CPAs tend to be careful about who touches client records. They are slow to outsource bookkeeping for a variety of reasons: confidentiality, quality control and the risk of putting the firm's name on someone else's work. Firms that do outsource often start with the monthly entries and reconciliations, so that licensed staff can spend their hours on tax, advisory and review.
Key Takeaways
- Outsourcing bookkeeping frees licensed staff for advisory work, tax and review.
- A shared cloud platform lets the firm and the bookkeeper work in the same file.
- Outside capacity can follow the client list without a new hire for each client.
- Integrations with banks, payroll and payments cut retyping.
- Confidentiality, client consent and professional rules need checking before any file moves.
Solid Accounting Functionality
A bookkeeper records and reconciles transactions. A CPA is licensed by a state board of accountancy and does the work that license reserves. Our piece on whether you need a CPA or a bookkeeper explains where one role ends and the other begins.
Moving the routine entries out leaves the firm's CPAs with work that depends on their judgment: reviews, tax planning and advice. When the books are current each month, the firm can spot a trend in a client's cash or margins and raise it before the client asks. If your firm also audits or reviews a client's financial statements, check the profession's independence rules before you take on that client's bookkeeping as well.
Cloud-Based Accessibility and Collaboration
A shared cloud platform lets the firm review a client's books the day the bookkeeper finishes them, and lets the bookkeeper answer a question while the same file is open on both screens.
Cloud tools are not safe by default. For firms that prepare returns, IRS Publication 4557 says the Federal Trade Commission's Safeguards Rule covers professional tax preparers, and says each firm's plan must include multi-factor authentication for anyone who accesses customer information and oversight of its service providers.
Agree on one workspace. Documents, questions and approvals go there, so nothing lives in email attachments.
Scalable Solutions for Growing Businesses
As a client grows, its transactions, bank accounts and entities multiply. Outside capacity can follow the client list: add hours before busy season and trim them after, once you have checked the minimum hours and notice period.
Firms that want to sell bookkeeping under their own name can read our explainer on white-label bookkeeping. A firm can also hire a remote bookkeeping assistant directly. We recruit those assistants, usually based in South Africa or the Philippines. You pay a one-time $1,997 recruitment fee and then the assistant's monthly salary, and we replace unsuccessful hires in the first 3 months at no extra cost.
Smooth Integration With Third-Party Apps
Bookkeeping touches the apps clients already use: bank feeds, payment processors, payroll services and expense tools. Ask which connections the firm's accounting platform supports, and test each one with a sample transaction before it carries client data.
Single sign-on can cut down on passwords, and each user should still have a personal login with two-step verification so the audit log shows who did what.
Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics
Monthly financial statements, a clean general ledger and a list of open items are what a CPA needs to start a return or a review. Outsourced bookkeeping can supply them on a fixed date each month. Dashboards and custom reports show a client's key numbers, so agree which ones before the first close.
For firms also weighing outside help with returns, our piece on tax preparation outsourcing covers credentials, data safeguards and costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Typical Turnaround Time for Outsourced Bookkeeping Services?
It depends, so agree it in writing. A firm might ask, for example, for each client's books to close by the fifth business day and for questions to be answered within one business day.
How Do Outsourcing Providers Ensure Data Security and Client Confidentiality?
Only as far as the contract and the setup require. Ask for encryption, personal logins with two-step verification, access limited to the people on each client and a signed confidentiality agreement. If client files hold tax return information and the person doing the work is outside the United States, the Treasury regulations require the client's consent before it is disclosed, so ask your attorney how that applies.
Can Outsourced Bookkeepers Provide Personalized Support for My Firm’s Unique Needs?
Yes, to the extent you define those needs. Write down how your firm names accounts, codes transactions and formats reports, and ask for one named person instead of a rotating team.
How Do I Ensure a Smooth Transition When Switching to an Outsourced Bookkeeping Provider?
Start with one client. Pick a quiet month, and keep your current process running until the first close from the new provider matches it, then move the next client.
What Is the Process for Onboarding and Training With an Outsourced Bookkeeping Service?
Share your procedures and account list, give access to one client file, review the first month together and then add clients. A short weekly call during the first month keeps questions from piling up.
Final Thought
Outsourcing bookkeeping works for a CPA firm when the work is scoped, the access is limited and a licensed person reviews the output. If you want a bookkeeper on your own team, book a free consultation and describe your workload.