Outsourcing for Accountants: Dedicated Staff for Your Practice

Why practices outsource

Most practices we speak to have the same problem. There is more work than people, UK trainees are hard to find and harder to keep, and the busy season now runs for most of the year. January still brings the Self Assessment peak, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has added quarterly updates for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 since April 2026.

Turning work away, or asking senior staff to do bookkeeping at 9pm, isn't a plan. Outsourcing the preparation work frees your qualified people to review, advise and bring in new clients.

Two ways to outsource, and how they differ

Most accounting outsourcing companies run a shared pool. You send jobs, a team you never meet processes them, and the work comes back when the queue allows. That suits occasional overflow, such as a handful of year-end files.

StaffLink works differently. You get a named person who works only for your practice, full time, during your hours. They learn your clients, your checklists and your review notes, and they're on Teams when you need them. It's closer to hiring a junior than sending work to a bureau, without the UK salary or the recruitment risk.

What your offshore team member prepares

Typical work for a practice includes:

• Client bookkeeping and bank reconciliations in Xero, QuickBooks and Sage
• VAT returns prepared under Making Tax Digital, ready for your review
• Payroll for client businesses, with RTI submissions and pension auto-enrolment prepared for approval
• Year-end working papers and draft annual accounts
• Corporation tax computations and draft CT600 returns
• Self Assessment return preparation through the January peak
• Quarterly Making Tax Digital for Income Tax updates for sole trader and landlord clients
• Management accounts for clients on monthly packages

Who signs off

Your offshore team member prepares, and your qualified staff review and sign. Professional responsibility for client work stays with your firm, exactly as it does for a junior in the office. Use the review points you already have: a checklist per job, review notes in your practice software and sign-off by a named reviewer.

Many firms start with one bookkeeper on their simplest clients, then add an accountant for year-end and tax work once the review process has settled.

Client data and your engagement letters

Your team member works inside your systems with the permissions you set, and signs a confidentiality agreement. You decide which clients they can see. Our compliance page explains how we handle data.

It's good practice to check that your engagement letters and privacy notice cover staff working outside the UK, and to update them before your first placement. Your professional body's guidance on outsourcing is the place to confirm what it expects.

What it costs

A dedicated bookkeeper costs from £1,000 a month and an accountant from £1,250 a month, on a monthly rolling contract with one month's notice. There are no per-job fees, so the busier your team member is, the lower your cost per job. Full details are on our pricing page.