How Business Accounting Services Help Streamline Financial Management

A 2019 survey stated that 37% of US businesses were outsourcing for some departments. Further, a survey by Statista revealed that the Business Process Outsourcing market in India is projected to grow 8.31% from 2025 – 29. A major part of this is held by Business Accounting and Chartered Accountant Services.

An Introduction to Business Accounting

No business can run without funds. Thus, economic resources are the cornerstone of every business. Whether the business is a not-for-profit organization or a major corporation, to stay financially solvent they need to earn as well as pay their dues. 

To bridge the gap between having finances and financial record keeping, all companies need to take up business accounting. With business accounting services, you take stock of a company’s financial position. 

As a broad subject, Business Accounting Services involves the following:

• Bookkeeping
• Payroll
• Accounts Payable and Receivable
• Financial Reporting
• Tax Filing and other services
• Compliance
• Audits & Assurance

Key Benefits of Business Accounting Services

When you avail professional services for your business in terms of accounting, you can streamline your daily operations. Further, you also enjoy the below pros.

Improved Financial Accuracy

Once you outsource your accounting needs, experts ensure that your ledgers are maintained with accuracy, taxes are filed on time, and compliance needs are met. Further, Chartered Accountant Services can help streamline your financial operations increasing its efficiency.

Time-Saving Solutions

Accounting is a full-time job that can take 40 hours every week or more. By opting for Business Accounting Services, you can invest this time in your business and chalk out a plan for effective financial growth. Further, you can reduce your chances of experiencing burnout due to being overloaded by routine yet monotonous tasks.

Cost-Effectiveness

Financial experts are highly paid professionals, so hiring a complete in-house finance team is expensive. However, when you outsource the entire service, it will help lower your overheads. This, in turn, will open up funds that can be invested elsewhere in the business.

Compliance with Regulations

All businesses have to meet a set of regulatory norms to operate in India. Business Accounting and Chartered Accountant Service Providers stay well-appraised of this regulatory landscape to ensure your business runs smoothly. Further, opting for compliance services and audits & assurance creates a system of checks and balances that ensures your business stays in line with the industry norms. 

Core Accounting Services Offered

When you choose to hire a company to manage your business accounting services, some of the top services they will offer are:

Bookkeeping and Record-Keeping

The basis of accounting, bookkeeping involves managing your ledger and recording all financial transactions. This activity helps keep track of all financial data and understand cash flow patterns. Further, this helps with the reconciliation of bank records. 

In essence, bookkeeping provides access to accurate, well-maintained financial records. This reflects the financial position of the company and detects any errors in reporting.

Payroll Management

An essential activity for any business, payroll management involves on-time payments to all employees. To ensure that workers receive accurate compensation, accountants need to

• keep track of employee data, 
• calculate gross pay, 
• remove deductibles,
• generate payslips, and 
• clear payments before they are due.

Further, compliance with tax laws is a must when clearing payroll. Whether automated or done manually, accuracy is essential for those working on payroll.

Tax Preparation and Filing

To operate in the Indian financial landscape, businesses need to comply with tax norms. Some of the essential ones are:

• Corporate Tax: This is imposed on the earnings of a company registered under the Companies Act.
• Income Tax: Paid to the Central Government, both individuals and companies are subject to this.
• Capital Gains Tax:  Companies often sell their assets. The amount they profit is taxable as capital gains.
• Goods and Service Tax: This is placed on the buying and selling of any and all goods and services. Further, the tax rate varies as per the goods or services.
• Securities Transaction Tax: Levied on the transaction value, this usually comes up when a company sells shares, stocks, mutual funds, or derivatives.
• Property Tax: This is calculated based on the value of real estate held by the entity.

Thus, it is an essential activity to be abreast of all tax laws and know which ones apply to your business. Going for Business Accounting and Chartered Accountant Services ensures that all your business is in line with industry and tax standards.

Financial Reporting and Analysis

Being aware of your company’s financial position is essential. To address this, you need to go for financial reporting and analysis. 

