Engaging with a trusted external partner to provide back-office services allows frontline staff to concentrate on core activities, enhancing services currently provided, and enables your organisation to flexibly adjust to business trends without the overheads associated with employing additional administrative personnel.
BusinessLinc provides a range of flexible, confidential, cost-effective business support services at competitive rates to start-ups, SMEs and organisations. Services can be provided on a temporary or ongoing basis, for an agreed number hours per week/month, or charged per project.
This type of arrangement can be useful to cover:
- Growing workloads
- One-off special projects
- Provision of expertise for a specific task/process not available in-house
- Situations where hiring additional staff can’t be justified
- Holiday or sickness periods
- Staff shortages
If you’re running a start-up, early-stage, or even well-established smaller businesses/organisation, outsourcing non-core functions can be an attractive proposition. On one hand, you can quickly find yourself overwhelmed by the volume and diversity of back office tasks that need to be undertaken, but, on the other, not yet be in a position [or be reluctant] to commit to employing additional permanent staff to ease the pressure – which may be only short-term.
This can lead to a reduction of focus on core activities, and can significantly hinder growth during what may be a key period in the development of your business. It can drain valuable time and effort that would be much better spent in the pursuit of commercial opportunities, driving the business forward and not getting bogged-down in the nitty-gritty of ‘keeping the machine running’ behind the scenes.
The consequences of not running an efficient back office can – and, in time, almost certainly will – lead to many problems across the business, affecting – for example – critical areas like financial management [invoicing/cash collection/purchase ledger], HR processes, and compliance with the various government agencies.
Outsourcing means that your business is able to gain immediate access to experienced, professional assistance on a flexible basis, without the need to worry about the additional costs and long-term obligations associated with hiring employees.
With outsourcing, we take care of all the ‘extras’ that can really add up when employing staff directly, including:
- 28 days paid annual leave per year [inc. bank holidays]
- Sick pay
- Pension contributions
- Maternity pay, paternity pay and adoption leave
- NI and Tax contributions
- Provision of desk space/IT equipment, etc.
- Recruitment costs
- Training costs
Conversely, if your business needs increase, the level of outsourced support can quickly be scaled up accordingly to meet demand.
Unlike employees, who may be unwilling or unable to commit to additional hours beyond their contract if/when the need arises, BusinessLinc operates very flexibly and can – in many cases – provide services on a 24/7 basis if required.
Administrative Support Services
- General Admin – email handling, schedules, reports, correspondence, obtaining quotations, placing orders, preparation of proposals/estimates/quotes/bids, etc.
- Data Entry – spreadsheets, databases, CRM.
- Database Management – bespoke design, maintenance, cleansing, de-duping – Microsoft SQL/Access, FileMaker, etc.
- Desktop Publishing – using Adobe InDesign – newsletters, logos, brochures, flyers, invitations, sales literature, presentations.
- Mailing Services – copy writing/design/production of mailing pieces, document personalisation, fulfilment, etc.
- Proof Reading – documents, company information, brochures, sales campaigns, internal materials.
- Scanning – photos, articles, mail, legal documents.
- Transcription Services – transfer of spoken word, from recorded source to written document.
Financial Support Services
- Bookkeeping – maintenance of all day-to-day accounts using cloud-based accounting packages [only], e.g. Xero.
- Sales Invoicing – invoices produced and sent.
- Credit Control – credit checks, statements produced, incoming payments logged, reporting.
- Debt Collection – invoice chasing, debt collection letters, issuing county court claims, instructing bailiffs.
- Accounts Payable – supplier payment processing, monthly BACS and/or cheque runs, accounts payable reconciled.
- Payroll Services – PAYE returns, RTI submissions, payslips supplied, payroll reports.
Design & Print
- Design – logos, stationery, newsletters, brochures, catalogues, magazines, flyers, invitations, sales literature, presentations, packaging, signs, etc.
- Print – short-run digital, litho [sheet and web-fed], large-format – business cards, stationery, catalogues, brochures, magazines, flyers, packaging, banners, etc.
Event Planning & Management
- Conferences – seminars, staff conferences, shareholder forums, AGMs.
- Trade Shows – exhibition stand design & branding, promotional staff, sales & product brochures.
- Product Launches
HR Support
- HR Admin Support – personnel audits, job descriptions, appraisals, policies, staff handbooks, recruitment advertising.
- Recruitment – search, selection, interview, reference checking.
- Specialist Services – employee vetting, covert investigations.
We also offer a range of services providing practical assistance in the following areas [please click for details]:
Outsourced Business Services | How It Works [in brief]
Outsourced business services can be provided on a temporary or ongoing basis, for an agreed number hours per day/week/month, or charged per project.
Once the scope of support and relevant charges have been discussed and agreed in writing, services will commence from the required date and continue until the end of the agreed term or until you give us notice that the service is no longer needed [whichever is sooner].
Services are usually provided remotely, at our premises, utilising the many methods of collaborative working now available [phone, email, instant messaging, Skype, etc.] to remain in close and regular contact with you or your team.
If necessary from time to time, by prior arrangement, services can be undertaken on your premises or other designated site [additional travel costs may be chargeable].
Depending on the type of service[s] being provided, charges will be calculated on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis.
Charges for outsourced business services consist of up to three elements [as required]:
1 | The basic service charge [i.e. essentially the ‘labour’ element];
2 | Charges for any items/goods provided [e.g. copying/printing/postage]; and
3 | Any disbursements to be recharged [i.e. monies paid to third parties on your behalf].
All charges will be agreed in writing prior to any costs being incurred, so you will never be in the position of receiving an invoice that you were not expecting.
Whatever the requirement, let BusinessLinc help to reduce the back office workload so that you can focus on building your business.
We relish a challenge – so just tell us what you need and we’ll provide an efficient and cost-effective solution.