Some businesses can handle normal daily activities but need outside help to take on new projects that don’t justify another employee. Other companies are just struggling to manage day-to-day operations. A growing number of entrepreneurs are seeking ways to get more done or cut expenses in this challenging economy. Here are some tasks most businesses currently outsource.
1. Outsource Accounting & Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is like your morning exercise – no one wants to take the time out to do it, but neglecting it can cause serious problems over time. You always have the option of hiring a dedicated person to take care of your business’ day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping activities. However, nowadays it has become practical for companies to outsource this part of their operations.
2. Outsource Tax Preparation & Filing
Preparing tax returns for most people is not only time consuming and cumbersome, it is also confusing, i.e., it requires special skills. You’ll easily find tax consultants who can carry out this part of your business for you. Tax preparation services are pretty much standardized these days. You can easily outsource most of your taxation paperwork such as VAT, Service Tax, and TDS return preparations.
3. Outsource Payroll processing
If you have a small team, you won’t have any difficulty managing payroll in-house. But once your business starts expanding beyond 10 employees, processing everybody’s salaries can be significantly time consuming. Keeping track of employee vacations, sick leave, parental leave, joining & exit formalities, bonuses & loan advances, and applicable tax deductions can soon become overwhelming.
If you are not a qualified accountant or have no previous payroll experience, as your workload in this area grows, so do your chances of making mistakes. Nothing kills employee motivation more than getting their salaries wrong or not paying them on time.
If chosen correctly, payroll outsourcing can be a less expensive and simpler way of paying your employees and filing your and their taxes on time.
4. Hiring
How do you hire new people in your organization? Most of us post a job vacancy on our website or inform friends and existing employees about it. If we have a good network, we eventually start receiving resumes.
If you have a small business, you probably interview job applicants during the weekend or on your quieter days. Next comes shortlisting, background verifications, salary negotiations, and further rounds of interviews.
You can imagine how much time hiring can consume if not done right. You can save your valuable time and effort by outsourcing the entire hiring process. Agencies that specialize in HR (human resources) and hiring have the experience, network, and necessary staff to get everything done efficiently and professionally.
Some top agencies even offer free replacements if your new hire lasted less than, for example, three months.
5. Human Resources
Human resource tasks have the potential to take up a lot of your time, especially as your team grows. Every time you hire a new person, your human resource obligations grow proportionally.
Mishandling this side of your business, for example, firing somebody inappropriately as far as the law is concerned, failing to pay properly, or hiring a substandard employee can cost money and create headaches. You could even end up in a costly lawsuit.
Depending on your needs, you might outsource human resources to one comprehensive provider or several small ones. For instance, you could use a recruiter to find talent, a payroll company to process your team’s compensation, and a PEO to manage their benefits.
It also helps to have access to an attorney who specializes in employment law in your area. This way, you can seek advice before you deal with any sensitive situations.
6. Marketing
Effective marketing determines how both your brand’s and company’s reputation are perceived in the marketplace. A marketing firm or consultant can provide an outside perspective; something that your own employees cannot.
Professional freelance writers can develop top-quality, polished content that will improve your business’ marketing efforts. Website design, brand development, press releases, and online marketing duties such as social media, blogging, and search engine optimization (SEO) are good candidates for outsourcing as well.
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