This involves taking stock of the below:

• Balance Sheets: This reflects the company’s assets and liabilities.
• Income (P/L) Statements: Records all profits, losses, earnings, and expenses for a set financial period.
• Cash Flow Reports: These show the company’s transactions.
• Quarterly and Annual Reports: These are designed to provide a thorough report of the company’s financial and operational position to the management.

The Chartered Accountant service provider then analyses and tallies these, forming a part of an internal financial audit.

Accurate financial reports keep your business audit-ready. Further, it ensures accuracy and lowers the chances of misreporting and fraud. 

Role of Technology in Modern Accounting

Gone are the days of physical ledgers where every record was maintained by hand. At the very least, businesses these days use spreadsheets to record their transactions. Though the platform offers mathematical tools, it also uses a lot of manual effort to file the data. This is one of the prime reasons why errors occur.

To eliminate this aspect, the latest approach is to go for accounting tools.

Automation in Accounting

By allowing the system to automatically read your financial data, you no longer need to enter each data manually. This saves time, increases accuracy, and paves the way for a more productive business accounting. To add, these are usually scalable systems, so they grow with your business and are capable of handling an increase in business volume. 

Cloud-Based Accounting Solutions

Designed for remote work, cloud-based systems are flexible in their accessibility. When you pick this option for your business, you ensure that both you and your outsourced team for Business Accounting Services can access data from wherever they want. 

Real-Time Financial Tracking

This increases accounting speed. With immediate access to accurate financial data, you can ensure faster decision-making. Further, this lowers the chances of financial fraud, tracks cash flow, and maintains updated financial records. To add, real-time tracking helps boost regulatory compliance. 

Choosing the Right Accounting Service Provider

Once you are aware of the benefits you stand to gain, it is time to choose a Chartered Accountant Service Provider and the business accounting services you want to outsource.

Factors to Consider

To make the right decision regarding your Business Accounting Service Provider, you need to evaluate the below:

• The list of business accounting services that you need.
• Whether you want to outsource your entire accounting department or only specific services?
• The volume of accounting activity and any future changes that might take place.
• Data security and privacy offered by the service providers.
• The budget you want to set aside for your accounting needs.
• If the Business Accounting Service Provider has ample experience.
• The technology you want to use for your business accounting needs.
• The compliance standards that your business needs to meet.

Further, it is best to take a look at client reviews and testimonials before you make a call.

Questions to Ask a Prospective Provider

Based on the above list, clear your doubts with the following queries:

• Which Business Accounting Services are on offer with the specific service provider?
• If the Business Accounting Services offered by the company is full-time or a SaaS?
• Whether or not Chartered Accountant Services are provided as well?
• Charges that are requested for said services.
• Types of client support, data privacy, and security protocols in use.
• The amount of business volume they are equipped to handle (scalability)
• The technology they use to perform business accounting services.

Asking the above will give you an idea if the Business Accounting or Chartered Accountant Service provider suits your needs.

Some Instances of Outsourced Business Accounting Services

Opting for Business Accounting Services can take you one step closer to your business goals. Let’s examine the validity of this statement with the two below scenarios:

Case 1:

Say a business is just starting out. At this stage, it has very few clients and staff, so the owners can take up bookkeeping on their own. Once they start to grow their business and hire more people, they are subject to a number of laws. Thus, maintaining compliance involves navigating complex legal norms. Further, an increase in business volume will lead to an increase in cash flow, making it difficult to keep track. 

Here, the business can opt for a Business Accounting Service that takes care of their accounting needs, helps maintain compliance, and streamline their accounting system.

Case 2:

Let’s assume a well-established business. While there are full-time accountants present, it can so happen that they get overwhelmed by the volume of work. Further, maintaining compliance involves financial reporting and audits that are best performed by a third party. Here, the company can go for Chartered Accountant Services. This ensures accuracy in financial reporting with a system of checks and balances.

Conclusion

No matter the size of your business, the above instances make it evident that Business Accounting and Chartered Accountant Services are always helpful. Whether you want to grow your business or simply decrease your workload, opting for business accounting services will ensure a flexible and scalable department.

The first step is to evaluate your budget and needs. Then, look for a suitable Accounting Service.

Streamline your accounting department with a little help from professional Business Accounting Service Providers.