Outsourcing

This month’s subject is about something that I am very passionate about, outsourcing!  For most of you when I say outsourcing what comes to your mind? Too hard, not for me, it’s alright I guess but you must be super organised.

Providing bookkeeping services for an outsourced company myself, I had mixed feelings about it and I thought some tasks, but not all things could be outsourced. Then I came across one of my clients who runs a multi-million dollar company on his own. 

I know, I had the same thoughts, how does he do it! Well after a long chat with him, I realise that he partners with the best outsourced teams.  He has personally handpicked his team and simply trusts them to do a good job.

He has several departments and assigns each person the task of managing that department. Let’s break it down further. He is into imports and receives about three to four container shipments on a fortnightly basis. He outsources to a third party to offload his containers, uses another company X to transport his goods and then the same company X also stores his stock for the duration that is required. He uses Beyond Figures Bookkeeping to look after his accounting and his BAS. He has a translator that works on call when needed. He has an IT team that looks after all matters pertaining to his server and internet. You would think, how does he keep it together! The answer is, he is simply great at managing his team with weekly catch ups. This is what I call outsourcing at its best.

I raised the question as to why he chose outsourcing versus employing staff in his organisation. He does not question that he may one day employ staff, but he has worked for many years and sees efficiency in getting help with the right partners to achieve what he wants. Ultimately, he does not want the headache of dealing with HR issues, he wants to focus on his business and its growth, he grew 300% in one year….

Outsourcing reduces his operational costs as he gets charged for the hours that the subcontractor works for him and not for idle time, it increases his efficiency and his projects start quickly without fuss. His team is fully equipped to hit the ground running with minimal help. He is also less at risk and can then stay competitive in his industry and does not have unnecessary costs that wears his profit down.

One of the main purposes of outsourcing is to save on the costs and the hassle of having overheads. If you partner yourself with the best out there, you are not running the unnecessary risk of having to spend hours fixing issues that distracts you from running your company. You go into business to do what you have a passion for and the several other issues that you need to tackle might delay reaching your goal.

His understanding and relaxed feeling towards outsourcing has made me rethink my priorities. If he can do it and save himself thousands of dollars, surely, we can all tap into his way of thinking and give it a try.

We are very proud to be looking after him at Beyond Figures Bookkeeping and are constantly seeking better ways to assist him. If you feel that we can be of any help to your bookkeeping needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.