Introduction

As an entrant into the industry sector in the Netherlands, finding suitable employees can be a challenging endeavor. However, it’s not only important to find professionals in your business’s industry; departments such as finance, accounting, HR, and legal are also vital, and they make the whole company work like a well-oiled machine. Well-organized accounting ensures that your business functions efficiently and in accordance with the legal framework.

Legal requirements are the same for every company in a given country, but not all companies are the same, and not all operate in the same way. For successful accounting, you need the right experts that suit your business perfectly and understand your challenges. That’s why it’s crucial to find someone familiar with your company’s activities and the way you operate.

Accounting and bookkeeping services in the Netherlands

To understand what skills you should have in mind when it comes to accountants, you must first be aware of what their daily activities include. In the Netherlands, an accountant is a controlling role that is legally protected, and for this profession, a bachelor’s or master’s degree is necessary. Bookkeeping is just a process of accounting work. Usually, it is recommended to go to an accountant for complex situations and higher requirements.

Some of the most common services that accountants provide are:

• Tax registration and compliance
• Debt monitoring and risk assessment
• Accounting and annual tax filings
• Audit services and payroll services

On the other hand, bookkeepers deal with accounting procedures such as recording receipts, invoices, and documents related to employees’ salaries. Since this is more administrative work, bookkeepers don’t need a degree in accounting. Yet, they need to be well-qualified and familiar with your work since they are dealing with the recording of all financial transactions.

Why should you choose outsourcing instead of in-house accounting?

Business owners might be skeptical when it comes to outsourcing their accounting and finances, which is completely understandable as dealing with finances is a sensitive job. However, there is no need for that as outsourcing financial teams is getting more and more common. Outsourcing is one of the fastest-growing trends in the global industry, and this trend is expressed in the accounting industry as well.

Recent research by Report Linker shows that the outsourcing accounting industry reached a worth of 43.1 billion dollars in 2022 and is expected to rise to 54.3 billion dollars by the year 2026.

The development and evolution of the Internet opened new chapters in the world of business. By outsourcing accounting services, you get a chance to place your needs and find solutions somewhere else on the globe. With the traditional way of accounting, owners were limited to a certain number of employees they could find in their vicinity.

Outsourcing this role has opened the door to a considerable number of new workers, who are extremely skilled and experienced, very reliable and can also be more economical depending on the company the financial team is outsourced by. By expanding the candidate pool, employers get the opportunity to integrate new people with different expertise into their business and explore a different way of performing the same job. Outsourcing offers the opportunity to improve accounting performance with lower costs.

Challenges of in-house accounting

Looking at the business trends, it seems that having an in-house accounting team is more and more a thing of the past. Although it may look like you have your finances in front of you and are in full control, this might not be the smartest choice.

Here are a few risks that you should consider if you decide to opt for an in-house accounting team:

• Higher costs

It takes significant amounts of money to recruit, screen, and train your accountant or bookkeeper. In-house wages are higher than outsourcing, but that’s not the only cost. Don’t forget office costs, benefits, payroll taxes, health insurance, equipment, etc.

• Impossibility of scaling your needs

What if your business grows fast? That means that you would need to expand your accounting team with it. Training, onboarding, and assimilating new employees into your company can take a lot of time. Also, it might take even longer to find the right candidate. Remote accounting gives you the ability to scale your team according to your needs at any given moment, which can save you a lot of money, time, and energy.

• Potential frauds

Although this might sound cruel, this is a real-life situation that we cannot ignore. If it ever comes to situations like this, it’s likely to be committed by the employee who’s close to you and who’s well acquainted with your company, details, internal data, and confidential information. With outsourcing, you’re managing access to authorizations, permissions, and confidential information.

With the CEO – remote team arrangement, you create a system in which the remote team sends reports to you, which allows you to monitor all financial flows and operations. This will reduce the chances of potential fraud.

Advantages of outsourcing bookkeeping services

Let’s look at some of the advantages of outsourcing bookkeeping services.

• Lower cost

In contrast to in-house accounting, outsourcing allows you to hire more specialists in this area for a lower price. Therefore, this saving gives you the possibility of hiring more specialists, which can increase the functionality of your finances. Win-win situation, no doubt.

• Time savings for business growth

Managing finances is crucial to your business and as such, can take up too much of your time. If you outsource your accounting, you will get more time to devote to new projects, clients, and business development in general.

• Networking

By cooperating with outsourcing companies, you’re getting the opportunity to look at finances in a completely different way. Outsourcing companies employ experts who deal with only this area and who are thus completely focused on accounting. The benefit in this situation is increasing the flexibility of your team, which can focus on other things in your business. On the other hand, you’re getting regulated finances and possibly new ideas and solutions in the field of accounting, which can be extra value for your company.

• Reporting and monitoring

When you hire an external accountant, you get full visibility of financial activities through reports. This is helpful for small businesses with a small number of employees. Imagine that you need to look back in your books and try to find one minus or a reason why you didn’t make a profit. With constant reporting, you have a new pair of eyes that might see something you are missing. Secondly, you’re able to think proactively, make changes, and make further steps at the right time to scale your business to make a profit.

How to choose the right firm for your business?

For successful accounting and bookkeeping in the Netherlands, the most important thing is having employees you can rely on. Since finance is a crucial segment of your business, accountants must be knowledgeable and familiar with the latest software technologies. On top of that, they need to keep track of things such as amended regulations, changes to tax rules, and other important developments that affect their field of work. Employees in this area must be familiar with how your company operates, time frames, company goals, and the mission that you’re trying to achieve.

That is exactly why FinSuperstars came up with FinAcademy. Every employee you choose is trained to work in your company. Before being employed at a specific position, the participant of the academy goes through a course in which they become familiar with all your activities, technical requirements, the field of business, and the way you work.

After receiving the FinAcademy certification, you get an employee who is familiar with the culture and methods of your business and who is well acquainted with the culture and environment of your company. With FinAcademy, the onboarding process is halfway done, and you’re getting an employee who is ready right from the start.

If you agree that outsourcing has significant benefits over in-house teams, book a meeting today and get started with FinSuperstars!