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Outsourced accounting

Outsourced accounting services, without the org chart.

One outsourced accounting firm covering bookkeeping, tax, payroll, AR and AP, R&D credits and CFO-level reporting, run by one team against one calendar. Built for US companies growing faster than they can hire finance people.

What an outsourced accounting function actually covers

Most providers marketed as outsourced accounting are doing bookkeeping: categorising transactions and reconciling accounts. That is the recording layer, and it is necessary, but a set of reconciled accounts with no accruals posted still produces a profit and loss statement nobody should act on.

The difference is the judgement layer on top — revenue recognition, accruals and prepaids, the close itself, statements prepared to GAAP, and a tax position somebody is willing to sign. The practical test when you are comparing providers is to ask two questions: who signs off on the monthly statements, and is tax filing included or referred out to a partner firm.

The six pieces, and how they connect

Each of these is a service you can buy on its own. They are worth more together because the outputs chain: the close feeds the reporting, the reporting feeds the forecast, and the R&D claim depends on payroll data that had to be coded correctly nine months earlier.

FoundationOutsourced bookkeepingDaily categorisation, monthly close on a fixed calendar, and statements that do not move after you have reported them.See the service ComplianceStartup tax & complianceFederal and state filings, franchise tax, and the deadlines that carry a penalty whether or not you owed anything.See the service CashAR & APInvoices out, bills in, and a collections cadence that runs weekly instead of at month end.See the service CashPayrollMulti-state payroll, contractor payments and the employer filings that sit behind them.See the service CreditsR&D tax creditsQualified research identified, documented and claimed, including the payroll-tax election for pre-revenue companies.See the service StrategyFractional CFOThe forecast, the board pack and the model behind the next raise or loan, part-time.See the service

When outsourcing stops being the right answer

It stops when the work needs someone in the room. Below roughly $10 million in revenue, an outsourced function is usually both cheaper and better staffed than what you could hire, because a full-time controller at that size spends a good part of the month without enough to do. Past that, and earlier if your business carries unusual complexity, the balance tips toward an in-house controller with an outsourced team underneath them.

That sequencing question — controller or CFO, in-house or fractional — is its own decision, and controller vs CFO works through it with the close-speed tests that settle most cases in a week.

What switching looks like

Two to six weeks for most companies. The variable is almost never the incoming provider — it is how far behind the books are on arrival. A company that is current switches in a fortnight. One with nine months of unreconciled cash needs a cleanup first, and that is its own project.

Two things are worth confirming before you sign anywhere. Whether you keep your own accounting file, because leaving a provider who runs your books in proprietary software means rebuilding your history rather than changing a login. And what the month-end calendar actually is — a month-end close checklist with named owners is a fair thing to ask to see.

Frequently asked questions

What is outsourced accounting?+
Outsourced accounting is where an external firm runs some or all of your finance function — bookkeeping, month-end close, tax filings, payroll, AR and AP — rather than you hiring for it in-house. The distinction that matters is scope: a bookkeeping service records transactions, while an outsourced accounting function also closes the month, files the returns and produces statements someone will sign their name to.
How much do outsourced accounting services cost?+
For a US company under roughly $25 million in revenue, a full outsourced function typically runs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month depending on transaction volume, entity count and whether tax and CFO work are included. Zinance publishes bookkeeping pricing and quotes the rest per engagement after a scoping call, because entity structure and volume move the number more than headcount does.
Is outsourced accounting cheaper than hiring in-house?+
Below about $10 million in revenue, usually yes, because a full-time controller alone sits in the BLS financial managers category where the May 2025 median wage was $166,570 before benefits — and most companies at that size cannot keep one busy. The calculation flips somewhere past that point, and it flips earlier if your business has unusual complexity that a shared team has to relearn every month.
What is the difference between outsourced accounting and outsourced bookkeeping?+
Bookkeeping is the recording layer: categorising transactions, reconciling accounts, keeping the ledger current. Accounting adds the judgement on top — revenue recognition, accruals, the close itself, GAAP statements, and the tax position. Many providers market bookkeeping as accounting, so the useful question to ask is who signs off on the monthly statements and whether tax filing is included or referred out.
Can I keep my own QuickBooks file?+
With Zinance, yes. We work inside your accounting file and it stays yours, which matters because moving off a provider who runs your books in their own proprietary system means rebuilding your history rather than changing a login. It is worth confirming this with any provider before you sign, not after.
How long does it take to switch providers?+
Two to six weeks for most companies, and the variable is almost never the new provider. It is how far behind the books are when they arrive. A company that is current switches in a fortnight; one with nine months of unreconciled cash needs that cleaned up first, and that cleanup is its own project with its own timeline.

Find out what this would cost you.

Twenty minutes, your actual numbers, and a scope you can compare against what you are paying now.