holistic and competent advice you should be receiving, which can be critical to a new start-up's success. Is the India service provider going to know all of the US laws/regulations? Will they also provide you with comprehensive tax planning? Maybe, but most likely not.
While hiring a US CPA may be more costly, the benefits that you and your business realize will far outpace the costs. You have to remember that book keeping is relatively easy, so it's not just the book keeping your are paying for; you are paying for a business advisor who will help you systematize financial processes, make strategic financial decisions, and take your business to the next level.
- Lender · Dallas, TX · Member since 2015 · 283 posts · 128 votes11y
Check out Taxes and Books. at www.taxesandbooks.com
highly recommend
- 11yLinda WeygantPro MemberInvestor and CPA · Arvada, CO · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
The company I worked for (very established and definitely not small) outsourced all of our Accounts Payable to India about two years ago. It's been nothing but a nightmare. We were supposed to save a lot of money by laying off our AP staff here, but we actually ended up having to keep one of those people. Her sole purpose now is riding herd on the folks in India. They make so many mistakes that just doing QC on their work takes up half of her time. The other time is spent asking them where paperwork is, why they aren't current on their data entry and generally having to constantly and continually push them. She also spends a lot of time just correcting their errors because pointing their errors out to them causes them to point fingers in every other direction and they take no responsibility for them.
However, our corporate parent is realizing some savings, so we're stuck with this nightmare.
Definitely NOT recommended.
- Yorba Linda, CA · Member since 2015 · 2 posts · 0 votes11y
Thank you to everyone who's responded, I appreciate the advice. From what I know, the accounting tasks that would be outsourced are simple and rudimentary. However, all your feedback is making me reconsider. Thank you Nicholas and Brandon for your advice, we'll be taking a look at it and considering it.
- 11yGita FaustBusiness MemberAccountant · Richboro - Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2008 · 901 posts · 246 votes
From my clients experience here is a list of "Buyer Beware" red flags with hiring anyone...
- If they do not have About us on their website
- In the about us page there is no name
- When you Google their name there is no reference to them ever doing the services you are looking for
- So I have mentioned this millions of time - you get what you pay for. Saying that it is not always true. You need to have check and balances. In the finance world you have one, two and three strikes you are out.
One of our clients right from Biggerpockets had no idea about bookkeeping, reports and accounting, QuickBooks. Initially he started doing is own bookkeeping and after his 2nd deal he said " If you can help us everyday, I will take your challenge to cover your fees and you and your firm can be our CFO"
Challenge - Buy 5 properties and sell or rent at least 4 in the first month. And in our second week he called and told me he purchased wholesale 75 properties and sold 20 making over 100,000 on 6 properties. And his quote "How true - you get what you pay for after checking qualifications, expertise and reliability." Thank you. I said that is our team at Fast Trac.
What would you choose expertise, knowledge, reliability, security, or price?
Gita Faust
- New York City, NY · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 0 votes10y
It's not easy to trust someone else to manage your books. Let ask around your friends or loyalty customers who have experiences in choosing the right bookkeeper . I agree with @Marc Delgado: Hiring a US CPA will be much more safety even its cost is a little bit higher than other places however
- Cartersville, GA · Member since 2015 · 11 posts · 5 votes10y
There are a lot of good comments here.
Be sure to remember, managing books is not "just" about data entry. You will always need to rely on that information for quick, reliable decisions.
If you can't put your hands on decision-making answers, then the outsourcing that the folks are doing above is wasting them money.
Too bad your corporate parents don't realize that. Sometimes the workers are smarter than the ones distributing the work. :)
- Member since 2024 · 2 posts · 0 votes2y
If you're looking to accounting outsourcing your accounting/bookkeeping duties for your small business, several CPA and accounting firms in India cater specifically to small businesses in America. These firms are known for being relatively inexpensive and reliable. While we don't have specific names to recommend, we encourage you to seek feedback and personal recommendations from others who have used these services. Feel free to ask any questions, and we'll do our best to assist you.
- 2yKristen AmbroseBusiness MemberAccountant · FL · Member since 2024 · 78 posts · 34 votes
I'd have to agree with the comments above. I do bookkeeping specifically for real estate investors and almost all of my new clients come to me with books done by an overseas bookkeeper that they got fed up with spending so much time answering the same questions over and over. On top of that, their books are still a mess.
The way I've seen this work from a cost savings perspective is to hire an overseas bookkeeper to do the busy work, but also have someone higher level available to answer questions and to record the more complicated transactions.
Having a bookkeeper who knows the ins and outs of real estate investing is key. It's what helps you get crystal-clear reports showing exactly how your business is doing, where it can grow, and where it needs a bit of TLC
Ambrose Bookkeepers531 Reviews - Member since 2024 · 2 posts · 0 votes2y
Quote from @Madison Ellie:
If you're looking to accounting outsourcing your accounting/bookkeeping duties for your small business, several CPA and accounting firms in India cater specifically to small businesses in America. These firms are known for being relatively inexpensive and reliable. While we don't have specific names to recommend, we encourage you to seek feedback and personal recommendations from others who have used these services. Feel free to ask any questions, and we'll do our best to assist you.
Suppose you are considering outsourcing your accounting or bookkeeping tasks for your small business. In that case, there are numerous CPA and accounting firms in India that specialize in serving small businesses in America. These firms are recognized for their cost-effectiveness and dependability. - Virtual Assistant · Remote · Member since 2020 · 93 posts · 45 votes2y
or just find an accountant/bookkeeper here in BP which probably makes more sense since it is like-minded people connecting.
- Accountant · 100% Remote · Member since 2019 · 495 posts · 216 votes2y
@Marc Delgado, outsourcing to India/Philippines/etc sounds super sexy and cost-efficient; and, it may be for non-REI businesses. For an REI business, it's going to be a nightmare.
REI is super duper balance sheet-heavy (especially rentals) and manual journal entry-heavy. It's more complex than other types of businesses due mostly to the amount of items that need to be capitalized. And, some items can be capitalized or not depending on your tax strategy. Bookkeepers who serve REIs have to have a good amount of U.S. tax code knowledge or at least have to know where to find the info.
You're not going to get this for $4/hr.
I think outsourcing other activities to other countries to take advantage of exchange rates can be effective but do yourself a favor and don't do this with your bookkeeping/accounting/tax advisory/tax filing/etc (anything financial).
Just like Kristen Ambrose, we see really screwed-up bookkeeping records from these types of situations all the time. You end up paying double.
Just some food for thought from an REI and bookkeeping firm owner.
I'm happy to discuss more and get into the weeds.
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