We’re going to look into the future for a second: your B2B tech business has an established team of financial experts integral to the development (and running of) your company. They provide strategy and solutions, predict the unexpected and allocate every single transaction in and out of your business. You couldn’t do it without them.
Back to today. It’s not a question of whether you want that team. The question is: do you build it yourself or outsource it to the experts?
You don’t know what you don’t know.
Every company has particular departments in regular states of discovery and reactiveness. Divisions like product, customer success and leadership are all very dynamic in their nature; regularly uncovering problems and tasked with finding the solutions to fix them.
To a certain extent, the same will be asked of your finance department; they’re problem solvers too. The difference is they’ll know when the problems are coming. They’ll be proactive, not reactive, and will be able to mitigate upcoming issues.
When you outsource, you benefit from a team of industry experts who know things you don’t. They’ll be considering things you’re not aware need to be considered. Their overarching experience will mean they’re able to advise you on what to expect, at any stage, and implement a strategy to get the most for your business.
When you incrementally build your team, the department is likely to be in “reactive mode” because they’re growing and discovering with you. While that might work for other departments, the financial operations must have short, mid and long-term awareness of what’s coming, with minimal surprises. At all times.
Work towards what “great” looks like.
When your business is in the early stages of development, it’s quite common to employ an administrative assistant (or a part-timer) to take care of the smaller tasks. The trouble is, bookkeeping and accounting often fall into this category and we recommend it absolutely doesn’t.
To be able to make the right decisions for your business, you need to totally trust your books are accurate. Those numbers are your foundations; they inform you of your cash-flow position, eventually forming a pattern telling you when you can (and can’t) spend money.
The sooner you have access to a bookkeeper experienced in your industry, the faster your business will move to the next stage of growth and building. An excellent bookkeeper will prepare reliable, watertight books. They’ll pass on all necessary information to the accountant who will use that data to model their advice on your financial decisions.
That’s a lot of responsibility for an administrative assistant. When it comes to reducing potential risks, plan for what you’ll need in the near future. Plan for what great looks like.
A professional bookkeeper is a worthwhile investment.
Find a firm that specialises in your niche.
It will serve you well to hire people who specialise in your industry, across all departments. As a B2B tech business, hiring a marketing assistant with a background in fashion, for example, could stunt potential growth for some time. Your business won’t benefit from their skillset until they know the industry well enough to execute their tasks with your perspective in mind.
The same goes for your financial operations. B2B tech accountancy firms know the landscape. They pull in their expertise and apply it to the present position of your company while modelling your trajectory. They instantly think from your perspective; you’ll benefit from their industry know-how straightaway.
Accounting firms are not all cut from the same cloth. There are general firms and speciality firms. Find the one experienced in your niche. From the moment they join your team, you’ll be in a better position.
Don’t spend time managing the person who’s managing your finances.
There’s an experienced team of financial professionals behind every successful business. They’re industry experts, highly skilled in the financial operations of that niche.
You’re growing fast and the business is changing. All you know is you need support handling the finances. Training someone to adequately manage the accounting that supports the business takes a lot of time and trust. It requires check-ins and constant communication.
Whether you’re a start-up or scaling up, outsourcing your financial operations is a surefire way of getting what you need, sooner.
B2B tech businesses are what we do.
If you’re here, and you’re wondering how to get there, tell us your big objective by filling out our contact form.
We’ve got the accounting knowledge, industry expertise and all of the resources to support you while you build your business. Expect peace of mind knowing it’s being all taken care of, all the time, by the same people. Always working towards “great”, always with your vision in mind.
We’d love to show you what we can do.