Why Hiring One Finance Person Often Isn’t Enough, And How Using an Outsourced Finance Function Can Help
For many small businesses, hiring a single finance person might seem like a straightforward solution. But the reality is often more complex. You usually need two finance roles to keep things running smoothly.
Two Distinct Finance Skill Sets
The Transactional Role: This person handles the day-to-day finance tasks, processing invoices, reconciling bank statements, managing expenses. These are the essential but often repetitive tasks that keep your books up to date.
The Technical Role: This second person focuses on spotting risks, interpreting financial data to support decision-making, and handling complex accounting matters that require specialist knowledge. They’re also the go-to when the transactional side hits a snag.
The Cost of Two Finance Roles
A solid transactional finance hire typically commands a salary around £30,000–£35,000.
Someone with technical expertise will likely start at £60,000+.
That’s before you add National Insurance, pensions, sick leave, and holiday pay.
For most small businesses, having two full-time finance professionals just isn’t financially viable. As a result, business owners often:
Combine the roles into one,
Hire part-time help, or
Offload finance tasks to office admins.
The Hidden Cost of Under-Resourcing Finance
This mix-and-match approach often leads to finance work piling up, with crucial but non-urgent tasks pushed aside. Eventually, these “important but not urgent” tasks become urgent, causing stress, last-minute scrambles, and costly mistakes. Missed deadlines and overlooked opportunities can have a real financial impact.
Why Outsourcing Your Finance Function Works
An outsourced finance function solves this problem by giving you access to both transactional and technical finance skills, exactly when you need them.
Here’s the benefits:
✅ No skill gaps
✅ No sick days or holiday cover issues
✅ No uncomfortable salary negotiations
✅ Just clean, up-to-date numbers backed by expert support
Outsourcing your finance function gives you peace of mind and frees you up to focus on growing your business, without worrying about gaps, delays, or costly mistakes. It’s a smart, flexible way to get the right skills at the right time, helping your business stay agile and financially healthy no matter what comes next.