If you find yourself struggling to complete all of the tasks you previously could accomplish, your company is growing. This is actually a good thing, the problem is you need the right people to help your business grow. Before finding the right people, there are a couple of signs to look out for to ensure you’re actually growing and need help.

Accounting Is Pulling You Away From Other Tasks

The obvious indicator that you need help with accounting is if it’s getting in the way of other tasks. If the time you’re spending on accounting actually increases the more you work at it, you should start seeking help before it completely takes over your time. 

Another indicator that you need professional remote staffing or outsourced help is if you find yourself assigning other staff members to do the accounting tasks even if it isn’t their job. This takes away time from their main tasks which becomes a snowball effect. With their tasks being delayed due to the ad hoc accounting responsibilities, it will ultimately set your whole company back. Another issue with having someone else do the accounting tasks if you don’t have a dedicated person, is the potential mistakes that can occur in your books, which can cause a bigger issue later down the line.

Potential Legal Issues

On the list of potential problems that may occur without a proper accountant are misplaced documents. By itself it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal for a company, that is until an audit happens. Something like an IRS audit in the US, which depending on the severity of the infraction may end up with a hefty fee or as a worst-case scenario, having an IRS sanction placed on your company.

Some of the most common IRS penalties include:

  • Underpayment
  • Failure to file penalty/late filings
  • Failure to pay
  • Accuracy discrepancies
  • Tax Fraud
  • Trust Fund Recovery errors

All of these penalties could inadvertently be placed on your company if any aspect of accounting is overlooked or if a single sheet of paper goes missing. Any sort of fee that occurs will slow the growth of the company and an outsourced accountant would solve the problem.

Growing Pains

Growing pains may be any combination of these signs, but the most prevalent one would be the addition of tasks to anyone on the team. Wearing many hats is good if you want to help departments become more efficient by temporarily inserting yourself in them, but it’s not sustainable because you cannot financially afford to hire on-site accountants. On the flip side of that same coin, if you find yourself too busy to do tasks you used to handle, this leads to a backlog of work that needs to be completed.

Payroll Delays

The biggest indicator that you need help if you already have a finance department would be late salaries. If your business is constantly paying people late, people will start leaving and you’ll have a bigger problem. Having payroll be on time every single time is key no matter what size your business is.

Like the other items mentioned above, there is a snowball effect of not having a dedicated accounting staff or department. If payroll is forgotten because the person in charge is overloaded with tasks, attrition is a new problem that may arise. 

Security Breaches

Having someone double as an accountant may lead to items being misplaced, or in rarer more insidious cases, leads to assets being stolen. Having an IT professional work on the books of a company just because he’s good with numbers, doesn’t translate to accounting. Without an actual professional accountant, accidental slips or intentional ones will harm the company financially. Another cause associated with security breaches is an inadequate security system/server. This isn’t a problem solved by a dedicated accountant, rather a stronger IT department or by hiring outsourced accountants through a remote staffing partner. 

The Wrap Up

Watch out for any of these signs and save yourself from wasted time and resources. Everyone needs help at some point and getting a headstart on an accounting department won’t hurt. Avoiding backlogs of work, legal issues, possible attrition, and security breaches are all part of the benefit of partnering with a BPO that fits your style of business. And who knows, if you’re in need of professionals in a different department, you could always ask your BPO partner to start recruiting.