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Key takeaways
The finance manager tasks to outsource are the processing ones: supplier invoice entry, bank reconciliations, expense coding, statement reconciliations, routine chasing and building the monthly report pack. Approvals, forecasts, controls, banking authority and the conversation with the directors stay. Moving processing turns a finance manager back into an adviser.
- Move: invoice entry, reconciliations, expenses, chasing, report packs.
- Keep: approvals, forecasts, controls, bank authority.
- Finance managers in SMEs often spend half their week processing.
- Keep segregation of duties when work moves.
Want your finance manager's tasks screened? Message us on WhatsApp.
Chat on WhatsApp →Why do finance managers get stuck processing?
Because in small firms there is nobody below them. The finance manager or controller ends up entering invoices and reconciling bank feeds as well as producing forecasts and advising the board. The processing is deadline-driven, so it always wins, and the analysis the business hired them for gets squeezed.
Which finance tasks usually move?
These are rule-based, checkable and recurring.
- Entering and coding supplier invoices.
- Daily or weekly bank reconciliations.
- Expense claim checks against policy.
- Supplier statement reconciliations.
- Routine payment reminders to customers.
- Building the monthly management pack from the ledger.
What must stay with the finance manager?
Approvals and controls stay: authorising payments, changing supplier bank details, journal sign-off, write-offs and the forecast assumptions. So does the relationship with the bank and the directors. Keep the person who prepares a payment separate from the person who approves it, inside or out.
What does this look like in practice?
A pattern we see: a finance manager spends much of the week processing. Moving invoice entry, reconciliations and the pack build returns that time for the cash forecasting and margin analysis the directors had asked for.
Finance task checklist
- List the finance manager's recurring tasks.
- Mark approvals, controls and bank authority to keep.
- Screen processing tasks against the six signals.
- Keep preparation and approval separate.
- Agree delivery dates before month-end deadlines.
Next step
Ask your finance manager to split last month's work into processing, reporting and advising. The processing hours are your candidate pool.
Message us on WhatsApp for the finance task sheet, or book a 30-minute consultation.
Chat on WhatsApp →Sources and further reading
- Sending a VAT Return · HM Revenue & Customs
- Running a limited company: company and accounting records · GOV.UK
Frequently asked questions
What finance tasks can be outsourced?
Processing tasks such as invoice entry and coding, bank and supplier statement reconciliations, expense checks, routine payment reminders and building the monthly report pack. Approvals, controls, banking authority and forecast assumptions should stay with the finance manager or directors.
Is it safe to outsource bank reconciliations?
Generally yes, because reconciliation checks records rather than moves money. Give read access to bank feeds, keep payment authority inside, and review the reconciliation each month. It is one of the most common finance tasks small firms hand over.
Does outsourcing finance tasks weaken controls?
It can strengthen them if done well. Separating preparation from approval is a basic control that small finance teams often cannot achieve with one person. An outside team preparing and a manager approving gives you that separation, provided access is limited correctly.
Written by
Global Bridge Labs (GBL) is a UK–Sri Lanka partner for social media, websites and BPO. Everything here comes from client delivery, not theory.
