How not to fall into a financial loop by hiring an accounting bureau 

Many businesses across the world are outsourcing accounting services. Many of them struggle to understand what they are paying for. There are different pricing methods and regardless of the method still the clients complain about the costs they incur. Hidden cost in this industry is a widespread practice and most of the time there is always some answer which is supposed to satisfy the client. Recently I did my research in the local Maltese market and I have to admit, only 20% of service providers were transparent at the stage of getting the price list. I did not sign any contract, so I cannot tell you what would come up during the next 12 months but based on that I found out I would be able to give a try this 20%.

Here are the tips which might be helpful before you decide to sign the contract.

TIP 1

Ask your service provider for a detailed price list of each service offered to you

Ask your service provider for a detailed price list of every single service which should/must be performed during the full 12 months of running the services for your entity. I would say it is the most important information for you as a business when it comes to outsourcing such services. I found out that the bureau makes its life easier by charging its clients on an hourly basis. I think this is the place where all hidden costs are. Hourly rate is extremely wide and in the end, you don’t know what was done. Very often you don't even know how many hours were performed, you only see the total accumulated price.

TIP 2

Query the services which are not clear to you

Ask plenty of questions about the services which are not clear to you. You do not need to understand the wording/services which will be provided to you, but you have a right to ask in detail about what are you buying. You might have listed an item named Accounts Payable or bank reconciliation but in the end, you do not know what is included and what needs to be performed. Another subject is if you really need such a service, or if it is only to increase the sales for service providers.

TIP 3

Ask about the services which are not listed in your proposal, and you might need them

 Sometimes it might be hard to think what we might need but what I mean here is to ask a general question about ad hoc reporting. Forecast for what you might require when your business will grow. Most of the time the basic packages are listed (if they are listed). The ad-hoc reporting mostly would be priced differently. It would be in your favor to ask about the model of pricing for such “unregular” solutions.

Tip 4

Watch the form of communication, as this is your base for future cooperation

Closely look into communication. Does it look professional from day one? You can easily judge the level of professionalism at the very first contact. Let's say the service provider responded to your email. Did he/she ask you detailed questions about your business activities? If yes, that is great. It is a good start. Was the proposal sent to you as a simple email without any breakdowns and detailed services which should be performed? How many emails did you need to send to know the full prices? Did they call you or did they try to set up an online meeting? I believe all these FIRST CONTACT moves can tell you a lot about what communication will be during the length of the contract. What I would expect from such a service provider is a proposal sent by an attachment with clearly listed descriptions and prices. It also saves your time, and if the time is saved at the start, that is a very good sign for future cooperation and of course your bank account.

TIP 5

Ensure you fully understand the contract and the prices & services are listed in the agreement

When it comes to the signing of the contract ensure that the proposal which you agreed to is attached to the contract and that all Terms and Conditions are clear to you. I strongly advise you to read each sentence in the Letter of Engagement.

Query the open statements such as “All other services not listed in the Attachment/Schedule XYZ will be priced on an hourly basis/depend on services required. “

In this case, it would be crucial to know what the hourly rate is. From my personal experience, I can say that some of the prices actually might not be known at the stage of signing the contract as the service provider does not know exactly what can be required from the client. In this case, each time when you ask for a service that is not listed in the initial contract, simply ask for the QUOTATION.

TIP 6

Ask if the outsourcing service provider clearly states each item on the future invoices

Many service providers are not clear about what they are charging for. Plenty of times I have witnessed the invoices saying “Services rendered in May 2022”

I found this extremely unprofessional. I do not know how you feel about it but imagine going to the Supermarket and receiving a Receipt from the cash register stating:

1.     Item A _ € 2,99

2.     Item B _ €4,69

3.     Item C_€16,89

When you leave the store, you do not know how much you paid for what.

The above are the only few important points to watch when you look for outsourcing services. It is worth it to focus on this task of looking for a professional outsourcing provider since you will be in touch quite often. You want to be served in a professional transparent manner. You want to simply pay for what you ordered.

How we differ:

• We provide a detailed price list and breakdown of all necessary tasks needed for the length of 12 months

• We are in regular contact with our future clients to resolve any doubts about price lists, terminology, unlisted services, and price ranges for them, also we explain matters regarding the contract itself

• We are available to our clients through 5 different channels, we organize personal/telephone/online meetings

• Our invoicing system is designed to give a detailed description of the services rendered. You have no doubts about what you are paying for

If you are looking for professional accounting services in Malta, do not hesitate visit

        our website www.bookkeepingmore.com

email us at  info@bookkeepingmore.com

simply call us at +356 7922 5373

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