An Outsourced Finance Team for Your Growing Business

Has your business outgrown its current finance arrangements?

A business can outgrow basic bookkeeping before it is ready to employ a complete internal finance team.

The numbers may be technically maintained, but the owner is still chasing information, answering routine questions, managing several suppliers and trying to work out what the figures mean.

An outsourced finance function brings those responsibilities together. CASS can take responsibility for agreed parts of the finance operation, provide regular information and add senior financial input when decisions require it.

You gain a finance team that can develop with the business without having to recruit every role at once.

Signs you may need an outsourced finance team

It may be time to consider outsourced finance if:

• Finance administration is taking too much owner or management time.
• Bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and reporting are handled separately with little coordination.
• Information arrives too late to support decisions.
• The business needs more than a bookkeeper but is not ready for a full internal finance department.
• You are unsure who is responsible for important financial processes.
• The quality of reporting depends too heavily on one person.
• The business is growing and its existing systems are struggling to keep up.
• You need Finance Director-level input without a full-time appointment.
• You want greater financial control without adding several employees.

How does outsourced finance work day to day?

We start by understanding your current processes, systems, responsibilities and reporting requirements.

We then agree:

• What CASS will take responsibility for.
• What information we need from you.
• Who will approve transactions and decisions.
• How frequently work will be completed.
• When reports will be produced.
• How and when we will meet.
• Who to contact when support is needed.
• How the service may change as the business develops.

CASS works as an extension of your business rather than as a collection of disconnected services.

What will your business gain?

A properly structured outsourced finance function can give you:

• More time to concentrate on running the business.
• Clear ownership of financial processes.
• Accurate and up-to-date records.
• More consistent reporting.
• Better visibility of profit, cash and commitments.
• Access to a wider range of finance skills.
• Less dependence on one internal person.
• Support that can change as the business grows.
• Better information for important decisions.

Virtual and Fractional Finance Director support

Not every growing business needs a full-time Finance Director. It may, however, need somebody to challenge assumptions, interpret performance and help guide major decisions.

A Virtual or Fractional Finance Director can support:

• Financial planning and forecasting.
• Board-level reporting.
• Cash and working-capital management.
• Profitability and margin analysis.
• Recruitment and investment decisions.
• Pricing discussions.
• Funding requirements.
• Accountability against agreed targets.
• Communication of financial information to directors and stakeholders.

This support can sit above the outsourced finance team or complement an internal bookkeeper or finance employee.

How is this different from bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping records and organises the transactions of the business.

An outsourced finance function can include bookkeeping, but it goes further by bringing together processes, responsibilities, reporting, cash management and senior financial support.

How is this different from Financial Reports?

Financial Reports help you understand how the business is performing.

Outsourced Finance covers the wider people, processes and responsibilities needed to run the finance function. Financial reporting may form part of that service.

How is this different from Strategic Planning and Insights?

Strategic Planning and Insights focus on forecasts, plans and individual business decisions.

Outsourced Finance provides the wider ongoing finance function. Virtual FD support may include strategic planning as part of that relationship.

From a week of finance administration to a couple of days

CASS acts as the outsourced finance team for Care & Companionship, providing support from financial processing and bank reconciliations through to invoicing, payroll and year-end compliance.

The time previously spent internally on invoicing and payroll reduced from approximately a week to a couple of days. This released management capacity and allowed resources to be used more effectively elsewhere in the business.

“There's always somebody there – either phone, message, email. We've got a portal that we use. There's lots of touch points. It runs like clockwork.”

One client's experience, not a result every client should expect.

Related guidance

• What does outsourced finance cost?
• In-house finance team or outsourced?
• When does a business need a Finance Director?
• What is a Virtual Finance Director?
• Why should I outsource my bookkeeping?
• What services are included in an outsourced finance function?
• How does an outsourced finance team work day to day?