How To Outsource Back Office Functions Effectively

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 11:14:08 -0400

With the growth of your real estate business, non-core tasks such as accounting, administration, and compliance can become hard to manage. Instead of hiring more staff, you can choose to outsource these back-office tasks. Outsourcing has numerous benefits which is why over more than a third of small businesses outsource at least some of their tasks.

Regardless of the business size, every property management company can outsource some of its back-office tasks. Follow our tips to get the most out of back-office outsourcing for your business.

Know which processes you can outsource

Outsourcing can greatly improve the productivity of your business. Knowing which tasks can be outsourced can make this process easier. Hiring internal staff for non-core tasks such as accounting can be expensive. Outsourcing provides you with the required expertise without the additional costs of training a new employee.

Based on business requirements, you can hire an outsourcing service on a monthly basis or also on a per-project basis. Some of the most outsourced property management tasks are:

IT Management

IT outsourcing is popular in almost all industries including real estate. According to Statista, the global IT outsourcing contract value has reached 66.5 billion USD. IT services include tech management as well as maintenance and troubleshooting of any software issues. It can also help you scale your software and integrate new technologies depending on business growth.

Accounting

Being an ace accountant is hard when you are already a property management expert. That’s why accounting is one of the most common tasks outsourced in real estate. Accounting has a vast work scope which includes bookkeeping and audits. Outsourcing back-office accounting ensures that all your records are accurate and well-maintained.

CAM Reconciliations

As a property manager, you are well aware of the complications involved in CAM reconciliations. By outsourcing CAM reconciliations, you let experts calculate and manage the annual CAM reports. They can also resolve any irregularities which help you maintain your company’s financial health.

Lease abstractions and audits

Every real estate business deals with long, complicated leases. Lease abstraction is the summary of your lease which highlights the most important clauses. Hiring an outsourcing service to manage your leases can help ease the legal documents for your tenants. Outsourcing partners can also provide other benefits like multilingual abstracts and lease audits.

Find the right outsourcing partner

After understanding your business goals, you need to find an outsourcing partner that suits your requirements. While looking for a service provider, price isn’t the only factor you should consider. Finding a provider within your budget is important, but more than that, other factors to consider are:

Area of expertise

Look for service providers that specialize in or have previous experience in your industry. If your portfolio is residential real estate, then look for partners who deal with the same. Apart from this, you will also want your service provider to be a tech expert. Do they have the latest technology? Are their tools compatible with your business goals? These are some of the questions to ask before hiring a service provider.

Reviews and reputation

The best way to understand the quality of a service provider is through business reviews. You can easily find testimonials online or even ask people around you for recommendations. Or, you can ask the service provider for referrals in the same industry as yours. This can give you a better idea of the kind of service you can expect from the service provider.

Data security

Outsourcing requires you to share confidential company data with a third party. Data security is the top concern for 56% of the companies moving to the cloud. If you are also opting to outsource IT services, then it is important to know the steps taken by your service provider to keep your data secure.

There are several methods they can adopt such as multi-factor authentication and firewalls. Understand how your service provider protects your data as it is one of the biggest assets of any business.

Create an outsourcing strategy

Once you have found the right service provider, you can create a proper real estate outsourcing strategy with them. Every business is unique and requires a different plan for outsourcing.

Discuss your business goals

Your service provider should know your expectations from outsourcing. Do you want to reduce overall costs or do you want the latest technology for your task? Provide a clear picture of your business goals so your service provider can build a strategy accordingly.

Understand your involvement

What steps does the service provider take to keep you in the loop? Outsourcing your tasks does not mean a lack of supervision from your side. Ask your service provider about how you will be updated about work progress. Most companies use periodic reports and discussions to keep the client updated.

Discuss the cost and budget

Your service provider should provide an estimate of the cost of your project. Most companies create a strategy that fits their client’s budgets. Knowing the expected cost beforehand is important as you can negotiate and choose a plan without spending a fortune.

Smart small

It is tempting to outsource most of your tasks as it is economical and productive. But if you are new to outsourcing, test the waters by outsourcing small tasks first. Consider starting with a real estate outsourcing project before hiring the service provider for a longer term. This way you can understand the compatibility between your business and the service provider before investing too much money.

KriyaGo: Your perfect outsourcing partner

KriyaGo helps its clients boost their productivity by handling their back-office tasks. We provide various outsourcing services such as back-office accounting and lease abstractions. Our experts understand the clients’ requirements and build a strategy according to their needs. We also help our clients integrate property management software and benefit from multiple features on a single platform. By outsourcing to KriyaGo, you can effectively manage your business and also access expert resources.

Want a trusted partner for your outsourcing journey? Reach out to KriyaGo!

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