Top 5 Small Business Functions That Can Be Outsourced

You know how valuable time is to a business owner, especially a small business owner. Outsourcing certain business functions can help you free up internal resources and save money.

1. Accounting & Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping and Accounting are one of the most outsourced small and large business functions. Running a business is tough on its own, then add in becoming a financial expert to that mix. Think about all the responsibilities associated with having accurate financials. With all the room for human error, it's tough focusing on this and growing your business. Outsourcing bookkeeping increases your efficiency and will save you money the long term.

2. IT Management

This is the most outsourced small business function next to bookkeeping. Making sure your business is secure requires having someone on your team with IT knowledge, security and troubleshooting to keep all of your client's information secure. IT Management companies provide this service tailored to your business at an affordable price.

3. Human Resources

This is a new function that many small businesses are outsourcing to qualified HR companies. Whether you need on-demand HR services when you hire someone, or just to make sure that your payroll is processed and new employee training is completed, this is the way to go when your resources are limited.

4. Marketing

Many small businesses rely only on word of mouth and eventually, this slows down. Not knowing how to market your business can cause you to miss the marketing part all together. Whether you think it's too difficult to do it on your own, or you're not so tech savvy, marketing the right way will help flow customers into your business. Outsourced marketing has been growing in the past few years and they help your business with marketing strategies tailored to your type of business. They can provide tailored Google Ads, content creation and social media postings.

5. Administrative Duties

Small business owners have many ideas and getting there takes time. Many companies offer Dedicated Virtual Assistants to help solve the small day to day tasks that are easily missed once a business owner becomes busy running their business. Virtual assistants will handle appointments, calls, social media and are more affordable than having an employee since they are contract workers and don't require a W-2. This helps small business owners stay focused while saving money.

Other services

Depending on your business needs, there are other functions that are successfully outsourced.

Customer Service

Manufacturing

Shipping  

Logistics

Sales

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When is it time to outsource?

There are some indicators that can help you decide if you're ready to outsource certain functions. Your business can have fluctuations due to seasonal increases, you don't have the experience and you need someone to professionally take the role, or you need to focus on your work life balance. Outsourcing can be a great solution and can open up your professional and personal time to focus on growing your business.

When outsourcing might not work.

While we all would like to think that outsourcing will solve all your constraints, sometimes, it might not be a viable solution if you don't have enough funds to cover the expenses, you lack of resources to initiate the conversion, or if there are security concerns.

Overall, there is always a learning curve to new processes and technologies, but outsourcing the right company from bookkeeping to IT Management, can lead to efficiency in your business.