Engagement models
Four ways to buy capacity, and how to tell which one you need.
Choosing the wrong model is the most common reason outsourcing looks expensive. A firm with lumpy overflow does not need a dedicated resource; a firm with steady volume is overpaying for per-job. This page explains the trade-offs, including where each model works against you.
The four models
Each with its honest downside
Every model below has a set of circumstances where it is the wrong choice. We have listed those too, because you will find them out eventually and it is better that it is now.
Per job
Fixed price per completed output
You send a job, we quote or apply an agreed rate card for that job type, and you pay for the completed output. No commitment between jobs and no idle cost when volume drops.
Best for
Variable, unpredictable volumes and firms testing the relationship
Where it works
- Costs scale exactly with the work you send
- Nothing to pay in a quiet month
- Simplest model to start with and to stop
- Easy to recharge to a client fee
Where it does not
- Unit rate is higher than a dedicated resource at volume
- Turnaround depends on queue position rather than reserved capacity
- Less efficient once volumes become predictable
Ad-hoc hours
A drawn-down block of hours
You buy a block of hours and draw against it as needed across any service line. Usage is reported so you can see where the time went, and unused hours roll within an agreed window.
Best for
Overflow, peak-season surge and mixed work that does not fit a job definition
Where it works
- Flexible across service lines without renegotiating
- Well suited to peak-season surge
- Transparent usage reporting
- No commitment to a fixed monthly cost
Where it does not
- Needs your team to brief work clearly to be efficient
- Harder to forecast than a fixed monthly cost
- Blocks expire within an agreed period
Dedicated resource
A named individual working only on your files
A named team member works exclusively on your work for an agreed portion of their time — full-time or part-time — at a fixed monthly cost. They learn your clients, your templates and your preferences.
Best for
Steady, predictable volume and firms wanting a consistent relationship
Where it works
- Lowest effective unit cost at consistent volume
- Deep familiarity with your clients and standards
- Predictable fixed monthly cost for budgeting
- Direct working relationship with a named person
Where it does not
- You carry the cost whether or not volume arrives
- Requires enough steady work to justify the commitment
- Cover for absence needs planning into the arrangement
Managed team
A multi-disciplinary pod with a supervisor
A small team spanning bookkeeping, accounts, tax and payroll, led by a supervisor who owns workflow, quality and reporting. You deal with the supervisor rather than allocating work individually.
Best for
Larger practices and full finance functions needing several disciplines at once
Where it works
- Covers several disciplines without separate arrangements
- Supervisor absorbs allocation and quality management
- Absence cover built into the team
- Scales up and down within the team structure
Where it does not
- Highest absolute commitment of the four models
- Needs volume across multiple service lines to make sense
- Longer transition period to establish properly
Pricing approach
Why there is no rate card on this page
Because a rate card that means anything requires knowing what you are actually buying — and one that does not require that is a headline rate you will not end up paying.
Published hourly rates in this market are close to meaningless without context. The same nominal rate can represent a junior processor or a review-grade qualified accountant, standard or priority turnaround, clean records or a reconstruction job. Comparing headline numbers across providers usually compares different things.
What we commit to instead is that the number is fixed before you decide, and fixed afterwards. Our proposal states the price, what is included, what is excluded, and what would trigger a re-quote. Scope changes are quoted before the work happens. There is no onboarding fee, no software surcharge, no minimum-hours clause and no annual uplift written into the small print.
On positioning: we are structured to sit meaningfully below the established UK outsourcing firms on rate while matching them on review discipline. That is our commercial reason for existing. We will put the number in writing at proposal stage and we are happy for you to benchmark it against anyone.
What moves the number
Six factors we assess at scoping
- Complexity of the work
- A micro-entity set of accounts and a consolidated group with foreign subsidiaries are not the same job, and should not carry the same price.
- Quality of incoming records
- Clean, reconciled data processes quickly. Records requiring reconstruction take longer, and we scope that separately rather than absorbing it.
- Volume and predictability
- Steady, forecastable volume is cheaper to resource than sporadic peaks, and the pricing reflects that.
- Turnaround required
- Standard turnaround is priced as standard. Guaranteed priority turnaround reserves capacity and is priced accordingly.
- Seniority required
- Straightforward processing and a review-grade qualified accountant sit at different rates. We assign the level the work actually needs.
- Software and setup
- Familiar platforms need no ramp. An unusual or legacy system may need a short training period, which we tell you about up front.
Commercial terms
The things buried in other people's small print
Is there a minimum commitment or tie-in?
No minimum commitment on the pilot, and no long tie-in afterwards. Ongoing engagements run on a notice period appropriate to the model — shorter for per-job and ad-hoc, longer for a dedicated resource or managed team, because we have made an employment commitment on your behalf. That period is stated in the proposal, not discovered later.
What is not included in the price?
Work outside the agreed scope, remediation of records materially worse than represented at scoping, and guaranteed priority turnaround where standard was agreed. All three are quoted before the work happens. Nothing is added to an invoice that you have not approved in advance.
Are there setup or onboarding fees?
No. Transition, process documentation and training on your systems are part of establishing the engagement and are not separately charged. If a genuinely unusual system requires a substantial ramp, we tell you at proposal stage rather than invoicing for it afterwards.
How does rework get handled commercially?
Rework arising from our error is not chargeable and does not consume contracted hours. Rework arising from changed instructions or information provided late is chargeable, quoted before it starts. We keep that distinction clear in both directions.
Can we change model as we grow?
Yes, and most firms do. The common path is per-job or ad-hoc to establish the relationship, then a dedicated resource once volume proves steady. We will usually raise it before you do, because a firm on the wrong model concludes that outsourcing is expensive rather than that the model is wrong.
How and when do you invoice?
Monthly in arrears for ad-hoc and per-job work, monthly in advance for dedicated resources and managed teams. Invoices are itemised against the agreed scope so you can see what you paid for. Payment terms are agreed at contract.
Next step
Tell us the shape of your volume and we will tell you the model.
Roughly how many jobs, how predictable, and when the peaks land. That is usually enough to identify the right model in a single conversation — including the case where the answer is that you do not need us yet.
What to expect
- No obligation and no minimum commitment to talk
- A written proposal within five working days
- A paid pilot before any long-term arrangement