Services · Accounting
Accounting outsourcing
Your day-to-day finance function, run by a dedicated team under partner supervision, from the first transaction of the month to the management accounts, with support through year end and audit.
A finance function you do not have to build
Growing businesses reach a point where finance is no longer one person's job. Supplier bills wait for approval, customers need chasing, payroll needs checking, the month-end drags on, and a lender or investor asks for accounts they can rely on. The usual answer is to recruit a finance team, then supervise it and replace people when they leave.
Accounting outsourcing is the alternative. We run that function for you, with a dedicated accountant in charge of the work and a partner reviewing every deliverable. The decisions stay with you: which bills to pay, which customers receive credit, and what to do about the numbers.
If you need transactions recorded and accounts reconciled and little more, our bookkeeping service is the narrower choice. Outsourcing covers the whole function, run by one team that answers for all of it, to a calendar agreed with you.
What we take on
The work of an in-house finance team, with responsibilities divided between us and you in a written scope.
General ledger
Chart of accounts maintained, transactions posted and coded, journals prepared with their support, and the fixed asset register kept in step with the ledger.
Accounts payable
Supplier bills captured, coded and routed for approval, supplier statements reconciled, and payment runs set out for your approval and release. More in AR & AP management.
Accounts receivable
Customer invoices prepared from agreed source records, receipts matched, statements sent and overdue balances followed up in your name.
Payroll coordination
Starters, leavers and pay changes gathered each period, the payroll processed or checked against your provider's reports, and the results posted and reconciled. See payroll accounting.
Reconciliations
Bank, card and loan accounts agreed to statements each month, and every other balance sheet account supported by a schedule, with suspense cleared rather than carried forward. See account reconciliations.
Closing the month
A written close checklist covering cut-off, accruals, prepayments, deferred income, depreciation and intercompany balances, worked through to a reviewed trial balance by an agreed working day.
Management accounts
Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow compared with budget and the prior period, with commentary on what moved and why. See management reporting.
Year end and audit
Year-end adjustments and schedules prepared for year-end finalisation, then your auditors' requests answered from records we already keep, with audit support through to signing.
How we work alongside you
Our team works inside your systems and keeps to a calendar agreed with you.
A shared deadline calendar
Every recurring date in one place: payment runs, payroll cut-off, the close, management accounts, and the dates your tax advisers, auditors and lenders depend on. Each has a named owner, on our side or yours.
One channel for documents
Statements, bills, approvals and questions move through our encrypted client portal rather than email, so both sides keep one record of what was asked, sent and agreed.
Scheduled reviews
A pattern of review meetings agreed at the outset, such as one after each close, held by video or in person. Your accountant takes you through results, open items and the decisions needed.
When outsourcing makes sense
For businesses that need a complete finance function, but not a finance department of their own.
- Growing companies whose finance work has outgrown a part-time bookkeeper and the owner's evenings
- Founder-led businesses that now report to a board, a lender or investors
- Companies whose finance manager has left, or is about to
- Subsidiaries and small groups that need consistent ledgers and agreed intercompany balances
- Businesses preparing for a first audit, a funding round or a sale (see transaction advisory)
The engagement at a glance
- Supervision
- A named partner, who reviews every deliverable before it reaches you
- Your team
- A dedicated accountant who knows your business, not a rotating pool
- Handover
- Two to four weeks of onboarding, followed by a parallel month-end close
- Systems
- QuickBooks Online, Xero, Zoho Books, Odoo or SAP Business One, held in your name
Questions
How does the handover from our current arrangements work?
Onboarding takes two to four weeks. We arrange access to your software and bank feeds, agree the chart of accounts and opening balances, document your processes and build the deadline calendar. We then run one month-end close in parallel with your current team or provider before taking over fully.
Do both teams need to be online at the same time?
Rarely. The calendar fixes what each side delivers and when, questions go through the portal, and review meetings are booked in advance. Routine queries receive a response within one business day.
Can you work with our existing finance staff?
Yes. We can take on the whole function or only the parts your team does not cover, such as the close and management accounts, as agreed in the scope. Where you need senior oversight across both, a virtual CFO can provide it.
Who approves payments and owns the records?
You do. We prepare payment runs with their supporting bills, and money leaves your bank only when your authorised signatories release it. Your software and documents stay in your name, and only the partner and team assigned to you can open your files.
Speak with a partner
Every enquiry is read by a partner and answered within one business day. Meetings are held at our offices, at yours, or by video.