How to Choose the Best Bookkeeping Outsourcing Business Partner
An effective outsourcing relationship is likened to getting married. There should be some level of trust and confidence in the person for the two to make a couple. The same goes for an outsourcing relationship. To get a trusted outsourcing business partner, it’s your sole responsibility to do thorough homework and understudy the efficiency of the partner before making a choice of the one to go for.
The most important factor is to have an in-depth knowledge of the strengths, weaknesses and cultural fit of the outsourcing partner to ascertain it fits your standard and meets your expectation. Another vital element is transparency existing between the two people as is in marriage. You have to ensure a strong, progressive, and lasting relationship.
You don’t think about lengthy legal battles and messy divorces, before marriage. But if you did, you would be all the more prepared. That is exactly what is required before choosing your outsourcing partner. If you do your homework well, there is a very good chance that you will “live happily ever after!”
What to look out for in an outsourcing partner?
Considering the importance of Outsourcing to Business relationships and success, to enhance and ensure the partnership benefits all stakeholders, the following outlined should be highly considered.
- Domain Knowledge
- Experience and track record
- Certifications
- Measurable quality of service
- Competitive Pricing
- Flexibility in partnership
Knowledge
The most important factor regarding whether a particular company makes a suitable outsourcing partner is their knowledge of your subject, i.e. the materials, manufacturing techniques involved, conventions, market requirements, etc. Another very important aspect is in-depth knowledge of the local supply base
Experience and track record
Past Success towards carrying out a similar task will be fair proof of the outsourcing supplier towards your kind of business. Also, important is to check whether they multi-task, which should be an indication to you they probably might not be specialists in your area of business. So it’s better you choose an outsourcing supplier in your area of interest, that has some level of expertise.
Measurable quality of service
The Quality rendered by the outsourcing company/partner should be of a measurable quality. If the service provider has standards and measurable quality for their tasks, then you must give additional preference to them. The service level agreement should mention this and be agreed upon between you and your partner.
Competitive Pricing
Quality comes at a price. The price should be compared and choose the most competitive price ever. But you should look for competitive prices wherever possible.
Flexible partnership
Both outsourcing partners should agree on a flexible note to help each other adapt to needs common to them, especially the outsourcing company. The agreement between you and your outsourcing partner must be flexible. The ability of the partner to adapt to your needs is very important. They should be big enough to cater to your needs.
Apart from these, there are various factors such as their history, Professionalism, senior management people, References and financial stability of the company.
The success of outsourcing is finding the right partner. It must be mutually beneficial and the relationship must be honest and transparent. To achieve it, you must do the homework. If you do that properly, then success is guaranteed.
