The A to Z of Outsource Accounting

Accounting is an important element in any business since it’s the one responsible for checking and collating data to be used to assess the performance of a company and whatever plan the board decides to make.

Cloud Accounting is a method used in accounting that does not require individual software installation to have access to files. Since files are stored in a remote server, only those who have permission to use it can access the files, therefore, making it a secure way of doing accounting.

There is a danger of falling into error and unbalanced books if you assign accounting or bookkeeping tasks to non-accountants because this kind of work requires specialised knowledge and training regarding the tasks at hand.

GAAP or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles is a set of guidelines that states the standards and rules which accountants should follow especially when producing financial reports. At Bureauserv, we follow these accounting principles to deliver fair, honest and competent results in our proceedings.

An Inventory is made by accountants to make sure that all expenses are accounted for especially when preparing financial reports. An Inventory includes a list of all costs acquired to get the raw materials, processing it and preparing it for sale.

Check Kiting is a form of fraud committed when non-existing funds are allocated for unauthorised use. To avoid this, make sure that there is financial transparency in your business process and financial reports.

MYOB is a cloud-accounting software used for basic accounting practices for small and medium-sized enterprises. MYOB was first introduced in the 1980s, and it continues to be used for accounting practices primarily due to their on-going improvements when they entered cloud accounting to their service in 2014.

Outsource Accounting is one of the many tasks fields that outsourcing companies focus on because having an outsourced personnel lower the costs of doing business and optimise profit. At Bureauserv, our outsource accounting services include Data Processing, Payroll Processing, Management Accounting and Debtor Management.

Quickbooks is a cloud-accounting software perfect for small and medium enterprises because of its ease when using accounting applications that accept payment, manages bills and payrolls and more. At Bureauserv, our qualified accountants use Quickbooks along with MYOB and XERO to perform accounting tasks for our foreign clients.

To adequately account for the company’s financial statements, a Separation of Duties is necessary for those who handle the accounts of the business. For example, a person that does the books of the company should be different from the one that controls the payroll to prevent room for theft or other errors.

The process of accounting contains underlying rules and principles that set the standards that serve as guidelines for accountants all over the world. The underlying rules and principles of accounting must always be followed to ensure the correct value that reflects a company’s financial statements.

Accountants can prepare a Write-Up Work for clients who want to see an initial presentation of the company’s financial statements. A write-up work is based on reports solely from client information and without review or audit of these amounts.

A Year-to-date Net Income is the company’s net income which starts from the current accounting year until a specified date. Calculating this kind of income is necessary if clients want to know the breakdown of a company’s net income from specific times outside of monthly or annual financial reports.

Bookkeeping is another task that most companies outsource aside from accounting. Outsource bookkeeping keeps records of a company’s transaction with accounts contained in the general ledger.

Debt Collection is a problem that companies experience because of bad returns heightened by incompetent accounting practices. To prevent this, make sure to have a good accountant that can balance your books so that you can better strategise for the sale of your products and services.

Financial Reports or Financial Statements are made monthly or every quarter and annually to assess the performance of a company. Preparing financial reports is necessary since these are the ones companies look into when they plan and strategise for the upcoming quarter or year.

Horizontal Analysis is a method used to calculate financial statements and see on-going trends starting from the base year. This kind of approach is essential for it provides another perspective in analysing the economic state of a company especially if you are looking for growth.

Accountants keep Journal Entries to document records of their accounting procedures especially when doing debit or crediting works. The journal entry must include the date, the account name and the amount debited or credited among others.

Linear Programming is a mathematical tool used to calculate and optimise profits given contribution margins, based on limited amount of inputs and other constraints.

A Natural Business Year accounts for the 12 consecutive months that businesses progress ending on a month which they have a low point of activity. Apart from a natural business year, companies also undergo a fiscal year which they use to make economic reports for the previous natural business year as well as prepare new ones for the next natural business years.

Along with Accounting and Bookkeeping, Payroll is another fiscal task outsourced by most companies to ensure the equal and honest division of payment for all employees in an organisation. At Bureauserv, we offer payroll processing for all SMEs.

Make sure that the accountant or the accounting firm that you outsource your business to is reliable. Reliability along with honesty are key characteristics an accountant must have to perform correct accounting tasks since they are the ones responsible for a company’s financial statements.

The Transaction Approach is a method used to determine net income by summarising and reporting a company’s transaction to see the different statements. At Bureauserv, we use this approach as one of the many ways we do accounting to ensure that what we come up with our accounting procedures are correct.

Value Billing is a way to do outsource accounting which bills clients based on the value or type of accounting procedure done by the company as opposed to the other way of conducting outsource accounting which is to charge clients based on the time spent doing the company’s accounting procedures.

Xero is a cloud-accounting software used for small and medium-sized enterprises for accounting, bookkeeping and other tasks. This software features easy invoicing, inventory, attaching files to data, paying bills, claiming expenses, purchasing orders and more.

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) is a concept that sets a different a budget to plan for the new year. Rather than having last year’s budget as the basis for next year’s budget, ZBB, allows companies to start budgeting based from scratch and then justifying the set amount based on planned activities for the year.