Top Accounting Tasks to Outsource for Your Online Business

Task 1: Monthly Bookkeeping and Reconciliation

Monthly bookkeeping — recording transactions, categorizing expenses, reconciling accounts, and preparing financial reports — is the most commonly outsourced accounting task for online businesses, and for good reason. It is time-consuming, requires consistent attention, and the cost of errors compounds over time.

A professional bookkeeper working remotely with your cloud accounting software typically costs $300–$800 per month for most online businesses. That includes all transaction recording, bank reconciliation for all accounts, accounts payable and receivable management, and monthly financial report delivery.

What you receive in return: clean, current books; financial reports delivered to your inbox on the 1st of each month; and a clean handoff to your CPA at tax time. For everything you need to know about the benefits of outsourcing bookkeeping, read our guide on remote bookkeeping benefits.

Task 2: Sales Tax Compliance and Filing

Multi-state sales tax compliance is one of the most complex and highest-risk areas of accounting for online businesses. Since the Wayfair decision, most online sellers have sales tax obligations in multiple states — each with different rates, different exemption rules, different filing frequencies, and different penalty structures.

Managing this manually is essentially impossible for any business selling across multiple states. The two best options are: automated software (TaxJar, Avalara) that calculates, collects, and files sales tax automatically, or a sales tax specialist who manages the compliance on your behalf.

The cost of automated sales tax software runs $50–$200 per month depending on your transaction volume and the number of states you file in. A sales tax specialist typically charges $200–$500 per month for small businesses with complex nexus situations. Either option is far less expensive than the penalties for non-compliance, which can reach 30–40% of uncollected tax in some states.

For a detailed look at the risks of non-compliance, read our guide on e-commerce accounting risks.

Task 3: Payroll Processing

If you have employees, outsourcing payroll processing is one of the most clearly justified decisions you can make. Payroll is complex (federal withholding, state withholding, FICA, unemployment taxes, benefits deductions, garnishments), it is high-risk (errors trigger IRS penalties), and it happens on a non-negotiable schedule (employees expect to be paid on time, always).

Payroll service providers like Gusto (my most common recommendation for online businesses), ADP, Paychex, and QuickBooks Payroll handle everything: calculating withholdings, processing direct deposits, filing payroll taxes, generating W-2s and 1099s, and managing benefits deductions. Costs typically run $40–$150 per month for small teams.

Look for a payroll service that integrates directly with your accounting software so payroll journal entries post automatically. This eliminates double data entry and ensures your books are accurate without additional work from you or your bookkeeper.

Task 4: Tax Return Preparation

Business tax return preparation should be outsourced to a licensed CPA or enrolled agent — full stop. The complexity of business tax returns (entity structure elections, depreciation decisions, self-employment tax strategies, state filings, payroll tax reconciliation) requires professional expertise that most business owners simply do not have.

More importantly, a good CPA is not just a preparer — they are a tax strategist. The best CPAs identify opportunities to reduce your tax bill through deductions, timing strategies, retirement contributions, and entity structure optimization that self-prepared returns almost always miss.

The cost of outsourced tax preparation ($1,500–$5,000 per year for most online businesses) is almost always recovered in tax savings alone — not counting the time savings and error risk reduction. For guidance on finding the right CPA, read our guide on how to find the right accountant for your small business.

Task 5: E-Commerce Platform Reconciliation

Reconciling your Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, or other marketplace sales data with your accounting software is one of the most technical and time-consuming tasks unique to online businesses. Each platform reports data differently, nets out fees before depositing, and uses its own categorization system that does not map directly to standard accounting categories.

Two good options: automate it with a tool like A2X, Synder, or Webgility (costs $30–$100 per month depending on volume), or outsource it to a bookkeeper with e-commerce expertise. Many virtual bookkeepers specialize in e-commerce and are familiar with these platforms and tools.

Either way, make sure this task is handled by someone who understands the difference between gross sales, net deposits, seller fees, refunds, and chargebacks — because getting this wrong corrupts every financial report downstream.

Task 6: Accounts Receivable Management

For online businesses that invoice clients (rather than purely consumer-facing sales), accounts receivable management — tracking open invoices, sending reminders, following up on overdue accounts — is another strong candidate for outsourcing or automation.

Automated invoice reminders through your accounting software handle the vast majority of follow-up without human involvement. But for clients that consistently pay late or dispute invoices, a skilled bookkeeper managing your AR can handle the professional follow-up and escalation that an automated system cannot.

For a complete look at invoice management best practices, see our guide on invoice management tips for small business.

What to Keep In-House

Not everything should be outsourced. These financial activities require your direct involvement as the business owner:

• Approving significant expenditures: No outsourced provider should have the ability to approve payments without your authorization.
• Reviewing monthly financial reports: Even with a bookkeeper handling your books, you should review your P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement every month.
• Strategic financial decisions: Pricing, investment decisions, hiring, expansion — these require your judgment informed by the financial data your team provides.
• Banking relationships: Maintain direct relationships with your bank. Do not grant outsourced providers primary signatory authority on business accounts.
• Tax strategy input: Your CPA prepares your return, but you need to understand and approve the major decisions — entity elections, depreciation choices, timing of income and expenses.

How to Find and Vet Outsourcing Partners

When evaluating outsourced accounting providers, look for:

• Relevant experience: Ask specifically about experience with online businesses in your industry and at your revenue level
• Software proficiency: They should be certified or highly proficient in your specific accounting platform
• References: Speak with at least two current clients in businesses similar to yours
• Deliverables: Get specific about what you will receive, when, and in what format
• Security practices: Understand how they handle access credentials and data security
• Communication: Establish response time expectations and preferred communication methods

For guidance on the broader question of what types of professionals are available and when each is appropriate, read our guide on bookkeeper, accountant, or CFO: which does your business need? And explore whether accounting automation can reduce the scope of what you need to outsource in the first place.

Frequently Asked Questions