Common Challenges of Accounting Outsourcing Services in India and How to Deal With Them

Many people worry about the challenges of accounting outsourcing services in India. Identifying these challenges is the best way to find solutions to them. In the long run, you realize that there are a lot of benefits associated with outsourcing financial services once you have overcome the challenges. Some of them actually may never manifest, however, if they do, it helps to be ready to face them. These are some of the most common problems clients face.

Accounting Outsourcing Services in India

Communication Barriers 

Many service providers may claim to understand English, but you realize eventually that the degree to which they understand is limited. This becomes a problem when you are trying to explain your needs. For offshore companies, this can be a major challenge as it takes a while to get your point across and this will delay delivery. When it comes to accounting outsourcing services in India, you may find it easier to find English speakers since English is one of the languages spoken there, however, there may also be cultural barriers that can influence the flow of communication.

What to do: Before you settle for a particular service provider, do your research on their language proficiency. Ask to speak to the contact you will be dealing with often and take note of how they respond to your questions as well as the kind of questions they ask. Do you feel that they understand your questions?

You can also find out if the service provider takes proactive steps to ensure their staff is good communicators not just good with numbers, after all, you may need consultancy services in the future and that would require efficient communication.

Service Providers may be too Busy for you 

Many outsourced bookkeepers do not know when to stop taking in more clients. This results in an overstretched portfolio. The employees will be on the pressure to meet unrealistic performance goals which just results in errors. The client may notice warning signals when they can hardly get the attention of the outsourced staff.

When employees are forced to switch between too many tasks, they become highly ineffective. Studies have shown that multitasking doesn’t achieve efficiency and affects productivity.

The main challenge of a service provider who is too busy for the client is that the client is never understood and the results are not what the client expects.

What to Do: Before you outsource an accountant, find out about their portfolio. How many clients are they handling and what measure to they have in place to ensure they satisfy all their clients. You can also set key performance indicators that will be included in your agreement. Make sure the agreement has an exit clause for a situation where you feel neglected by the service provider.

You should also do due diligence. Find out what other customers have to say about their experience with the service provider.

Data Safety 

Since outsourced accountants perform their duties offsite, there is a lot of transfer of data and a lot of the data may be sensitive financial information. The mode of transfer used can put your financial data at risk. Emails are the biggest threat to financial information and in most cases, it is the client who exposes the data to threats. While most outsourcing companies will provide safe ways to share information, some clients may be negligent and send sensitive information by email.

What to Do: As the client, ensure everyone within your organization adheres to strict guidelines when sharing data. In most cases, the accounting software has provisions for sharing data and this is much safer than email.

You should also find out how the service provider handles data security. End to end encryption and automated data safety are some of the highly recommended options.

Your Software Vs Their Software 

Some outsourced accountants will insist that you change your software because it is not familiar to them. This is an added cost to the client. Many clients may find this a challenge since they would consider that they wouldn’t have to change software every time they made a new hire so why should they change when they outsource the accounting?

What to Do: Sometimes it may indeed be necessary to change your software if it is outdated or inefficient. Find out from the service provider why they are making the recommendation. It could turn out to be for your good.

At the same time, you should expect flexibility from your service provider. If they are simply not familiar with your software and yet it is top of the range, they should make the effort to learn, otherwise, you should find one who will be comfortable with your software.

Final Word

Challenges will always be present in the business. As an entrepreneur, you should not let them stop you from achieving your goals. Your business can benefit from outsourcing accounting services. You just need to find the right service provider and follow the advice on how to overcome the challenges.