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Time, budgets & capacity
Is Outsourcing Actually Saving You Money?
The day rate is only one line in the sum
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Quick answer
Outsourcing only saves money once you add in the UK reviewer's time, rework from errors, management overhead and any hours lost to slow turnaround — not just the offshore day rate. Firms that never measure these extra costs often assume they're saving when the true picture is closer to break-even. Track estimated versus actual time in Remindoo to see the real number.
Why is the headline day rate not the real cost of outsourcing?
The offshore day rate is the most visible cost of outsourcing but rarely the only one — UK review time, rework and management overhead all sit underneath it, usually unmeasured.
A partner comparing an offshore day rate to a UK junior's salary will almost always see outsourcing as cheaper on paper. What that comparison misses is everything that happens after the offshore team sends the work back: the UK reviewer's time checking it, the rework when something is wrong, and the management time spent chasing, explaining and re-explaining.
None of that is a reason to avoid outsourcing. It's a reason to measure the whole picture rather than just the invoice from the provider, so you know whether the arrangement is genuinely saving time and money or just moving the cost somewhere less visible.
What goes wrong when firms don't measure the true cost
A practice moves year-end preparation offshore expecting an obvious saving against the cost of hiring a UK junior. Files are sent by email, worked on with no time budget attached, and returned whenever they're done.
Nobody records how long the UK reviewer spends fixing errors or how many files bounce back and forth before they're client-ready. The partner feels busier than before, not less, but has no figures to explain why — just a sense that something isn't adding up against the invoice.
A year later, a straightforward comparison of the provider's invoice against the reviewer's actual hours spent on rework shows the arrangement is barely breaking even. Nobody spotted it sooner because nothing was tracked against a time budget in the first place.
Signs you've lost control
- You've never compared estimated time against actual hours tracked on offshore work
- Rework and correction time isn't recorded separately from first-pass preparation
- The UK reviewer's time on offshore files is invisible in any report
- You assume the arrangement is saving money without a specific figure behind it
- Turnaround delays aren't costed against the time saved elsewhere
- Nobody has reviewed the cost picture since the arrangement started
How to work out whether outsourcing is really saving you money
- 1
Set an estimated time for every offshore job
Use a consistent time allocation per job type so you have a baseline to compare against.
- 2
Track actual hours at every stage
Preparation, review, and any rework should each be logged separately against the job.
- 3
Add up the full cost side
Provider invoice plus UK reviewer time plus management overhead, not the invoice alone.
- 4
Compare against the counterfactual
What would the same job type have cost in UK reviewer or junior hours if done in-house.
- 5
Run the comparison by service line
Some services outsource more cleanly than others — don't average across everything.
- 6
Repeat quarterly, not once
Costs and quality both drift as a relationship matures or a team changes.
Who owns each step of an outsourced job?
1. Assign
UK office
Set the job with an estimated time allocation so there's a baseline to measure the real cost against.
2. Prepare
Offshore team
Work is logged against the task so preparation time is recorded, not guessed at afterwards.
3. Review
UK reviewer
Review and rework time is tracked separately so it doesn't disappear into 'general admin'.
4. Approve
UK partner
The partner sees estimated versus actual time before signing off, not just the invoice total.
5. Send
UK office
The completed job carries a full time record, ready for the quarterly cost comparison.
How does Remindoo help you see the real cost of outsourcing?
Remindoo lets you set an estimated time allocation on every task, then compare it with the hours actually tracked in service time analysis — by employee, by service and by client. That means you can see, job by job, whether an offshore file took the expected time or ran over because of rework, missing information or unclear instructions. Task templates keep estimates consistent across similar jobs, so the comparison is meaningful rather than one-off. Employee reporting and work and utilisation reports show how much UK reviewer time is really going into offshore-prepared work, which is the figure most firms never see. Detailed tasks with subtasks let you separate preparation time from review and correction time, so rework isn't hidden inside a single lump figure. None of this invents a saving or a cost for you — it gives you the real numbers to do the sum yourself, per-client pricing with no per-user charge as your offshore team grows.
Estimated time allocation
Plan capacity with expected effort per job.
See featureService time analysis by employee
Compare time spent by service and person.
See featureEmployee reporting
Capacity, productivity and deadline performance.
See featureWork and utilisation
Spot over-capacity weeks early.
