Overview
A fast-scaling Australian e-commerce retailer, operating in multiple product categories and fulfilling thousands of monthly orders nationwide, found itself struggling to maintain financial control as the business grew. Its in-house finance team was overburdened, and existing workflows could not scale with the volume of daily transactions, refunds, supplier invoices, and inventory-related adjustments.
Within just a few months of transitioning its financial operations to an offshore outsourcing model, the company reported a 46% reduction in finance department costs. Beyond cost savings, the business achieved greater speed in monthly closings, improved vendor management, and enhanced real-time reporting, allowing the leadership team to focus on growth and product strategy.
The Challenge
The e-commerce brand had built its internal finance team around early-stage needs, but as order volumes and marketplace integrations expanded, the existing structure began to falter. Financial data was flowing in from multiple sources—direct website orders, third-party marketplaces, payment processors, logistics providers, and more. This led to chaotic and time-consuming reconciliation processes. The accounting team, comprising two full-time employees and one part-time contractor, was unable to close the books on time or track inventory-related COGS accurately.
Additionally, the company was dealing with a high volume of supplier invoices each week. These invoices had to be matched manually to purchase orders and shipping confirmations, many of which were managed via email or spreadsheets. This caused delays in vendor payments, frequent disputes, and a gradual erosion of supplier trust.
Most importantly, the finance department had become a cost center, consuming over AUD 180,000 annually between salaries, systems, and external tax advisory support without delivering scalable value in return. Leadership recognized that a change was necessary to avoid operational bottlenecks and build a finance infrastructure that could grow with the business.
The Solution
The company adopted a hybrid outsourcing model, transitioning bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and month-end reporting to a nearshore finance team. After a one-month onboarding period, the outsourcing partner implemented process documentation, automation of invoice capture, and a cloud-based collaboration suite (Xero, Hubdoc, and ApprovalMax). This helped centralize data and eliminate the need for back-and-forth emails with vendors.
The outsourced team took over day-to-day bookkeeping tasks including matching invoices to POs, managing the AP aging report, following up on receivables, reconciling payment gateway deposits (e.g., Stripe, Afterpay, PayPal), and preparing monthly financial statements. Internal staff retained strategic oversight and made final approvals, but their time commitment dropped by over 70%.
By the end of the first quarter, the entire finance function was running more smoothly, with fewer errors, faster cycle times, and less financial clutter. Processes were standardized across product lines, and new vendor onboarding included clear AP protocols.
Results After 4 Months
|
Metric |
Before Outsourcing |
After Outsourcing |
Change Achieved |
|
Annual Finance Dept. Cost |
AUD 180,000+ |
~AUD 97,000 |
🔻 46% cost savings |
|
Monthly Close Time |
18–22 days |
≤ 8 days |
🔻 60% faster closing |
|
Staff Time on Finance Ops (weekly) |
30+ hours |
~9 hours |
🔻 70% time savings |
|
Supplier Payment Accuracy |
~82% |
98%+ |
✅ Vendor trust restored |
|
Reconciliation Errors (monthly avg.) |
15–20 |
< 5 |
🔻 >70% reduction |
How TOP Outsourcing Partners Solves Similar Challenges
At TOP Outsourcing Partners, we specialize in solving exactly these kinds of scaling finance challenges for fast-moving SMEs. Our bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, and monthly reporting services are built around cloud-based systems and real-time collaboration models. Whether you're selling online in Australia, the U.S., or globally, TOP helps streamline finance tasks so your internal team can focus on strategy, not spreadsheets.
We help businesses:
● Reduce back-office finance costs by 40–60%
● Improve month-end close timelines and data accuracy
● Standardize AP/AR and payment cycles for better vendor relationships
● Integrate with tools like Xero, QuickBooks, Hubdoc, Stripe, and Gusto
● Eliminate reconciliation delays and reporting gaps
Just like the e-commerce company in this case, many growing businesses discover that a lean, expert-driven outsourcing model is not only cheaper but faster, more reliable, and easier to scale.
Final Thought
As this e-commerce brand learned, trying to scale with a legacy finance setup can stall growth and drive up costs. By outsourcing core financial operations, the company was able to recover time, reduce risk, and gain financial clarity. For any business aiming to scale profitably without inflating its internal headcount, TOP Outsourcing Partners provides the structure, security, and speed needed to keep finance aligned with growth.
