Small and medium-sized enterprises, aka SMEs, should really consider outsourcing some tasks. Outsourcing is a powerful way to ensure growth as it saves your time to focus on more profitable or efficiency-driven actions and often reduces costs in the longer term. Whether you’re a solo founder wearing too many hats or a growing team stretched thin across operations, the most successful outsourcing comes from knowing which tasks to outsource first.

These are the tasks a SME should consider outsourcing

From bookkeeping and payroll to customer support and admin, smart delegation allows business owners to refocus on high-value, revenue-generating activities. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the first tasks SMEs should consider outsourcing, why they matter, and how to get started. We’ll start with bookkeeping.

Payroll and VAT

The time cost of managing payroll, VAT returns, and PAYE compliance is enormous, and the penalty for getting it wrong with HMRC can be steep. A specialist payroll expert handles it faster, more accurately, and stays current with changing regulations.
● Reconciling VAT before each quarter-end
● Submitting MTD (Making Tax Digital) VAT returns directly to HMRC via Xero
● Handling any VAT adjustments or corrections

Core bookkeeping tasks

These are the daily or weekly tasks that ensure your finances are running efficiently. They include:
● Reconciling bank feeds daily or weekly
● Categorising transactions correctly against your chart of accounts
● Managing accounts payable and receivable
● Chasing outstanding invoices – useful even if you use cloud-based software such as Xero.

Invoicing and billing

Tasks that are so important to ensure that you always have good cash flow. Tasks include:
● Setting up and sending branded invoices
● Creating repeat invoices for regular clients
● Applying payments and credit notes
● Managing overdue accounts and producing aged debtor reports

Tracking expenses

Logging expenses, uploading receipts, and preparing expense reports are small tasks in themselves but are surprisingly time-consuming. They’re also vitally important for when you submit your accounts to HMRC and Companies House to ensure accuracy.

IT Support and cybersecurity

Whilst not bookkeeping, maintaining infrastructure, patching vulnerabilities, and responding to incidents require round-the-clock expertise. An MSP (Managed Service Provider) gives you enterprise-grade protection at a fraction of the cost of an in-house team – and keeps your data and systems safe.

Administrative tasks a SME could outsource to a professional virtual assistant (VA)

All the following tasks are important but it’s so easy to overlook how long each one takes to do. By outsourcing these tasks in particular, a solo SME owner can free up a lot of time – and a team can focus on income-generating activities. Many of our clients tell us that when they hand over admin tasks to Hour Hands, they gain an additional team member but one who is cheaper to employ and doesn’t need a desk!

Calendar and diary management

These are the tasks that keep your day running smoothly. Tasks can include scheduling meetings and avoiding conflicting appointments, sending reminders and meeting agendas, and coordinating across time zones (if appropriate).

Email triage and managing your inbox

A good VA will filter emails, flag important messages and draft responses. They’ll even unsubscribe you from spam, so you can concentrate on what’s important.

Booking travel and planning routes and itineraries

Visiting clients and suppliers (or even going on a personal break) can take time to plan. A good VA will research and book flights, hotels, transfers, and create itineraries. It can be tedious and time-consuming to do yourself, but these are tasks that are very straightforward to delegate.

Preparing and formatting documents

Drafting letters, formatting reports, preparing presentations, and transcribing meeting notes are all tasks that a VA can do, saving you so much time.

Data entry and CRM

Keeping your contacts, pipeline, and records up to date. Contact lists and mailing lists can go out of date so quickly and they’re time consuming to maintain.

Research tasks

From competitor research and market scoping, to finding venues and sourcing speakers – a VA can research and source anything where you need organised information gathered and presented clearly.

How can Hour Hands offer you an additional pair of hands?

The beauty of outsourcing to either a professional VA or bookkeeper is their flexibility as you pay for hours used rather than a full-time salary. There are no NI contributions and no holiday pay, which is a very attractive cost model for a UK SME. When you outsource tasks, it isn’t about admitting defeat or losing control, it’s about recognising that your time and expertise are your business’s most valuable assets.

It’s very straightforward to outsource tasks to Hour Hands. Our team of professionals will listen to what you want to achieve and why, before suggesting a package or a one-off activity. This is a personal service delivered by our dedicated team that is keen to build a strong relationship with you and your team.

To get started, you can either email us on hello@hourhands.co.uk or call 01727 818262 or even complete the form on our website. Why not contact us today? It will lead to a no obligations conversation, and it will definitely lead to you discovering additional time and energy.

Let’s speak soon.