See featureTask and subtask templates
Checklists that make every job consistent.
See featureDetailed task creation
Set priority, assignee and deadline on every job.
See featureWhat changes when you move off email and WhatsApp?
| Area | Email, WhatsApp and spreadsheets | Remindoo |
|---|---|---|
| What's measured | The provider's invoice only | Invoice plus tracked UK review and rework time |
| Time estimates | None set in advance | Estimated time allocation on every job |
| Rework visibility | Invisible, absorbed into general workload | Logged separately via subtasks |
| Comparison basis | Gut feeling | Estimated vs actual time by service line |
| Review frequency | Never reassessed | Quarterly comparison built into reporting |
| Per-user cost as team grows | Assumed low, rarely checked | Unlimited users, per-client pricing |
See your offshore set-up working
A 30-minute walkthrough of teams, roles, time budgets and review steps.
What does a simple cost comparison actually look like?
Add the offshore invoice to UK reviewer hours (at an internal rate) and any rework hours, then compare the total against what the same volume of work would cost done entirely in-house.
This is a framework, not a set of real figures — plug in your own numbers rather than treating any of the below as typical.
| Variable | What it represents | Example placeholder |
|---|---|---|
| A | Offshore provider invoice for the period | £X |
| B | UK reviewer hours on offshore work × internal hourly rate | Y hours × £Z |
| C | Rework hours × internal hourly rate | Y2 hours × £Z |
| D | Management/overhead time × internal hourly rate | Y3 hours × £Z |
| Total real cost | A + B + C + D | Sum of the above |
| Comparison | Total real cost vs. cost of doing the same work with UK staff | Compare the two totals |
This framework uses placeholder variables only. Remindoo does not publish or endorse any specific outsourcing cost-saving percentage — those figures vary enormously by firm, service and provider.
Frequently asked questions
Is outsourcing always cheaper than hiring in the UK?
Not always, and it depends heavily on how much UK review and rework time the arrangement generates. The day rate alone doesn't answer the question — you need to track the full cost.
How do I measure UK reviewer time on offshore work?
Log review and any correction time separately against each task, using subtasks or time tracking against the specific job rather than a general admin category.
What's a reasonable amount of rework to expect?
There's no universal figure — it depends on the provider, the complexity of the work and how clear your instructions and templates are. Track it for your own firm rather than benchmarking against an outside number.
Should I compare cost by service line or across the whole practice?
By service line. Some work, like routine data entry, outsources far more cleanly than complex judgement-heavy work, and averaging hides that difference.
How often should I re-run the cost comparison?
Quarterly is a reasonable starting point — often enough to catch drift as a provider relationship matures, without turning it into constant admin.
Does slower turnaround count as a cost?
Yes, if it means client deadlines slip or partners spend time chasing status updates — build an estimate of that time into the overhead line of your calculation.
Can software tell me whether outsourcing is worth it?
Software can give you accurate estimated versus actual time data to do the calculation properly — it can't tell you what counts as 'worth it' for your firm, which depends on your own numbers and priorities.
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Sources
Last updated: . General guidance.
Why recording every task matters in an accountancy practice
Accounting firms run on deadlines: VAT returns, payroll, confirmation statements, accounts and Self Assessment. Recording every job as a task, with an owner and a date, is the simplest way to make sure nothing is missed.
Avoid penalties
HMRC and Companies House charge penalties for late filing. A task for every deadline, with an internal date before it, gives the team a buffer.
Nothing depends on memory
Recorded tasks mean work continues when someone is off sick, on leave or has left the firm.
Consistent quality
Subtask checklists make every job follow the same steps and reviews, whoever does the work.
Visibility for managers
Filters by owner, status and deadline show at a glance what is late, what is due and who needs help.
Practical tips from UK practice
- Set an internal deadline two to four weeks before every statutory deadline.
- Use recurring tasks for repeat work such as VAT, payroll and bookkeeping.
- Break larger jobs into subtasks, including a review step.
- Comment on the task instead of by email, so the history stays with the work.
Related Remindoo features
Written and reviewed by Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT, Chartered Accountant with 18+ years in practice. Founder and MD of Accotax, an ICAEW, ACCA and AAT regulated London practice that has served over 5,000 clients, and founder of Remindoo. Guidance is general; check current GOV.UK and professional body guidance for your firm.
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